}

Cleveland Feminist Sues U. of Minnesota

By Mary Walsh

Marge Grevatt, head of the Cleveland Legal Aid Society's community relations program, is the plaintiff in an important sex discrimination suit brought against the University of Minnesota at Duluth (UMD). Marge is one of 277 women who have filed discrimination claims against the University of Minnesota, and she recently returned to Duluth for a hearing in her suit.

In the fall of 1979, Marge went to Duluth to teach at the School of Social Development at UMD. The school attracted her because the social work program there was unusual, dealing not with casework but with community organization. It did not give degrees in the more traditional direct service social work area. Marge has been involved for years in community organization work-in civil rights, antipoverty causes and with the Legal Aid Society.

Prior to her going to UMD, Marge had applied for the position of Dean of the School of Social Development there. A Search Committee at the 11,000-student campus recommended in 1979 that she be chosen Dean. A member of that committee said that of the nine members, seven had picked Marge as their first choice and the other two as their second choice. Nevertheless, Provost Robert Heller overruled the Search Committee and hired a white male (it is the Provost's right to choose from the three top recommended candidates). In 1978, Heller had overruled the Search Committee's recommendation of an American Indian candidate and hired a white male. After the campus and the Indian community, which is quite large in Duluth, erupted, the white man refused the job. The search began again in 1979, when Marge applied. That year many faculty resigned in disgust.

When Marge was not hired as Dean, a Visiting Professorship was created for her upon the insistence of the students and the Search Committee. Marge I spent a year in Duluth before returning to Cleveland. At the 5-day hearing which began September 8, . Provost Heller testified that he did not select Dr. Grevatt for the position for three reasons: lack of experience in academic administration; lack of experience as a full-time faculty member; and lack of substantial scholarly achievement. Heller then admitted that none of these criteria were qualifications for the position. When asked why he determined that Dr. Grevatt lacked substantial scholarly achievements, Heller stated that her publications were "too narrow" since most of her scholarly work has been in the area of Women's Studies. Heller admitted that he considers 'women's studies narrow.

Marge's contention in the case is that discrimination at UMD was not directed solely at her, but is S systemic. Her position was borne out by another witness, Charlotte Striebel, an associate mathematics 1professor at UM's Twin Cities campus. Striebel authored a statistical search report on the differential

treatment of men and women in the selection of administrators, faculty members in the School of Social Development, and the assignment of academic rank at UMD. That report indicated that from 1971 to 1982, of 26 high administrative positions, including deans, none were occupied by women. Also, the percentage of women who are full professors has decreased from 9.1 percent in 1971 to the 1982 percentage of 3.4. "These figures indicate that it is virtually impossible for a woman to be selected at a higher level," said Striebel.

A ruling in Marge's case is expected by the end of the year. The case is important because it is a part of

an effort by a large group of women. to gain what they rightfully deserve. Women have been losing ground rather than gaining it as faculty and administrators at institutions of higher learning for the past twenty years. Further, Marge's case is a non-hire case and as such is more significant than internal issues such as salary, lack of promotion, etc. Other non-hire cases will probably be determined by the outcome of this case.

Marge is bearing the expenses of the suit herself and is not asking for financial help. However, it is important that the Cleveland feminist community know about the trial and its potential significance..

WomenSpace Welcomes New Head

By Meredith Holmes

On Thursday, September 30, WomenSpace held an open house to introduce its new Executive Director, Judy Brodkey, and the individual members to each other. About 80 women attended, representing the diversity that the organization strives to serve. WomenSpace describes itself as "a coalition of member organizations and individuals which recognizes that diversity is our strength and utilizes shared resources and collective power to initiate and support change for the betterment of women".

The atmosphere was friendly and informal, underscored by the greeting on the inside of the program which read, "Thank you for coming to join us in our celebration of our involvement in the women's movement....Tonight we celebrate. Tomorrow we begin again". I expected a wine and cheese reception with a lot of milling. The evening's entertainment was more structured than that, and more inclusive.

After we took our seats, Sandy Prebil, President of the WomenSpace Board of Trustees, introduced herself and explained that shortly one of us would be chosen to reveal all about her past to the audience. Then, in order to give everyone plenty of time to get nervous, she described at length the prizes in store for those who contributed to WomenSpace's fundraising campaign by buying raffle tickets.

Playing the part of a This Is Your Life M.C., Ms. Prebil called Judy Brodkey to the front of the room, where she was teased unmercifully about the roundabout route she took to the best location in the nation. Her wide range of experiences in social service and the women's movement should make her a valuable asset to the Cleveland feminist community. Ms. Brodkey grew up in Sioux City, Iowa. While working on her MSW at Bryn Mawr College, she organized the campus women's center. She then moved to Philadelphia, where she worked as a planner for the U.S. Department of Labor Women's Bureau and helped found a coalition of organizations dealing with women and employment. Next, she was director of the Women's Resource Center in Scran-

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ton, Pa. Just before she came to WomenSpace, she worked as a carpenter's apprentice in Lansing, Michigan.

The staff of WomenSpace participated in the game by acting as the Voices from Your Life at WomenSpace; it was a clever way to familiarize new members with the staff and update old members on the status of ongoing projects which they head such as the newsletter, fundraising, the Helpline, the Women and Alcohol Project, Women in Skilled Employment, Women in Appointed Office, and the Domestic Violence Outreach Project.

Christine Link, Executive Director of Education for Freedom of Choice in Ohio, spoke briefly about "Women As a Political Majority". Although women have been able to vote for almost 60 years, it is only recently that they have begun to wield any political clout. She admitted that like many feminists, she was dragged into participation in the established political process "kicking and screaming". She pointed out that some good news for women emerged from the 1980 election; one group of women in particular, women under 45, voted very heavily. She cited this as an indication of our potential power and saw as helpful the news that an unprecedented number of women are running for political office this year.

The most important task before women now is the development of a women's agenda, which must include an economic analysis. In other words, not only are the ERA, enforcement of affirmative action, and abortion rights women's issues, but economic issues such as unemployment, the arms race and corporate power, tax laws and inflation are also women's issues. Ms. Link said that women learned an important lesson in the fight for the ERA and abortion rights: the way to win is not to lobby politicians already in office, but to elect people who already have a good record and a commitment to progressive ideas and human needs. She concluded by saying that the central political issue of the 1980's will be fiscal conservatism and warned that when men describe themselves as fiscal conservatives, they mean that they advocate cutting the human service budget to expand military appropriations; what women mean by fiscal conservatism is cutting the military, budget to fund human services.

Galvanized by Ms. Link's presentation, the participants divided into several small groups, which were assigned to reach consensus about three major issues for the women's agenda. The results of this brainstorming session would be presented to candidates for local, state and national office. It was very interesting to see how the different groups operated; some were very informal, some took votes. Disarmament, the ERA and employment issues were at the top of most lists.

October-November, 1982/What She Wants/Page 5

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