Mentoring and networking continue!

Looking for life and career skills in about one hour a week?

Add Perspectives on Career and Gender! During this discussion-based 1-credit seminar,  learn about career paths, interviewing, mentorship, rights, negotiation, intersectionality, balancing work & life, #MeToo and more!  Gain skills in group facilitation, literature review, peer mentoring, and networking.  Tuesdays, 3:30-4:25 PM, Bray 324; during the weeks when WiSE Professions meets, those events will substitute for class.  Employees and un-enrolled students may also sit in.  Direct questions to Diane Kuehn (dmkuehn@esf.edu) and Heather Engelman (engelman@esf.edu).

Coffee Breaks!

Take a breather and give or gain insight into work or life challenges, while helping others.   Comparing notes can help us identify issues, share strategies and possible paths forward (or around).

Join in person in 110 Moon or online/phone in (register at https://syracuseuniversity.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMsd-Ggrz4rGNQkzp59XyKkzUM6GeHnFH2l) from wherever you happen to be on (mostly) 1st Fridays (2/3, 3/3, 4/14, 5/5) during the 11:40-12:35 class block, or 3rd Thursdays (2/16, 3/23, 4/20, 5/18),9:30-10:30am.   

WiSE Professions speaker series returns, with a combination of virtual and in person sessions:

• Women in STEM Alumnae Career Panel, with Alumni Association, Career Services, and others. Thursday, March 2, 7pm, virtual.
• Dr. Meredith Holgerson, EFB MS 2011, Assistant Professor, Ecology and Evolution, Cornell U, title TBD, with Adaptive Peaks,  Thursday, April 6, 3:45pm, 5 Illick
• Dr. Gina Dilio-Whitaker, on Indigenous Environmental Justice, with Center for Native Peoples and the Environment and others, Wednesday, April 26, 5pm, Gateway

 Pre-college Pipeline programs:

• Take our Kids to Work Day, Thursday, April 27, STEM exploration for 8-11 year olds with an adult that works or studies at ESF, regardless of the child’s gender or relationship to their adult.  Kids, grandkids, godkids, niblings, siblings, neighbors, and other connections are all welcome (on a space limited basis—this is a class day, so we are working in between other users of classrooms and labspaces, and presenters’ ongoing obligations).
• Girls’ Summit, Saturday May 20. Kids’ Day’s ‘big sister’, expanding STEAM exploration to 5^th-10^th graders in the community.  If you are looking for a program for a class you sponsor, youth group or scout troop, this is the program for your group! Annual collaboration of the YWCA of Onondaga County, C/STEP, and multiple on-campus partners (Open Academy, OIDE, Women’s Caucus).

Input needed regarding childcare need

A small, intrepid group has been investigating resources and options for ESF childcare.  

Oakie onesie

Critical questions for those investigating options for ESF include:  "how many spaces are you looking for?  What ages”  Please help move conversations forward, and determine which, if any, funding opportunities might be available, by completing the feasibility survey (Please use ESFid to authenticate) and encourage those in your ESF employee and student circles to do so as well.    Student parents can be particularly hard to reach over the summer, so please nudge them to respond as well. 

 

Whether folks have children, are thinking about when to start families or to foster children, or have other comments to share, aggregated responses will help guide ESF’s next steps as well as answer questions SUNY has asked of campuses (same as above, plus which challenges are impacting each population the most acutely). 

This survey clearly does not address every contingency. Anyone with information that the survey does not seem to address, or is wary of sharing via that venue, I hope is comfortable contacting me directly or referring others to do so. 

 

Related notes:

• We are working on updating guidance for those seeking childcare at:  Any suggestion for childcare https://www.esf.edu/resources/family
• Parents (of any gender identity) and others caring for, or supporting in any way, any family member, friend, or colleague--past, present, or future--consider subscribing to the FamilyResources listserv.  Follow instructions at: https://www.esf.edu/resources/family. 

Support Participation and Advancement of Women in STEMM

On Women's Equality Day (today), National Academies reminds academia to  “continue to drive bias, discrimination, and harassment out of our institutions and society. Despite decades of research, funding, and programs dedicated to increasing the representation of women in science, engineering, technology, mathematics, and medicine, the numbers, particularly in leadership roles, have remained low or stagnant in many fields, especially among women of color. Our [free, downloadable] reports explore the wide range of structural, cultural, and institutional patterns of bias, discrimination, and inequity that affect women, and the steps that can be taken to increase representation in STEMM.”  Historically, these materials are promoted most heavily to marginalized groups.  However, those impacted most negatively by marginalization cannot fix the bias, or the culture that penalizes them for asking, by themselves.   

We all have a role in creating, and maintaining an inclusive, equitable work and learning environment.  Our students learn not only from course content, but by the examples set by faculty, staff and administration in their classroom and team management, policies, and mentorship models.  NAP titles include:  Promising Practices for Addressing the Underrepresentation of Women in Science, Engineering, and Medicine: Opening Doors (2020); Seeking Solutions: Maximizing American Talent by Advancing Women of Color in Academia: Summary of a Conference (2013); Sexual Harassment of Women: Climate, Culture, and Consequences in Academic Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (2018), The Science of Effective Mentorship in STEMM (2019), and Beyond Bias and Barriers: Fulfilling the Potential of Women in Academic Science and Engineering (2007).  These, and other reports and proceedings under heading of “women and minoritites”, are available to read online or download here.  Some titles are also available for purchase in ebook or print editions.

Some strategies suggested in these reports include:

• Networking and group mentoring for those in marginalized groups.  The ESF Women’s Caucus will be continuing its networking coffee breaks virtually this fall.  Please let us know your availability and a little bit about you  at  https://forms.gle/2xEqkXLSjzsDbPKx7  Also stay tuned for information from the IDE Committee/OIDE about affinity groups for students, and those newly forming for faculty and staff.
• Recognize that balancing work and family is a universal challenge, with potential impact on retention, equity and quality of work life.  The ESF Women’s Caucus, therefore, invites all caretakers (of children, parents, friends) to subscribe to FamilyResources to share resources, family friendly events on or off campus, or to request information from other list members.  To subscribe, email: listserv@listserv.syr.edu and leave the subject line blank, and message of:  SUBSCRIBE familyresources FirstName LastName.

In addition, the Association of American Medical Colleges Gender Equity Lab (GEL)  also invites registration for its upcoming webinar, Community Call: Creative Strategies to Address the Gendered Impact of COVID-19, September 3, 2020
3-4pm ET, With so many personal and professional changes to our lives as a result of the pandemic, more attention must be paid to how these changes disproportionately impact women, especially women of diverse backgrounds. During this community call, hosted by GWIMS, discuss with your colleagues creative solutions to the gendered impact of COVID such as caregiving and dependent care issues, working remotely, virtual practices and other topics – this call is open to all. [GEL] recently launched … to assist members with these emerging issues and more calls can be scheduled to meet the needs of the community and share resources. REGISTER.   Submit your questions and resources to discuss on the call.  Questions? Contact Rebekah Corlew or Diana Lautenberger

FamilyResources now live!

Childcare and eldercare issues are universal concerns, unbounded by title, gender, sexuality or marital status.   So, after discussion with some others about how better to share resources with employees and students, inclusive of all family structures, and facilitate direct communication among interested parties, we launched:  FamilyResources!  Intended for any parent (or other person caring for, or supporting in any way, any family member, friend, or colleague--past, present, or future) to share resources, family friendly events on or off campus (including online!), and to request or offer advice.

To subscribe, email: listserv@listserv.syr.edu and leave the subject line blank, and message of:  SUBSCRIBE familyresources FirstName LastName

Please note:  this was hatched before the community was plunged into "social distancing" and indefinite landscape-level virtual work and study.  These factors actually increase the need for strong support, so please subscribe and stay connected.

Also, the Women's Caucus is seeking partners interested in co-owning this group.  To discuss, please Heather Engelman, engelman@esf.edu.

Women in Science and Engineering Panel

Students from all majors were invited to a Women in Science and Engineering Panel, featuring Q&A bon success and advancement of women in STEM.  Panelists included Cristina Albunio PE, Agency Engineer, OCRRA (formerly a consultant with Arcadis; alumna ERE); Katie Cooper (air dispersion modeling) and Maria "Mimi" Scicchitano (wastewater; alumna ERE), O’Brien and Gere; and Danielle Hurley, Department of Water, Onondaga County (alumna EFB).  Maria is also currently a part-time graduate student at SU.  The panel was moderated by ERE department chair (and sole female member in that department) Dr. Lindi Quackenbush.  The event was coordinated and hosted by NYWEA and the ERE Club.

What is the climate  like at your workplace?  May vary depending on the group, composition and the manager.  The percentage of women is more balanced in the younger cohorts.  Two had issues (different sectors) with single individuals that has treated differently, to the degree they went to HR--which improved the situations. (See follow up question below).  Women were dropping out at 8-10 yr mark because part-time was way out, not way up. All received encouragement to move forward.

Difference between industry and public sector?  Yes. 

In ERE, current class is ~50% female.  

Are any of you in the field you anticipated as a little girl?  Cristina says yes, was inspired by a tour at OCRAA's waste to energy plant, and lucky a position opened up there a few months ago.   Katie as well:  Meterology didn't come into her focus until a freshman in high school, but didn't want to be on TV, radio, etc., but air pollution route interested her through college.  Maria became interested in science in high school, but didn't consider wastewater until college.  Danielle: not many 5 year olds will tell you want to work in wastewater (Katie:  but they will ask what happens to what goes down the toilet!), but wanted to work with animals, focusing on fish in masters program.  Lindi discovered surveying in 10th grade.  

Were you ever told what you do like or don't like [as a child, because a girl]?  Yes, one was told to "do something easy and find a husband." Another  "Are you sure you can do that?" by engineer relatives.  Challenge accepted!  And she surpassed them in scope of job and credentials, noting that "Bias has been motivation to do more."  However, contrary to their mothers' generation, all were expected to go to college, and choices were no longer limited to teaching and nursing. One of their mothers was explicitly told no, although all her brothers were anticipated to go.   And another was told "So, what do you want to do?  You can be anything."  But when the response was "nuclear physicist", counselor backpedaled, revealing that by "anything", they'd meant "nursing or teacher." 

Had impression that older cohorts were male because that's who was going into engineering, not because women were dropping out at faster rates.  What could individuals do differently? Coworkers that successfully stayed within the field re-prioritized their time, and sacrificed career advancement opportunities.  Those that "off-ramped" to care for families have had a very difficult time finding opportunities to reenter the workforce.  What can companies do to make it easier for women to stay, or for it to be more acceptable for men to temporary off-ramp?  Many managers didn't realize that part-time was even an option, so didn't offer it and if they did, didn't know how to advise appropriately. Make the schedule transparent; individual schedules should show the times not scheduled to work clearly, so important meetings aren't scheduled when you aren't expecting to be there.  Pro-rate timelines for promotion, rather than eliminating the option. Increase communication within teams to meet client needs.  Expect all employees to have work-family balance.  Partner may also be in a time constrained profession which will also compound that.  One of the panelists with children noted that she was asked many times during pregnancy "So, are you going to go part-time, or become a stay-at-home mom?" and the repetitive nature of the question could cause employees to second-guess a choice that doesn't include either option.  [note: the expectation that this is going to happen at some point or another can also cause women to be overlooked for advancement opportunities].   She also noted that husband was never asked the same question, and recommended not asking it of anyone, or to make it equal opportunity "Are either of you going to cut back workload or stay-at-home?"

Cultural expectation:  In Australia, people take vacation.   If you take time off, you won't come back to all that compiled work.  Here, industry folks are expected to be available by phone and email even while on vacation and get negative comments when don't.   Which is not what company officially promotes.  For the panelist working around classes, also receives comments about that.  County employee--most positions are team based, so other people are on call for coverage during your vacation, which is a much better scenario.  One notes a spouse who has a position where he is not only not expected to check in from time off, he cannot--he must use company time and resources to check email.  Another's spouse has a similar schedule:  when shift is over, responsibilities are passed on to the next shift, and he's 'free' until next scheduled shift.

Other advice?  Advocate for self:  earn your advocacy, need to work hard and prove yourself, and also learn who to ask.  When hear something that bothers you, say something.  You'll feel better, and may make a change.  May need to go to a higher authority.  Small, soft-spoken "You will not be taken seriously."  

Do you have a network of supporters to bounce things off of?  How confident were you in approaching HR?  Neither's first impulse was to go to HR.  They discussed with family members, and trusted coworkers, who encouraged them to do so.   In general, when you are the only (or one of few) women,  its more challenging to recognize as a systemic issue.  But when you do, you choose either keep working in this environment as is, and it weighs on you, or address it.  Once you advocate for yourself a few times, it does get easier.  Find a network that you can bounce things off of, whether or not they look like you.  

What does future hold--what challenges moving forward and what do do about it?  Read Lean In, by Sheryl Sandberg.   Get past gender issues, as children generally have two adults in their lives.  Help each other along.  

Discussion: Climate, Culture, Consequences of Sexual Harassment in STEM and the Academy

Leaders in higher education, entertainment, technology, medicine, and politics will discuss NASEM's report and actions to prevent sexual harassment, to be live-streamed Tues, June 26, noon- 6:15,  Pre-publication Consensus Study Report can be downloaded from NAP as can the brief Recommendations Report. 

Please contact Heather engelman@esf.edu to RSVP for local viewing (314 Bray), or for the recorded 6/12 Press Conference (1.5 hrs)

Tentative Agenda

12-12:15  Welcome, Joan Bennett, Chair, Committee on Women in Sci., Engineering, Medicine, NASEM; Distinguished Prof, Rutgers U

12:15-12:45  Remarks from NAS President, Marcia McNutt

12:45-12:55  Background of Study, Frazier Benya, Study Director, NASEM

12:55-1:30  Overview of Report, Beth Hillman, Committee Member and President, Mills College

1:30-1:45  Break

1:45-2:30  Responses and Perspectives from Higher Ed, moderated by John Crockett, Sponsored Research Project Dev &  Mgmt, San Diego U.  Panel: Ana Mari Cauce, Pres, U Washington; Francisco Rodriquez, Chancellor, LACC District; Deborah Krakow, Prof/Chair, OB/GYN, UCLA; Kirsten Quanbeck, Assoc. Chan, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, UC-Irvine

2:30-3:15  Discussion with Panelists and Study Committee Members

3:15-4:30  Break

4:30-5:15  Perspectives on the Report’s Value to Society and Other Workplaces, Moderated by Valerie Conn, Exec. Dir., Science Philanthropy Alliance.  Panel:  Anita Hill, Chair, Commission on Sex. Harassment & Advancing Equality in the Workplace and Univ. Prof Social Policy, Law, and Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies, Brandeis Univ; Melissa Melendez, CA State Assembly

5:15-6  Discussion with Panelists & Study Committee Members

6-6:15  Closing Remarks, Beth Hillman

http://www.esf.edu/womenscaucus

Sexual Harassment: Climate, Culture, Consequences in the Academy

How can academic institutions improve in the #MeToo era?  Join us for a communal viewing of two sessions that will livestream from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.  Please RSVP to engelman@esf.edu for either or both, so we plan snacks  accordingly.

Report Release, Tues, June 12, 11am-12:30pm, 217 Bray

NASEM will publicly release the results of the Committee on Women in Science, Engineering, and Medicine (CWSEM) study entitled Sexual Harassment of Women:  Climate, Culture, Consequences in Academic Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.  The report spans the research, experiences, and effects of sexual harassment on women and their careers in science, engineering, and medicine, including evidence-based findings and recommendations for how organizations can prevent and address sexual harassment. 

Discussion & Response, Tues, June 26, noon- 6:15, 314 Bray

Leaders in higher education, entertainment, technology, medicine, and politics will discuss the report, as well as actions to prevent sexual harassment in the academy.  Schedule will be available closer to the event.

Recordings of both events are anticipated to be available soon after each date.  

"For purposes of this study, the definition of sexual harassment includes unwanted sexual advances and requests for sexual favors and other unwelcome conduct that is sexual in nature, as well as those situations in which the work or study environment is made intimidating or offensive as a result of actions that are gender-based and that interfere with an individual’s academic or work performance, opportunities for advancement, and morale." 

Project sponsors include:  HHMI, Henry Luce Foundation, NASA, NIH, NIST, NOAA, NSF, and the Burroughs Wellcome Fund 

Encouraging our daughters, dads, and businesses.

I like this ad, asking parents to let their daughters get their clothes dirty in their pursuit of knowledge. (Even better, this is more about the kids, than about the product and service this manufacturer provides.  I think I'd love the commercial if I didn't also know that girls tend to think poor grades is a failure in themselves, rather than simply material that takes time to master as boys are socialized to do, and thus that it is better to praise effort than inherent intelligence.  But I digress.).  Girls can be just about anything they can dream, with encouragement and access, in the absence of biases, . Those social penalties of that bias are high stakes, too. Women that ask for higher salaries, as men often do, can be perceived as unlikable which erodes the perception of their competence rather than as go-getters as those male counterparts would.  Women and people of color with impeccably written letters of introduction and interest were systematically less likely to get responses from the prospective major professors than were white men, and less likely to get positive responses from those that did reply. Wither these are the result of biases, or favoritism which restricts access to many support mechanisms as recently posited scarcely matters.

Our sons also need a societal shift so they can be engaged fathers and partners, in the home and at work, rather than broody, unfeeling workaholic providers.  Will last week's Working Father' Summit, which acknowledges the economic reality of dual income families (but not necessarily that very few of those workers can limit their workloads to a mere 40-hours a week), and the upcoming working families summit, pave the way so that all our children can be all that they can in whatever fields they choose to pursue, while also nurturing their own families, and making positive contributions to their communities?  It makes good business sense--a 2014 evaluation  found that the newly implemented policies for paid sick and family leave (for all workers, not just mommies) found improved worker morale, a  reduction in the spread of illness, lower turnover, which likely all attributed to the increase productivity that was also identified.  Imagine what would happen if we also embraced paid vacation and capped the number of hours in a workweek like so many other nations have done?  Heck, businesses might have happier, more productive workers, and with the savings in overtime pay, maybe could afford to bring back a few of the highly skilled folks that have been layed off since 2008 and that pesky downturn in the economy.

Conversations in Equity and Excellence: Sex, chromosomes, and Success

Joan Bennett, a fungal geneticist at Rutgers University, delivered Friday’s “Conversations in Equity and Excellence” lecture on “Sex, chromosomes, and Success” at Syracuse University.  She began with a simple reminder that “girls and boys are usually distinguishable from one another at birth.”  But many differences from that point are socially or culturally imposed, including dress (little bows and earrings on infant girls), dueling in Germany (until banned by Hitler), foot binding in China, Thailand’s brass neck rings, and corsets (and the damage they caused to internal organs) in western countries. Current trends in plastic surgery are a modern version of this. 

Fig. 1.  Percentage of Women on Physics Faculty by Country. 

 http://amptoons.com/blog/2005/01/22/percentage-of-women-on-

the-physics-faculty-by-country/

“Biology matters!  But so does culture” she continues.  Women’s roles in society have been largely defined by biology, and in their relationships to men.  Even outside of family, there have historically been few opportunities for work:  prostitute, wet nurse, maid, and nun.  Midwifery was noted as the most respected position, but with limited opening.  In the sciences, women found places in agriculture, textiles and pottery.  Things began to change with the industrial revolustion when physical strength became less important, and when Queen Victoria and Empress Cixi held positions of power.  Educating women became more common, although not universal.  In WWII, women were called upon to “do the work that he left behind”  And the single most important factor that improved choices for women:  birth control.  “Its hard to have an intellectual life when everytime you have sex you risk getting pregnant.”  She notes that most methods were not common, or legal into the 1960s.  Among her own cohort, friends dropped out of college when they became pregnant and married.  Through this time, the fields open to women were nursing, teaching and library science.  Most other tracts were, and still remain, male dominated.  Women’s Colleges became havens.  And through the second wave feminism of the 60s and 70s, many women “stayed at home, but planted seeds in their daughters.”

"Now, women dominate undergraduate programs, but they remain stubbornly underrepresented in STEM fields."  She displayed a chart showing the % of women comprising Physics Faculty ca 2005, and dismisses the notion that women’s genetic composition varies that markedly between geographically close countries, confiding that culture must have something to do with it as well.  

In terms of success, Bennett introduces bias and gender schemas with a quote by Sally Kempton,  “It's hard to fight an enemy who has outposts in your head.”   She referenced the1970s study which demonstrated that far more women are offered orchestral seats when those auditioning are screened from those ranking them, and the 2012 PNAS articled that revealed that science faculty still harbor subtle biases that rate John higher than Jennifer, offer him a higher salary and more mentoring, despite identical (save first name) of the fictional applicants.   

The current hurdle that women must face is that in ‘traditional’ homes, each two adult household had a wage earner, and someone to take care of everything else:  2 people, 2 jobs.  But dual career couples also require someone for the unpaid work.  It doesn’t make sense to “just train men to take up more at home” because it’s a lot more work for both partners.

Figure 2.  Equitable expectations?  
http://www.leftycartoons.com/wp-content/uploads/wage_gap.png

Bennett also points to the cumulative disadvantage of micro-inequities outlined by Virginia Valian’s integration of psychology, sociology, economics, and neuropsychology in Why So Slow? The Advancement of Women (MIT Press, 1998).

What can we do?  “Organize!  Be aware!  And provide visibility to women who have achieved” by nominating for awards and other distinctions (http://raiseproject.org ), and writing Wikipedia entries. Mentor. 

Use Humor.  For instance, 2001 Sexist Geek Alive Ellen Spertus joked about her lack of sports prowess (but participation nonetheless), and donned a bodice built from circuit boards and holstered a slide rule on her thigh.  Her talent?   Teaching the audience to count in binary on fingers. 

Figure 3.  http://xkcd.com/385/

 “If Humor doesn’t work, try glamour” pointing to Danica McKellar’s popular press math books http://www.mathdoesntsuck.com .

Be aware of embedded media messages like “Saucy Feminist that Even Men Like.” (Time magazine cover, May 7, 1971, featuring Germaine Greer), or Anne-Marie Slaughter’s 2012 feature in The Atlantic “WhyWomen Still Can’t Have It All”  .  “Why doesn’t anyone ask this about men?  If you can’t substitute [the word] men for women, there is an embedded message” says Bennett. 

Do good science.  And celebrate the positive societal forces, rather than dwelling on the negative ones. 

When the talk turned to Q&A, SU Advance director Marie Garland inquired about what policies have helped Rutgers faculties deal with the “3^rd job”?  “Rutgers has wonderful tenure extension polices, but it hasn’t been good about child care.”  They do finally have limited on-campus infant care options. “ It isn’t the institutions place to dictate how families handle their situations,” but she reminds us that “it’s OK to hire someone else to clean, and perhaps pay the woman, as it most certainly will be a woman, more than she’d receive at McDonalds and pay her social security [contribution].”  The final question “Are women and minorities still overburdened [and under credited] with committee work?”  Yes.  She praised Stanford’s time banking system for rewarding extra teaching and committee service, and it's intent  to help faculty find both work-life and work-work balance (http://gender.stanford.edu/news/2013/school-medicine-initiative-helps-faculty-achieve-balance).  Credit can be exchanged for other things such as clerical assistance or meals to be brought home for their families.  “Quite a few men are taking advantage of the meal service.”   (Note:  the University of Central Oklahoma’s offers a more limited scope “Merit-Credit” system  http://www.uco.edu/academic-affairs/faculty-staff/merit-credit.asp that rewards teaching, scholarly/creative activity, or service with support toward it.)

For more about SU ADVANCE, please visit:  http://suadvance.syr.edu

ESF opens Nursing Mother's Room, 313 Baker Lab

On July 23, 2013, ESF designated Room 313 Baker Hall as a dedicated room for nursing mothers. After some minor adjustments, the room now has a chair, outlet and occupancy sign, and is only lockable from the interior, meeting NYS Department of Labor requirements for such a room--once they bring in a table. Although this room (after a few modifications) will meet requirements for employers to provide a private place to express milk for infants for their first 3 years, Tim Blehar, Department of Human Resources, assures us that any mom, including visitors and full- and part-time students, is welcome to use it for nursing or pumping.  No one will check the child's birthdate, and no reservations are necessary--just let yourself in, slide the occupancy sign to 'occupied', lock from the interior, and reverse steps when you are done.  Users must provide their own pumps and bring their expressed milk with them in their own cooler or to a food-safe refrigerator.

The administration has pledged to either upgrade the plumbing to a more functional sink and counter and the lock so that it meets ADA requirements, and/or to find an alternate location on campus that has those capacities, and is more centrally located.  They also liked the idea of putting up a bulletin board for moms to share information.  Please contact the Human Resources office at 470-6611 if you notice that this room requires maintenance, or (UPDATE!): Heather Engelman, 315-470-4752, if you have any questions about using the space.

On a related note, there is a changing table located in the newly completed family restroom in the basement of the Gateway Building.

UPDATE:  Administration was unable to locate a better space, so have been repairing walls and readying to replace the floor basin with a counter height sink and cabinet. UPDATE 1/6/14:  Renovations seem complete! Counter and sink are functional, there is a second, more easily accessible outlet, a facade now covers the previously exposed pipes.  They have even added a mirror, which both adds brightness and helps Moms check that all their buttons are lined up before heading back out (boy, that would have been handy for me!)