Responses to Vision 2000
Commentary
Synopsis: A document entitled Vision 2000 was sent to
the New England Council of Presidents with a request for
a meeting with women from several New-England land-grant
universities. The response from the Council of
Presidents is the first letter in the list below. The
remaining letters are responses to false assertions
about the actions of the Council of Presidents and
individual presidents with respect to Vision 2000.
Letter
to Jane Stapleton
Response
to column by John Leo in "U.S. News and World
Report"
Response
to column by John Leo in the "Nashua
Telegraph"
Response
to column by Daphne Patai in the "Chronicle of Higher
Education"
Response
to column by Christina Hoff Sommers in the "Boston
Globe"
----------------
January 7,
1998
Jane
Stapleton, Coordinator
President's Commission on
the Status of Women
University of New
Hampshire
Batcheller House, 11 Rosemary Lane
Durham, NH 03824-3530
Dear Jane:
Thank you for providing the Vision 2000
document, which was discussed at the December 16 meeting
of the Council of Presidents. After discussion, the
following formal statement was adopted:
"The
Council of Presidents of the New England Land-Grant
Universities has considered the document titled Vision
2000. We find the document thoughtful, and the nine
recommendations in the document appropriate. While we
appreciate the specific suggestions in the document, no
single process or solution will apply in all instances.
We will continue to work toward full equity of women in
our universities."
Because of the unique history
and circumstances of each institution, the Council of
Presidents did not feel it would be helpful to have a
group discussion with representatives from several
institutions. Vision 2000 has articulated many
important concerns, and suggested possible approaches
toward solutions. Each president or chancellor will
consider the recommendations in the context of his or
her own university, will work with the women's
leadership on the campus, and will continue to move in
appropriate ways toward the objectives expressed in
Vision 2000.
Sincerely,
Neil R.
Wylie
Executive Officer
cc: Council of Presidents
----------------
January 21, 1998
U.S. News and
World Report
2400 N Street N.W.
Washington,
D.C. 20037-1196
To the Editor:
The
column by John Leo that appeared in the January 19 issue
of "U.S. News and World Report" contains a serious
misunderstanding. As the column says, the New England
Council of Presidents received a document entitled
Vision 2000 from a group of university women that has
met several times to develop and recommend an agenda for
the new century. Our consortium includes the
Universities of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts
Amherst, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
The Vision 2000 document contains nine general
recommendations for achieving women's equity with which
I think many people would agree:
o Foster
accountability.
o Base action plans on research
results.
o Implement diversity initiatives.
o
Promote family-friendly policies.
o Encourage
women's academic and career development.
o Establish
and support women's centers.
o End gender-bias and
discrimination against women in the curriculum of each
university.
o End sexual harassment and violence
against women.
o Correct inequities in hiring,
promotion, tenure, compensation, and working conditions
for women employees.
Vision 2000 also suggests
several more specific strategies and outcomes with which
fewer people might agree, and Mr. Leo clearly is in this
latter group. The Council of Presidents found the
suggestions interesting and challenging, but did not
agree to adopt or pursue a particular strategy.
In
my response for the Council of Presidents to the women's
group, I said the document had been considered, and that
the nine general recommendations listed above seemed
appropriate. Our universities are already committed to
achieving full equity for women, and significant
progress has been made. Each university will continue to
strive in its own way until full equity for women has
been achieved.
Readers of this letter should be
assured that, although the public land-grant
universities in New England are institutions where
differing points of view may be freely expressed, they
are not places where opinions are accepted uncritically,
or where actions are taken without serious reflection
and evaluation.
Sincerely,
Neil R. Wylie
Executive Officer
cc: Council of Presidents
----------------
January 21, 1998
The
Telegraph
P. O. Box 1008
Nashua, NH 03061
To the Editor:
The column by John Leo
that appeared in the January 14 issue of "The Telegraph"
contains a serious misunderstanding. As the column says,
the New England Council of Presidents received a
document entitled Vision 2000 from a group of university
women that has met several times to develop and
recommend an agenda for the new century. Our consortium
includes the Universities of Connecticut, Maine,
Massachusetts Amherst, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and
Vermont.
The Vision 2000 document contains nine
general recommendations for achieving women's equity
with which I think many people would agree:
o
Foster accountability.
o Base action plans on
research results.
o Implement diversity initiatives.
o Promote family-friendly policies.
o Encourage
women's academic and career development.
o Establish
and support women's centers.
o End gender-bias and
discrimination against women in the curriculum of each
university.
o End sexual harassment and violence
against women.
o Correct inequities in hiring,
promotion, tenure, compensation, and working conditions
for women employees.
Vision 2000 also suggests
several more specific strategies and outcomes with which
fewer people might agree, and Mr. Leo clearly is in this
latter group. The Council of Presidents found the
suggestions interesting and challenging, but did not
agree to adopt or pursue a particular strategy.
In my response for the Council of Presidents to
the women's group, I said the document had been
considered, and that the nine general recommendations
listed above seemed appropriate. Our universities are
already committed to achieving full equity for women,
and significant progress has been made. Each university
will continue to strive in its own way until full equity
for women has been achieved.
Readers of this
letter should be assured that, although the public
land-grant universities in New England are institutions
where differing points of view may be freely expressed,
they are not places where opinions are accepted
uncritically, or where actions are taken without serious
reflection and evaluation.
Sincerely,
Neil R. Wylie
Executive Officer
cc:
Council of Presidents
----------------
January 28, 1998
Letters to the
Editor
The
Chronicle of Higher Education
1255 23
rd Street N.W.
Washington, DC 20037
To
the Editor:
The opinion column by Daphne Patai
that appeared in the January 23 issue of "The Chronicle
of Higher Education" contains serious misunderstandings.
As the column says, the New England Council of
Presidents received a document entitled Vision 2000 from
a group of university women that has met several times
to develop and recommend an agenda for the new century.
Our consortium includes the Universities of Connecticut,
Maine, Massachusetts Amherst, New Hampshire, Rhode
Island, and Vermont.
The Vision 2000 document
contains nine general recommendations for achieving
women's equity with which I think many people would
agree:
o Foster accountability.
o Base
action plans on research results.
o Implement
diversity initiatives.
o Promote family-friendly
policies.
o Encourage women's academic and career
development.
o Establish and support women's
centers.
o End gender-bias and discrimination
against women in the curriculum of each university.
o End sexual harassment and violence against women.
o Correct inequities in hiring, promotion, tenure,
compensation, and working conditions for women
employees.
Vision 2000 also suggests several
more specific strategies and outcomes with which fewer
people might agree, and Professor Patai is in this
latter group. The Council of Presidents found the
suggestions interesting and challenging, but did not
agree to adopt or pursue a particular strategy. There
are no plans to consider the document again, and there
are no plans for collective action. No member has
endorsed the full document. Here is the statement that
was adopted in December:
"The Council of
Presidents of New England Land-Grant Universities has
considered the document titled Vision 2000. We find the
document thoughtful, and the nine recommendations in the
document appropriate. While we appreciate the specific
suggestions in the document, no single process or
solution will apply in all instances. We will continue
to work toward full equity of women in our universities"
Our universities are already committed to
achieving full equity for women, and significant
progress has been made. Each university will continue to
strive in its own way until full equity for women has
been achieved.
Readers of this letter should be
assured that, although the public land-grant
universities in New England are institutions where
differing points of view may be freely expressed, they
are not places where opinions are accepted uncritically,
or where actions are taken without serious reflection
and evaluation.
Sincerely,
Neil R.
Wylie
Executive Officer
cc: Council of Presidents
----------------
February 4, 1998
Letters to the Editor
The
Boston Globe
135 Morrissey Blvd., P.O. Box
2378
Boston, MA 02107-2378
To the Editor:
In the column by Christina Hoff Sommers that
appeared February 2 in The Boston Globe, the author
asserts that the New England Council of Presidents
"adopted a 'formal statement' praising Vision 2000." Her
statement is incorrect and misleading.
The Vision
2000 document contains nine general recommendations for
achieving women's equity with which I think many people
would agree:
o Foster accountability.
o Base
action plans on research results.
o Implement
diversity initiatives.
o Promote family-friendly
policies.
o Encourage women's academic and career
development.
o Establish and support women's
centers.
o End gender-bias and discrimination
against women in the curriculum of each university.
o End sexual harassment and violence against women.
o Correct inequities in hiring, promotion, tenure,
compensation, and working conditions for women
employees.
Vision 2000 also suggests several
more specific strategies and outcomes with which fewer
people might agree, and Christina Hoff Sommers is in
this latter group. The Council of Presidents found the
suggestions interesting and challenging, but did not
agree to adopt or pursue a particular strategy. Here is
the statement that was adopted in December:
"The
Council of Presidents of New England Land-Grant
Universities has considered the document titled Vision
2000. We find the document thoughtful, and the nine
recommendations in the document appropriate. While we
appreciate the specific suggestions in the document, no
single process or solution will apply in all instances.
We will continue to work toward full equity of women in
our universities."
Our consortium includes the
Universities of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts
Amherst, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Our
universities are already committed to achieving full
equity for women, and Ms. Sommers is correct when she
says that progress has been made. Each university will
continue to strive in its own way until full equity for
women has been achieved.
Readers of this letter
should be assured that, although the public land-grant
universities in New England are institutions where
differing points of view may be freely expressed, they
are not places where opinions are accepted uncritically,
or where actions are taken without serious reflection
and evaluation.
Sincerely,
Neil R.
Wylie
Executive Officer
cc: Council of
Presidents
