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April 10 , 2006
PCSW meets with Mandl about campus plan

by christi gray

Executive Vice President Mike Mandl discussed the campus master plan at the March 30 President’s Commission for the Status of Women (PCSW) meeting, addressing concerns PCSW had raised as important to women on campus, such as attention paid to child care facilities.

“Child care is a critical issue for families. Whether your work-life is productive is highly dependent on child care,” Mandl said. “Employees have to work with employers to meet that basic need.”

Mandl said the answer isn’t for Emory to build enough facilities to meet 100 percent of demand but instead to build partnerships with quality outside providers.

The commission also expressed concerns about emergency, part-time and special-needs care, and Mandl said the ongoing work-life task force, co-chaired by University Secretary Rosemary Magee and Human Resources Vice President Peter Barnes, is gathering information to address these issues.

Mandl then moved on to the issue of elder care. “We are on the front end of this issue, which I anticipate will have a real emergence in the next five or 10 years,” he said. “We are looking for solutions in places to which Emory may have more access than individuals, like health insurance companies.”

Said PCSW Chair Allison Dykes, “Emory can really lead in elder care because there aren’t many models currently in place.” PCSW is gathering information on elder care and is looking for such models, she said.
Members of PCSW’s student concerns committee asked about providing safe social environments and activities for students, and Mandl said the master plan calls for new student activity centers at Emory Village and on Clifton Road. Also, development of commercial centers close to campus, such as at Sage Hill Shopping Center and at the corner of North Decatur and Clairmont roads, is being explored.

In other business, the commission unanimously approved its slate of new members and officers for 2006–07.
Junior Chair Nadine Kaslow moved to add four new positions—one each for staff, faculty, undergraduate and graduate students—to increase diversity within the commission.

In committee reports, staff concerns is reviewing PCSW archives, dating back to 1979, to look for recurring issues possibly relevant to the University’s Campus Climate Survey. Also, the committee, with Mandl’s support, is searching for seven spaces around campus that could be used as lactation areas.

The women in leadership committee reported that it will present a report on women in leadership at Emory and peer institutions to several campus groups in coming weeks, including the School of Law (April 11), a dinner for Emory women leaders (April 17), and Development & University Relations (May 2). Also, the committee is working on a best-practices document for use by search committees to help recruit women to Emory.

The commission recognized Kaslow for being honored by the American Psychological Association (APA) with a presidential citation, a rare honor afforded to APA members. Nadine was recognized for her work to help psychology trainees and training sites affected by Hurricane Katrina.

The next PCSW meeting will be held Thursday, April 20, at 4 p.m. in Woodruff Library’s Jones Room.

If you have a question or concern for PCSW, e-mail Chair Allison Dykes at adykes@emory.edu.

 

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