Vol. 38, No. 18

4-20-2004
By: Joni Bentz Seal

Valian to lecture, facilitate gender equity workshops

Virginia Valian, a noted author and lecturer on gender equity, will visit Ohio State April 30 as the facilitator of several events focused on the knowledge about and application of issues relevant to successful implementation of the Academic Plan, specifically the recruitment, retention and advancement of women in the academic and administrative ranks.

In her book, Why So Slow? The Advancement of Women in Academia, Valian questions why so few women are at the top of their profession, whether science, law, medicine, college teaching, industry or business. To provide an answer, she integrates research from psychology, sociology, economics and neuropsychology.

“The goal of the day’s events will be to share ideas that will forge initiatives and affect change on gender equity issues at Ohio State,” said Judy Fountain, assistant vice provost of women’s policy initiatives and director of The Women’s Place. Fountain said the influence of the Academic and Diversity Action plans has been evident in the university’s hires during the last 24 months.

“I think we’re starting to see a shift in the university that fosters positive institutional change in this regard,” she said. “We’re recruiting leaders who believe in academic diversity and who are reinforcing more concrete behaviors in gender parity.”

A professor of psychology and linguistics at Hunter College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY), Valian is a cognitive scientist whose research focuses on language acquisition in two-year-olds, second language acquisition and sex differences in cognition. Her work is published in leading journals in cognitive and developmental psychology. Her work on gender recently has received funding from the National Science Foundation in the form of an ADVANCE grant. These grants are designed to improve the environment to attract and retain women faculty in science and engineering.

A small group of individuals, including the deans from the colleges of Biological Sciences, Engineering, and Math and Physical Sciences, have been working to secure an NSF ADVANCE Institutional Transformation grant for Ohio State. These three colleges, along with the College of Dentistry, are co-sponsoring Valian’s visit. American Council on Education (ACE) Fellow in-residence Ruth Dyer — who helped secure the grant for her home institution, Kansas State University — said the deans of those four colleges have expressed particular interest in addressing gender issues in their colleges, where women faculty are typically underrepresented.

“Valian’s work will help department leaders and faculty look at their interactions and behavior with others in a new light,” Dyer said. “She will challenge us to examine the conceptual framework we have of ourselves and to override those automatic biased responses people tend to have with regard to gender and leadership.”

Valian will give a public lecture at 8:30 a.m. April 30 in the Faculty Club Grand Lounge. Workshops for the deans and chairs of the sponsoring colleges will follow, and Valian will guide participating units on how to implement specific strategies with regard to enhancing opportunities for women faculty, along with defining a range of possible next steps.

Valian also will meet with women faculty from science and engineering in the afternoon. A number of campus groups supporting women’s initiatives, such as the President Council on Women’s Issues, the Department of Women’s Studies and Women’s Student Services, also have been invited to attend. In addition to the colleges and The Women’s Place, the Office of the President sponsored Valian’s visit.

“President Karen Holbrook was a catalyst in bringing Virginia Valian here. Lectures and visiting facilitators can be effective mechanisms to aid both the university community and units who are interested in addressing specific gender-related issues at Ohio State,” Dyer said. “The president is hoping this event will be the first in a series of gender equity seminars and functions that will enhance the university’s efforts in this regard.”

Joan Herbers, dean of biological sciences, said the work conducted in preparation for the ADVANCE grant has been valuable and will continue, regardless if the university is awarded the grant. “Issues of gender are particularly acute in the sciences, and educating ourselves about them is the first step toward promoting the full participation of women in the scientific enterprise,” Herbers said. “Dr. Valian is a national expert on gender issues, and we all will benefit from her perspective.”

For more information on Valian, visit her Web site at http://maxweber.hunter.cuny.edu/psych/faculty/valian/valian.htm

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