Hi everyone,

Welcome and welcome back!  It feels like it's been months since I've written, though a week and a half is a little more accurate.  But a great deal has happened in that time.  First and foremost:  The Women's Center, Office of Diversity Initiatives, and Conflict Resolution Resource Center are up and running (well, getting there) in the new facility in Landis House!  With two resource rooms, a reading area, multiple offices and a working kitchen, Landis is the ideal collaborative space.  Although we're still painting and getting some other renovations done, we've got couches and chairs set up downstairs, so feel free to stop by anytime! 

Enjoy fancy snacks, good music, and good company at our open house on Friday, February 5th, at 4:30pm, before the first Ladies' Night of the semester.

In other news:  I returned on Friday afternoon from a transformative experience at LeaderShape, a weeklong leadership and vision retreat at which I served as a Cluster Facilitator.  It was truly inspiring to meet students I wouldn't normally see, guide them through a challenging and productive vision- and goal-setting process, and emerge on the other side part of a truly connected and rewarding community.  Even if you weren't one of the 61 students who attended, I hope you'll see the traces of this leadership across the campus this spring.  Professionally, I also gained a lot of insight about my strengths and abilities that I think will inform my work at Dickinson for years to come. 

That's definitely given me some catching up to do, however!  So, from my task list to your web browser, here's the regular  rundown of what's on my plate.

Add tasks:  I have to sift through my notes, my LeaderShape files, and my emails to be sure I've added all the things I need to do in the right order (so, in the midst of the move, nothing slips off my radar)  

Email cleanup:  returning from LeaderShape and not having email most of yesterday, I'm still catching up on email from two weeks ago!     
Moodle setup:  I need to establish a Moodle site and post readings for this semester's Introduction to Women's and Gender Studies course  
Trustees bullet points:  The Board of Trustees are visiting this weekend and I need to frame some of the salient Women's Center achievements since their last visit, as part of a Divisional report
internship position description and student worker description:  see two weeks ago!

 Intro prep:  Introduction to Women's and Gender Studies is underway, so I need to prep for Thursday's class

recommendation letters:  self-explanatory  
Grant writing process:  the smaller group that's organizing the writing process for our Office of Violence Against Women grant application will be meeting soon

Flyers:  advertising the new location for the Women's Center, the open house on February 5th, and the victim advocate naming contest!
Victim advocate survey questions:  as we do a name change competition for the victim advocate position, we'd like to survey students about what's working and what's not about the independent contract       
first year experience programs:  divisionally, we are exploring some emphasis to next year's orientation program, and I need to get started on my portion

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I'm dying to see you all in Landis House sometime soon! Be sure, also, to check out the spring 2010 events under our "News and Events" tab.

Be well and happy January,

Susannah

Hey all,

Well, that was exciting!  Just got back from a trip to Landis House to tag the furniture we'll be using once we move in.  Right now our move is scheduled for next week and we should be open for operations on the first day of classes, January 25th.  Paula, Lori and I have been picking out paint colors and discussing the layout of the resource room, the reading room, and our individual offices.  Our third partner in this project, Shalom Staub, is out of the country on a college trip, and we definitely miss his input!  It's fun to contemplate nesting but it adds another layer of work to the week.  I'm heading out for the LeaderShape retreat in Quarryville next week, as is Paula, so we are looking at a firm deadline:  we board the bus at 9:30am on Saturday.

In other news--after a great relaxing weekend, I'm sitting down for some serious administration this week.  I'm still working on reading Do I Look Fat In This? and developing student worker and intern descriptions for the Women's Center.  Although I really want to engage students quickly in the growing Center, I'm starting to wonder if that project might be best handled as a really thoughtful summer experience.  The plus side to that is that it means I can look very thoughtfully at what will work best and set it as a top goal/priority for 2010-2011.  The down side is, of course, that it means one more semester without as much active formal student ownership of Women's Center projects and mission (there's plenty of informal engagement and leadership, but it's time to make an accountable structure).  Any thoughts or interest in this? 

I also didn't make it to reviewing spring programs or finalizing my syllabus (though I have a great outline of the latter and just need to line up the dates with the readings).  So those are top priority for today.

I also have the great privilege of meeting later today with Chris Van Buskirk and Tara Renault to discuss a partnership with College Advancement around International Women's Day.  I'm excited about this prospect and, since I was sick last week, looking forward to the rescheduled meeting!

Other items on the list:

--pack my office in the HUB

--read ecofeminism article that Sarah Brylinsky shared with me on google docs after our meeting late last week

--write two memos/statements regarding our grant application so we can update college administrators about the work that's moving forward for Dickinson to apply for a campus safety grant through the Department of Justice's Office of Violence Against Women.  This is a major ongoing initiative in our work to prevent and respond to sexual violence and, since we're pulling together our grant writing team this month, it's time for me to draft a short statement to share a little more broadly so other folks at the college know what's going on.

--PanHel:  In late January, I'm going to be assisting Associate Dean Tim Poirier with a retreat for executives in the PanHellenic Association.  I need to check in with Tim about what this retreat will look like so I can get rolling with any prep/outlining/research I might need to do.  Our initial conversation was about promoting positive women's communities, so it's time to get a little deeper into what that might mean (both for that specific event but also to be sure it fits with the broader picture of Greek advising and feminist work at Dickinson).

 --Intro to Women's and Gender Studies field trip:  the students in my WGST 200 course this semester will have an opportunity to go on a field trip related to human trafficking in February.  I need to finalize and comment upon our itinerary and then be sure my syllabus is a good fit.

Lots to do and lots of fun to do it!  As always, feel free to email with your input and let me know if you would like to join or support specific projects.  My apologies if I don't have a chance to email with a reply right away but it's great to hear from you.  Next week I'll be helping the students attending LeaderShape to develop their vision.  So I'll be back with a blog on the first day of classes, Monday, January 25th.  Have fun, be well, stay warm, and let me know what you think!

 Susannah

Happy New Year to all!  It's great to be back at work, especially with a space heater making my office warm and cozy.

 I was fortunate enough to start off the year with a breakfast meeting with Sarah Brylinsky, Dickinson's fierce Sustainability Education Coordinator.  Sarah and I are co-teaching a Fall 2010 course in Ecofeminism and met to get an early start on our course plans.  It was invigorating to swap ideas and sketch out (literally) ways to make the class grow.  We'll be getting together later this week for an extravaganza:  bringing boxes of articles and books together in a big room with a big whiteboard and mapping out all of the possible connections & explosions that the course could create.  From there we will develop something manageable (but no less miraculous).

 Also on the agenda for the week--I'll be meeting tomorrow with representatives from Facilities and with Paula Lima, the amazing Director of the Office of Diversity Initiatives, to finalize our plans for the Women's Center, ODI, and Conflict Resolution Resource Center to move into Landis House by the time classes start.  Aaaah!  So quick, so exciting.  Landis is located at College and Pomfret Streets, one block south of High Street and across from Adams and Drayer residence halls.  I have fingers and toes crossed that, once we see what needs to happen for us to be ready, I can get the office packed and work with Paula to shape our shared resource room/living room so it's ready to open on January 25th.  Needless to say, there will be fabulous paint colors, comfortable pillows, tea and coffee, and plenty of freebies.  Did I mention that this will be happening quickly?

Lately, I'm a fan of Outlook's Tasks function, which allows me to list things months in advance of the due date and then check them off with a satisfying mouse click.  So, straight from my Outlook to your eyes, here's this week's to-do list:

--student worker description:  now that the WC is a little more established, how could I use a student worker, if one were to become available?

--internship position description:  along the same lines, what could the WC start to do to better develop internship possibilities?

--read Feminist Frontiers:  I have a lot of homework in the coming weeks!  Specifically, I have to review the chapters in this textbook to decide the order & plans for my spring 2010 Introduction to Women's Studies course.

 --review spring programs:  gotta take a clinical and purposeful look at what I have planned for the spring.  With events (either primary or co-sponsored) planned for every week of the spring semester, am I really using WC resources to their maximum effect?  I can't be present for all of that and remain standing for the important administrative reflection period in May & June.  So this strategic review helps me figure out what will stay and what will go--or, as a third option, what I might be able to encourage students to pick up and run away with. 

--Paula Tres Vidas:  along the same lines, there's a performer who does an engaging show about Latina women that I'm curious to bring to campus.  I need to check in with Paula about her plans and see if it is a good idea for a possible collaboration either this year or next.

 --ecofeminist items:  gather my info, both conceptual and physical, for the big haul with Sarah at the end of the week!

 --read Do I Look Fat In This?:  a first-year student approached me about developing a reading group using this engaging text about body image.  I'd like to read it before we get together to see whether it's the right kind of book for the WC's first-ever reading group activity.

--Qu@D powerpoint:  Qu@D is the genius acronym invented by Dickinson's own Stephanie Gilmore, Assistant Professor of Women's and Gender Studies, that stands for Queer @ Dickinson.  This powerpoint is an inaugural project to orient staff in the Division of Student Development to some of the critical issues and resources for providing solid campus support for LGBTQ-identified students and colleagues.  If it goes well, we are hoping it can serve as a pilot program.  Paula and Stephanie, along with Josh Lapps '08, wrote much of the initial document and Elizabeth Farner (Assistant Director of Campus Life) has stepped in to aid with our writing & coordinating process.  So I've offered to shape our text into a true working presentation.

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I've got my work cut out for me, so I am going to snap to it!  Listening to my New Year's mix to keep me going--this year it's titled "It's the Love", in honor of all the great friends and work I had in 2009.  Already 2010 promises more of the same.  As always, feel free to email me at bartlows@dickinson.edu if you'd like to get involved in any of these plans or projects.  I'll check back in with everyone next Monday!

Be well,

Susannah