AAS Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy
Issue of June 17, 2005
eds. Patricia Knezek, Jim Ulvestad, & Lisa Frattare
This week's issues:
1. June 2005 STATUS
2. CSWA Activities at the June 2005 AAS Meeting
*** The following item was taken from WIPHYS ****
3. Contacts sought for comparative study
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4. How to submit, subscribe, or unsubscribe to AASWOMEN
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1. June 2005 STATUS
From: Fran Bagenal bagenal
colorado.edu
June 2005 STATUS:
In response to my article on GREs in the June STATUS I received an email
pointing out research on GRE scores and future success at
http://www.fairtest.org/facts/gre.htm
Note that because of delays in getting permissions to reproduce figures, the
printed version of the June issue of STATUS had some extra blank spaces. We
now have permission for these figures and will be posting a revised version
on the CSWA website shortly.
Fran Bagenal
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2. CSWA Activities at the June 2005 AAS Meeting
From: Patricia Knezek knezeknoao.edu
The CSWA, with the Employment Committee (EC), focused on dual-career couples
in Minneapolis this June. First, the CSWA and the EC co-sponsored a special
session on "Institutional Solutions to the Two-Body Problem". In step with
the national employment trend, for the majority of astronomers with partners,
those partners work outside the home. This is particularly true for female
astronomers, whose partners are usually professionals (and often other
astronomers). Academic and professional institutions that employ the
majority of astronomers are now beginning to recognize the importance of
addressing what has come to be known as the "two-body" problem in order to
attract and retain the best scientists. This first session highlighted a
few institutions that are making pioneering efforts to create pro-active
approaches to the issue of dual-career couples.
Dr. Karen Bjorkman (U. Toledo) moderated the session, which began with Dr.
Eileen Friel (NSF) giving an overview of the NSF ADVANCE program. The focus
of the ADVANCE program is to increase the participation and advancement of
women in academic science and engineering careers. Dr. Tammy Smecker-Hane
(U. California-Irvine) and Dr. Ellen Zweibel (U. Wisconsin-Madison) then
each spoke about the ADVANCE programs at their institutions, focusing on how
the ADVANCE program had been used to encourage recruitment and retention of
dual-career couples. Dr. Roberta Humphreys (U. Minnesota-Minneapolis), who
is now an Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, spoke of the efforts and
future plans to promote women in science and engineering at her institution,
which does not currently have an ADVANCE grant, again focusing on dual-career
couples. The CSWA has posted most of the speakers presentations off of the
CSWA website, see http://www.aas.org/~cswa/JUN05/ . Presentations are
available in pdf, and often in powerpoint as well. We plan to add notes on
the questions for the speakers and their answers in the near future.
Following the morning session discussed above, the CSWA held its own session
in the early afternoon. This session was also organized with the help of
the EC, and EC chair Dr. Andrea Schweitzer (Little Thompson Obs.) was the
moderator. It focused on the other side of the issue - how dual-career couples
have successfully approached the issue at institutions that do NOT have
proactive policies. We held a panel discussion with panel members that
represented various approaches dual-career couples have taken. The panel
members included Dr. Beverly Smith and Dr. Mark Giroux (both at East Tennessee
State U.), Grace Deming (U. Maryland) and CSWA chair Dr. Patricia Knezek
speaking for Dr. Tracy Clarke and Dr. Henrique Schmitt (both at Naval Research
Labs). After the panel members spoke, there was time for questions and
comments by the audience. As with the morning session, the CSWA will post a
summary of the panel members presentations, as well as notes on the questions
for the speakers, their answers, and audience discussion, off of the CSWA
website http://www.aas.org/~cswa/JUN05/ in the near future. We also plan to
include information for dual-career couples on the revamped CSWA web site
once that tranformation is complete.
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3. Contacts sought for comparative study
From: WIPHYS of June 15, 2005
At this point, I am very much interested in a comparative study of Women in
Science teaching in the University of Delhi and some eminent universities in
the US. I have looked into various reports and I feel considerably
encouraged that some of our areas of research are similar in terms of
looking at the Status of Women in Science teaching. However, there would be
cultural differences, understandably so. I am preparing an application for a
Fulbright post-doc grant which will make possible 6 to 9 months of fully
paid research time in the US, should I be found suitable for the award.
In this regard, I am keen to associate with a few select Universities in the
US in establishing the basis for a comparative research. I would appreciate
if you can help me identify a contact person or a team who might help me to
establish a comparative enquiry. Should I get the grant, there will be no
cost to the host Institution.
Dr. (Ms) Sumitra Mohanty Chakrabarti
Reader, Dept. of Physics
KiroriMal College
Univ.of Delhi Gurgaon,
Haryana 122002, India
sumitra_mohantyyahoo.com
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