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“We know each other, but we don’t know each other’s research,” says Dr. Danuta Leszczynska, a professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering who is using this year’s retreat to write her research on the environmental impact of nanoparticles. “This is almost as important as doing my paper — knowing what each other is doing and seeing ways we might cross over and work together.” During the first part of the retreat, Leszczynska and nine others spent the week at the Twin Lakes Camp and Conference Center in Florence, Miss., where they stayed in lakefront cabins surrounded by tall pines. Their days were spent writing and collaborating in meetings. Their research papers and book projects were as diverse as their disciplines, with topics ranging from pregnancy discrimination to using photodynamic therapy to kill cancer cells to improving calculus education. “It’s really important to have designated time when no one knocks on my door to sit and think,” says Dr. Olga Olsby, a social work professor who is researching the impact grandfathers have on children they help raise. The writing retreat and JSUAdvance’s other programs help address issues that are particular to women in academia, says principal investigator Dr. Loretta Moore, associate vice president for research and scholarly engagement. In many cases, female faculty have spouses or partners who don’t work in academia, so they don’t fully understand the demands of the job.
Civil and environmental engineering professor Dr. Danuta Leszczynska says the summer writing retreat provided by JSUAdvance is important because it not only gives her dedicated time to document her research, but helps her get to know female colleagues throughout JSU.
Also, many of the women work with mostly male colleagues, and the women tend to have more family responsibilities than the men. “They seem to have less of a problem saying no,” says political science professor Dr. Michelle Deardorff of her male counterparts. “When we say no, it can become politically problematic.” Moore says JSUAdvance is helping the university understand the issues that impact women faculty and promote strategies that JSU and other Historically Black Colleges and Universities can adopt. In the fall, one or more female tenured professors will take part in an administrative sabbatical working alongside a dean or cabinet-level leader. Moore says the overall project is expected to foster a more inclusive culture at JSU. “At the end of the five years, we really should see a different institution that is more supportive and a better environment for equal opportunity,” Moore says, adding that other underrepresented faculty groups will benefit from lessons learned through JSUAdvance. Dean of Undergraduate Studies Dr. Evelyn Leggette, who is co-principal investigator of JSUAdvance and leader of the summer writing retreat, says the program provides valuable opportunities she didn’t have when she started teaching at JSU 32 years ago. “It’s a stark contrast to what was available when I was a junior faculty member,” she says. “I was on my own to balance research, teaching and all of my other responsibilities.”
Technology professor Dr. Jessica Buck (left) and biology professor Dr. Carolyn Howard (center) share their idea for a research project with Dr. Loretta Moore.
Social work professor Dr. Olga Olsby says the summer writing retreat frees her from her campus responsibilities so she can focus on writing.