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Even though the 2012 NAICU Annual Meeting is history, you can continue to benefit and learn from the many presentations and speeches that were offered, and are now available on line.

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Gender Issues/Single-sex Institutions

Instead of Work, Younger Women Head to School

New York Times

December 29, 2011

Many young women seem to be postponing their working lives to get more education. There are now - for the first time in three decades - more young women in school than in the work force. Though young women in their late teens and early 20's view today's economic lull as an opportunity to upgrade their skills, their male counterparts are more likely to take whatever job they can find. The longer-term consequences, economists say, are that the next generation of women may have a significant advantage over their male counterparts, whose career options are already becoming constrained.

Pine Manor College, a school for low-income students, is low on income, too

Boston Globe

December 23, 2011

Fifteen years ago, as enrollment at many women's schools dwindled, Pine Manor College assumed a new identity: It focused on low-income women who showed perseverance, if not perfect grades. The move transformed Pine Manor into one of the nation's most ethnically diverse small colleges and brought in many students who went on to promising careers in law, business, and health. It earned press and praise. What it didn't earn was money. While focusing on poor students, Pine Manor itself became poor. And it is getting poorer. Now, at 100 years old, it faces a second identity crisis: Can it maintain the commitment to low-income students and survive?

Seven Sisters, State Dept. team up to promote women’s leadership

USA Today

December 16, 2011

The kick off celebration was held Thursday for the Woman in Public Service Program, a joint initiative between the State Department and the Seven Sisters women's colleges - Barnard, Bryn Mawr, Mount Holyoke, Smith and Wellesley. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had announced the initiative on International Women's Day, March 8, with the goal of encouraging more women to enter the public sector. A key part of the effort will be summer institutes for women identified as leaders in their part of the world.

How One College President Is Breaking Down Barriers For Women In Tech

Forbes Magazine

December 12, 2011

One stubbornly undeveloped group who represent a minority in almost all areas of STEM is women. But a nationally recognized computer scientist, mathematician and educator is determined to reverse the trend. When Dr. Maria Klawe became president of Harvey Mudd College five years ago, she embarked on a strategic effort, similar to an overhaul she led at Princeton in her former position there as Dean of Engineering, to increase the presence of women in STEM fields. At Harvey Mudd, one of the seven Claremont colleges, Dr. Klawe's strategy has already produced dramatic results.

Take a good look at women's colleges

Danbury, Conn., News-Times - Column

November 30, 2011

At a women's college, all the resources - from sophisticated research equipment to athletics facilities to internship and fellowship funding - are focused on and available to women students. Graduating from a women's college versus a coed public or private college or university significantly increases a woman's chances of earning a graduate degree, according to research. And women's college alumnae gave much higher effectiveness ratings to their schools for helping students than liberal arts or public flagship universities, according to the 2008 Hardwick~Day Comparative Alumnae Survey.

DC human rights agency says same-sex dorms at Catholic University aren’t discriminatory

Washington Post

November 29, 2011

A District of Columbia government agency says Catholic University does not discriminate against its students by forcing them to live in single-sex dorms.

A World College for the World’s Women

Association of International Education Administrators Website - Opinion Piece

November 28, 2011

Carol T. Christ, President, Smith College, writes: Increasingly, women are recognized as the hope of nations. And yet, in too many parts of the world, girls and women still receive an inadequate education or no education at all and are restricted from full participation in society. Making progress in addressing this gender gap requires intelligent women from many nationalities and socioeconomic backgrounds, who are globally educated and prepared to lead.

Addressing The Shortage Of Women In Silicon Valley

NPR - Morning Edition

November 11, 2011

The problem is not only the small number of women with bachelor's degrees in computer science coming in the door; it's also the industry's inability to retain them. Women leave their technical jobs far more often than men.

College adds dorms, locker rooms to gender-neutral policy

USA Today

November 9, 2011

Male, female, straight, gay, lesbian, transgender - labels don't matter at Grinnell College. Students can share a dormitory room, bathroom, shower room or locker room with any of the above, if they choose. This year, the private liberal arts college on the Iowa prairie has added a gender-neutral locker room to its mix of gender-neutral options. It's the most recent step for the school, which became the state's only college to offer a gender-neutral dorm option three years ago as part of a growing trend nationwide.

Women's University to Reconsider Hard Line on Transgender Students

Chronicle of Higher Education

October 23, 2011

Hollins University plans to re-examine a rule that allows for the expulsion of transgender students who have taken a step toward sex reassignment but have not yet completed the process. Hollins is by no means the only single-sex institution wrestling with the question of how to properly serve women at a time when ideas about gender are no longer fixed in immutable pastels of pink and blue.

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