30th Anniversary Celebration for The Penn State Commission for Women

15 minute video containing speeches by Karin Foley, Rose Baker, and Catherine Dufour at the 30th Anniversary Celebration for The Penn State Commission for Women

Another version of this video is available at:
http://tinyurl.com/CFW30Anniv

Christy Long

As a part of our ongoing mission to improve the Commission for Women, appointed members were surveyed in order to determine some of the motivating factors for members' involvement, as well as the factors contributing to persistence in the CFW. Here are Christy Long’s responses.

What motivated you to join the CFW?
I was motivated to join the CFW by my drive to contribute to PSU beyond my unit, to learn more about PSU, and to make PSU a better place.

What do you enjoy most about the CFW?
What I enjoy most about the CFW is making a difference at PSU. I also enjoy meeting great people I otherwise would never have met.

Which of the CFW’s goals are you most passionate about and would like to take a more active role in?
All of them! :)

Christy Long is the Chair of the Commission for Women and the Director of Service Operations for ITS Digital Library Technologies.

Katie Johnson

As a part of our ongoing mission to improve the Commission for Women, appointed members were surveyed in order to determine some of the motivating factors for members' involvement, as well as the factors contributing to persistence in the CFW. Here are Katie Johnson's responses.

What motivated you to join the CFW?
I was looking for ways to be involved in university service, especially for increasing the status of women at the university.

What do you enjoy most about the CFW?
What I enjoy most about the CFW is that we have access to making real change in university climate and policy.

Which of the CFW’s goals are you most passionate about and would like to take a more active role in?
I think the goal for documenting current practices and promoting changes. I'm already pretty active.

Katie Johnson is a PhD Candidate in Sociology with a minor in Women's Studies and an appointed member to the CFW.

Stephanie Derstine

As a part of our ongoing mission to improve the Commission for Women, appointed members were surveyed in order to determine some of the motivating factors for members' involvement, as well as the factors contributing to persistence in the CFW. Here are Stephanie Derstine's responses.


What motivated you to join the CFW?
I have been the CFW Coordinator at the LV campus for 7 years as a way to educate and work with the campus community regarding Women's issues.

What do you enjoy most about the CFW?
The way the commission strives to educate and work to resolve women related issues that occur on our campuses.

Which of the CFW’s goals are you most passionate about and would like to take a more active role in?
I am currently a Campus Liaison coordinator. I am passionate about this role as I'm able to bring other campuses together to discuss their own campus events and CFW related issues with all Penn State campuses.

Additional thoughts?
CFW is an instrumental commission that not only resolves women's issues, but tries to identify and resolve issues that will help the overall campus community.

Stephanie Derstine is a library information reservation and service specialist at the Lehigh Valley campus and an appointed member of the CFW.

Sara Brennen

As a part of our ongoing mission to improve the Commission for Women, appointed members were surveyed in order to determine some of the motivating factors for members' involvement, as well as the factors contributing to persistence in the CFW. Here are Sarah Brennen's responses.

What motivated you to join the CFW?
I "moved up through the ranks" as a protege through the Commission for Women Mentoring Program, then served as a mentor, and the next year served as committee co-chair.

What do you enjoy most about the CFW?
I believe in mentoring and fostering communication throughout the University about issues that matter, and making Penn State the best place to work and study that it can be.

Which of the CFW's goals are you most passionate about and would like to take a more active role in?
Making a difference in the lives of others and meeting people throughout the University.

Additional Thoughts?
I will co-chair the mentoring committee in 2012-2013.

Sara Brennen is multimedia specialist and a Co-Chair of the CFW's Mentoring Committee.

Carol McQuiggan

As a part of our ongoing mission to improve the Commission for Women, appointed members were surveyed in order to determine some of the motivating factors for members' involvement, as well as the factors contributing to persistence in the CFW. Here are Carol McQuiggan's responses.

What motivated you to join the CFW?
I want to provide service to the University in a way that can make a lasting impact. The CFW's projects have that potential. Also, I'm passionate about the status and safety of women at our University and in our society.

What do you enjoy most about the CFW?
I enjoy being around women (and men) with similar drive and passion - women who care deeply about the service they are providing. I also enjoy feeling a part of the greater community instead of only one college, and value the networking.

Which of the CFW’s goals are you most passionate about and would like to take a more active role in?
Faculty Engagement, Personal Safety & Sexual Assault Awareness, Campus Liaisons.

Additional thoughts?
Engaging with the Commission for Women heightens my awareness of the issues facing women around equity, safety, work/life balance, advancement, and more. I've always had the lofty goal of making a positive difference in our world, and the CFW gives me the support, tools, and opportunities to make that difference.

Carol McQuiggan is an Instructional Designer, Faculty Center and Adjunct Faculty in Training and Development, Behavioral Sciences and Education.

Janice Dauber

As a part of our ongoing mission to improve the Commission for Women, appointed members were surveyed in order to determine some of the motivating factors for members' involvement, as well as the factors contributing to persistence in the CFW. Here are Janice Dauber’s responses.

What motivated you to join the CFW?
I was interested in learning about the issues facing women at Penn State and wanted to find a way to contribute beyond my job. I was also interested in meeting other women on campus whom I wouldn't normally have had an opportunity to meet.

What do you enjoy most about the CFW?
What I enjoy most about the CFW are the full commission meetings with invited guests, and participating in the Mentoring Committee. It's very satisfying when mentoring pairings are successful and you have helped make a connection between 2 people that was unlikely to happen without the program.

Which of the CFW’s goals are you most passionate about and would like to take a more active role in?
I am passionate about mentoring and goals related to the advancement and retention of staff.

Janice Dauber is MAUTC Coordinator for The Thomas D. Larson Pennsylvania Transportation Institute and Co-Chair of the CFW's Mentoring Committee.

Rose Baker

As a part of our ongoing mission to improve the Commission for Women, appointed members were surveyed in order to determine some of the motivating factors for members' involvement, as well as the factors contributing to persistence in the CFW. Here are Rose Baker’s responses.

What motivated you to join the CFW?

Years ago, one of our Rosemary Schraer Mentoring Award winners told me that I would really enjoy the camaraderie of the women involved with CFW. She was right! I have always had a passion for equity for women and being part of CFW allows my voice to join with other voices to be heard and create solutions for gender equity.

What do you enjoy most about the CFW?
I enjoy catching the ear of administrators and others in power that can actually make the changes that we have advocated for. As a group of volunteers, we do not have control over change. We do have power to create change by having administrators listen, consider, and act on our recommendations.

Which of the CFW’s goals are you most passionate about and would like to take a more active role in?
I started as a volunteer on a committee as an affiliate member. The chair of the committee suggested that members should step up to the next level of commitment to the Commission. We need to communicate the power we have as volunteers and understand the level of change we can affect through our combined voice.

Rose Baker is Research Associate in Education Outreach in the Office of the Associate Dean for Research, Outreach, and Technology, Assistant Professor of Education associated with the Workforce Education and Development program, and a Professional Associate of Penn State Academic Outreach

Vicki Hoffman

As a part of our ongoing mission to improve the Commission for Women, appointed members were surveyed in order to determine some of the motivating factors for members' involvement, as well as the factors contributing to persistence in the CFW. Here are Vicki Hoffman's responses.

What motivated you to join the CFW?
To be a change agent for women at the university, whether they are faculty, staff, tech workers or students.

What do you enjoy most about the CFW?
Seeing our efforts for change come to fruition (programs, policies, etc.).

Which of the CFW’s goals are you most passionate about and would like to take a more active role in?
Assessment.

Vicki Hoffman is a Senior Support and Training Analyst Administrative Information Services and an appointed member of the CFW.

Ashley Conner

As a part of our ongoing mission to improve the Commission for Women, appointed members were surveyed in order to determine some of the motivating factors for members' involvement, as well as the factors contributing to persistence in the CFW. Here are Ashley Conner's responses.


What motivated you to join the CFW?
I wanted to work with other women to make women's voices heard across campus, specifically in regards to sexual assault and harassment.

What do you enjoy most about the CFW?
There haven't been many activities since I joined, but I enjoy the lunchtime meetings when I can see the faculty that I haven't seen in a while.

Which of the CFW’s goals are you most passionate about and would like to take a more active role in?
Improving women's safety on and off campus.

Additional Thoughts?
I feel like the Commission doesn't host enough student-centered events. There are not many ways student members can participate and not much interaction between committees.

Ashley Conner is an undergraduate student at The Pennsylvania State University and a member of the CFW.

Catherine Dufour

As a part of our ongoing mission to improve the Commission for Women, appointed members were surveyed in order to determine some of the motivating factors for members' involvement, as well as the factorscontributing to persistence in the CFW. Here are Catherine Dufour's responses.

What motivated you to join the CFW?
I attended my first Commission meetings in 2007 and was struck by the people involved and by the issues that the group was trying to address. I not only wanted to be a part of that work, but realized the opportunity to work alongside of and learn from many talented women and men here at Penn State.

What do you enjoy most about the CFW?
I most enjoy the people with whom I get to work - their commitment to advancing the status of women at Penn State is phenomenal. They are talented, intelligent, passionate people who contribute greatly to the University.

Which of the CFW’s goals are you most passionate about and would like to take a more active role in?
Some of the CFW’s goals that I am interested in are workplace and classroom climate; recruitment, advancement, and retention; professional development and recognition; and salary equity.

Catherine Dufour is the Associate Director, Corporate & Foundation Relations at Penn State University and a former Wage Equity Co-chair person for the CFW.

Jenn Stewart

As a part of our ongoing mission to improve the Commission for Women, appointed members were surveyed in order to determine some of the motivating factors for members' involvement, as well as the factors contributing to persistence in the CFW. Here are Jenn Stewart’s responses



What motivated you to join the CFW?
I joined the CFW because I enjoy supporting new and existing opportunities which are available for women.

What do you enjoy most about the CFW?
What I enjoy most about the Commission for Women is great networking. Great networking opportunity can contribute towards making Penn State an even better place for women in the workforce and can personally grow and learn from other leaders within the commission.

Which of the CFW’s goals are you most passionate about and would like to take a more active role in?
Currently serve on the Advancement Committee. Am very passionate about this particular topic and working on new initiatives to further expand opportunities for staff and faculty to grow and succeed within. I am also interested in providing a medium for staff and faculty to explore new/different career opportunities and/or interests in a particular education track.

Additional Thoughts?
I am honored to serve on the committee and participate in such a well deserved and acknowledged initiative. Great group of committee members and affiliates!

Jenn Stewart is the Privacy Coordinator at The Pennsylvania State University. She is also actively involved with the Commission for Women Committee at Penn State where she serves as an Executive Committee Member-at-Large.

David Passmore

As a part of our ongoing mission to improve the Commission for Women, appointed members were surveyed in order to determine some of the motivating factors for members' involvement, as well as the factors contributing to persistence in the CFW. Here are David Passmore's responses

What motivated you to join the CFW?
Rose Baker, next year's co-chair with Cathy Dufour, got me interested and involved in the work of the Commission's Assessment Committee. I came to understand the role that the Commission has in improving the status of Penn State women and how these improvements make life better for all Penn State employees. I applied to become an affiliated member of the Commission, and, then, I became a member of the Commission’s Assessment Committee (which I currently co–chair with Lysa Holland) as well as the Wage Equity Committee. I am happy that I have an opportunity to continue that work as an appointed member of the Commission

What do you enjoy most about the CFW?
The Commission is effective. It draws together people from diverse backgrounds and jobs at the University to accomplish projects and to produce events. I admire the Commission's work on family leave and on focusing attention on improving breastfeeding/breastpumping opportunities for women at Penn State. These policies and activities strongly affect the well-being of women at Penn State and their family units. In addition, paying attention to these policies and opportunities ends up improving the diversity and quality of the workforce supplied to Penn State. More than most University committees, The Penn State Commission for Women gets things done.

Which of the CFW’s goals are you most passionate about and would like to take a more active role in?
Helping the Penn State community and communities that surround each of its campuses to become more aware of the status of women at Penn State.

David Passmore is a Professor of Education in the Workforce Education and Development academic program, Department of Learning and Performance Systems, College of Education. He is also the Director of the Institute for Research in Training & Development.

Sandra Marcella

As a part of our ongoing mission to improve the Commission for Women, appointed members were surveyed in order to determine some of the motivating factors for members' involvement, as well as the factors contributing to persistence in the CFW. Here are Sandra Marcella’s responses.

What motivated you to join the CFW?
I joined the CFW because I believe in women's groups that work to advance the equality of women.

What do you enjoy most about the CFW?
I appreciate the research on the status of women at PSU that the CFW has put forth.

Which of the CFW’s goals are you most passionate about and would like to take a more active role in?
I would like to take a more active role in the CFW in general, however, it seems that the majority of the activities occur at Main Campus and they are during the work day. For female graduate students like myself who work full time and attend classes at night or online at a satellite campus, its somewhat difficult to fully participate.

Additional Thoughts?
I would truly love to see the CFW focus a bit more on female students and the difficulties they face in their programs at their various campuses. The CFW has great mentoring programs for PSU employees, but I would love to see something similar expanded to female students. I would also like to see the CFW promote Women's History Month activities at all campuses every March.

Sandra Marcella is an appointed member of the Commission for Women and a graduate student at The Pennsylvania State University pursuing a Masters in Public Administration.

Karin Foley

As a part of our ongoing mission to improve the Commission
for Women, appointed members were surveyed in order to determine some of the motivating factors for members' involvement, as well as the factors
contributing to persistence in the CFW. Here are Karin Foley's responses.

What motivated you to join the CFW?
I initially joined out of a sense of obligation to give back. As a female administrator, I thought it was time to do something for the women of PSU.

What do you enjoy most about the CFW?
What I enjoy most about the Commission is meeting new people and learning about new people

Which of the CFW’s goals are you most passionate about and would like to take a more active role in?
Some of the goals and initiatives I am most passionate about include the prevention of sexual assaults, maternity benefits for grad students and post docs, and mentoring for pre-tenure female faculty.

Karin Foley is the Associate Dean for Administration for the Eberly College of Science and a Past Chair in the Commission for Women.

Meghan Hayes

As a part of our ongoing mission to improve the Commission for Women, appointed members were surveyed in order to determine some of the motivating factors for members' involvement, as well as the factors contributing to persistence in the CFW. Here are Meghan Hayes' responses.

What motivated you to join the CFW?
I was motivated to join the CFW by the opportunities to meet women across the University, to get involved in championing women's issues at PSU, and to add a dimension of service and volunteerism to my portfolio of work at PSU

What do you enjoy most about the CFW?
What I enjoy most about the Commission for Women is the camaraderie. I also take pride in the feeling of accomplishment when we get new policies or impactful studies out.

Which of the CFW’s goals are you most passionate about and would like to take a more active role in?
I am very interested in the issue of work life balance for working women.

Meghan Hayes is an appointed member to the CFW.

Mary Stansfield

As a part of our ongoing efforts to improve the Commission for Women, appointed members were surveyed in order to determine some of the motivating factors of members' involvement, as well as the factors contributing to persistence in the CFW. Here are Mary Stansfield's responses.



What motivated you to join the CFW?
I joined the CFW as a tool for networking, to broaden my focus and interaction with women's issues, which are a huge concern to and for me, and to attempt to make some kind of change for women in today's society.

What do you enjoy most about the CFW?
I enjoy meeting all the women from across campus and at the branch campuses. I enjoy learning about all the issues we as women face and how we are approaching those concerns and the ways that we are making a difference. I enjoy meeting the different speakers that attend our meetings, as they offer so much information that otherwise many of us would not know, thus allowing me to share some of that information for communication purposes.

Which of the CFW's goals are you most passionate about and would like to take a more active role in?
The committee I have been on. I started with wages and equity, but that has changed now to the Advancement Subcommittee.

Additional Thoughts?
I think we need to engage undergraduate women more effectively since they will be entering the workforce and facing many of the issues that women at the University face.

Mary Stansfield is a Ph.D. Candidate in Tourism Management and a member of the CFW Mentoring Committee.

Help Us Grow the Commission for Women: Share Your Experiences!

In order to effectively evaluate the current status of the CFW and to develop strategies for future growth, we are conducting a survey of all appointed members for the current academic year.

The purpose of this study is to determine what some of the motivating factors have been in member's decisions to join the CFW. We would also like to determine to what extent the CFW has benefited you and which of the CFW's goals the membership is most engaged with.

As an appointed member, your feedback is valued. We appreciate your cooperation and look forward to reviewing your responses. You may complete the survey at the link provided below:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dE1RVTczbENlR0VQQUVDckVEczZuc3c6MQ