Six-member working group to discuss fate of Office of Women’s Affairs today

The working group that will determine the fate of the Office of Women’s Affairs meets today.

“It’s going to be a candid discussion about what the office currently does and what we might be able to do more effectively,” said Catherine Dyar, chief of staff of the Office of the Provost.

The committee’s first meeting is closed to the general public because of the need to promote candid discussion and to allow for brainstorming. Dyar said she was unable to comment about a timetable for the working group’s decision-making process or why the Office of the Provost decided to reevaluate the role of the Office of Women’s Affairs.

Six women, representing different facets of the University, are serving on the committee. Dyar said committee members were selected because of their experiences with OWA and with women’s issues on campus.

Interim Provost Lauren Robel announced the members of the committee at the Bloomington Faculty Council meeting March 20. Robel said the group’s goal is to make recommendations to assure the campus provides the strongest, most effective services for female faculty, staff and students.

The members of the committee are Carolyn Calloway-Thomas, communication and culture professor and president of the Bloomington Faculty Council; Krystie Herndon, a three-year member of the OWA Staff Advisory Board; Julia Lamber, interim executive associate dean and former dean of OWA; Catherine Pilachowski, astronomy department chair and former interim dean of OWA; Beth Plale, computer science professor and Women in Science Program board member; and Jean Robinson, executive associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, former interim dean of OWA and former director of the Women’s Studies Program.

At a previous OWA faculty advisory board meeting, Dean of OWA Yvette Alex-Assensoh discussed how the advisory committee’s decision could impact the office. She said she hoped the committee would not just focus on the work the office does with the Women in Science Program but would look at all the new programs OWA members have developed during the last four years for women on campus.

Alex-Assensoh said she was concerned about OWA’s staff being treated fairly and maintained throughout the process, and she said she hoped the committee would have diverse representation and thoroughly analyze all of the office’s initiatives.

“We’re the front door for whatever the issue is,” Alex-Assensoh said. “Women come here first.”