Friday, May 6, 2016

AASWOMEN Newsletter for May 06, 2016


AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of May 06, 2016
eds: Daryl Haggard, Nicolle Zellner, Elysse Voyer, & Heather Flewelling

This week's issues:

1. "Mistakes were made": The case for proportional response to harassment

2. When bathrooms and supernovae collide: Anti-LGBTQ legislation is hindering participation in science

3. Meg Urry elected to the National Academy of Science

4. Sexual harassment training may have reverse effect, research suggests

5. National Mentoring Community

6. The Astronaut Scholarship Foundation

7. Job Opportunities

8. How to Submit to the AASWOMEN newsletter

9. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWOMEN newsletter

10. Access to Past Issues


1. "Mistakes were made": The case for proportional response to harassment
From: Sarah Tuttle via womeninastronomy.blogspot.com

[This post was edited from its original version to better treat intersectionality and racism. -Eds]

This year has led the "revelation" (in quotes, because y'all... we knew) that sexual harassment in the academy is alive and well. Through the heroic efforts of some, in the most egregious occurrences sanctions have been enacted. But we are left with a question - How do we prevent history from repeating?

In particular, how do we not end up in the situation where we are cleaning up 10, 20, or even 30 years of ongoing harassment that *finally* culminates in disciplinary action.

To read more, please see

http://womeninastronomy.blogspot.ca/2016/05/mistakes-were-made-case-for.html

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2. When bathrooms and supernovae collide: Anti-LGBTQ legislation is hindering participation in science
From: Jessica Mink via womeninastronomy.blogspot.com

By MacKenzie Warren

[MacKenzie Warren (very recently) completed his PhD in Physics at University of Notre Dame. He will soon begin a postdoc at Michigan State University. MacKenzie's research is in computational modeling of core-collapse supernovae, particularly the role of nuclear and neutrino processes in the explosion mechanism.]

Spinning off of Jessica Mink’s earlier post "On Becoming a Woman Astronomer", I have written this post to offer another perspective. My experience has been very different from Jessica’s in many ways: I am a trans guy (female to male) and I am transitioning while in graduate school. I never “planned” to transition in graduate school. My trans identity snuck up on me, as is often the case, and this is where I find myself. ... Today, I’d like to talk about bathrooms and how anti-LGBTQ legislation hinders participation in science.

To read more, please see

http://womeninastronomy.blogspot.ca/2016/05/when-bathrooms-and-supernovae-collide.html

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3. Meg Urry elected to the National Academy of Science
From: Nicolle Zellner [nzellner_at_albion.edu]

Dr. Meg Urry, Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Yale University and President of the American Astronomical Society, has been elected as a new member of the National Academy of Science.

Read more at

http://news.yale.edu/2016/05/04/yale-professors-elected-prestigious-national-academy-sciences

and

https://aas.org/posts/news/2016/05/aas-members-urry-heckman-elected-national-academy-sciences

See the full list at

http://www.nasonline.org/news-and-multimedia/news/may-3-2016-NAS-Election.html

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4. Sexual harassment training may have reverse effect, research suggests
From: Daryl Haggard via the Equity and Inclusion FB page

Trainings' use of "cartoonish, unrealistic" examples could be partially to blame for men’s subsequent dismissal of allegations, says Berkeley professor.

Sexual harassment courses aimed at preventing workplace discrimination can have the opposite effect, making men less capable of perceiving inappropriate behavior and more likely to blame victims, according to academic studies that cast doubt on traditional training programs.

One researcher who has questioned the effectiveness of harassment prevention classes is Lauren Edelman, a professor of law and sociology at the University of California Berkeley, the prestigious school that has been at the center of a series of high-profile faculty misconduct scandals in recent months.

"Sexual harassment training may, in fact, make it less likely that males will recognize situations that are harassing," said Edelman, a faculty member in the renowned UC Berkeley law school, where Sujit Choudhry resigned as dean after he was found to have sexually harassed his executive assistant. "Sexual harassment training may provoke backlash in males."

To read more, please see

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/may/02/sexual-harassment-training-failing-women

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5. National Mentoring Community
From: Daryl Haggard via the Equity and Inclusion FB page

The National Mentoring Community (NMC) is an effort by the APS to increase the number of underrepresented minority students who complete Bachelor's degrees in physics. The statistics of participation by African Americans, Hispanic Americans and Native Americans in physics are appalling. Physics ranks the lowest at all levels of participation among science and mathematical fields.

The NMC is identifying mentors throughout the country who can establish a personal relationship with students and provide them with guidance and support as they navigate their academic careers. Mentees will be identified by mentors, and the program will provide support to help mentees and mentors get the most out of their relationship.

To learn more, please see

http://www.aps.org/programs/minorities/mentoring

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6. The Astronaut Scholarship Foundation
From: Daryl Haggard via the Equity and Inclusion FB page

Created by the Mercury 7 Astronauts

OUR MISSION: To aid the United States in retaining its world leadership in science and technology by providing college scholarships for the very best and brightest students pursuing science, technology, engineering or math degrees.

In addition, the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation strongly promotes the importance of science and technology to the general public by facilitating unique programs and special events.

To learn more, please see

http://astronautscholarship.org

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7. Job Opportunities

For those interested in increasing excellence and diversity in their organizations, a list of resources and advice is here: http://www.aas.org/cswa/diversity.html#howtoincrease

- NSF Program Director Positions: Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS), Division of Astronomical Sciences (AST)
http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2016/ast16001/ast16001.jsp?WT.mc_id=USNSF_147

- Visiting Professor of Astronomy, Amherst College, Amherst, MA
https://apply.interfolio.com/34923

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8. How to Submit to the AASWOMEN newsletter

To submit an item to the AASWOMEN newsletter, including replies to topics, send email to aaswomen_at_aas.org

All material will be posted unless you tell us otherwise, including your email address.

When submitting a job posting for inclusion in the newsletter, please include a one-line description and a link to the full job posting.

Please remember to replace "_at_" in the e-mail address above.

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9. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWOMEN newsletter

Join AASWOMEN List by email:

Send email to aaswlist+subscribe_at_aas.org from the address you want to have subscribed. You can leave the subject and message blank if you like.

Be sure to follow the instructions in the confirmation email. (Just reply back to the email list)

To unsubscribe by email:

Send email to aawlist+unsubscribe_at_aas.org from the address you want to have UNsubscribed. You can leave the subject and message blank if you like.

To join or leave AASWOMEN via web, or change your membership settings:

https://groups.google.com/a/aas.org/group/aaswlist

You will have to create a Google Account if you do not already have one, using https://accounts.google.com/newaccount?hl=en

Google Groups Subscribe Help:

http://support.google.com/groups/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=46606

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10. Access to Past Issues

http://www.aas.org/cswa/AASWOMEN.html

Each annual summary includes an index of topics covered.

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