Digital Commons Network^™

Fierce Female Friendships: An Artistic Representation And Exploration Of The Benefits Of Gender-Based Inclusivity And Community In Stem, Maya Bachmeier-Evans

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Incorporating visual art, social research, women’s studies, and artificial intelligence, Fierce Female Friendships investigates the ramifications of gendered experience on the learning environment. By reflecting upon her work in a male-dominated discipline, the author transforms her sense of classroom isolation into two paintings that highlight the subtle yet significant differences that separate inclusivity from alienation. In addition to her personalized reflections, the author also creates a fourteen-question survey which invites her peers to consider gender in academia, to assess their experiences on a university campus, and to imagine how they might depict those experiences using visual art. Positing the idea …

The Impact Of Mentorship On Attracting And Sustaining Female Superintendents In The State Of Washington, Michelle Kuss-Cybula

WWU Graduate School Collection

Female superintendents continue to make up a small fraction of public-school superintendents in this country. This study focused on gathering stories of current female superintendents in the state of Washington, all of whom are within their first three years of their superintendency to determine the extent to which mentoring had an impact on their career path leading into the superintendency role and the impact of mentoring in sustaining their role as a seated superintendent.

This qualitative study focused on five essential questions:

• What kinds of mentoring do female school superintendents experience on their pathway to becoming chief executive of a …

Single Sex Education In A Gender Fluid World, Stella Sisson

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Intersectionality always seems to be a never-ending crux that people are working on becoming more aware of. Even more difficult, gender fluidity at a single sex institution—how do we tackle that intersection? This is the point of my project. As someone who is about to enter the professional field as an outdoor educator, I spend a lot of time thinking about how I can make accessibility easier for my students. These days, gender fluidity in environments that were originally intended for one gender seems like it would have roadblock after roadblock. However, the working professionals at Seattle Girls’ School work …

Can Women Science?: A Climate Survey To Address Gender Inequity In Wwu’S Geology And Physics/Astronomy Departments, Raina Shaw

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

This research study aims to assess and analyze gendered differences in student perceptions of the environment and climate in WWU’s Geology and Physics & Astronomy Departments. Underlying hypotheses involve the perceptions, comfort, and discrimination of women and gender minorities in male-dominated spaces. We also theorize that these gendered differences will increase with seniority and more so within physics than in geology. In addition to testing these hypotheses, we sought to collect relevant student feedback on factors that influence their perceptions of the climate & environment, to identify areas for future study and formal program assessment. From 56 respondents, this study …

Gender Discrepancy In Asexual Identity: The Effect Of Hegemonic Gender Norms On Asexual Identification, Tori Bianchi

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

This study investigates how the cultural and societal expectations of different genders, both assigned and actualized, affect the perception and performance of an individual's sexual identity. In particular, asexuality is examined.

The Language Of Non-Normative Sexuality And Genders, Emily Bolam, Samantha Jarvis

Scholars Week

This project is about how asexual, intersex and transgender identities challenge normative ideas about what it means to be human. Our research primarily focused on how language used in the medical community influences societal perceptions of non-normative identities. Western culture is pervasively heteronormative, meaning that there is a narrow idea of what constitutes a “normal” human being, which is typically heterosexual and limited to a binary gender system. While society is making strides with accepting non-hetero sexual identities, there persists the notion that humans are inherently sexual beings. Asexuality, an orientation characterized by a lack of sexual attraction, challenges this …

Doing. Myself. Justice., Kaci Darsow

Summit to Salish Sea: Inquiries and Essays

The titles for these capstones were due five weeks ago. Five weeks ago I had no idea what this presentation would look like. I still don’t know. I had, and have, so many ideas, so many things I want to share with you. But these three words kept showing up in my journal, over and over. Just like this: Doing. Myself. Justice. When Nick asked for my title, all I could do was write this on the chalkboard. I didn’t know what it meant. I still don’t know what it means. But so far I’ve spent 26 years finding out, …

Perceptions Of Subtle Gender Discrimination, Hostility, And Sexual Harassment Among Senior Women Faculty At Western Washington University, Linda D. (Linda Darlene) Clark, Pamela Jull, Gary (Gary Russell) Mckinney

Office of Institutional Effectiveness

A web survey of senior women faculty looking into perceptions of subtle gender discrimination, hostility and sexual harassment.

Perceptions Of Subtle Gender Discrimination, Hostility, And Sexual Harassment Among Senior Women Faculty At Western Washington University, Linda D. (Linda Darlene) Clark, Pamela Jull, Gary (Gary Russell) Mckinney

Office of Institutional Effectiveness

In 1999, the Faculty Senate approved Western's participation in a national survey of faculty conducted by the Higher Education Research Institute (HERI). Western's preliminary analysis of the data revealed that Westerns full-time female faculty reported experiencing sexual harassment at a higher percentage than did full-time female faculty at peer institutions--with each cohort made up approximately 62% tenured faculty and 38% non-tenured faculty. It was also noted that Western's female faculty were more likely to report feeling subtle discrimination than female faculty at peer institutions and less likely to agree that women faculty are treated fairly. Limited by the survey data …

A Profile Of Selected Characteristics Of The 1994 Western Washington University Graduating Class, Gary (Gary Russell) Mckinney, Joseph E. Trimble, Jacqueline M. Andrieu-Parker

Office of Institutional Effectiveness

Executive Summary: Information for this report was obtained from the Student Tracking System. Findings are intended to provide insight into various characteristics of the 2100 graduates who matriculated during the 1993-94 academic year. Generally, Western's 1994 graduates were mostly female (57.8% versus 42.2% male); mostly transfers (53.5% versus 42.1% natives, or students who began at Western as first-time fresh); and overwhelmingly current Washington residents (97.5%). Some 1994 graduates chose not to disclose their ethnicity (5.4%). Of the rest, the majority were Euro-Americans (85.4%). Ethnic-minorities made up 8.4% of 1994 graduates, up from 7.0% in 1993. Time-to-degree analysis for yearly cohorts …

Statewide System-Level Indicators For Western Washington University: A Summary Profile, Gary (Gary Russell) Mckinney, Joseph E. Trimble, Jacqueline M. Andrieu-Parker

Office of Institutional Effectiveness

Executive Summary: In early September 1990, Hugh Walkup, the HEC Board's Associate Director for Institutional Research & Policy, asked all participants in the Assessment Task Force to respond to an outline of questions titled: "Statewide Indicators by Activity Category". This report is a summary of that information. The current list of statewide system-level indicators initially were developed by the assessment coordinators and the HEC Board staff. The indicators, while broad based, are intended to provide information that describes basic enrollment patterns for the state's six four-year institutions over a particular time frame. Moreover, the indicators are intended to portray a …