Where are the women?

This week, five alumni were appointed to serve on Case's Board of Trustees, according to yesterday's Case Daily.

While I'm happy to learn that the new appointees are alums of the university, I can't help but wonder why of the five, none of them are women. I haven't seen photos of the men (I'm assuming they are all men, just going by their first names: John, Joseph, Thomas, Andrew and Alan), so I don't know if any of the men represent diversity in terms of race or ethnicity.

Sometimes people get annoyed when diversity issues get brought up in situations like this. People are tired of hearing about divisions across race, class and gender lines, but we need to think about the goals of higher education. Do we aim to enlighten and empower people? Are we committed to making higher education accessible to those who might not otherwise have the means to pursue a college degree? Do we want to educate future leaders who will be well equipped to thrive in an increasingly global community? Then, these issues are still important and relevant.

It's encouraging to me that all of the new appointees have graduated from Case and that they all appear to be quite accomplished. But surely there are women who fit the bill.

Directly underneath that news item in the Case Daily, there was a mention of the university's faculty diversity officer: "Beth McGee, the university's faculty diversity officer, is the administrator of a university-wide listserv that publicizes Case diversity activities, disseminates information, and brainstorms about diversity ideas. If you would like to be on the listserv please contact bethmcgee@case.edu, or e-mail university-diversity-general@case.edu."

Ironic.