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President's Committee for Women in Health Sciences

Annual Report 2007

Dear Faculty in Health Sciences:

It has been a very interesting year for women in health sciences and indeed for all faculty members of the TTUHSC. President M. Roy Wilson moved on to a new position with the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver as did the Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, Rod Nairn. Interim President Bernhard Mittemeyer replaced Dr. Wilson with the assurance that the Committee had his full support. Dr. Rial Rolfe assumed the position of Associate Vice President. The Committee has continued to work with these administrators towards the development of leadership, diversity, and academic potential for all women of all health science disciplines. Issues regarding childcare, faculty tenure and promotion, and assessment of salary equity and rank have been the foci of the Committee this year.

Before discussing these concerns, I would like to introduce two new members who were appointed by President Mittemeyer to the Committee. Here listed are all the members:

*New members as of 2007

It is an exciting time for TTUHSC faculty with a new President in charge. John C. Baldwin, M.D., has been named as President of TTUHSC. His biography, at http://www.ttuhsc.edu/newsevents/baldwinbio.aspx, indicates his broad experience with clinical, research and educational programs. It will be a key meeting when we of the Committee meet with him to discuss your concerns and learn his opinion. We welcome President Baldwin, offer our support and wish him the best!

Women in Higher Education

Barbara Sawyer attended the Texas Women in Higher Education Conference held at Baylor University in Waco Texas in May. Many women in higher education have issues similar to ours, and there was excellent interaction between all attendees. Faculty women from colleges and universities in West Texas are scheduled to meet in the near future to continue the interaction and discuss how each school uniquely deals with the issues that all faculty face.

Childcare

The childcare survey, market analysis and feasibility study were performed by Knowledge Learning Corporation in the fall of last year, results were tabulated and presented to the Committee in December 2006, and these results were presented to the President’s Executive Committee (PEC) in February of 2007. In summary, the approximately 800 survey respondents and focus group participants overwhelmingly stated their need and desire for quality, on-site child care. Of those with children currently in a childcare facility in the city, 76% stated that they would move their children to an on-site TTUHSC facility, while 92% of those planning a family would definitely use a TTUHSC facility. In the market analysis, it was found that 78 structured facilities were located within 8.5 miles of TTUHSC, but only three of these were accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). This accrediting body publishes a set of standards that include teacher to child ratios, teacher educational requirements, activities offered at a center, and other values important in childcare. The Committee feels that accreditation by this agency is essential to providing a quality childcare facility at TTUHSC.

When the presentation was made to the Facilities and Planning Commission of TTU in January 2007, a total cost for a childcare facility building was estimated to be approximately $5 million. This is for a facility that would meet all State of Texas requirements. After tabulating the costs for supporting a childcare facility, it was determined that a $500,000 annual subsidy would likely be required to maintain the quality standards that NAEYC sets for a childcare facility and to support the intended enrollment of 120 children. This subsidy includes payment on the building debt, salaries, maintenance, operation, and food.

These numbers were presented to the PEC in February and again in April by Elmo Cavin, Executive Vice President of Finance at TTUHSC. Unfortunately, the Deans and President Mittemeyer felt that the initial cost of the facility as well as the annual subsidy was something that could not be afforded nor funded. But all is not lost! The Committee Chair is currently working with a group of women at TTU who are interested in beginning their own childcare facility on the TTU campus. This group has been funded by an ADVANCE grant and is known as the PoWERS group (Program of Women in Engineering, Research, and Science). The first step is to gather all childcare feasibility study results from TTU and TTUHSC together in one place for all to review, which is currently being done. Next steps include organizing the data and presenting it to Chancellor Hance.

It is essential for the Committee to develop creative ideas on raising money for the annual subsidy. This will be a most critical component of the childcare facility issue.

Faculty Tenure and Promotion

Basic tenure and promotion policies for TTUHSC as well as the Regents’ Rules 04.03 regarding tenure have been reviewed, edited, and restructured. In February 2006, based on the Committee’s recommendations, the TTUHSC Board of Regents approved a revision of Regent’s Rule 04.03.6, Extension of tenure-track probationary period. This revision essentially allows for stopping the tenure clock for a variety of circumstances including pregnancy, illness, caring for a parent, etc. The revision applies to all tenure-track faculty. This revision was retained throughout the review process and the entire document will be up for Board of Regents approval at their fall meeting.

Because of the provisional status and interimicity of certain key components of the TTUHSC administration, the tenure and promotion policies have moved back and forth between the Deans, faculty, and interim President. Currently the policies are being reviewed again by the Deans. The Committee has expressed a desire to take part in the review of these School-specific policies to guarantee that all faculty are mentored appropriately during the tenure and promotion processes and that all are fairly promoted on a timely basis.

Salary Equity and Time in Rank

The Committee met several times with Dr. Rial Rolfe and Kevin McClaran of Human Resources to assess salary equity across faculty ranks and to compare the length of time in rank held by men and women. Jean Strahlendorf completed the salary equity study and found that women and men faculty members are paid basically equally dependent upon rank and time in rank. However, it appears that some women faculty have been held in rank for an inappropriate number of years without receiving promotion. The Committee is still studying the figures given to us regarding this particular issue and what action needs to be taken.

The Future

The future holds many challenges for all. We look forward to working with Dr. Baldwin. This Committee will continue to demonstrate a strong commitment to the academic development of women faculty at our HSC.