SLIPPERY ROCK UNIVERSITY PRESIDENTIAL COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN

MISSION STATEMENT:  The President's Commission on the Status of Women seeks the total participation and equitable reception of all women ( students, staff, faculty, administration ) in all facets of the university.  Such participation and reception may include but not be limited to classrooms that acknowledge women as learners worthy of faculty's best professional efforts, a campus that regards the safety of the female community as a high priority, access to professional opportunities and advancement that recognizes the multiple roles played by women, a curriculum which reflects that contributions of women to the construction of knowledge and departments and administrative areas in which women are no longer a minority.

In other words, the mission of the President's Commission on the Status of Women is to lead as well as support efforts to develop a university community that is indeed providing a high quality academic experience in an environment that is not only open, caring, nurturing and personal, but also fair and respectful.

GOALS:  The goals of the Commission consist of addressing the following fifteen guidelines through the collection, review, and recommendation process.

RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE ACE COMMISSION ON WOMEN IN HIGHER EDUCATION

1. Demonstrate a strong commitment to understanding and addressing the concerns of women students, faculty, staff, and administrators.

2. Identify and correct inequities that may exist in hiring, promotion, tenure, and salary of women faculty, administrators, and staff.

3. Provide a supportive campus climate for women in the classroom and in employment settings.

4. Establish or reaffirm an institutional commitment to women's studies.

5. Review university policies for their effect on minority women and majority women.

6. Support a university planning process that addresses at each stage the question of impact on minority women and majority women.

7. Review/develop and implement effective policies to address the problem of sexual harassment.

8. Prepare an annual report for the total university community.

9. Initiate a campus values inventory intended to examine value issues that continue to prevent the inclusion of women in certain areas of university life.

10. Develop policies, procedures, and programs that support children and families in the broadest sense.

11. Promote activities that demonstrate the value of diversity to the campus life.

12. Make leadership development and commitment to fostering women's leadership joint priorities.

13. Establish or reaffirm the commitment to a Commission on Women.

14. Appoint a high-level person whose formal responsibilities include advocacy for women on campus.

15. Provide leadership in fostering an environment that encourages the discussion of and attention to sex equity issues.

STRUCTURE:  The structure of the Commission will take the following form.

1. The commission, which reports to the President, should be broadly representative of the University, including faculty, students, staff, and administrators.

2. Through welcomed to attend all meetings, the President should meet with the Commission at least once a semester to review with the group its progress.

3. The chair shall be selected by the Commission's members from the membership in the early spring semester, no later than March, of the second year of the chair's term and shall begin her/his term in September.  The term of the chair shall be two years.

MEMBERSHIP:  To secure members, a general solicitation for those interested in serving on the Commission shall be sent to faculty, staff, and students.  A membership committee, comprised of Commission members, will work cooperatively with the President to identify members from those who have indicated an interest and may have some expertise in addressing the goals of the Commission.  The membership committee and the President will jointly appoint members with membership renewable on a bi-annual basis.  Members may serve no more than two consecutive terms.  Members who have served two consecutive terms may reapply for appointment after a two-year term off the Commission.  Terms of membership will be staggered and last for two years.  Membership on subcommittees may include friends of the Commission not serving active terms.

Membership shall range from a minimum of eighteen members to a maximum of twenty-two and be distributed in the following manner: 1) at least seven faculty broadly representative of the college including ALA (Academic Support Services, Library, Counseling Center, and Administrative Faculty); 2) at least seven members from staff, at least two of whom shall be secretaries and at least two of whom shall be custodial staff; 3) a minimum of three students, at least one of whom is a graduate student; 4) the remaining members, one to five, shall be selected from the university community at-large, preferably from the targeted populations; and 5) the Director of Social Equity, the Director of Women's Studies, the supervisor of the Women's Center, the campus contact for the PA SSHE Women's Consortium, the chair of the APSCUF gender issues committee, the president of AFSCME, the campus representative for SCUPA and the president of APSCUF shall serve as ex-officio members, beyond the maximum of twenty-two members.  At least two-thirds of the membership shall be women.

OPERATION:  The operation of the Commission will adhere to the following recommendations.

1. Because of the number and complexity of the recommended guidelines, the Commission each year will target selected guidelines for attention, collection of data, review, and recommendations to more SRU closer to the stated guidelines.

2. The data collection procedures identified or developed throughout the Commission's work should thereafter become part of the institutional practice.

3. The Commission should generate an annual report reflecting the year's focus, activities, and recommendations for submission to the President.

4. The commission should meet monthly during the regular school year to review progression on identified target areas.

ATTENDANCE/PARTICIPATION POLICY:  Members must attend at least two Commission meetings each year and participate in at least one Commission subcommittee.  Attendance at at least 25% of the subcommittee meetings is expected, in addition to performing duties and responsibilities for that subcommittee outside of the meetings.  Although the Commission term is two years, if at the end of the first year, a member has not met the requirements listed above, she/he may be replaced at the discretion of the membership committee.