The University of Delaware Women’s Caucus will hold its fall general meeting from 12:30-1:30 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 11, in 220 Allison Hall.

All women who work at UD are invited to attend. The caucus board will present on various issues, share priorities for the upcoming year, and invite suggestions and feedback from all who attend. For more information, visit the website or email womenscaucus@udel.edu.

Board announcements, election results

The caucus is led by a board of up to 15 members, serving staggered three-year terms. Four seats were up for election this year during the April board meeting and officer elections were held at the June board meeting. 

Effective June 1, Kelsey Cummings and Keeley Powell joined the board as new members; Robin Andreasen and Heather Doty were re-elected to additional terms.

Cummings, academic program coordinator in the University Honors Program, has been involved with the caucus for the last two years as a general member and as subcommittee chair for Leave Policies and Promotional issues. In the Honors Program, she interacts with a variety of departments and programs, and works closely with a group called Honors Mosaic, a program for students of color in the Honors Program.

“I have really enjoyed my time as a member of the Women’s Caucus and am really passionate about leave policies in particular, as well as all issues for women on campus,” said Cummings.

Powell, director of graduate recruitment and diversity in the Office of Graduate and Professional Education, said she is interested in promoting the interests of women on campus and looks forward to bringing the voice of female graduate students and providing overall support.

Andreasan, professor in the Department of Linguistics and Cognitive Science, has been actively involved on the board over the last three years as faculty co-chair. She is also involved in diversity efforts at a number of levels, including administratively, programmatically and in her teaching and research.

“As co-principal investigator on the UD ADVANCE grant, which aims to improve the representation and retention of women faculty and faculty of color in areas in which they are underrepresented, I am passionate about working to effect change,” said Andreasen. “My research focuses on race and gender equity in science and public policy, so I am happy to continue serving on the Women’s Caucus to continue to hear about the primary concerns of women faculty and staff on campus and work toward better information dissemination and to advocate for change.”

Having completed her term as faculty co-chair, Andreasen was elected to serve as secretary to fill the officer term completed by Megan Gaffney.

Doty, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, has been a member of the board for the last three years during which time she maintained the “Kudos” section of the caucus website and contributed to the annual report. She will serve as faculty co-chair for the 2016-18 term to fill the officer term completed by Andreasen.

“I’m excited about the work that the Women’s Caucus has in progress on outreaching more broadly to women across campus, and on leave policies for staff,” said Doty.

Karren Helsel-Spry, an administrative assistant for the Faculty Senate, completed a three-year term of service.

Christine Scheirer-Mangat, a gift officer in UD’s Office of Development and Alumni Relations who has served on the board since 2011, held the position of staff co-chair beginning in 2013. She left the board earlier this summer in accepting a new role as a major gifts officer at the Drexel University College of Medicine.

Cummings will fill the current staff co-chair term vacated by Scheirer-Mangat.

2016 Torch Award

Nancy Targett, immediate past president of the University, was named the 2016 Torch Award winner earlier this summer.

The Torch Award is presented annually in recognition of an individual who has “carried the torch for women’s equality” at the University of Delaware. The torch recalls the lighting of a torch for the 1977 National Women’s Conference, symbolically charting a course between the first Women’s Rights Convention of 1848 and the modern movement for women’s liberation. 

It was selected by the Women’s Caucus to represent the past and present efforts to achieve equality and improve the quality of employment for women at UD.

Targett has been a long-time advocate for issues of concern to women at UD, as well as a leader in her field.

A nationally recognized expert on ocean issues today, Targett first arrived at UD in 1984 as a marine chemical ecologist. By 1994, she had worked to receive full tenure, in 2000 was appointed associate dean of the then-named College of Marine Studies and in 2006, was named dean of the college.

She has held positions on the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council; as editor of the Journal of Chemical Ecology and later a member of the editorial board; and is a lifetime member of the International Society of Chemical Ecology.

Under her leadership as dean, among many achievements, the college launched and named its research vessel, R/V Joanne Daiber, after UD’s first female marine scientist to inspire young women considering careers in science and technology.

At the conclusion of the Board of Trustees meeting in May, Targett was officially recognized as the 27th – and UD’s first female – president. She is currently provost and vice president of academic affairs at the University of New Hampshire.

Targett accepted the award at a luncheon in her honor on Tuesday, May 31.

In remembrance

It is with great sadness that the Women’s Caucus recognizes Elaine Salo, associate professor of political science and international relations and of women and gender studies, who died Aug. 13 after battling cancer. She was a wonderful colleague and friend to those on the Caucus, and a true champion for issues of concern to women at UD.

A memorial article, as well as information on a service to be held in celebration of her life, may be found on UDaily.