Campus News

IFW Success Multiplies: March 10 Event Planned

Dean of Undergraduate Studies Sue Faerman

Initiatives For Women (IFW) has been so successful that last year it gave out more than eight times the amount of award money to UAlbany students and staff than it did in its first year, 1994. During that same period of time, the number of awards given almost quadrupled, from 10 awards in 1994 to 38 in 2004.

IFW was first launched in 1993 under the leadership of Gloria DeSole, with the mission of enriching educational and career opportunities for women students, faculty, and staff at the University. To date, IFW has given out $237,353 in awards to 330 undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, and staff, who have used the money to pay for everything from tuition to books and travel expenses for research and doctoral conferences. Cur­rently functioning under the Academic Affairs office as an all-volunteer organization comprised of faculty, administrators, and staff, this spring IFW is committed to raising more than $20,000 to be awarded this summer to deserving individuals. A fund-raising appeal is in the works and a letter has gone out to supporters both on and off campus. Contributions may be sent to IFW at LE-G60. Checks should be made out to the University at Albany Foundation.

Questions may be directed to Meredith Butler, who is strategic planning/fund-raising chair.

One of the traditional goals of IFW has been education, and each year, IFW has held a Winter Forum, covering topics such as women’s health issues, women in the arts, and women in technology. This year, the Winter Forum is being planned for Thursday, March 10, at 5:30 p.m. in the Campus Center Assembly Hall. Past recipients of IFW awards have been invited back to talk about their accomplishments since receiving the IFW support.

Given the growth of IFW, readers probably won’t be surprised to hear that it has outgrown its prior leadership and organizational structure. Since Kathy Turek was named chair in 2002, the scope of responsibilities to run IFW has gone far beyond just chairing the meetings. Turek’s retirement from the University in June 2004 left a void that now will be filled by a Leadership Council, consisting of eight women who will split the tasks Turek and her predecessors, Carol Bullard and DeSole, once carried out.

In addition to the Leadership Council, the new structure will rely on IFW members to participate in a range of IFW subcommittees.

Dean of Undergraduate Studies and Director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning Sue Faerman will be the primary spokeswoman and point person, overseeing operations and chairing the Leadership Council. Faerman said, “IFW has adopted a shared leadership model that truly reflects the grass-roots, collaborative spirit under which we were founded. Moreover, this model reflects the new type of leadership approach that many organizations are adopting in the 21st century. It is a model that allows people to contribute as leaders based on their abilities and areas of expertise.”

Other members of the new IFW Leader­ship Council, in addition to Faerman and Butler, include Shai Brown, membership coordinator; Diane Cardone, financial manager; Carol Anne Germain, award application committee lead co-chair; Christine Haile, campus leadership liaison; Greta Petry, public relations chair; and Rosann Santos; events coordinator.