President's Commission on the Status of Women

"Recommendations and Report on the Status of Women in the Academic Profession at Dickinson College" documents the information from a survey done from 1962 to 1972, which included a study of student enrollment during those years. In these ten years, female enrollment increased from 33.3 % to 43.2 %. On the other hand, male enrollment had increased as well. The downside to this information was that there was an increase of female students, but no increase in female faculty.

Data from a survey done from 1962 to 1972 about Dickinson College faculty revealed information about female faculty in the "Recommendations and Report on the Status of Women in the Academic Profession at Dickinson College" document. They discovered some interesting results, both positive and negative. Some negative aspects found from the survey were that women were underrepresented on the faculty, in the upper professional ranks and on the standing committees of the faculty.

In this report, the possibility of a Women's Center is mentioned. Opponents believed that this would be discrimination against men. While no center existed at the time, the Commission garnered its own bulletin board in the basement of Old West. , had an "open house" for its members and others, luncheons in HUB siderooms, and stressed the importance of getting all the Service Support Personnel who were women to be a part of the Commission.

The Commission on the Status of Women at the College formed four subcommittees to help investigate more deeply into several areas including recruitment and employment practices, attitude research, program and services, and community relations.

Professor Barbara McDonald, Commission chairwoman at the time, stressed the importance of the involvement of diverse individuals and any help offerred to the Commission will be appreciated.

This article, written by Marcy Feldman, describes the resources that will soon be available at the opening of the Women's Center on March 1, 1984. "The Women's Center, intended to provide a meeting place for women's groups on campus...will offer lectures and exhibits focusing on feminist issues. The Women's Center is also intended to raise women's consciousness of pertinent issues on and off campus."