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Good News

In this issue of Update , we take pleasure in reporting on some transformative undertakings, both established and newly implemented, at the Office of Faculty Development and Diversity (FD&D) and the Harvard College Women's Center (HCWC). Kudos to their admirable leaders, Senior Vice Provost Judith Singer, who succeeded founding Senior Vice Provost Evelynn Hammonds at FD&D when Hammonds became Dean of Harvard College, and Assistant Provost Liza Cariaga-Lo and Women's Center Director Susan Marine and their staffs for the strides they are making in advancing opportunities for women.

Short articles about the recent meeting between Dr. Singer and three members of the CEWH Steering Committee; the FD&D 2008 Report, which includes data on women faculty and notes improvements to the search process; and the upcoming extension of leadership training to all interested undergraduate women are below, as well as an excellent report prepared for us, "CEWH Harvard Pre-Tenure Faculty Mentoring Program, 2008-2009 Update" by Assistant Provost Cariaga-Lo.

Meeting with Senior Vice Provost for FD&D

On October 23, 2008, Dr. Judith Singer met with CEWH Steering Committee members Gaby Schlesinger, Acey Welch, and Betsy Hatfield. In an open conversation, Dr. Singer generously shared her time and expertise, giving her perspective on the position she had recently assumed as the second Senior Vice Provost for FD&D.

After strong initial work by Dr. Hammonds and her staff, Dr. Singer felt that while all the recommendations set forth by the Task Force Reports of 2005 had been implemented, the "larger work" had barely begun.

Dr. Singer is trying to fashion the FD&D office to be central to the University's searches for faculty, encouraging hires, reviewing files, and looking at the academic climate, the reviews of faculty, and the matter of promotions-seeing how all that happens and taking into account the many facets of faculty life.

Since some approaches to diversity haven't been satisfactory, Provost Steven Hyman and others are examining other ways to accomplish this goal. The Provost has thirty faculty initiatives. Dr. Singer is looking at those involving junior faculty, particularly cross-School initiatives and interdisciplinary appointments.

Dr. Singer has augmented efforts by promoting centralized advertising for searches, use of the Web, engagement with programs focused on women and minorities, and assistance to dual career couples. She is fostering communication and panels among faculty and among Schools, including ways to greet new faculty and bring them necessary information about material relevant to life at Harvard.

Dr. Singer is organizing two advisory groups. The first is a Faculty Affairs Liaison Group. As senior administrators, the members deal with searches, promotions, and renewals, but haven't worked together before. The hope is that they will be able to identify common issues, hear about best practices, and do things in a coordinated fashion.

The second group will consist of the academic deans for the Schools. This group focuses on policy issues. They can consider topics such as good mentoring, transparency, best practices, collaboration with the Corporation, and the meaning of titles and terms of employment.

Dr. Singer wants to examine data concerning the demographics of the faculty in a new way. Who enters, and who leaves? Who gets promoted, and who stays? Her office will conduct exit studies to discern why faculty leave and where they go. In addition, she will make available reports that detail the faculty according to tenured faculty, tenure-track faculty, gender and ethnic identities. She expects that the data will be helpful in identifying problems faced by women and minorities.

"At the Cusp of Change"

CEWH Steering Committee members Acey Welch and Betsy Hatfield attended a panel discussion of women's place in university leadership and beyond. Entitled "At the Cusp of Change: Women Leaders at Harvard," it was moderated by Barbara Kellerman, James McGregor Burns Lecturer in Leadership and Founding Director of the Center for Public Leadership, Harvard Kennedy School. Jacqueline Bhabha, Lecturer in Public Policy and Director of the University Committee on Human Rights Studies and the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, Harvard Kennedy School and Faculty of Arts and Sciences; Judith Glaven, Associate Dean for Basic and Interdisciplinary Research, Harvard Medical School; and Ann Braude, Director of the Women's Studies in Religion Program and Senior Lecturer on American Religious History, Harvard Divinity School, were the panelists.

Approximately 75 women, preponderantly graduate students, post-docs, and staff members, heard the speakers advise stretching one's skills, developing and nurturing a network, and encouraging inclusivity, even selflessness at times. One advocated "leading by enabling others to be autonomous."

They also talked candidly about the challenges for women scholars at Harvard, loneliness being notable among them as well as a "lack of collegiality [affecting] both men and women." Members of the audience who took the microphone spoke equally openly about their needs and challenges, particularly around child care.

Gone are the days when candor among women scholars at Harvard mostly occurred behind closed doors. FD&D and the panel members are to be commended for fostering a climate of openness.

FD&D 2008 Report

The 2008 report covers many significant topics for all the Schools at Harvard. Those interested in reading it in its entirety, including many charts presenting demographic data, will find it at the website http://www.faculty.harvard.edu. The site also has links to other relevant surveys and reports.

The report published statistics providing an overview of the number of tenured and tenure-track women faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences, the home for undergrad-uate teaching:

(1) Women tenured faculty as a percent of Division tenured faculty in 2008:

Social Sciences - 23% (21% in Õ05)
Humanities - 31% (28% in Õ05)
Natural Sciences - 10% (8% in Õ05)

(2) Women tenure-track faculty as a percent of Division tenure-track faculty in 2008:

Social Sciences - 50% (44% in Õ05)
Humanities - 33% (35% in Õ05)
Natural Sciences - 31% (29% in Õ05, 32% in Õ06)

(3) Divisional representation of women among tenured department chairs in 2008:

Social Sciences - 26%
Humanities - 35%
Natural Sciences - 14%

To improve the searches for new faculty, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences has instituted "a new on-line tracking system called HIRES that allows departments to track and report on candidates in a more systematic, automated way" for both ladder [tenured and tenure-track] and non-ladder searches. Also, the Standing Committee on Women consults on this process, and a divisional dean can oversee the process and ask for additional candidates, if necessary.

Following a recommendation of the Task Force Reports of 2005, the Office of FD&D and the Office of Institutional Research conducted, in 2007, the "first-ever climate survey of ladder [tenured and tenure-track] and non-ladder faculty . . . across the University." The overall response rate was 75%. The following were among the findings:

"Women are less satisfied than men with Harvard and their individual Schools.

Tenured and tenure-track women find their departments to be less of a good fit than their male counterparts do.

Tenure-track women feel that their departments are less of a good fit for them than do tenured women."

A finding relevant to CEWH's funding of a mentoring program focused on concerns of pre-tenure women faculty (CEWH sponsorship is cited) appears in remarks about their concerns: "A majority of the tenure-track faculty finds mentoring in several areas to be 'inadequate' or 'barely adequate.' " Other concerns pertain to tenuring issues and choosing to remain at Harvard, and to care-giving and other domestic responsibilities.

Taken as a whole, the 2008 Report reveals an active, involved Office of FD&D, with a great deal of work yet to do!

CEWH Harvard Pre-Tenure Faculty Mentoring Program 2008-2009 Update

by Dr. Liza Cariaga-Lo, Assistant Provost for Faculty Development and Diversity

As part of a larger Faculty Mentoring Initiative launched by the Provost's Office of Faculty Development and Diversity (FD&D), the Committee for the Equality of Women at Harvard (CEWH) provided $75,000 to FD&D to sponsor and initially fund a university-wide program on mentoring for Harvard pre-tenure faculty, with a particular focus on the issues of concern for pre-tenure women faculty. The goal of the project is to foster active mentoring relationships within an engaged, supportive network of faculty, meeting a need identified by women and other underrepresented groups.

Activities in this first year have included a comprehensive review of the mentoring literature and a needs assessment identifying particular mentoring concerns of Harvard pre-tenure ladder faculty. We met this fall with faculty members of the FAS Standing Committee on Women (SCW) and the HMS Joint Committee on the Status of Women to get feedback on the specific mentoring needs of women pre-tenure ladder faculty. Some of the areas which have been identified as potential topics to be discussed as part of the Mentoring Initiative include: (1) how to use a mentor; (2) understanding the review, promotion and tenure process; (3) getting known outside your department and outside Harvard; (4) career development planning in a tenure track system; (5) teaching skills/resources; (6) managing a lab and staff; (7) considering other job offers. The information we have gleaned from this process will help us more carefully plan for activities and resources related to mentoring.

With respect to specific plans for activities and resources, we convened the first ever university-wide Harvard New Faculty Institute, which brought together mostly pre-tenure ladder faculty, the majority of whom were women, in October 2008, which was extremely well-received. This event was an important opportunity for new faculty to connect with colleagues and potential mentors. During the Institute, we featured two discussion panels - one on bridging across the disciplines through collaborations and another on innovative teaching approaches.

In order to provide opportunities for networking between junior faculty and senior faculty, we have also partnered with the Associate Provost for the Arts to develop a series of events for faculty to connect through the arts, as well as providing information about resources for integrating the arts into faculty's research and teaching activities. Events this year are as follows:

* Making Connections - A Special Evening at the Sackler Gallery, featuring presentations by senior faculty from across the disciplines on how to integrate the arts into one's scholarship (November 2008)

* Connecting Worlds: A Night at the Peabody Museum -A unique, behind-the-scenes exploration of the museum's collections (March 2009)

* First Look: Meet and Greet with Diane Paulus, the new artistic director at the American Repertory Theatre- an introduction to theatre at Harvard (April 2009)

Dr. Alice Hogan, formerly from the National Science Foundation, has agreed to serve in a consulting capacity to assist FD&D in formulating additional mentoring activities and resources for 2009-2010. We will be working with Dr. Hogan to identify specific areas of need in particular schools, especially around providing guidance to pre-tenure ladder faculty on issues pertaining to the review, promotion and tenure processes. Dr. Hogan will help us provide individual consultations with departments and schools to address pre-tenure ladder faculty concerns.

FD&D has also been working on mentoring guidelines and plans for on-line resources to assist faculty with mentoring concerns, and these will be made available in the newly re-designed FD&D website, which will be launched in Summer 2009.

The Dean of the Faculty of Arts & Sciences, Mike Smith, has appointed Professor Michele Lamont as the Special Adviser for Faculty Development and Diversity in FAS. We are working closely with Professor Lamont to develop mentoring activities and resources for pre-tenure ladder faculty in FAS.

Finally, additional spring events we have planned this year for pre-tenure ladder faculty include:

* Junior Faculty Lunches with Senior Vice Provost Judith D. Singer (bi-monthly lunches in Spring 2009 for junior faculty to ask questions and discuss concerns with Senior Vice Provost Singer)

* Bok Center Players Performance and Interactive Discussion on Mentoring - addressing issues of becoming an effective mentor and/or mentee (May 2009)

* Media Training - helping faculty understand how to work with the media in communicating their research

* Publishing in the Academy - understanding the ins and outs of publishing articles and books

* Negotiating faculty positions - how to be an effective negotiator in the recruitment and/or retention process

* Panel Discussion with recently tenured faculty members at Harvard - how to get tenure from within

HCWC 2007-2008 REPORT

In her "Note from the Director," Susan Marine emphasized a commitment to incorporate into the Center's programs "the diversity of interests and opinions about the status of women and gender issues at Harvard." She went on to write, "What we know is this: students have a wide range of experiences and perspectives on what it means to be a woman at Harvard, and how their gender shapes - and is shaped by - the other aspects of their lives here. Our efforts are continuously aimed at encouraging students to think critically and constructively about the role gender plays in their lives and to work for change where they see that change is necessary. Oh and - to make sure to relax, to connect with others, and to pursue things they simply enjoy during their time here as well."

Offerings at the Center are many and wide-ranging. Program Administrator Sandra Ullman reported a session on campaigning for women running for student government, presentations by writers and performance artists, a student art exhibit, and the establishment of an HCWC student magazine, Amplify . The Center also sponsored a series of career presentations by alumnae in a dinner series called "Aluminating!"

The HCWC lodges the Radcliffe Mentor Program, now in its 24th year; the Women's Cabinet (leaders of women's and gender student groups); and the Ann Radcliffe Trust, which awards grants to student organizations in support of women's visibility within Harvard.

Founded in 2006, the HCWC is the successor to the Lyman Common Room at Agassiz and several earlier Radcliffe women's centers. It is a warm, friendly place for women and men to work, meet, and relax and the first of the centers to have a professional staff.

UNDERGRADUATE WOMEN'S LEADERSHIP PROJECT

CEWH Steering Committee members Acey Welch and Betsy Hatfield have met twice in recent months with HCWC Director Susan Marine, chiefly in connection with the upcoming expansion of opportunities for leadership training for undergraduate women that CEWH has long advocated.

Some background. As many of you may know, in 1988, in reaction to the scarcity of women in campus leadership positions, a group of women students formed The Harvard-Radcliffe Women's Leadership Project. The Project's mission has been the sponsorship of a very highly regarded, week-long Women's Leadership Conference, which is held annually in August, before classes begin. Unfortunately, only 35 women are able to attend each year; the number of applicants has been much greater. To reduce the gap, the Project intends to add a second session of the Conference, this one to be held between terms.

But first, working in cooperation with the HCWC and with Director Marine's close involvement and guidance, a team of undergraduate women associated with the Project will roll out a term-time leadership program (one that takes place during the academic year while classes are in session) that is designed to accommodate all interested women undergraduates. Eventually, it will be multi-sessioned, with lectures from women leaders working in a variety of contexts and small group discussions. She expects the launch of the program to occur in 2009.

Both as a show of our support and to ensure the widest possible publicity for this exciting new opportunity for undergraduate women, CEWH has contributed $2500 to the HCWC to pay for a mailing to members of the sophomore, junior, and senior classes (the College will mail to first year students) and an updating of the HCWC's website to accommodate term-time leadership's offerings.

Donation Information

For those who wish to support the work
of the Harvard College Women's Center:

make check payable to Harvard College
and designate for Harvard College Women's Center

mail to:

Harvard College Development Office
124 Mount Auburn Street, 6th Floor
Cambridge, MA 02138

For those who wish to support the CEWH
Pre-Tenure Faculty Mentoring Program:

make check payable to Harvard University,
Office of Faculty Development and Diversity
and designate for CEWH Mentoring Initiative

mail to:

Harvard University
Office of Faculty Development and Diversity
Holyoke Center 877
1350 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138

URL: http://world.std.com/~cewh/
April 2009