Statements/Reports

Reaffirming and Extending Caltech's Commitment
to Attract and Retain a Diverse Faculty

As the 21st century begins, institutions of higher education face the challenge of increasing the diversity of their faculties across the disciplines, especially in science and engineering. To the extent that their faculties currently do not represent the diversity of American society, institutions fail to take advantage of the full range of talent available and fail to offer their students an educational environment that is representative of the country. Caltech, an institution primarily focused on the highest caliber research and education in engineering and science, recognizes a special responsibility to attract and retain a diverse faculty.

One component of faculty diversity involves the representation of women; the need to focus on this aspect is made more compelling by the significant numbers of women at the undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral levels. In December 2001, the Committee on the Status of Women Faculty at Caltech (CSWFC) issued a report that raised serious issues regarding the experiences of women faculty at the Institute. The Caltech Administration commends the committee on its dedication and effort and wholeheartedly endorses the committee's concluding comment:

In essence, to achieve its full potential, Caltech needs to hire more women faculty, be more proactive in nurturing its junior faculty, and make itself friendlier to the working family.

The Caltech Administration commits itself to addressing in a substantive manner the concerns raised by the CSWFC Report and to implementing changes at the institutional level that respond to the Committee's recommendations. Many of the recommendations apply equally well to the situation of underrepresented minorities. The Administration emphasizes it is also committed to increasing the participation of underrepresented minorities at all academic levels.

Increasing the number of women and underrepresented minority faculty. Caltech will aggressively and proactively recruit women and underrepresented minorities for faculty positions. Concerns of rank or overly narrow disciplinary focus will not be permitted to foreclose the consideration of these candidates in faculty searches. Visiting faculty and postdoctoral positions will be used to bring women and underrepresented minorities to campus to provide visibility for these individuals and their accomplishments and to allow them to experience and enrich the intellectual and educational environment offered by Caltech.

Ensuring equity in salary between male and female professors. Careful attention will be paid to the salaries of women faculty to ensure that there is no systematic undervaluing of their contributions.

Improving mentoring and the tenure experience. Mentoring and tracking programs for junior faculty are being established throughout the Institute. The Divisional and Institute-wide tenure processes are being more clearly defined and will be more regularly scrutinized.

Increasing the participation and visibility of women faculty. The participation of women in upper level administration is already increasing, with the recent election of women to the positions of Chair and Vice Chair of the faculty and the appointments of women to the Chairmanship of one of Caltech's six academic Divisions, to a Vice Presidency and to the Directorship of the Beckman Institute. Several women have also recently been awarded endowed chairs. This laudable trend is expected to increase as women faculty advance in rank throughout the Institute.

Improving the working environment. The Administration recognizes the challenges faced by faculty in balancing family and personal responsibilities and needs with the demands of an academic career. The Administration is committed to assisting working families through provision of expanded daycare opportunities for young children and through progressive parental leave policies.

Monitoring progress. Progress in the implementation of the recommendations of the CSWFC will be monitored by the Administration in close coordination with a standing or ad hoc faculty committee constituted by the Faculty Board. The Administration is equally committed to monitoring the Institute's progress in the recruitment and retention of underrepresented minority faculty.

The Caltech Administration recognizes that the changes called for here are not its sole province but will require the engagement and participation of the Caltech faculty. We remain firmly committed to fulfilling the mandate of the presidential inaugural address of March 1998:

Caltech has for years recognized the need to focus on issues of diversity and has made great strides. However, it is an unfinished agenda, and a difficult one - only thoughtful analysis and committed effort on the part of the entire campus will make it happen.

The Administration appreciates the efforts already made by the faculty in this regard and calls upon the faculty to continue its commitment to increasing diversity at Caltech.



President, David Baltimore Provost, Steve Koonin


download statement

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Committee on the Status of Women Faculty at Caltech
In December 2001, the Committee on the Status of Women Faculty at Caltech, chaired by Professor Anneila I. Sargent, issued its final report. The Executive Summary of the Report states, "The Committee believes that, to achieve its full potential, Caltech needs to hire more women faculty, be more proactive in nurturing its junior faculty, and make itself friendlier to the working family. We agree with the sentiments expressed by Caltech President, David Baltimore, in his March 2001 statement on diversity, 'we must be willing to modify our traditional assumptions to create a more welcoming environment. We will do this while keeping in mind our fundamental goal of academic excellence, recognizing that intellectual achievement is Caltech's premier contribution to the world.'"
read or download the full Executive Summary and Report

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NEWS RELEASE September 9, 2002
Office of Media Relations
Pasadena, Calif. 91125
626/395-3227
Caltech Works to Improve Status of Women and Minority Faculty

PASADENA, Calif. - The California Institute of Technology is expanding efforts to improve the recruitment and retention of its women and minority faculty. In endorsing these Institute-wide efforts, the administration has issued a statement, "Reaffirming and Extending Caltech's Commitment to Attract and Retain a Diverse Faculty."
The statement is a response to a report presented during the 2001-02 academic year by the Committee on the Status of Women Faculty at Caltech (CSWFC), chaired by Professor Anneila Sargent. The 31-page report recommended that Caltech "hire more women faculty, be more proactive in nurturing its junior faculty, and make itself friendlier to the working family."
In the months following the release of the report, the Caltech faculty board and administration held a series of conversations and meetings on the report's findings, and the academic division chairs presented new initiatives for recruitment and mentoring to the faculty.
The administration's document states that "The Caltech administration commits itself to addressing in a substantive manner the concerns raised by the CSWFC Report and to implementing changes at the institutional level that respond to the Committee's recommendations." The statement of action pledges that the administration “is also committed to increasing the participation of underrepresented minorities at all academic levels."
"This response by the Caltech administration comes after extensive discussions with many constituencies about how best for Caltech to make itself more welcoming to women and underrepresented minorities," said President David Baltimore. "By elevating women within the school and a woman as vice president, we have taken tangible steps, but the statement makes it clear that we recognize we have a long way to go. We are committed to taking the road."
The statement was signed by Baltimore, Provost Steve Koonin, and endorsed by all six academic division chairs. The Caltech faculty and administration agree that improvements must be made in six key areas:

• Increasing the number of women and underrepresented minority faculty
• Ensuring equity and salary between male and female professors
• Improving the mentoring and the tenure experience
• Increasing the participation and visibility of women faculty
• Improving the working environment for faculty
• Monitoring progress of the institutional efforts on a regular basis
  

Caltech has made steps in these directions during the past year. The chair and vice chair of the faculty board are women, one division chair is a woman, as is the director of the Beckman Institute on campus. In August, Caltech appointed its first woman vice president, Margo Marshak, who will take her post as the head of student affairs October 21.
Mentoring programs are in place in several divisions, and divisional and Institute-wide tenure processes are being more clearly defined and will be regularly scrutinized. Caltech is also aggressively recruiting women and underrepresented minorities for faculty and postdoctoral positions.
The administration statement further pledges that Caltech is committed to assisting working families through provision of expanded daycare opportunities for young children and through progressive parental leave policies.
“The Report on the Status of Women has focused much-needed attention on the necessity of recruiting, hiring, and retaining excellent women and minority faculty to Caltech,” said Marianne Bronner-Fraser, chair of the faculty board and Ruddock Professor of Biology. “It has also identified a number of important areas in which we need to generally improve the quality of life of the faculty as a whole, including making Caltech a more family-friendly environment. With this as a framework, I am optimistic that positive changes are forthcoming. The faculty board is committed to monitoring and facilitating these changes whenever possible and intends to be proactive in pushing the recommendations of the report.”

Dr. Shirley Malcom, a Caltech trustee and the director of the Education and Human Resources Programs at the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Washington, D.C., notes that these efforts should be part of a larger movement across the nation. "A comprehensive plan that includes increased PhD production and postdoctoral opportunities, aggressive recruitment, retention, and advancement is needed nationwide, a national plan that must be embraced and implemented one university at a time. I commend Caltech for taking on this challenge, even as it realizes that by doing so, it places its problems, as well as its ambitions for addressing them, in the spotlight."

MEDIA CONTACT: Jill Perry, Media Relations Director
(626) 395-3226, jperry@caltech.edu
Back to Media Relations: http://pr.caltech.edu/media