Annual Report

Fiscal Year 2006

Women Studies

University of North Dakota

Dept Head: Wendelin Hume, Director

Contact Name: Wendelin Hume

Contact Phone: 701-777-4115

Contact Email: wendelin.hume@und.edu

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Serving as Director has continued to be a demanding but rewarding learning experience. With the help of the eager student employees not only were the paperwork and administrative duties able to be fairly well tended to, but the office was open regularly and numerous community outreach and research events were undertaken. Additionally, dedicated affiliated faculty and instructors insured our involvement with the Women's Center on Domestic Violence Awareness Month and Women's History Month and with the Theater Department for various Theatrical events. We also conducted the annual Essay Contest, hosted two Spotlight Scholars presentations and in conjunction with the President's Advisory Committee on Women (PAC-W) and departments across campus offered numerous thoughtful and stimulating courses and activities across campus. The Women Studies (WS)program was also very involved at the national/international level with members participating in the National Women Studies Association (NWSA) in a variety of important capacities.

The Women Studies Program at the University of North Dakota not only met the majority of its strategic objectives, at least those which were not hindered by financial constraints, but it also successfully addressed at least six of the seven University priority action areas. A couple of the program goals which we have not yet made much progress toward, primarily due to financial constraints, include:

- improve funding available to support increased research endeavors (it will be very important to obtain sufficient funding to allow the current Director to continue to participate in the NWSA as a Governing Council member at the mid-year meeting and attend the annual conference)

- seek funding for a full-time director (as is requested every year).

The workload of serving as Director is quite large, the administrative paperwork obligations have seemingly increased substantially, and the need to learn and deal with the PeopleSoft system on top of normal duties assigned in one's home department makes serving as Director an unattractive option. Additionally, accepting the role may actually harm an individual professionally especially if the role is not adequately acknowledged and rewarded during merit, tenure, and/or promotion decisions. At a retreat early in the Fall 06 semester it was decided that the continued polite request for a funded Director had gone on long enough. It is a very difficult decision for all members involved, especially those who have been involved with the program since its inception when we were the first in the state or the early beginnings when we had nearly adequate funding, our own building, and support staff but when the current Director's position expires since no one wishes to take on the role as it is positioned now, either there will need to be a serious supportive response from Administration or there will cease to be a Women Studies Program at UND.

Women Studies affiliates are passionate in our commitment to improving women's lives, which energizes our involvement. We appreciate the support and encouragement of departments like English and Criminal Justice, as well as the Chester Fritz Library, and the Arts and Sciences Dean in many ways. We are proud of our many accomplishments in 2005-2006, we are looking forward to a productive 2006-2007 year, and a perhaps differently structured but interesting future which is full of potential.

ORGANIZATION

The Women Studies program is an academic unit of the College of Arts and Sciences. In its educational function the Program directly serves three distinct groups, Women Studies minors, Interdisciplinary Studies - Women Studies majors, and graduate students with an emphasis in Women Studies. In addition, there is a strong contribution to the General Education program. Most Women Studies affiliates come from within Arts and Sciences but several are housed within other parts of the University structure both academic and administrative. The Director of Women Studies or a designee is an ex-officio member of several committees such as Campus Climate and PAC-W which report directly to the President.

MISSION OF THE UNIT

Women Studies at the University of North Dakota is cross-disciplinary and interdisciplinary, providing students

a more complete understanding of women's history and contemporary culture and the psychological and physical effects of gender bias
knowledge and training in women's issues for future employment in women-centered programs as well as other career areas
background for graduate work in Women Studies and other disciplines.

Too, the program provides to faculty, members of the campus community, and people in the region activities and occasions to meet to talk about their shared interests in improving the lives of women, which necessarily will improve the lives of children and men as well. Activists and intellectuals, this community brings to the University a challenging new view of the world. As likely the oldest Women Studies Program in the state, being in existence for over two decades and celebrating our 25th Anniversary, the program has been influential on campus and off.

STATE OF THE UNIT

As a program comprised of students, faculty, and staff, we value individuals' own experiences and the desire to learn more about one's own life and the lives of others. In addition, we value the physical and social environments of the campus, the region, and the world and are mindful of the role we play in protecting them. We value the wisdom of our elders, the joy of our creativity, the richness of our associations with colleagues, and the excitement of reading, writing, and learning.

Those formally affiliated with Women Studies during AY 06 were:

Gayle Baldwin -Philosophy and Religion
Jean Chen - Institutional Research
Mary Cutler - Theatre Arts (primarily on leave)
Kathleen Dixon - English
Sandra Donaldson - English
Barbara Handy-Marchello - History
Wendelin Hume - Criminal Justice, Director of Women Studies
Anne Kelsch - History
Kathleen Coudle- King - English
Yvette Koepke, English
Steven Light - Political Science and Public Administration
Patty McIntyre - Women's Center
Kay Mendick - Women's Center
Shelle Michaels, Graduate Student Instructor - Communication
Sheryl O'Donnell - English
Lana Rakow - Communication
Kathryn Rand - Law School
Janet Rex - Chester Fritz Library
Cheryl Terrance - Psychology
Kathleen Tiemann - Sociology

With an equal voice in the Arts and Sciences Council, a voice in the President's Advisory Council on Women, a dedicated Women Studies Executive Committee, a supportive Dean and many supportive departments, particularly English and Criminal Justice, who have granted faculty release or cooperative time to be involved with Women Studies - the program is probably as strong as ever. Despite its many sources of strength, the Women Studies Program is in the precarious position of relying heavily on the good nature of others for there is no room in the budget for secretarial support, there is insufficient funding to pay the instructor of Feminist Theory if a department did not donate the needed release time, there is no money to hire a Director, and the base budget has stayed the same despite inflation, increases in institutional dues, increased involvement at the national/international level, increased enrollment, and other demands on the program's resources.

Human Resources

In AY 2005 Women Studies Affiliates consisted of 20 persons in a dozen different departments and areas of the University. As a result of the dual demands of the affiliates to serve their home department as well as the Women Studies Program, time and energies are at times divided. Some other diversity of Program personnel is also reflected in the range of ages and sexual orientations as well as the different religious backgrounds, the racial/ethnic composition of the Program with one faculty and one student assistant being Native American and one faculty being Asian American and in the fact that some faculty members are handicapped.

Director - Wendelin Hume (a single payment summer stipend is taken out of the Women Studies budget, her home department-Criminal Justice was only able to grant a one course release per year for her duties as Director and Chair). A full-time paid Director could expand the offerings of the program, cover a section of core courses, and spend time developing the program as a whole including the recruitment of majors and minors and securing financial support of the program and students through financial contributions.

Introduction to the Study of Women Instructors - Kathy King [lecturer] and Shelle Michaels [graduate student] (These are the only positions regularly paid out of the Women Studies budget.) Yvette Koepke also taught a section and her home department of English granted her release time to do this. Since our primary instructor does not have a full-time salaried position, but instead teaches a number of sections of classes within different departments, she is not compensated adequately especially given her years of experience and dedication to her teaching and students. This is a campus wide problem which should be adressed, probably at the college level.

Feminist Theory faculty - Dr. Yvette Koepke(the course was taught with a dual listing under English and Arts and Sciences and it was counted as part of load within the home department of English).

Professional accomplishments of our instructors or affiliates should be described within the reports of their home departments.

One quarter time student assistant who is funded through the Financial Aid Office and the Federal Work Study program. If insufficient funds are awarded from the financial aid office to the WS program there is no money in the budget to pay for an assistant of any kind.

Those We Serve

The University:

Women Studies faculty are in demand as committee members, on Senate, and as community board members. Because of the low number of tenured women faculty and administrators at UND, as elsewhere, and high interest in including diverse perspectives in committee deliberations, the cost in terms of a time commitment can be considerable. We are passionate in our commitment to improving women's lives, which energizes our involvement. Throughout the year Women Studies faculty and affiliates participate in a wide variety of educational, research, and service activities on behalf of the Women Studies Program and the University of North Dakota. While much of the teaching, research, and service of our affiliates will be documented in their home department annual reports- while viewing those reports- time should be taken to notice how the goals of Women Studies have inspired our affiliates. As stated in our Strategic Plan the goals of Women Studies are:

- To encourage the investigation of women's lives as one aspect of human experience in hitherto relatively unexplored areas of study.

- To augment students' academic programs by offering them a Women Studies focus.

- To coordinate courses and other academic activities that wholly or in significant part address issues relating to women.

- To offer students additional opportunities for professional and educational enrichment.

- To broaden the reach of the University to people who in the past may not have seen themselves reflected in the work of the academic community.

In addition to the unique perspective brought into the individual departments and units across campus, affiliates were active in contributing to the 5th Annual Red River Women's Studies Conference which we hosted on the UND campus in November 2005. Through this conference numerous affiliates and students from a variety of backgrounds networked, presented research, were in panel discussions and performed creative works. We are again hosting this conference in the next year or two depending on the scheduling issues of other involved institutions.

Efforts of Women Studies Affiliates and students resulted in numerous panel and other events on a variety of topics using on campus and off campus speakers, and they participated in the national "Get Carded" day, to raise awareness of abuse and safety. They also collected donations for the Community Violence Intervention Center and created care packages of donated items for a group of soldiers serving out of country. Affiliates were instumental in promoting, organizing, and participating in events for International Women's Day, Earth Day, the Law Women's Caucus Series, the Women's Center Meet and Eat Series, the Women Studies Spotlight on Scholars series, and the many events and activities associated with Domestic Violence Awareness Month and Women's History Month. The University of North Dakota was also represented at the Annual Conference of the National Women Studies Association as UND Affiliates played important roles in scholarship (scholarship judge), governance (NWSA Board), and leadership (Women of Color Cacus mentor and trainer).

Students:

Service to students occurs through a wide variety of means. The most obvious and direct means is through the classroom teaching function. Women studies offered two sections of A&S 225 Introduction to the Study of Women (a General Education approved course) each semester (serving over 140 students each year). A&S 480 Feminist Theory is offered each spring and opportunitities for student independent research and internships or other field placements are offered each semester as well as during the summer and are typically supervised by the Director. In addition to the core Women Studies classes just mentioned, affiliates consistently offer about a dozen courses through their home departments which are cross-listed through Women Studies. The exact number of Women Studies majors and minors is hard to determine since many students take enough classes to develop a useful emphasis in Women Studies but they either do not declare this as their major or minor or they do so just before graduation. Additionally, since the Women Studies major is offered through the Interdisciplinary Program our numbers would be embedded in their reports. Our best estimate is that we have about 5 minors and one major at this time. We graduated two unofficial majors and one official major in Spring 2006. All three of these students had performed both research and service prior to their graduation. While these numbers are not very large they are a slight increase from previous years. Of course another means of providing service to students is in the context of faculty scholarship as this translates into the level of quality of and knowledge of the faculty which benefits students in all the different classes taught by the faculty in their home departments as well.

External Constituents and Other Stakeholders:

Women Studies consistently took part in Enrollment Services - Open Houses, provided information to inquiring students and numerous others who call Women Studies as a resource of infomation regarding Women's Issues (others used interviews with us as information in articles in the Dakota Student, the Grand Forks Herald, and Red River Valley Women along with several other media venues including radio. Affiliates also networked with the community by sponsoring with the Pine to Prairie Girl Scout Council - a Court of Awards for younger girls which included information about UND for the girls and their families. While working with the Pine to Prairie Council, the Director helped create and refine a screening process for volunteers working with children which is now being used as a national template and an example of "best practices".

Also during the year a Community Partnership grant was completed when Women Studies and Pine to Prairie Council finished their research into the interests and safety concerns of young girls in our region. Based on the findings from this reasearch Pine to Prairie Council has modified its programming for girls and training for adults to address some of these concerns. An ongoing grant project entails interviewing elderly women of the Red River Valley area. These interviews and other information will then be put on line in the On-Line Women's Herstory Museum. While this project is primarily research oriented, it does provide a service in terms of capturing these pieces of area history before they are lost and displaying them for all members of the community to see. These services were provided in addition to the many activities of the affiliates highlighted in their home department reports.

Programming

Three of the most significant programming developments were the continuing involvement in and actual hosting of the Annual Red River Valley Women's Studies Conference, the continuation of the Spotlight on Scholars series, and the influence in changing the goverance structure of and assuring accessibility to the only National Women Studies Association - NWSA. The ability to host the Red River Valley Women's Studies Conference again in the future and the ability to continue such important involvement at the national/international level will be heavily reliant on the financial and professional support offered by the Dean of Arts and Sciences and others across campus. Other programming efforts included but are not limited to Mary Wiper Day, Women's Spirituality, Third Wave Feminism, and a series of Women Studies Salons and panel discussions.

In addition to the many other programming events discussed earlier in this document, the Women Studies Program is proud of its continuing commitment to the Annual Women Studies Essay Contest. The Contest recognized several students for their feminist scholarship with certificates, a public ceremony and modest financial awards. Currently funding for the awards comes solely from faculty donations.

Research and discussion about offering a Graduate Cognate in Women Studies continued. The plans for this certificate program were worked on and agreed upon. A formal proposal will be developed if financial support for the needed courses and a few other resources looks possible. The proposal will probably be worked on during the coming year.

Responding to the need for a truly multinational perspective in some courses, affiliates developed a new course - Women Across Cultures - which is being offered on-line and was attempted to be offered during the 2006 summer session.

Responding to the University Initiative for more service learning courses, the faculty are encouraging students to volunteer time in the community, they have organized numerous student projects, and the students are offered field-learning experiences while being guided by faculty when the students are enrolled in the Senior Topics course.

Fiscal and Physical Resources

Though the expenditures do not come out of the Women Studies budget directly, it was very instrumental to our success over the past year to have had the efforts of a conscientious student employee who had worked for the program for the past five years and was funded through the financial aid office. While we are pleased to see her graduate successfully, her talents will be greatly missed especially in the complete absence of any other secretarial or staff support. We also appreciated the willingness of the College of Arts and Sciences to help purchase a new laptop, help cover the costs of hosting the conference which fortunately remained low, and help support our On-Line Museum research project with monies to purchase the needed video equipment to begin the interviews and have examples ready as we seek further funding. All other expenditures were covered by the annual Women Studies budget which was $17,884 (down actually from some previous years' budgets: 05=17,884; 04=17,884;03=20,450; 02=18,798).

Our main fiscal concerns remain the same as previous years which are at a minimum, funding for a full-time Director and adequate support staff. The workload of serving as Director is quite large, the administrative paperwork obligations have seemingly increased substantially, and the need to learn and deal with the PeopleSoft system on top of normal duties assigned in one's home department makes serving as Director an unattractive option. Additionally, accepting the role may actually harm an individual professionally especially if the role is not adequately acknowledged and rewarded during merit, tenure, and/or promotion decisions. At a retreat early in the Fall 06 semester it was decided that the continued polite request for a funded Director had gone on long enough. It is a very difficult decision for all members involved, especially those who have been involved with the program since its inception when we were the first in the state or the early beginnings when we had nearly adequate funding, our own building, and support staff but when the current Director's position expires since no one wishes to take on the role as it is positioned now, either there will need to be a serious supportive response from Administration or there will cease to be a Women Studies Program at UND.

In addition to the just mentioned budget concern, upon which the future of the program now hinges, it is also important to obtain a commitment of support for the hopeful future hosting of the regional conference and support for travel expenses for participation in the national annual conference and mid-year meeting as UND's representative to the Board of the National Women Studies Association.

We love our current physical space and are relieved that is has been officially designated as Women Studies space so we were not disturbed during the moving and remodeling that has taken place in the O'Kelly building across the hall from us on the first floor. It is our hope that a paid Director will be obtained and the affiliates and research PI can continue to work and have their meetings there.

Evaluation

Assessment of Accomplishments of YOUR Strategic Plan Goal:

Though we are a little behind in terms of our initial proposed timeline, we have been making good progress toward many of our goals particularly those which did not require significant additional resources. During the next year our strategic plan will again be updated and reexamined in light of the institutions' decision about how to support the continuation of the Women Studies Program and the new university strategic initiatives.

1. QUALITY CURRICULUM

Goal 1-1 Enhance student participation in the WS program.

Action 1-1-1: Respond to the high demand for Introduction to the Study of Women by doubling the number of sections offered each semester and adding a summer section. Responsibility: Vice President for Academic Affairs, by May 2002
(Two larger sections of the class are now offered each semester and one section is offered in the summer session. Demand for classes is high enough that a third section could be offered if adequate funding was available beginning Spring 2006.)

Action 1-1-2: Expand the number of offerings in other departments, such as Psychology. Responsibility: Proposals from WS faculty, by May 2002
(The number of offerings has increased and affiliates are creating new course offerings. Networking in other departments will continue.)

Action 1-1-3: Develop a proposal for the formation of a graduate program in WS. Responsibility: WS Executive Committee, by May 2002
(Discussions have taken place and a draft proposal was approved. A formal proposal is being developed. The proposal will be ready for review outside the department within the next year.)

Goal 1-2 Enhance student learning in the WS Program.

Action 1-2-1: Invite students to create visibility projects about issues important to them to be shared in other classes. Responsibility: WS Faculty and WS Program Director, ongoing
(Students created visibility with projects such as displays in the hallways, Memorial Union, Red River Valley Women Studies Conference, and sharing in other classes. The students also put together the production of numerous plays which were performed in the loading dock of the student Union.)

2. RESEARCH AND CREATIVE ACTIVITY

Goal 2-1 Creatively develop an intellectual community focused on the contributions of women and reconceptualize research to view women as subjects rather than objects of research.

Action 2-1-1: Offer a conference annually in our region that can involve community and campus members. Responsibility: WS Executive Committee and UND Foundation, by May 2003
(The Red River Valley Women's Studies Conference is a result of this goal. We have been responsible for hosting the conference twice so far, the most recent time being in the fall of 2005.)

Action 2-1-2: Increase opportunities for students to present papers at conferences by expanding funds for travel and research expenses. Responsibility: Vice Presidents for Academic Affairs and for Student Affairs, by October 2001
(Numerous students presented at the regional conference rach time it was hosted on our campus and a few presented when it was hosted in Moorehead during FY 03. Other presentation opportunities are too costly for students and no funding has yet been obtained.)

Action 2-1-3: Develop a concept paper addressing the formation of a Center of Excellence in Research on Women and possible funding opportunities. Responsibility: WS Executive Committee and Endowment Steering Committee, by May 2002
(This general idea has been passed by several administrators and was further explored in 2004 but there generally has not been a showing of support. Discussion about this goal continues.)

Action 2-1-4: Improve funding available to support increased research endeavors and faculty development. Responsibility: Vice President for Academic Affairs and UND Foundation, by May 2002
(Based on the Vice President of Research's support of department research, Women Studies developed a grant proposal and asked for funding as well. The grant project of the Women's Herstory Museum is currently in progress. At times in the past Women Studies has been excluded from these opportunities with the rationale that affiliates may apply for funding in their home departments. While on the surface this rationale may seem logical, it neglects the reality that in home departments affiliates are pressured to work on certain projects which typically do not focus on women's issues.)

Goal 2-2 Explore opportunities for collaboration with other NDUS and Minnesota Women Studies programs.

Action 2-2-1: Begin discussions with WS faculty at other institutions to create opportunities and enhance awareness. Responsibility: WS Executive Committee, by October 2002
(One result of these discussions is the Red River Valley Women's Studies Conference. Another result is the establishment of an e-mail discussion list for the region. It was also beneficial that the Director was chosen to serve as co-chair and then chair of the Midwest region of NWSA.)

Goal 2-3 Ensure adequate access to professional journals to support faculty and student research efforts.

Action 2-3-1: Inventory current Chester Fritz, Women's Center, and departmental libraries to list current journal and book holdings relating to WS and evaluate their adequacy. Responsibility: WS Faculty and Women's Center staff, by December 2001
(An ongoing inventory list is available from the Director. A Women Studies library Resource list has been developed by Janet Rex and is available at the Library. It is also fortunate that occasionally recipients of the President's Advisory Committee on Women book award have donated some or all of their purchases to Women Studies.)

Action 2-3-2: Define unmet needs and acquire necessary resources to secure additional library and program holdings as necessary. By May 2002
(Women studies is also thankful that during FY 04 an allocation was made available so affiliates could choose books which they would like to see added to the Library's collection. It is our hope that this monetary allocation will continue to be made available in later years.)

3. SERVICE

Goal 3-1 Improve awareness of the many service activities and other contributions of WS faculty and affiliates.

Action 3-1-1: Improve campus awareness of the innovative educational events made available though the efforts of WS faculty and affiliates. Responsibility: WS Program Director and Executive Committee, ongoing
(Affiliates were very good at networking across campus which improves awareness and offers support. Numerous campus wide and community annoucements were made throughout the year. The Women Studies' Spotlight on Scholars Series also attempts to address this goal. Many affiliates were also interviewed for area newspapers and a couple even appeared on television news programs and/or spoke on the radio.)

4. CAMPUS CLIMATE

Goal 4-1 Improve campus climate for female students, faculty and staff.

Action 4-1-1: Encourage the careful consideration of qualified women for administrative positions. Responsibility: WS Executive Committee and President's Advisory Council on Women, by December 2000
(Continued Affiliate involvement on numerous committees encourages awareness of this goal.)

Action 4-1-2: Support faculty members' and affiliates' efforts toward tenure and promotion. Responsibility: WS Executive Committee, ongoing.
(The Director was allowed to write letters of support if requested by the affiliates. The experienced Executive Committee members have been supportive and willing to offer advise to the newer faculty members to support their academic careers. It is partually in light of this goal that the Affiliates insist on a paid Director for the Program. )

Action 4-1-3: Recognize the multiplicity of women's experiences as a richness to be valued, and encourage women to explore and express their ethnic/racial identities. Responsibility: all faculty and administrators, by December 2000
(Work toward this goal continues. The Director has been involved with the Women of Color Caucus of the National Women Studies Association to advance this goal at the national level as well.)

Goal 4-2 Improve ties with diverse populations.

Action 4-2-1: Invite more people of color and diverse backgrounds to classes to speak or lecture. Responsibility: WS Faculty, ongoing
(Instructors invited in a couple of guest speakers and encourage student involvement with the diverse activities and speakers offered on campus. Texts are carefully selected to support the message of the value of diversity.)

Action 4-2-2: Visit cultural centers on campus in order to demystify the program and connect on common ground. Responsibility WS Program Director, faculty, affiliates, and students, ongoing.
(Affiliates and students participated in several activities sponsored by various Centers on campus. The WS Director continues to present information about the Women Studies program to numerous other Directors.)

Action 4-2-3: Cosponsor "Women Act Globally" Day in which multi-cultural perspectives may be heard in a campus/community forum. Responsibility: WS Executive Committee, Women's center staff, cultural center staffs, by September 2002
(Affiliates helped organize and participated in International Women's Day activities. The annual Essay Contest winners were publically recognized during International Women's Day activities at the International Center at UND and various media personnel covered these activities as well.)

Action 4-2-4: Include more multi-cultural perspectives in the classroom through readings, videos, and projects. Responsibility: WS faculty and Instructional Development, September 2002
(Instructors go to great lenghts to find appropriate diverse videos since the Women Studies collection is extremely small and there is no money in the budget to support new purchases.)

5. RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION

Goal 5-1 Approach student advisement in a holistic manner.

Action 5-1-1: Offer a leadership luncheon, which will support the development of student / professional women mentoring relationships. Responsibility: Endowment Steering Committee and UND Foundation, by November 2002
(Discussions about this goal continue. Students can network through their involvement in a field placement through our Program.)

Action 5-1-2: Secure funding to support outreach activities such as press releases, attendance at recruitment fairs and majors fairs, ambassadors to travel the state in summer. Responsibility: WS Executive Committee, by December 2001
(No additional funding has been obtained. The Director and student employees fulfull these roles as much as possible.)

Action 5-1-3: Enhance awareness among faculty members of the different learning styles of many female students. Responsibility: WS faculty and Office of Instructional Development, by January 2002
(Much discussion has occurred amongst affiliates and within some of their home departments. The Director made a presentation in part addressing this goal during graduate student teaching assistant orientation and OID has addressed the issue of learning styles, though perhaps not focusing on the issue of gender as much as we think necessary.)

Action 5-1-4: Support proposals to bring elementary and secondary students onto campus to work with women in various fields (model NDSU's Expanding Your Horizons program). Responsibility: WS Executive Committee and Student Enrollment Services, by December 2002
(A somewhat related proposal was accepted during the summer of FY 04. A new proposal will be developed for summer 2006.

Action 5-1-5: Network with high school and junior high school teachers to increase knowledge of the major and minor, invite students to come to a class on campus, and encourage our students to go to a class as a speaker. Responsibility: WS Faculty and Student Enrollment Services.
(Many of the Intro. to Women Studies students go into high school classes to speak. Affiliates often assist with public school activities and speak in classes. Our outreach events bring numerous young women to campus each year. Through our community partner, Pine to Prairie Girl Scouts, many young women and their families visited campus.)

6. USE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Goal 6-1 Improve the availability of technology for WS faculty and students.

Action 6-1-1: Develop a proposal to obtain funding from the student technology fee fund. Responsibility: WS faculty, by October 2001
(A proposal was developed but was declined funding through this source, though funding was later obtained from Arts and Sciences. Affiliates are encouraged to participate in such proposals in their home departments so our cross-listed students will be served.)

Action 6-1-2: Create fuller opportunities for faculty, staff, and students to use technology to work at home if they wish. Responsibility: individuals and CILT, by May 2002
(The previously purchased laptop was in use often, for this purpose.)

Action 6-1-3: Develop and maintain a WS web site to improve accessibility to information about the program, serve as a recruitment tool, and enhance public relations. Responsibility: WS Faculty, by December 2000
(A web site was developed three years ago. It was redone this past year to follow the new university guidelines, and incorporate the new template. Efforts are made by the Director to improve and update it on a regular basis.)

7. SUPPORT AND ORGANIZATION

Goal 7-1 Stabilize financial support for the WS program.

Action 7-1-1: Recognize and reward the important contributions of the part-time instructors and those teaching an overload by improving salaries to a level commensurate with their experience. Responsibility: University President, by January 2002
(This issue has been shared with administrators but so far few if any gains have been made. The exploitation of part-time instructors is a campuswide concern. While a cost-of-living raise was granted it has not been possible to reward our instructors for merit.)

Action 7-1-2: Advocate for a regularized library allocation. Responsibility: WS Executive Committee, by December 2001
(A temporary allocation was obtained during this reporting period. Efforts continue to be made to regularize this allocation.)

Goal 7-2 Strengthen and expand the WS program.
Action 7-2-1: Seek funding for a full-time director, preferably through creation of an endowed chair position or a regularized budget line position. Responsibility WS Program Director and Executive Committee with Deans' Council, President, and UND Foundation, by May 2005
(Administrators have been made aware of this goal in the past. It will be necessary to meet this goal or an equivalent in the coming year to allow the Women Studies Program to continue.)

Action 7-2-2: Reinstate secretarial staff position. Responsibility: WS Program Director and Vice President for Academic Affairs, by May 2002
(Administrators have been made aware of this goal.)

Undergraduate - Assessment 1:

Assessment has been taking place through in class tests, the annual essay contest and completion of senior projects all of which consistently demonstrate fairly high levels of understanding of women's issues as well as creative and critical thinking combined with knowledgeable research methodology and good written communication skills. A questionnaire has been developed and administered to students in the Introduction to the Study of Women and Feminist Theory classes. The responses are analyzed so a discussion about possible improvements in the curriculum can take place. The Student Learning Outcomes we are looking for include the following: 1. A clear understanding of key concepts in Women Studies (including but not limited to gender social construction, privilege, difference, subjectivity, essentialism, otherness) and an ability to analyze how these concepts have been used by a variety of feminist scholars. 2. A sensitivity to the way in which race, gender, sexuality, class, and other aspects of identity intersect in shaping experience and theory. 3. An appreciation of the ways different disciplines contribute to the understanding of women, as well as of the way in which Women Studies challenges the boundaries and concepts of traditional disciplines. 4. An ability to analyze one's own experience as a gendered individual, demonstrating awareness of the contexts and processes by which gender influences the development of identity. 5. An ability to develop and trust one's own interpretive, analytical, and creative voice, and to express oneself. 6. An ability to demonstrate the connections between Women Studies scholarship, activism, and social change. 7. An ability to access and evaluate sources of information.

Undergraduate - Assessment 2:

As mentioned above, assessment has been taking place in part through in class tests. In the tests specific questions are posed to assess knowledge particularly relevent to our goals. The other test questions are left to the discretion of the instructors. Results are shared regularly with the Director and annually with the Executive Committee. Entries in the annual essay contest are evaluated based on the author's ability to demonstrate fairly high levels of understanding of women's issues as well as creative and critical thinking combined with knowledgeable research methodology and good written communication skills. Each essay was judged independently twice then the results were compared and discussed. Finally, the results were then shared with the authors and with the Executive Committee. Completion of senior projects is under taken by only a small number of self selected students, five this past year, but they all consistently demonstrated high levels of understanding of women's issues and good oral communication skills as demonstrated by their individual oral reports and on-site evaluations. Their final written report was examined for evidence of creative and critical thinking combined with knowledgeable research methodology and good written communication skills. Results are discussed at least annually.

Undergraduate - Assessment 3:

We are pleased that the majority of our student learning goals are being met. We would like to assist students in the integration of their knowledge by offering more opportunities for mentoring or networking with professional women. The level of scholarship that exists among our students is exciting to see and we wish we had better funding available for the women studies essay contest so we could acknowledge more students. Students seem to be exposed to things in our cross listed and women studies courses that they claim they have not been exposed to before which encourages us to recruit new affiliates and expand our course offerings. We all need to continue to work on exposing our students to issues of diversity and equality as many choose not to take advantage of opportunities on the broader campus so we must bring these issues into the classroom.

Undergraduate - Assessment 4:

We are preparing the Introduction to the Study of Women course to be offered online so that students across the state may benefit from our instruction. We developed a new course "Women Communicating Globally" to address international and diversity issues. This course is being offered online and was attempted to be offered during the summer session but it had insufficient enrollment. We are working on developing a formal graduate certificate proposal so that graduate students interested in women studies issues will have important opportunities to learn and integrate women specific information as the undergraduates do.

Graduate - Assessment 1:

Graduate - Assessment 2:

Graduate - Assessment 3:

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The director attended the Program Administrators and Development portion of the NWSA annual conference so words of advice could be brought back to our campus. Based on the discussions at and comparative information from this conference no changes are planned for the Women Studies curriculum at the present time. However, we will soon be completing our proposal for a master's level certificate in women studies. Based on feedback from students participating in the Interdisciplinary Program part of our major we should rexamine that program and the possible barrier it may present to our students. Based on the need for a Director to oversee the many tasks of a program such as Women Studies, including coordinating assessment efforts, obtaining funding to hire the next Director is crucial to the Integrity of the program. Additionally, our program will soon be part of a nationwide women studies database which can be used to compare course offerings, student to faculty ratios, and new educational trends among other pieces of information. The director also is overseeing the mentoring program of NWSA so insights learned there can be shared on the UND campus to hopefully improve our educational efforts among other things.

STRATEGIC INITIATIVES AND PLANNING

Priority Action A: Provide a Quality Curriculum

Curriculum Quality (overview):

Women studies courses are taught by concerned quality faculty several of whom have received acknowledgements and or awards such as Who's Who for their teaching skills. Women Studies courses are at the heart of a diverse solid liberal arts foundation and our learning goals are meant to prepare students to embrace a diverse and interdependent world. While we do not require experiential learning, students in our courses are exposed to this and many opportunities for them to engage in this form of learning are offered. Particularly relevant is our course "Senior Studies" which offers students a chance to either set up their own experiential learning situation or to participate in a situation set up by the director or other affiliates. Many of our students are well known across campus for their seemingly tireless efforts with events and advocacy across the campus and in the community.

A0106: Natl Awards/Fellowships

Several of our students were selected for Who's Who and invited into various national honor societies. Other awards may be reported within affiliates' home department reports.

A0202: General Education

Our major and in fact our classes are set out to help students improve their thinking and communication skills as well as enhance knowledge about themselves.

A0303: Experiential Learning

As mentioned above, experiential learning is not required of our majors but so far all of our majors and many of our minors have chosen to participate in the experiential learning opportunities we provide.

A0305: International Exchange

None of our core classes instructors participated in such experiences. Please see the various home department reports for the experiences of our affiliates.

A0402: Faculty Nominations

Please see the various home department reports for the experiences of our affiliates. The director was nominated and then elected to the National Women Studies Association board.

A0501: Teaching/Research Awards

Please see the various home department reports for the experiences of our affiliates.

Priority Action B: Expand and Strengthen Commitment to Research

Commitment to Research (overview):

The development of the Red River Valley Women's Studies Conference, which we hosted in 2005, has strongly encouraged more research on and raised awareness about women's issues throughout the Red River Valley. It is also encouraging to see that several grant proposals were put forward and one accepted through women's studies during FY 06. The on-line Women's Herstory Museum, which is a result of the grant awarded, should be available by the end of the coming year.

So far our Spotlight on Scholars Series has recognized scholarship from individuals on the UND campus. While there certainly is a wealth of scholarship off our campus we feel that it is also important to recognize the scholarship that exists on our campus. Often students and even fellow faculty members do not have the opportunity to interact with each other outside traditional classroom environments, so we feel it is important to provide these opportunities as well.

A specialized handout and inventory of women studies resources maintained by the Chester Fritz Library has been completed. Discussion with Library staff to increase Library holdings is ongoing. Numerous women studies faculty contributed to the selection of books needed to improve the holdings at the Library. Additionally, one of our affiliates is a research team member for the Bush Longitudinal General Education Study at UND. It is also important to note that we are an institutional member of NWSA so much of the leading research in women's studies is directly funneled to our program and then shared with instructors, affiliates, and the students.

B0201: Student in Research

There were six known undergraduate students engaged in research projects under the direct supervision of women studies. Undergraduate women studies students often conduct research on their own as demonstrated in many of the submissions to the annual women studies essay contest. Additionally, a student completed an honor's thesis and several other students conducted research and/or advocacy as part of their field placements. One other student assisted with research projects being conducted by the President's Advisory Council on Women. Finally, an estimated 85 undergraduate students were engaged in research as part of the Introduction to the Study of Women class projects.

Priority Action C: Serve the People

Serve the People (overview):

Our affiliates are very active in service and research from the local through the national/international level and they play an integral part in diversifying the educational and cultural offerings at the University of North Dakota. During the year under review affiliates were nominated for the Athena Award, nominated for the staff service award, recognized with the Arts and Sciences Service Award, appointed to the North Dakota Humanities Council, and chosen for several Who's Who publications. For specifics about their service, please see their respective home department reports.

C0105: Quality Exhibits

We did not host any art events though several local artists, quilters, and crafters had displays during our hosting of the Annual Red River Women Studies Conference. We had over a dozen exhibits and approximately 85 attendees.

C0107: Visiting Artists

We were not able to offer any endowed lectureships during FY 06. Given our limited budget, we did not sponsor any visiting artists or lecturers. We did however participate in planning many of the Women's History Month activities which brought quality speakers and numerous alumnae to campus.

C0109: Elem/Sec Student Prog Hosted

Several of our faculty and students visited local elementary and secondary schools and often presented programming. One of our faculty was involved with a summer camp on campus although it was not women's studies which made the arrangements. We also sponsored a recognition ceremony along with the Pine Prairie Council of GSUSA, which brought 35 high school girls and their families to our campus where they were recognized for having earned various Girl Scout honors and learned about educational opportunities at UND.

C0110: Band/Theater/Other

We were not involved in any tours though several of our affiliates had exhibits or productions.

C0401: Public Service Programs

We did not offer any public service programs other than the events we sponsored as mentioned above. Several of our students and faculty also volunteered time to agencies in the community which offer public service programs.

C0402: Service Learning Programs

While we do not have any prearranged service learning programs we encourage and support our students in finding their own individualized field learning experience. Students in the field are supervised and report not only enjoying these experiences but learning a lot from them. Several of the agencies served by the volunteer hours of our students included: UND Women's Center Community Violence Intervention Center Feminist Majority Foundation North Dakota Boys Ranch March of Dimes American Lung Association Girl Scouts of America Pine to Prairie Council Special Olympics

C0403: Deg Progs with Service Learning

Women Studies major -- service learning opportunities available Women Studies minor -- service learning opportunities available

C0404: Public Service Partnerships

While we currently do not have any formal partnerships with public service agencies we have numerous informal partnerships due to the efforts of our students and the involvement and volunteerism of our faculty. The agencies with which we have informal partnerships include but are not limited to: Community Violence Intervention Center Feminist Majority Foundation American Lung Association Girl Scouts of America Pine to Prairie Council

C0409: Cultural Experience

We routinely participate in and assist with numerous cultural experiences hosted by other entities on campus ranging from Domestic Violence Awareness month to Women's History month; from Coming Out week to Time Out week; from International Women's Day to Earth Day and a variety of experiences in between. The campus and the broader community are greatly benefitted by the knowledge and wide-ranging efforts of the Women Studies affiliates.

Priority Action D: Improve the Campus Climate

Improve Campus Climate (overview):

A key focus of the Women Studies Program is improving the campus climate for and understanding of, the typically underrepresented groups of women and minority populations. Our faculty and affiliates are talented and motivated individuals who believe strongly in the feminist principles of equality and human rights. Many of our faculty serve mentoring roles for both undergraduate and graduate students.

We enjoy our space in O'Kelly Hall both for the acknowledgment which it represents and because of the comfortable home like atmosphere which improves interactions when meetings are held there. At times members of our faculty grow tired of the struggle for equality and respect within their home departments but we are proud of our ability to support one another and of our efforts to improve the quality of the University together.

We are pleased that we have been able to be an important part of groups like the Arts and Sciences Council, the Campus Climate Committee, the Cultural Awareness Committee, the Campus Committee for Human Rights and of the President's Advisory Council on Women which also strive for continuous improvement of the quality of the University.

D0202: Sustained Programs

Please see discussion of our contributions under the Serve the People goal.We are always proud to help sponsor the Theatre Department events and we're particularly excited when we are invited to have a voice in their thought-provoking discussions before or after the performances.

D0204: Art/Athletic Events & Participation

During FY 06 we sponsored two Spotlight on Scholars series events. We awarded our Essay Contest Awards during the International Women's Day luncheon at the International Center and we hosted the Annual Red River Women's Studies Conference. The number of people attending varied from ten to over 80 with a total estimated attendance of 180.

D0303: Campus Attendance/Events

While we have no staff, many of our affiliates are central to the success of numerous campus activities particularly those sponsored by the Theatre Department, the English Department, the Women's Center, and a variety of events during Domestic Violence Awareness month and Women's History month. Our students are also often in attendance at these and other events and they at times organize events as part of their class projects.

D0305: Endowed Lectureships

We have never been able to have an endowed lectureship.

Priority Action E: Optimize and Stabilize Enrollment

Optimize and Stabilize Enrollment (overview):

While our numbers of majors and minors is not large (usually about a dozen or fewer total) we consistently fill several sections of our General Education course - Introduction to the Study of Women each semester. Additionally, we offer a large and diverse selection of well subscribed cross-listed courses each semester. Finally, the Women Studies Program is also well known as an advocate of and safe haven for gay and lesbian students, minority students, non-traditional working women students, and others which is important to support a diverse student body. We advise and mentor our students closely and so we have over a 90 percent retention rate of declared majors and about an 80 percent retention rate of declared minors. We are currently working on expanding our offerings to be available online through Continuing Education to better serve the expressed needs of individuals across the state.

E0601: Double the Number of People Served

We typically offer a section or two of Intro. to the Study of Women depending on enrollment. We also attempted to offer our Women Globally course but it did not have sufficient enrollment. We do not offer any additional summer session activities though our office is open on a regular basis, our faculty post and maintain office hours, the director is available to supervise Field placements during the summer, and the director is available to meet with visiting students as well as correspond with others seeking information about the Women Studies program.

Priority Action F: Optimize the Use of Information Technology

Women Studies has developed and maintains its own web site to relay information to students and others. Affiliates often use technology in equipped classrooms and encourage students to be comfortable with their use of technology as well. Several of our faculty use these resources extensively and are quite creative in developing new ways of using the technology to improve their instruction. The acquisition of a laptop and projector has allowed the use of technology in other situations and locations as well. A request for research oriented video and audio equipment was submitted to the College of Arts and Sciences and was accepted so the research is currently taking place. Currently we are also working on obtaining web space to host the on-line museum and we have requested a computer capable of video editing for use in the project. All of our other technological needs have been well met and we are pleased with the services provided by the computer center and their staff.

Priority Action G: Resource Development

We currently have a Women Studies endowment in place though it is handled seperately from the administration of the program. Arrangements for the first awards from the endowment are being discussed. An unsolicited offer to fund a $100 scholarship for a Women Studies student was given based on the positive effect one of our instructors had on a former student. This scholarship may be awarded a second time as well. Our monetary essay contest awards are funded solely through donations by the Women Studies instructors and affiliates.

Priority Action H: In Support of Faculty and Staff.....

Support (overview):

Women Studies affiliates are passionate in our commitment to improving women's lives, which energizes our involvement. However, this passion and commitment can also be a source of frustration and exhaustion, especially if others disparage or do not appreciate our efforts and our program. Stress over funding of the program, the need to find and fund a new Director upon which continuation of the program hinges, and uncertainty about University-wide support is at times distracting.

H0203: Space/Equipment Status

We are happy with our present space in O'Kelly Hall and all but one of our primary computers and printer are in good condition. Other than the research requests mentioned above we have no other equipment or facilities needs at this time.