Spring 2012 - Clarion University

I
hummed Holly Near’s song, Something About the Women to the beat of Frank Takei’s hammer building
bookcases for the book donations that were flowing in. I sang the lyrics aloud, “Something about the
women…um hmm, something about the women in my life” to the squeaks of Bob Rath’s rubbing to refinish
a table top. We had dragged two antique library tables and a black naugahyde couch four seats wide over from
Davis.
Students volunteered to perform clerical duties until Sue Lemmon, whiteout and marker artist
extraordinaire, was assigned as our secretary. She called me “Deb-Woman” and I answered, “Yes, Sue-Woman”
Tom Gusler made sure we had a window air conditioner and some new carpet, not too pink but admittedly
in that color spectrum--I could not resist. Numbers of students let me know that not all women relate to pink,
and Sylvia Stalker rejected it completely. Thanks to April
Katz, who organized regular student art exhibits in our
space, we looked to the walls and carried on. We forged
many strong alliances across campus, including an
unwavering friendship with the Presidential Commission
on the Status of Women.
WoRking
in
hanD hanD
Jeanne M. slattery, Ph. D.
Psychology and Wgs advisory council
The Presidential Commission on the Status of Women
(PCSW) and the Women and Gender Studies Program (WGS)
have a long history of working well together. Although the
PCSW and WGS programs each had its own initiatives, it was
often difficult to tell which were WGS initiatives and which were
primarily the product of the PCSW. One group’s ideas, sweat
and budget often supported the other’s initiatives, leading to
the increased success of both groups.
The WGS program had its own steering committee,
but throughout much of its history the PCSW has acted like
the WGS Action Committee (as opposed to its Curriculum
Committee). The PCSW has had a broad mission. We support
feminist scholarship and research in fields that are nontraditional
for women. We have offered programs to mentor women faculty
toward tenure and promotion, as well as a series of workshops
to prevent sexual assault. Other groups on campus have
picked up these programs. Now there are mentoring programs,
promotion workshops offered for all faculty and Public Safety
offers Rape Aggression Defense Systems (RADS) workshops
regularly. We have developed programs to address sexism
and racism in the media, produced a series of posters to raise
awareness about -- and decrease -- sexual violence, and
offered programs on women’s health. We organized a day-long
retreat on globalizing the curriculum and wrote articles for an
issue of Hand-in-Hand on social justice. We sponsor students
and faculty interested in attending leadership retreats offered
at the state level. We bring in poets, scientists and artists to
create a community where feminist scholarship is valued, and
where women’s scholarly pursuits and scholarship of women is
supported. We buy books and videos on issues related to our
mission, placing them in Clarion University’s library.
Clearly, PCSW members have systematically,
thoughtfully-- and with considerable discussion -- worked to
foster an environment where women at all levels can safely work,
grow and succeed. Although our primary mission was to make
change at a university level, the group also encouraged its
members to grow and thrive. Our first retreats at the Clarion River
Lodge—later offered in other venues—were very helpful. I found
a like-minded and supportive community, began to imagine
what we could do to make change, and developed the skills to
put those ideas into action.
Clarion University has recognized our leadership role in
creating a more equitable climate by giving the PCSW its Equity
Award on two occasions (1998 and 2001). Further, a number of
the PCSW’s leaders and members have received Equity Awards
(e.g., Deb Burghardt, Jeanne Slattery, and Sylvia Stalker), and
we have successfully nominated students, groups and community
members who have worked with us on equity issues (e.g.,
Moniqua Williams, Janice Horn, and Pat McFarland). Receiving
these awards, though, was not just an honor, but part of our work
to make the university a place where women’s ideas, energies
and scholarship were recognized and valued.
The PCSW and its members have been passionate
supporters of equity issues at Clarion University. We expect that
the PCSW will continue to work hand in hand with the WGS
for years to come to create a fairer, safer climate at Clarion
University.
14