Committee Meeting Minutes

 

Minutes for Executive Council and General Membership Meeting – 11/16/12 133 O'Kelly

Present: Kathy Dixon, Cindy Prescott, Janet Rex, Cassandra Scherr, David Whitcomb, Liz Legerski, Yvette Koepke, Roni Mayzer, Kyle Conway, Nikki Berg-Burin, Wendy Hume, Chris Stoner

• Old BusinessProposed changes to the bylaws

1. These were passed by the Executive Council during the last meeting and will now be sent out    electronically for a general vote.   Once posted to our general members they will have one week for discussion. After that their vote is due.

• New Business
  • Director's Report

1. 1. Majors and Minors
      1. Our major and minors list is on the rise and by spring 2013 we are projected to have 15 students declared.
   2. Online Courses
      1. We are considering offering online classes both to increase our online presence and make our classes more easily available to our students.
   3. Past events
      1. We have had a number of successful events over the past semester including the Expo, our appearance in the homecoming parade, the Day of the Girl, 30 years of Women's Studies Event with Sharon Rezac Andersen and the film Out at Work.

Committee Reports

• Academic Events

1. 2013 Red River Women's Studies Conference
   1. This will be hosted at the UND Memorial Union on Oct 4th
   2. The theme will be R/Evolution to continue our theme of change from WS to WGS.
   3. This event will need to have its own committee and that needs to be formed asap.
   4. Our hope is to get a few more visible speakers such as Heidi Heitkamp
      1. This is something we would be willing to partner with other departments and programs.
   5. If possible we would like to signal the overarching changes, including the expansion to International women studies/feminism/scholarship, gender/sexuality studies and Women in science.
      1. Also we would like to include aspects of Women's Activism & include community interests.
   6. Publications- do we want to come up with some kind of online publication or eBook? This aspect will be overseen by Kyle

• Student Relations Committee

1. They are working on a student recruitment poster program
   1. Also interested in starting a "I need Feminism Because..." post card project. The current idea is that this could be a table/booth we set up to honor a chosen date/event.
      1. There are a number of dates coming up when this could be done
         1. Women's history month
         2. International women's day
   2. Need ideas for a student appreciation event

• Development Committee

1. What kinds of program funding are we looking for?

• University and Community Relations

1. The new logo contest dates have been extended to mid Jan-2013
2. New posters are being made and put up for this – Chris has already designed the poster it just needs to be printed and distributed.

• Curriculum Committee

1. Still in the process of getting WGS 225 Intro to the Study of Women revalidated.
   1. The goal is to have this coded as an global diversity course
   2. Application for this is due in January

• Member Relations Committee

1. Two new people where recommended by the committee for Affiliates status
   1. David Lawrence (philosophy and religion dpt.)
      1. Membership was put to a vote by Kathy Dixon and seconded by Chris Stoner
      2. Approved unanimously for affiliate status
   2. Ann Reed (Anthropology dpt.)
      1. Membership was put to a vote by Kathy Dixon and seconded by Chris Stoner
      2. Approved unanimously for affiliate status
2. Need ideas for events for members and Affiliates
   1. Both Information gathering and questionnaires based events
   2. As well as an events to celebrate our members and affiliates

Meeting adjourned at 1:25pm

 

Executive Council and General Meeting 

Date: April 13, 2012

Time: 2:00 pm

Location: O'Kelly Hall Room 119

Opening:

Kathy Dixon presented Azizah with an award in recognition of her services for WGS recruitments, International Women's Day

Announcements:

• New program title – "Women and Gender Studies" and course prefix - "WGS"
• PAC-W Banquet, actual start at 11:00 am with the panel discussion at 12:00 pm, in the Union River Valley Room, Wednesday April 25, 2012
• Recruitment – is ongoing, students coming into the office will be notified of WGS minor requirements, cross listed courses, etc.

• Melissa Gjellstad will give Faculty Lecture, titled "When MEn Speak: Masculinities and Fathering in Millennial Norwegian Literature," and will be presented on Thursday, April 19th at the North Dakota Museum of Art.  A reception will start at 4:00 pm, followed by the lecture at 4:30 pm.   

• Interdisciplinary Lecture Series: "Virginia Woolf and Women Historians of the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries" by Audrey Johnson, University of South Carolina, Sumter Thursday, April 26. 4:00 PM East Asia Room - Chester Fritz Library
• Kate Bornstein – key note speaker, Saturday 4 pm, Gamble Hall, April 21st, LBTQA Conference

Work with by-laws:

• Challenging to keep up with number of meetings and commitments

Approval of Minutes:

• Meeting notes from the December 1, 2011 General Meeting
• Correction on the second page, eliminate items 6 & 7 and add Student Relations Committee to list

Revisit by-laws votes:

• Need to be revised because of unrealistic time commitments demanded

Funds for an iPad logo contest prize has been provided

Funds for essay contest provided from G.K. Braun – Schultz, Glinda Crawford, and Sandra Donaldson

Committee Reports:

• Development Committee:
  • support for programing through grant writing,fund raising for the WS Essay contest
  • administration of the Women Scholars Endowment
  • Kyle Conway interest in grant writing as he did for Red River Valley WS Conference at UND two years ago
  • Payroll deduction for essay contest prizeWomen Scholars Endowment – restrictions, donors
• Academic Events:
  • Winners are selected for the essay contest: Stacy Hallick, Chloe Spicer, Kirby Lund, and Tanya Vaskivska
  • Conversations ongoing about how contest should change, change the scope and focus? Broaden to gender?
• Curriculum Committee:
  • High priority items – Essential studies revalidation, WGS 225, special emphasis on US diversity, working with Joan Hawthorne and Kathy Dixon, granted provisional status so that actual revalidation can happen next year
  • Need to determine how to frame report and how to use student assessment data, more difficult than anticipated
  • An assessment plan is needed, working on both things, working toward drafting the learning goals, committee will develop goals that will go to executive council then to the general meeting, compliance with institutional mandate and with the WGS goals
• Student Relations Committee:
  • Met three times
  • Figure out ways to improve recruitment – target smaller classes, Global Women's Day panel, give chocolates out at the table, 13 people signed up, Women's Center garners interest in women's issues
  • New flyers and cross list document for recruitment
  • Everyone can take an advisor role when Kathy Dixon is gone to assist students with finding courses toward a WGS minor
  • Students benefit from a WGS minor in combination with any area of study
  • Target advisors as a way to reach students – next semester
• University Relations Committee:
  • Timeline of transition to WGS – ensuring all labeling is updated
  • Focus on expansion rather than change
  • Office purchase a copy of the book Transforming Scholarship: Why Women's and Gender Studies Students are Changing Themselves and the World by Berger and Radeloff
  • Advertising campaign: R/EvolutionNDGLBTQA Conference – WGS table
• Members Relations Committee:
  • Met three times in person, numerous times electronically
  • Invites sent to various faculty
  • U-Letter announcement drafted
  • Honor Sandy Donaldson, High Tea, NDMOA, cost is $10 at the door, on Reading & Review Day
  • Blackboard site with updated members and affiliates list
  • Recommendation for Director reappointment
  • Drafted proposed amendments to the by-laws on Blackboard

Kathy Dixon Review & Recommendation for Reappointment:

Advisory Vote: 12/12 Voting to Support Recommendation from Member Relations Committee and the Women and Gender Studies Executive Council to support the reappointment of Dr. Kathleen Dixon as Program Director for an additional term

By-law amendment summaries:

• 5.5.2.3 – Evaluation/Recommendation Regarding Executive Council Director Reappointment5.5.2.2 – Committee review of faculty teaching Women and Gender Studies course

Feedback:

• *Ensure requirements that at least meet the requirements of the College of Arts and Sciences
• *Member impressions were generally favorable during discussion of the amendments

Matters Arising

North Dakota Quarterly

Adjournment

WGS Member Relations Committee Meeting

DATE: February 29, 2012

LOCATION: Archives Coffee House

TIME: 3:30-5:00PM

Present: Roni Mayzer, Jeff Langstraat, Lana Rakow, Janet Rex

1) Responsibilities of Member Relations Committee

• Reviewed the Bylaws (section 5.5.2) to understand the committee's role

2) New Members and Affiliates

• Reviewed the Bylaws for member/affiliate rolesDiscussed a U-Letter announcementJeff will draft one by next weekMade plans to contact those who have already expressed interestRoni - M.L and M.M.Lana – L.G.Discussed contacting programs, organizations, and centers where we might also seek programmatic affiliation to recruit members/affiliatesRoni will talk to University & Community Relations about this at the next Executive Council meetingDiscussed promoting the libraryJanet provided some materials for distribution to WGS members/affiliates, and will email those to Roni (who will pass it along to the WGS office)Discussed asking for a list of current members/affiliates – and collecting copies of members/affiliates' CVs so as to better know our members, their areas of expertise, etc.Roni will propose this at the next Executive Council meetingPlanned to work on a Blackboard user site to share materials with members/affiliates, make announcements, etc.

3) Program Director Elections and Performance Review

• Reviewed the Bylaws for electionsDiscussed how to conduct an evaluation of the current directorWill ask Director for materials that address the administrative responsibilities outlined in section 4.1 of the bylaws; in the future, will also solicit a copy of the annual report

4) Future Meeting Dates

• The next meeting will be at 3:30PM on Wednesday March 21 at Archives Coffee HouseBefore then, Roni will find out when WGS will hold its general meeting and have elections/reappointment added to the agendaRoni will ask about this at the next Executive Council MeetingDiscussed the possibility of holding a mixer to encourage active membership (e.g., a WGS Night) Roni will ask about this at the next Executive Council Meeting

 

University & Community Relations Committee Meeting

Date: February 29, 2012

Present: C. Stoner, M. Fredericks, P. McIntyre

1) Committee started with discussion of the program change from WS to WGS

2) Were unsure of the timeline as to when the actual change would take place – website, email, etc. are still tied to WS

3)Stoner suggested that advertising should focus on program expansion as opposed to change – all of the offerings under WS will be retained, with new offerings added as it transitions to WGS

 4) Focus on promoting benefits to students – Stoner suggested that WGS office purchase a copy of a book from Routledge that presents some of the many benefits of including WGS with other disciplines, couldn’t remember the title

 [The book is Transforming Scholarship: Why Women’s and Gender Studies Students are Changing Themselves and the World by Berger and Radeloff]

 5) Fredericks suggested focusing late spring and summer advertising at advising centers so they can be informed as they are helping students chose classes for the fall. Fredericks provided a list of possible advising centers to consider.

6) Stoner suggested an advertising campaign around the theme of R/Evolution – Revolution relating to the history of the program, WS programs originating out of important feminist activism, etc. and Evolution relating to the addition of Gender Studies to the program as a natural evolution of the field to include more diverse points of view, give additional theoretical foundations, etc.

7) There was discussion of WGS having a table at the NDGLBTQA Conference in April to advertise program change, talk about ways that sexuality might be included in the new scope of the program

8) Matters Arising

9) Aziza talked about the tabling in the Union that was happening on March 8^th related to International Women’s Day, as well as the panel discussion at the International Centre.

10) We briefly mentioned that Stoner would be meeting the next week with D. Jayasundara, chair of the Student Relations Committee to discuss the Logo contest and how to approach that between the two committees.

 

Report from Development Committee Meeting

We met in person & by email from 11-12 April 2012: K. Conway, S. Donaldson, S. Wilsnack.

There are three distinct projects we are addressing: 1) support for programing through grant writing (Conway), fund raising for the WS Essay contest (Donaldson and Wilsnack), and administration of the Women Scholars Endowment (Donaldson).

Kyle described his interest in an email report, focusing on grant writing for specific projects, as he had done for the Red River Valley WS Conference at UND two years ago. We'll be hosting the conference some time in the near future, so his work in this area is very important.

Funding for essay contest prizes is usually touch and go, but we have the option of payroll deduction for university employees (others may make direct contributions to the WGS program through the director). Sandy will set up the machinery for affiliates and others who wish to use payroll deduction, which may be done in any way a donor wishes: for persons paid semi-monthly, $5 from each check, is $10 a month, which amounts to $90 for 9 month employees and $120 for 12 month. At that rate if only 4 people sign up we'll have the funds to make the contest awards. If more sign up, the program can do more. Sandy and Sharon will work on publicizing this option and contacting individuals who would likely be interested in supporting the program in this way.

With Sandy retiring, we discussed the continuation of the Women Scholars Endowment, which she administers through the UND Foundation. Its mission is to support research and scholarship by women students and faculty (making it problematic as a source for essay contest prizes, which are not limited by gender). We have not had a board of directors / donors to determine how to use the income from the investments (there is around $5000 for disbursement; the endowment itself is almost $12,000). Sandy and Sharon will contact individuals who would likely be interested in supporting the program in this way, as donors, and from that list, as board members. The Endowment is distinct from the Program; it's in the name of Friends of Women Studies. Donations may be made in any amount at any time.