Annual Report 2018-2019

Download a PDF version of the Annual Report

The Commission’s year was comprised of two full commission meetings, monthly Executive Committee Meetings, celebrations of the “Extraordinary Ordinary Women of MSU,” hosting events led by Dr. Anna Kirkland, and regular sub-committee meetings.  The Committee continues to track its progress on its Strategic Plan and provide positive and necessary guidance to the University Community regarding ensuring an atmosphere of equity, support and balance.

The major accomplishments this year are reiterated in the committee reports (see below), but in summary are:

• Celebrated the Extraordinary Ordinary Women of Montana State University in conjunction with the 125^th anniversary of MSU.
• Hosted Dr. Anna Kirkland who led discussions and lectured on sexual harassment in the academy.
• Presented Faculty/Staff Award to Dr. Nika Stoop.
• Presented Student Awards to Jamie Baird and Dana Kramer.
• Collected a seventh round of responses for the annual “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Self-Study” from all academic departments and many units at MSU-Bozeman.

The following information about additional progress made this year:

            Committee Reports

                      Communications Committee

                      Recognition Committee

                      Assessment Committee

                      Policy Review Committee

                       125^th Event Ad-Hoc Committee (Extraordinary Ordinary Women of MSU)

                      Dr. Anna Kirkland Events (NASEM Impacts of Sexual Harassment in Academic Science, Engineering and
                        Medicine Committee)

           Accomplishments/Progress on the Strategic Plan

Communications Committee Report

Committee Members:

• Chair: Yvonne Rudman – Outreach Coordinator, TechLink
• Deb Redburn – Communications Specialist, EHHD
• Nika Stoop - Center for Faculty Excellence; ADVANCE
• Stephanie Wilson – Graduate Student
• Kay LaFrance – University Communications

The Communications Committee has worked to broaden PCOSUW outreach by expanding participation in its sponsored events to include more undergraduate and graduate students, administrators, staff, and faculty involvement and community exposure. The Communications Committee has accomplished this through employing multiple communication avenues including more robust use of the PCOSUW website and Facebook page.  Through working with University Communications, PCOSUW event advertisements were displayed on the MSU homepage banner, in MSU Today announcements,  and in a recorded interview of our guest lecturer in @MontanaState. The Communications Committee also promoted these events through targeted emails to student clubs, widely distributed event posters and postcards, newspaper coverage, ASKUS display cases in the SUB, and on the football stadium electronic scoreboard. In 2018-19 the Commission’s promoted events resulted in thousands of participants and observers for the MSU 125^th Anniversary Extraordinary Ordinary Women events in November 2018 and the Spring 2019 PCOSUW event: Sexual Harassment- Improving Academia’s Campus and Climate and Culture. 

 Back to Top

Recognitions Committee Report

Committee Members:

• Chair: Betsy Danforth--Director, MSU Women’s Center
• Marilyn Lockhart--Director, Center for Faculty Excellence
• Ariel Donohue—Senior Diversity and Inclusion Officer
• Leila Sterman—Scholarly Communication Librarian
• John Paxton—Director, Gianforte School of computing
• Lizzy Thompson—Student; ASMSU Vice President

 Accomplishments

• Reached out to individuals and departments not previously represented in faculty/staff nominee pools, but had lower number of nominees (5) and applicants (4). Concern: having all faculty/staff award nomination announcements for Spring Convocation coming out at the same time may be overwhelming?  Need to do more individual follow-up with faculty and staff to encourage them to nominate their peers.
• Reached out to more student organizations and individuals and received record number of student nominations (14) and applications (10)!
• Worked with Julie Heard once again to add the following statement to MSU’s for all faculty/staff award nominations on the MSU Today homepage:
  • “In the interest of retaining, supporting, and recognizing women and diverse community members of Montana State University, and in the interest of inclusiveness, the President’s Commission on the Status of University Women encourages the nomination of a diverse pool of deserving faculty and staff for these awards.” 

• Chose faculty/staff award winner Nika Stoop for her incredible work on the PCOSUW—especially the 125 EOW event! ($2,000 award presented at Spring Convocation)
• Chose student award winners Jamie Baird and Dana Kramer (2/ $500 awards to be presented at Day of Student Recognition, April 11^th).
  • These awards are traditionally presented by President Cruzado if she is available OR the PCOSUW Co-chairs if she is not. Recognitions Chair can also present the awards.

 Future committee initiatives 

• Continue to prepare and distribute calls for faculty/staff and student PCOSUW Award nominations
• Follow up with individuals and departments about the call for nominations (we had a record number this year from these efforts) and highlight the validity of this unique award.

 Back to Top

Assessment Committee Report

Committee Members:

• Chair: Ian Handley – Associate Professor, Psychology
• Graham Austin – Associate Professor, Business
• Becca Belou – Planning and Analysis; Co-chair, PCOSUW
• Kandi Gresswell – Associate Registrar
• Joy Honea - Dept. Co-Chair, Social Sciences & Cultural Studies; Professor, Sociology (MSU-B)
• Bryce Hughes – Assistant Professor, Education
• Kristen Intemann – Professor, Philosophy
• Abigail Richards – Associate Professor, Chemical and Biological Engineering; Chair-elect, Faculty Senate
• Sara Rushing – Associate Professor, Political Science
• Liz Shanahan – Associate Professor, Political Science
• Monica Skewes– Associate Professor, Psychology
• Leila Sterman – Assistant Professor, Library; Chair, Women’s Faculty Caucus
• Nika Stoop - Center for Faculty Excellence; ADVANCE 

Accomplishments

The team evaluated diversity self-study reports from all of units to identify trends and examine progress. The team just completed personalizing every academic unit’s 2018 diversity self-study and sending out individual invitations to each department chair. All remaining unit supervisors on campus received an online version of the diversity self-study in coordination with VP-level offices.  Now in its 7^th year, the diversity self-studies are an important tool aimed at fostering unit-wide conversations about diversity, equity, and inclusion. 

Policy Committee Report

Committee Members:

• Chair:  Emily Stark – Director, Office of Institutional Equity
• Susanne Cowen – Chair, Women’s Faculty Caucus and Assistant Professor, School of Architecture
• Anna Elliott – Assistant Professor, Health & Human Development
• Stephanie Wilson – Graduate Student Representative
• Lizzy Thompson – ASMSU Vice President

The Policy Committee oversees the policy review portal, which is available for anyone to submit concerns that related to diversity and gender equality specific to institutional policies. In addition, the Policy Committee monitors all policies coming before University Counsel, submitting comments as needed. The Committee is also available to provide guidance on policies in process.

The Policy Committee is still seeking members from both PCOSUW and externally.

 Back to Top

125th Event Committee Report

In celebration of MSU’s 125^th anniversary in 2018, the PCOSUW honored women leaders, problem solvers and innovators from today and throughout MSU’s history. The list of 125 honorees were selected from almost 400 nominations from across the state for women who have had an impact on the status of women at MSU and are inspiring or have inspired others by their example. The living honorees and representatives for the deceased honorees were invited with their families to a celebration on November 2, 2018 followed by an appearance on the field at the football game on November 3, 2018.

Committee  Members:                                                           

• Chair:  Nika Stoop - Center for Faculty Excellence;
• Terry Bradley - Student Director of Diversity and Inclusion
• Betsy Danforth - Women’s Center
• Jaynee Groseth - Alumna
• Brett Gunnink - Dean, Engineering
• Kerry Hanson & Jennifer Poser - Alumni Foundation
• Marilyn Lockhart & Nika Stoop - Center for Faculty Excellence
• Micah McFeely - Vice-President, ASMSU
• Celia O'Connor - Alumna
• Yvonne Rudman - TechLink

Goals:  Inspire women to be leaders, problem solvers, and innovators

• Provide a space to reflect and put in context – past, present, future, and on-campus and off-campus
• Celebrate accomplishments and recognize all types of success

Nominations

Nominations were solicited from around the state through the Collegian from the MSU Alumni Foundation, MSU News, posters sent to extension offices, PCOSUW Facebook page, MSU twitter, and media coverage. We received 387 nominations for 236 women from across the state and the country. Nominations were open from March 29 – May 15^th. 

Honoree Selection and Communications

125 women were selected by a committee that included current MSU staff members, students and faculty as well as MSU alumnae. The honorees and their nominators were notified with an email letting them know that they had been chosen and asking if they would accept the honor. We also asked them save-the-date for the celebration and football game. On July 16^th, we published the names of the honorees on the PCOSUW website (http://www.montana.edu/125women) and sent an email to honorees and nominators to let them know it was available. The profiles were then developed for all 125 women with photos and sent to the honorees or their representatives for their approval. These profiles were used on the website and for the installation in the Library (see below).

Sponsors

Elizabeth Barnes, Special Assistant to the Dean of Engineering and Melissa Dulin, Senior Director of Development worked together to engage 6 corporate sponsors and Dean Gunnink worked with 10 MSU sponsors for a total of 16 sponsors, raising $36,500 for the events. Depending on the level of sponsorship, sponsors were offered tickets to the luncheon and football game and recognition at the events and on the webpage.

Materials

Video: MSU Communications created a 1 min and 30 sec video about the recognition of the 125 women ( 1 min version on YouTube). They were used to advertise the list of women and to recognize the women who were on the field for the football game.

Website: The website was designed in collaboration with MSU Web & Digital Communications to feature the video, information about the project and the list of honorees. The 125 Women homepage continues to describe the project and the profiles are available from that page.

Installation: From October 19^th – November 9^th, an installation was displayed in several locations in the Library including across from the coffee shop, in the display case, the cyberwall, the Open Collections near the cyberwall and in Special Collections on the 2^nd floor. The display in the atrium included photos of the women and their names. Beside the exhibit, was a computer with an interface that allowed users to explore the profiles. Learn more and see photos… 

Trading Cards: Trading cards were created for each of the 125 women and complete packs were printed. We used these cards as advertisement for the installation and placed them on the tables at the celebration. Packs and individual cards were then available for the honorees if they wanted them. A pack of the cards were included in the time capsule that was presented in December at the Lights On Montana Hall ceremony. Read the Bozeman Chronicle article.

Media Coverage

MSU News

March 30, 2018 -  Seeking nominations

July 30, 2018 – MSU honors first of 125 extraordinary, ordinary women

October 18, 2018 – List published and displayed in the library

Mountains & Minds magazine – http://www.montana.edu/news/mountainsandminds/18268/herstory

Departments

• MSU Extension
• Library

Montana News Outlets

March 30, 2018 – Seeking Nominations, Livingston Enterprise

May 13, 2018 - ‘Extraordinary impact:’ MSU spotlights its founding mothers, Bozeman Daily Chronicle

August 4, 2018 - Special Report: Montana history is full of extraordinary “ordinary” women, KTVH – Helena, MT

October 2018 - List of 125 of MSU’s ‘Extraordinary Ordinary Women’ now on display, Miles City Star

November 2018 - EXTRAORDINARY ORDINARY WOMEN OF MONTANA STATE, Aaniiih Nakoda College Newsletter

November 1, 2018 – MSU honors 125 “extraordinary” ordinary women as part of anniversary, Bozeman Daily Chronicle

November 1, 2018 – Vicki Carle to be honored with Extraordinary Ordinary Women of MSU, Montana Sports

November 2, 2018 - Margaret H. Redsteer selected as one of the 125 Extraordinary Ordinary Women of Montana State University, University of Washington News

November 14, 2018 - Cobell, Juneau and Lukin honored as ‘Extraordinary Ordinary Women’, Glacier Reporter

November 15, 2018 - MSU names Michael Extraordinary Ordinary Woman and Mentor of the Year, Seeley Lake Pathfinder

December 5, 2018 - Time capsule captures spirit of MSU’s 125th anniversary, Bozeman Daily Chronicle

January 3, 2019 - HERSTORY – MSU HONORS 125 EXTRAORDINARY WOMEN, Bozone.com

Celebrations

Luncheon

Friday, November 2nd, 12:00 - 2:00 PM, SUB Ballrooms

With ~450 people in attendance, the luncheon on Friday started with an unexpected proposal of marriage from one honoree to another, capping their 13-year history that started at MSU and starting another chapter. The main part of the event was the reading of the short description of each honoree as they walked across the stage to receive their certificate and take a photo with President Cruzado, and co-chairs of the PCOSUW, Rebecca Belou and Brett Gunnink. The certificates read:

“Since the university’s creation 125 years ago, the women of Montana State University have made remarkable contributions at our institution, throughout the state and across the country. In this year celebrating Montana State’s 125^th anniversary, the President’s Commission on the Status of University Women would like to honor you as an Extraordinary Ordinary Woman for your work advocating for women and inspiring the next generation of leaders, problem solvers and innovators.”

Each story was unique and powerful. One honoree noted afterwards that “Even though we were each individually honored…, it is the power of the whole, the energy of the whole that is so extraordinary.” Each honoree also had a trading card with their name and short description on them. These cards were spread around the room at the tables.

After remarks by President Cruzado, the event closed with the performance of “When Great Trees Fall” by Maya Angelou in remembrance of those honorees who are no longer with us. At the celebration, 98 people attended as honorees, of those 20 were deceased with representatives. 20 living honorees were not able to attend.

Football Game

Saturday, Nov 3^rd, 2:00 pm, Bobcat Stadium

At the football game on Saturday, the energy and excitement continued as the honorees were invited onto the field between the first and second quarter. Wearing their EOW scarves and bright smiles, they were introduced with a video and all shown on the jumbotron before turning to wave at the crowd. Around 150 people attended the game including honors, representatives and their families. Watch the video of the women on the field.

Outcomes from the Project

We received many "Thank you" emails and cards.

• Thank you from the innermost part of my heart for this recognition. Truly, women of Montana State University have changed the face of this University. Even though we were each individually honored on Friday at that lovely event, it is the power of the whole, the energy of the whole that is so extraordinary.
• Being together to hear each other’s’ stories was one of the most empowering moments of my career, of the whole of my life. Thank you for encouraging us to invite our families to share in the celebrations in the SUB Friday as well as in the stadium sharing the fun of the game.
• Wanted to drop you a note to thank you for the wonderful luncheon last Friday.  I have never been involved in something so wonderful and powerful.  My family and I left there feeling like we could walk on water!  We felt so blessed that we were able to be  a part of such a fantastic event. 
• Thank you, from the bottom of my heart for an extraordinary event last Friday! The recognition of our Extraordinary Ordinary Women on our 125^thAnniversary was an elegant, heartfelt, and unforgettable event. It was Herstory and Women Power all rolled into one!
• You truly made every individual feel special and your attention to detail was amazing! On Saturday, at the game, they could not stop talking and hugging each other. 
• A huge thank you for the wonderful event on Friday.  It was such an honor to be amidst that gathering of women and their supporters…I have to say the trading cards were inspired, and I love the scarf, very thoughtful gifts. I know what a tremendous amount of work this project has been and you pulled it off flawlessly, so kudos to each of you.
• I’m sure that was a difficult event to plan with so many people, but all of you did a perfect job at every level and it was perfect at all levels.
• I was proud to be at the recognition of Extraordinary MSU women last week. I was amazed at the number of names I recognized in the long list.  Thank you to all who worked so many days and weeks putting this event together. It was awesome! …I also amazed at the changes in the campus since I was last there for my 50th reunion.

Library Installation - Many of the attendees from the lunch came to library afterwards. One women visited the collections display on the 2nd floor and offered to donate her papers to the special collections.

Montana State University Alumni Foundation – Related to the EOW event, MSU Alumni Foundation worked on the following contributions to Montana State:

• Estate gift of $225k to create a graduate fellowship endowment with $25k current use monies to start the fund in fall 2019.  The first in the department, this fund will honor a past faculty member who provided an opportunity to the donor when she was a young ranching girl from rural Montana which changed her life.
• Turk Cobell showed interest in establishing the first Cobell Fellowship in the country at MSU starting in fall 2019.  This is a huge opportunity for MSU and for Native American students.

There are other donors from this event that moved closer to gifts for things such as support the Women in Engineering program and estate gifts. These cultivation events are critical to securing gifts for MSU and this one was very impactful to our donors who care about women in STEM.

 Back to Top

Dr. Anna Kirkland Event Report

As part of the mission of the PCOSUW to understand the challenges that face MSU around issues related to diversity and gender equity, the commission invited Dr. Anna Kirkland to come to MSU on March 7^th, 2019 and talk about the NASEM Report: Impacts of Sexual Harassment in Academic Science, Engineering and Medicine.

Overview of the Day – Thursday, March 8^th, 2019

• 10:00am in Jabs 103 - Coffee with Campus Unit Leaders
• 12:00pm in Inspiration Hall - Lunch with Department Heads and Deans
• 4:00pm in Inspiration Hall - Master Class with Students
• 6:00pm Inspiration Hall - Public Event

Goals

• Share information about the recommendations from the report around improving the campus climate and culture
• Give leadership and students a chance to discuss the opportunities for MSU to enact some of the recommendations

Communications

Members of the Executive Committee created materials, including posters, event listings, and worked with MSU Communications on a press release and homepage banner. Postcards were created and sent campus-wide.

Improving Academic Campus Climates and Cultures around Sexual Harassment Thursday, March 7^th, 2018 at 6:00 PM in Inspiration Hall in the new Asbjornson Hall

The President’s Commission on the Status of University Women welcomes, Dr. Anna Kirkland, member of the NASEM Impacts of Sexual Harassment in Academic Science, Engineering and Medicine Committee, to Montana State University. Dr. Kirkland will discuss their report that indicates “A systemwide change to the culture and climate in higher education is needed to prevent and effectively respond to sexual harassment… There is no evidence that current policies, procedures, and approaches – which often focus on symbolic compliance with the law and on avoiding liability -- have resulted in a significant reduction in sexual harassment.” In her talk, Dr. Kirkland will discuss how institutions across the nation are using the findings to improve US campus climates and cultures, and explore consequences, especially in the light of the recent guidance release from Cabinet Secretary of the Department of Education, Devos, on campus sexual misconduct.

• Read the NASEM Report
• Read the Department of Education, Interim Guidance on Campus Sexual Misconduct

If you are interested in attending, please RSVP by March 1.

Dr. Kirkland is the Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Women’s Studies, Director of the Institute for Research on Women and Gender, and Director of the Science, Technology, and Society Program at the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor.

The NASEM – National Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine – recently held a meeting, “Together We Can Do Better: A Convening of Leaders in Academia to Prevent Sexual Harassment” to discuss what academic institutions could do to prevent sexual harassment.

• Watch the webcast of the meeting

Summary: Dr. Anna Kirkland will give a talk on the report from the Impacts of Sexual Harassment in Academic Science, Engineering and Medicine Committee of the National Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine.

Sponsors

We had the generous support of several sponsors including the Norm Asbjornson College of Engineering, MSU Women’s Center, the VOICE Center, the Office of Institutional Equity, the Center for Faculty Excellence and the Office of the President.

Events

Coffee with Campus Unit Leaders: In the morning, the PCOSUW and other campus leaders were invited to join Dr. Kirkland for coffee and snacks to talk about the recommendations.

Lunch with Department Heads and Deans: The co-chairs of the Commission, Rebecca Belou and Brett Gunnink hosted the department heads and STEM deans at a lunch discussion.

Master Class with Students: Undergraduate and graduate students were invited to join Dr. Kirkland for a master class to discuss questions that they might have about the recommendations. The students were invited to submit an application to participate and also given the opportunity to submit a question to ask Dr. Kirkland. Micah McFeely and Connor Hoffmann facilitated the discussion and chose some of the questions to be discussed in the session. 20 students and faculty submitted applications and suggested ~12 questions.

Public Event: Dr. Kirkland gave a public lecture that was attended by about 75 community members.  She presented on instances of sexual and gender harassment in the academy, facts and figures about the pervasiveness of the problem, and steps that other institutions are taking to prevent sexual harassment.  Audience members asked questions for approximately 15 minutes at the end of her prepared remarks.

Media Coverage

MSU News

February 12, 2019 – Lecture about preventing sexual harassment at academic institutions to be given March 7 at MSU

March 5, 2019 – @MontanaState With Anna Kirkland

Outcomes from the Event

At the March 14^th PCOSUW full commission meeting, our three student members who had all attended the events brought forth a plan to conduct another sexual harassment climate study at MSU.  The commission voted to form a task force to investigate.

 Back to Top

Accomplishments/Progress on the Strategic Plan

 Back to Top