Letters from the Overseer Candidates

Looking Ahead

CEWH has a big birthday coming up in 2013. We will turn twenty! 2013 is also a big reunion year for our founding Radcliffe classes: the 60th Reunion for the Class of 1953 and the 55th for the Class of 1958. What better way to celebrate all three events than with the launch of a CEWH-initiated Shared Interest Group (SIG), tentatively called Harvard-Radcliffe Women. We expect to file our application with the HAA this summer. For more about SIGs, see www.clubsandsigs.harvard.edu/clubs.html .

In our Update of March 2011, we proposed to forge links with Harvard-Radcliffe alumni/ae in the younger classes to ensure that our work on behalf of the women of the University remained relevant and valuable. In that spirit, we will structure our SIG to ensure that all Harvard-Radcliffe women - alumnae, faculty, and students - benefit from the new entity.

What was our process? Through meetings with the HAA and with Harvard faculty and senior staff during the past year, we researched the structure, programming, communications, and commitments to both the University and the HAA required of SIGs. We have also studied the resources, largely human but financial as well, and the organizational missions that bode best for a SIG's long-term success.

We then looked outside Harvard at a Yale SIG, YaleWomen, which was formed late in 2011. YaleWomen aspires to have an impact worldwide, as do all Harvard SIGs through their Global Month of Service. We were impressed by some of the thought-provoking language in its mission statement, including "[commitment to] advance women's voices and perspectives. . . " and to "exercise leadership, help develop it in others, and work to broaden societal definitions of leadership and success to acknowledge the value of women's contributions everywhere." We share these priorities. For more about YaleWomen, see www.alumniconnections.com/olc/pub/YALE/cpages/yale/welcome.jsp?chapter=76 .

Some months ago, in a discussion about our future, Judith Singer, Senior Vice Provost for Faculty Development and Diversity, paid CEWH a compliment when she said that FD&D had largely taken over the work that CEWH "so ably initiated." We are encouraged by the increase in tenured women faculty, junior women faculty, and the excellent work being done by FD&D to illuminate and work on concerns of women faculty.

But women's work is never done, and there are still unmet needs. Take the paucity of senior women faculty in the Medical Quad (16%), FAS Natural Sciences (13%) and Engineering (10%) [Office of the Senior Vice Provost, Faculty Development and Diversity, 2011 Annual Report]. A Harvard-RadcliffeWomen SIG, for example, could showcase women in science by sponsoring presentations of their research and other professional work across the country.

Please email us at cewh@world.std.com

• Send your comments on our proposal, which is on our website http://world.std.com/~cewh/, click on "What's New. "
• Add your name to our SIG membership list. We need a minimum of 50 alumnae/i -- undergraduate or graduate -- for the application. Please include your class and school.
• Volunteer to become actively involved as an officer or as a council member.

We look forward to your suggestions and your support as we continue to advance our mission.

Office of Faculty Development and Diversity (FD&D)

As the "central faculty affairs office," it "oversees and guides institutional policies and practices in all areas of faculty affairs." (All quotations are from the Annual Report, 2011.) For example, FD&D "oversees initial faculty appointments from search authorization to accepted offer," "the quality of faculty members' experiences," "faculty review, retention, and promotion" policies and processes, and "support for pipeline programs."

CEWH has been engaged with the Office of FD&D since its inception in 2005. Officers of CEWH have met with Senior Vice Provost Judith Singer and Assistant Provost Liza Cariaga-Lo. In addition, the 2011 Annual Report cites "support from the CEWH Junior Faculty Mentoring Program" for activities and material focused on pre-tenure junior faculty women.

In this article, CEWH presents highlights from the Annual Report for members to consider as an indication of the standing of women faculty in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS), the body charged with the education of undergraduate and graduate students in the major divisions of the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, engineering and applied sciences. The Report provides no data about salary equity or inequity, granting of endowed chairs, committee assignments, or special services to students.

For other material concerning faculty, the Annual Report contains data on minorities and under-represented groups in the FAS faculty, as well as data on the Professional Schools. The entire Report is available on the following website: www.faculty.harvard.edu

Initially, the reader needs to know the meaning of key terms used in the report. "Ladder Faculty" refers to full-time professors, associate and assistant professors, and convertible instructors. The Report does not differentiate between tenured professors and other types of professors as the Schools have varying practices. "Ladder faculty" may mean tenured, or tenure-track, or other appointments of professors. "Tenure-track" positions encompass assistant and associate professors not yet tenured. "Senior" women means tenured full professors; "junior" means ranks below professor, not tenured. The Report does not contain separate charts for a gender breakdown of tenured professors, nor an indication of numbers of tenured professors in specific departments. Instead, the major academic divisions are used: humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, engineering and applied sciences.

In a chart for the Report, prepared by Nina Zipser, Dean for Faculty Affairs and Planning, we see the following numbers for FAS LADDER faculty by gender:

Fall, 2002: women 144, men 479
Fall, 2011: women 182, men 540

Dean Zipser notes that "over the last four years, women have made up between 25 and 26% of the ladder faculty. With respect to rank, women currently represent 22% of tenured faculty and 36% of tenure-track faculty. Concurrently, the ethnic composition of ladder faculty has also remained relatively constant over the last few years. Currently, 16% of the ladder faculty are minorities. With respect to rank, minorities make up 14% of tenured faculty and 24% of tenure-track faculty."

In a separate table of LADDER faculty, the Report presents the percentage of women faculty according to the major divisions of FAS from 2003-04 through 2011-12. An excerpt in the following chart indicates major trends.

FAS - Ladder Faculty, Percent Women

HUMANITIES

	2003-2004	2011-2012
Assistant Professors	34	41
Associate Professors	31	48
Professors	29	30

SOCIAL SCIENCES

	2003-2004	2011-2012
Assistant Professors	45	27
Associate Professors	40	52
Professors	21	25

NATURAL SCIENCES

	2003-2004	2011-2012
Assistant Professors	28	33
Associate Professors	0	32
Professors	13	18

ENGINEERING

	2003-2004	2011-2012
Assistant Professors	0	30
Associate Professors	14	20
Professors	7	9

To gain one kind of perspective on Harvard's percentages of women LADDER faculty, the Report presents comparative figures from approximately six leading peer institutions, chosen by Harvard, but not specifically identified with a name linked to a percentage. In Social Sciences, in junior ranks, Harvard is close to its peers, with only two of the six showing higher percentages. For the senior ranks, three show higher percentages than Harvard. In the Natural Sciences, the junior ranks show one institution far lower than Harvard, and one higher, with the others clustered around Harvard's percentage. In the senior ranks, three institutions reveal higher percentages than Harvard's, three others being close to Harvard's. In the Humanities, in junior ranks, five institutions are higher than Harvard's percentage. In the senior ranks, three are higher than Harvard's; two are lower, one is close. In Engineering, in the junior ranks, one is higher, but three are lower, and one is close to Harvard's percentage. In the senior ranks, five are higher than Harvard's percentage.

In terms of building the faculty of the future, Harvard has initiated a phased retirement plan. The Report reveals that "over the next four years, there will be a 56% increase in the number of retirements as compared with the last four years." Forty-eight tenured faculty have agreed to phased retirement, but the Report does not identify the departments in which vacancies will take place.

In a phone conversation, Dr. Cariaga-Lo stressed factors relevant to the future. She noted the good news that there are more women in senior ranks than ever before (in the entire University, from 164 in 2003-04 to 233 in 2011-12, a 42% increase). She talked about active mentoring programs for junior faculty, run by the FD&D Office, as described in the Report on its website. In addition, each department in FAS has mentoring plans to ensure that junior faculty get individualized attention. She added that fostering the "pipeline" is being done in several ways, among them, maintaining relationships with "feeder institutions" to encourage promising young scholars to enroll at Harvard. She observed that more work lies ahead in recruiting and retaining candidates beyond the Ph.D. level, especially in the sciences.

CEWH values the helpful, constructive work of the Office of FD&D, which augments other efforts besides those described in this article. In many ways, the Office advances the standing and presence of women faculty. As increasingly large numbers of women attend undergraduate and graduate schools, we look to them to provide an in-fusion of new talent and energy in academia and other professions.

Harvard College Women's Center

A longstanding connection has been that of CEWH with the Women's Center (HCWC). Former director Susan Marine facilitated many meetings enabling our members to understand the scope of the Center's mission and programs. A smooth transition last year led to a new director: Gina Helfrich, Ph.D. (Emory University), former assistant director of the Center, having a full knowledge of the Center's programs and resources.

• Workshop on running for undergraduate Student Council (Note: Many women aren't on the council because they don't choose to run for election, not because they aren't elected when they run)

• An introduction to women faculty for first-year students in August through a lecture by a star faculty member

• Talks by international women, women in national politics, authorities on pop culture

• Leadership projects and work shops, including a forum on "Women's Leadership at Harvard,' -- involving women leaders of student groups, -- moderated by Nannerl Keohane, past president of Wellesley College and Duke University, member of the Harvard Corporation

• Mentoring programs, particularly relevant to WISTEM (Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, where there is a need for increased funding for the mentoring)

A recent CEWH meeting featured a productive conversation with Lili Behm' 12, an intern at the Center, who provided a strong context for understanding the importance of the Center's work for her. "My work at the Women's Center has been very useful to me, both as a Harvard student and in gaining law school admission. I have learned effective team leadership skills, and, as a woman, it is important that I know how to lead, and be ready to lead in my career and my community once I leave Harvard this May. I have broadened my definitions of "feminism" and "gender equity" through my work here and my conversations with colleagues; my commitment to working within political channels to advance women's rights in America has not waned, but grown."

The Women's Center welcomes visits from alumnae/i and can work with reunion classes to plan events focused on the Center and its work.

For more information about the Women's Center, look at the website: http://hcwc.fas.harvard.edu

CEWH Correspondence

CEWH fulfills its mission of attention to matters pertaining to women at Harvard through letters to significant administrators or heads of relevant offices.

In advance of Harvard Magazine's issue marking the University's 375th anniversary, CEWH wrote to John Rosenberg, editor, urging inclusion of material about Radcliffe College and its place in educating women and paving the way into their full-scale integration into Harvard College. The effects of this transformation of the College into a truly coeducational institution deserved attention, as did the establishment of a Women's Center.

Mr. Rosenberg did not support our recommendation.

Accordingly, CEWH responded to the content in the 375th anniversary issue: "Missing from that sweeping overview . . .was an evaluation of the transformation of the College" as women enrolled in ever increasing numbers in the College and graduate schools. "The growth of college-educated and professionally prepared women is bound to have an effect on all aspects of the College experience, calling for reflection and assessment."

CEWH hopes to see such content in future issues of the Magazine.

When the University announced a search for a new dean of the Radcliffe Institute, it welcomed letters of recommendations. CEWH wrote to President Faust to remind the search committee of an original Governing Board's mission statement for the Institute (1999) and a subsequent recommendation by an Ad Hoc Committee for the implementation of the Institute (2000). Both of these bodies spoke about "Radcliffe's historic contributions to the education of women and to the study of issues related to women," with "continuing commitment to the study of women, gender, and society."

An additional historical underpinning for the Institute grew out of the initial Bunting Institute and the need to further "opportunities for women at Harvard and in the academy generally," a need reiterated by these words from the Ad Hoc Committee in 2000.

President Faust replied warmly and sympathetically to CEWH's letter. We await the appointment of a new dean in the hope that this will be a woman well versed in the academic environment at Harvard, who will exert imaginative, strong leadership to shape the Institute's future with relevance for women.

Since our Newsletter went out, Lizabeth Cohen has been appointed Dean of the Institute.

For those who wish to support the work of HCWC:

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 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
1350 Massachusetts Avenue, Suite 877
Cambridge, MA 02138

URL: http://world.std.com/~cewh/
April 2012