Date: Sat, 13 Apr 2002 18:08:32 -0400 (EDT)
To: aaswlist
stsci.edu
Subject: AASWOMEN for April 12, 2002
Cc: aaswomenstsci.edu
AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Weekly issue of 4/12/2002, ed. by Meg Urry and Patricia Knezek
This week's issues:
1. MIT completes ground-breaking studies
2. Time article and more discussion of the impact of career on
raising a family.
3. Three articles on tenure and women in academia
4. Articles on women in Physics World
5. France Cordova named Chancellor of UC Riverside
6. End of the print version of theWoman Astronomer
7. Former astronomers -- networking, anyone?
8. Request for quotes by women scientists
9. U.S. IUPAP Delegation ready to speak at your institution
10. Activities at the Upcoming HEAD/APS meeting in Albuquerque,
April 20-13
11. Women in Science Forum at Towson University
12. Director Sought for new Women's Center at Case
Western Reserve University
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1. MIT completes ground-breaking studies
On March 18, 2002, MIT released a follow-up report to its
ground-breaking 1999 report on the status of women faculty
in the School of Science, as well as first reports for the
four other MIT schools (Architecture and Planning; Engineering;
Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences; Sloan School of
Management). See the press release at:
http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/nr/2002/genderequity.html
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2. Time article and more discussion of the impact of career on
raising a family.
Several people wrote to tell us about this week's Time cover
story on how having a career may affect having children:
http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101020415/story.html
Ed. note: In my view (Meg Urry; meg.urryyale.edu) this
article was somewhat slanted and much too negative. For
example, in describing the statistics of childless women
in demanding professions, the unspoken assumption is that
those women all wanted to have children and could not because
they were infertile, while in fact, many may have chosen
not to have children. There are also no numbers about the
fraction of women over 40 who have healthy children. The
one number that does seem hard to get around -- and it is
horrible -- is that only 10% of women 42 or older can have
children with their own eggs. I found this quite surprising
and wonder if anyone knows more?
TIME so eagerly embraces the "slow down, don't be too
ambitious" message -- a very discouraging, negative message
for women -- that I am not sure I trust their objectivity.
Instead of the "women, beware" message, which they stress,
why don't they (or the author they are highlighting) say,
"Hey, businesses, you might lose some of these outstanding
women if they have to make a choice between children and work,
so get moving on making workplaces family friendly!" That's
my take on it.
For another, slightly more lighthearted reaction, see
Maureen O'Dowd's Op-Ed piece in the April 10 New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/10/opinion/10DOWD.html
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3. Three articles on tenure and women in academia
From the WIPHYS listserv:
These articles on Women Without Tenure appeared in the
Association for the Advancement of Science's online magazine,
Next Wave. They are written by Cathy Trower of the Harvard
Graduate School of Education (who was an author of the Harvard
Magazine article mentioned in a recent AASWOMEN):
http://nextwave.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2001/09/12/3
http://nextwave.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2002/01/24/7
(The Gender Sieve)
http://nextwave.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2002/03/18/3
(Why They Leave)
NextWave's homepage is
http://nextwave.sciencemag.org/feature/careercenter.shtml
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4. Articles in Physics World
PhysicsWorld has several articles of interest to women in physics.
See the Editorial, Points of View and Features sections of the
March 2002 issue at http://physicsweb.org/toc/world
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5. France Cordova named Chancellor of UC Riverside
Astrophysicist France Cordova has been named Chancellor of the
University of California at Riverside, effective July 1, the
first woman Hispanic chancellor in the UC system. Since 1996
Dr. Cordova has been a Professor of Physics and Vice Chancellor
for Research at the University of California at Santa Barbara.
Previously she served as Chief Scientist at the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration, advising Dan Goldin, and before that
chaired the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics at Pennsylvania
State University. She also served as deputy group leader of
the Space Astronomy and Astrophysics Group at Los Alamos National
Laboratory. For more details, see the Chronicle of Higher Education
for April 11, 2002, http://chronicle.com/daily/2002/04/2002041104n.htm
(subscription required).
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6. End of the print version of theWoman Astronomer
theWoman Astronomer has "officially" ceased publication.
For further details, please visit
http://www.womanastronomer.com/FTEMusings.htm
Thank you for your time. It has been a privilege and honor
to be of service.
Clear skies!
Debra L. Davis earthlink.net>
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7. Former astronomers -- networking, anyone?
From: Frances Verter verterdao.gsfc.nasa.gov
Astronomers seem to be the most networked scientific profession;
much more so than meteorologists and most other physics sub-fields.
[The CSWA maintains] a list of women in astronomy and the AAS
maintains a list of astronomers in industry.
I was wondering, do you think there is a need/desire for a list of
FORMER women in astronomy? ie: "Where are they now?"
With all the talk about the difficulty of juggling career vs family,
it might be of interest to review the life-tracks of women who left.
Personally, I left astronomy after my only child died of cancer.
It was not originally my intention to quit, but my career was
destroyed by spending months at a stretch in hospitals.
I felt that, so long as I was starting over, I'd switch fields too.
I now do statistical analyses of climate models (meteorology, or
Earth atmospheric science). This is more of a science contract job
than a research position, which affords me less pressure and more
time to raise a new family.
Sincerely,
ex-astronomer Fran Verter
NASA/GSFC Data Assimilation Office
http://www.his.com/fverter/NASA
"Life is what happens while you were busy making other plans"
-- John Lennon
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8. Request for quotes by women scientists
From: Patricia Reiff reiffalfven.rice.edu
My brother-in-law, Mac Davis, is Dean of Faculty at Gould Academy
(a private school in Bethel, Maine). Here's his request (you can
send your favorite quotes to me or directly to him):
We are opening our new science building in the fall. (Dava Sobel,
the author of "Latitude" and "Galileo's Daughter" is speaking).
Todd Siekman, the department chairman, just dropped by looking
for quotations by famous scientists, particularly women. These
are going to be engraved on slate plaques around the building.
Do you have any favorites or recommendations on sources?
Jay M. Davis (Mac)
Dean of Faculty, Gould Academy
Bethel, Maine 04217
207-824-7700
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9. U.S. IUPAP Delegation ready to speak at your institution
Names of US delegates to the recent International Conference
on Women in Physics (Paris, 7-9 March 2002) can be found at
http://www.aps.org/educ/cswp/index.html (under Links of Interest).
There are (limited) travel funds to support dissemination of
the results of this conference, so please consider inviting
one of them to speak to your insitution about the conference.
The primary purpose of the IUPAP conference, which was the
first international conference held on this topic, was to
understand the severe under-representation of women worldwide
and to develop strategies to increase their participation in
physics. More information on the conference can be found at
http://www.if.ufrgs.br/~barbosa/conference.html
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10. Activities at the Upcoming HEAD/APS meeting in Albuquerque,
April 20-13
COM/CSWP Reception: Sunday, April 21, 8-9:30 pm
If you are attending the APS meeting in Albuquerque, please
join us for a reception sponsored by the Committee on Minorities
and the Committee on the Status of Women in Physics on Sunday,
April 21 from 8-9:30 pm - dessert and wine will be served.
The event will be held in the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Room
Enchantment A. Open to all with an interest in women and
minorities in physics.
Networking Breakfast: Monday, April 22, 7-9 am
On Monday, April 22, CSWP will sponsor a networking breakfast
from 7-9 am in the Hyatt Regency Hotel. The speaker will be
Meg Urry, Yale University, who will report on the recent IUPAP
International Conference for Women in Physics (see item XXX).
Following her talk there will be a chance for discussion and
networking. Cost: $15 ($5 for students). You need not be
registered for the APS meeting to attend, however pre-registration
for the breakfast is strongly encouraged. Further information
at http://www.aps.org/educ/cswp/apr-breakreg.html
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11. Women in Science Forum at Towson University
From: Karen Schaefer kschaefertowson.edu
Towson University- Women in Science Forum 2002
Saturday, April 27, 2002
Website:
http://www.towson.edu/ours/ForumAgendaDraft1_2002.htm
Dear Colleagues,
I am writing to invite you to the Spring 2002 Forum
sponsored by the Towson University Women in Science
Program. The Forum provides an arena for science and
mathematics teachers, students interested in careers
in science and mathematics, and scientists and
mathematicians from academia and industry to meet,
network, and hear about the research work of nationally
known scientists and mathematicians.
We have a very exciting line-up of speakers this year.
Our keynote speaker is Dr. Jennie Hunter-Cevera, President
of the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute.
Dr. Hunter-Cevera will speak to us about "A Female Scientist's
Perspective: Being at the Wrong Place at the Right Time."
In addition, Dr. Judith Lean, a Solar-Terrestrial Research
Physicist at the Naval Research Lab, will discuss the global
importance of interactions between the sun and the earth.
Finally, Dr. Jodi Flaws of the Department of Epidemiology
and Preventive Medicine, University of Maryland School of
Medicine, will tell us about the way in which certain
environmental chemicals may damage the female reproductive system.
A boxed lunch will be served and we will break up into
smaller groups and have a panel discussion afterward.
We hope that you will be able to join us on April 27th.
Please pass this information along to others who might
also be interested in attending. We look forward to seeing
you at the Forum.
Sincerely,
Dr. Katherine J. Denniston kdennistontowson.edu
Associate Dean, College of Science and Mathematics
Towson University
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12. Director Sought for new Women's Center at Case
Western Reserve University
[Abbreviated text]
Case Western Reserve University seeks an individual to develop
and direct CWRU's new Women's Center. Responsibilities include program
development, generating interdisciplinary and/or disciplinary research,
teaching in the field of the Director's expertise, and working in
collaboration with other university constituents (e.g. faculty, students,
staff, development officers, alumni/ae), to address the concerns of
women and gender. Applicants must have a doctorate (or equivalent
terminal degree appropriate to their discipline), interdisciplinary
background in the study of gender, ethnicity/culture, class, and
must demonstrate a strong scholarly record of research and publishing.
Candidates with an appreciation for the issues surrounding gender and
science are particularly encouraged to apply. The successful candidate
will have the ability to support fund-raising efforts and donor relations.
The position will be filled as a faculty appointment, at a level of
assistant, associate or full professor, depending on qualifications.
Case Western Reserve University is the largest private research
university in Ohio, with broadly based strengths in engineering;
medicine, nursing, and dentistry; humanities and social sciences;
mathematics and natural sciences; law; management;and social work.
The University's 128-acre campus is the heart of Cleveland's University
Circle -- the region's cultural hub, home of more than 50 cultural,
medical, educational, religious, and social service institutions.
Qualified candidates should send a letter of interest, curriculum
vita, and contact information for three references to:
Elizabeth Jaszczak, Department of Human Resources
CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY
10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44106-7047
Fax (216) 368-4678 Email:eajpo.cwru.edu
For more information, contact Alice Bach (Associate Professor of Religion
and Chair, Womens Studies program, ahb5po.cwru.edu) or Anne Hiltner
(Professor of Macromolecular Science, pah6po.cwru.edu).
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