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One-hundredfifteen years ofeditorialfreedom
www.michigandaily.com Ann Arbor, Michigan Vol. CXVI, No. 44 @2005 The Michigan Daily
JUST ANOTHER PEZZONOVANTE
Coleman
fights
for
gender
equality
Art and Design senior Megan Hilebrandt (left) and puppeteer and Art and Design junior Brandon Lynn (center) entertain passengers on an AATA bus yes-
terday for a project for dick Tobler's outreach class.
Leaders of nine major
universities aim to break
down barriers facing
women in academia
By Anne VanderMey
Daily Staff Reporter
In what has been hailed as a
"historic moment for universi-
ties," presidents from nine lead-
ing research institutions released a
statement yesterday calling for the
destruction of obstacles to women
in academia.
The nine presidents, including
University President Mary Sue
Coleman, first met in 2001 because
of a Massachusetts Institute of
Technology study that reported
gender inequality in every one of
its academic units. To address sim-
ilar issues on their own campuses,
the educators came together to
compare policies and ideas.
They concluded that there are
still substantial barriers to women
wishing to pursue careers in aca-
demia.
Coleman said in a written state-
ment yesterday that future policies
must "enable faculty to accomplish
ambitious academic and profes-
sional goals, while also pursuing
satisfying personal lives."
Yesterday's statements are the
University's latest step in a larger
push to level the playing field for
faculty with children, said Univer-
sity spokeswoman Julie Peterson.
Ongoing projects include efforts
to revise tenure policies, make
advancements in child care and
achieve greater female representa-
tion among faculty.
According to a University report
released in August, only 19 percent
of all tenured faculty members are
women, an increase of 3 percent
since 2001. That figure is expected
to continue rising; 28 percent of
faculty currently on tenure track
are female.
But the path to tenure may be
particularly difficult for women,
Rackham Dean Janet Weiss said.
Weiss, who is the co-chair of a
University committee investi-
gating the benefits of a flexible
tenure track, said extenuating
circumstances such as family
commitments sometimes render
professors unable to amass suffi-
cient credentials by the time they
are reviewed for tenure. Women
are more severely impacted by the
strict deadlines because they are
more likely to need time off to
care for children, Weiss said.
"We have a longer and stronger
track record than some of the other
eight universities (that issued yes-
terday's statement)," Weiss said.
"The University has been commit-
ted to this for a long time, but we
still have a lot of work to do."
She added that each member of
her committee could recall spe-
cific examples where the inflexible
timing of tenure review caused fac-
ulty members to be denied tenure
or leave the University because of
the expectation that they would be
refused.
Weiss's committee issued a
report in September that proposed
that the University extend its tenure
probationary period - the length
of time associate professors have to
prepare for tenure review - from
eight to 10 years.
Additional flexibility would be
provided by schools within the
University drafting their own rules
about exceptions and allowances to
the probationary period. The com-
mittee will likely make further rec-
ommendations during the winter
semester, Weiss said.
See TENURE, page 5
Di t
Dail tistimrvdieiy
t's been no secret to
the Daily: We aren't as
diverse as the rest of the
student body. An overwhelm-
ing majority of staffers are
white and from privileged
backgrounds. But for years,
none of us really knew how to
even start thinking about the
problem.
MELISSA So last February, the Daily's
editor in chief, Jason Pesick,
RUNSTROM formed the Multicultural
Arts Editor Commission to try to better
understand the situation. The
commission set out to assess how we could improve
relations with multicultural student groups. Another
LSA gov't
votes for
enroll-ment
.Changes
LSA-SG resolution would push
for smaller credit brackets when
assigning registration appointments'
By Deepa Pendse
Daily Staff Reporter
The LSA Student Government approved a resolution
supporting a proposed change in the way enrollment
appointments are assigned to students, last night.
Sponsors of the resolution, LSA-SG Vice President
Paige Butler, LSA-SG Treasurer Mike Rudy and LSA-
SG Counsel Joanna Slott, said the resolution advocates a
fairer assignment of registration appointments.
The current registration process places students into
seven levels of earned credits, divided into increments
of 15. All credits are factored into the divisions, includ-
ing transfer credits and Advanced Placement credit, as
well as credits from University courses.
All students in a particular group are scheduled
to register within a specified window. A computer
goal was to understand how to create a diverse staff that
more accurately represents the University's student body.
Our coverage does not always include the issues that are
important to minority communities in large part because
the Daily's staff is not as diverse as it should be.
The editors appointed me to the position of the Mul-
ticultural Commission's coordinator last winter term.
The commission acted as a temporary organization
composed of editors and writers at the Daily from all
of its sections. Jason served an advisory role, and I kept
him up to date on our findings. We began by analyzing
a survey the commission created to determine if staff
members found the internal atmosphere at the paper
unwelcoming. We also sought the views of various mul-
ticultural group leaders on campus about the Daily and
its coverage. Based on our findings, we discussed fea-
See RUNSTROM, page 7
Daily commission 's
recommendations
An annual conference between
multicultural groups and Daily editors.
St aff workshops to train reporters on
covering minority groups.
M inority-targeted recruitment to cre-
ate a more diverse Daily staff.
Emphasis on attending multicultural
student group meet ings to better under-
stand multicultural campus issues.
MSA gets down
to business casual
By Ashlea Surles
Daily Staff Reporter '1a u ain t na
Under criticism for a lack of profes-
sionalism, the Michigan Student Assem-
bly is trying to improve its image.
Literally.
At last week's meeting, MSA execu-
tive board members suggested that the
assembly shape up by wearing business-
casual clothes.
MSA has come under fire lately for
a perceived lack of professionalism,
especially after the alleged mishandling
of the Ludacris concert, which cost the
assembly about $20,000.
Drawing a correlation between profes-
sionalism and efficiency, the executive
board suggested last week that all MSA
members dress business casual for their
See MSA, page 5
week's MSA meeting:
MSA VP Nicole Stallings:
Sometimes we aren't very seri-
ous about these meetings, so
we're thinking that we could
dress business casual instead
of casual.... Not jeans, not
sweatshirts, not T-shirts. We're
not going to be going around
checking, but it would be great
to give this a try.
MSA Rep. Zach Yost: What
happens if I don't?
Stallings: Just wear it.
LEFT: Michigan Student Assembly President Jesse Levine at a meeting last school year, dressed in a
Michigan sweatshirt. RIGHT: Levine leads an MSA meeting last night dressed in business casual attire.
MESA director steps down to start a family
Patricia Aqui-Pacania resigns after
The University will conduct a nationwide search for a new
counseling programs at the University, including the Trotter Mul-
.I