2004 Events

January 16, Leaders of Today and Tomorrow
Professor Sally Kenney hosted a table discussion as part of a two-day conference sponsored by the League of Women Voters project, Leaders of Today and Tomorrow (LOTT), about careers in women and public policy. This event attracts undergraduates from many Minnesota college campuses who have an interest in women's issues.

January 22, Negative Campaigning in the 2004 Presidential Election
Professor Sally Kenney hosted Professor of Leadership, Policy, and Organization at Vanderbilt University, author of Attacking Democracy: A Defense of Negativity in Presidential Campaigns, 1960-2000 (forthcoming), John Geer. His presentation "It's Business Not Personal: Negative Campaigning in the 2004 Presidential Election" was co-sponsored with the Policy Forum and the Center for the Study of Politics.

January 26, Women Legislators Retreat

September 10, Twin Cities Women's Centers Consortium
With Ann Redmond from the College of St. Catherine's, the Center on Women and Public Policy revived the Twin Cities Women's Centers Consortium. We brought together all of the directors of women's research centers at colleges and Universities in the Twin Cities. It is a difficult group to keep going since many of the center directors rotate frequently, but we once again committed to meeting at least twice a year and to keep in closer contact by email. Professor Sally Kenney maintain an email list that helps us keep our students informed of the many events of interest going on and an updated list of all contacts, which is of great use to outside groups, such as Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights, in planning events like International Women's Day. Our meetings also provide an opportunity for those who want contacts with faculty and students to meet us at once, such as the White House Project's Campus Vote, Run, Lead Project and the planning group for the International Girls' Summit.

September 14, Center on Women and Public Policy Staff Retreat

September 14, Center on Women and Public Policy Pizza Lunch
The Center on Women and Public Policy welcomed both first and second year Women and Public Policy students back for the fall semester, and others at the Humphrey School who were interested to learn more about the Center's research projects, advocacy initiatives, and upcoming events. Attendees shared ideas of new Center initiatives for the upcoming year, such as a Center on Women and Public Policy sponsored film series and discussion group.

October 1, After Birth Conference: Policies for Healthy Women, Families, and Workplaces

Minnesota has the highest workforce participation rates of women in the United States. Yet our employment policies and families' gendered division of domestic work have not kept pace with the changing social patterns, and the consequences for women's health are unclear.

The conference examined issues of women's employment after childbirth, role of family and medical leave policies, and families' division of household labor to identify factors that can enhance health and inform private and public policies. It took place on October 1, 2004 at Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota. Over 200 people attended, and it brought together University faculty members, students, staff, activists, policymakers, health care professionals, employers, and community members to address these issues.

Media

October 3, Lick Voter Apathy Ice Cream Social
The Center for Women and Public Policy and the White House Project's Vote, Run, Lead Initiative (housed within the Women's Foundation of Minnesota) hosted a "Lick Voter Apathy" ice cream social to rev up students to register and get out women voters while they ate ice cream sundaes and listened to great speakers. Humphrey School Senior Fellow and former Mayor of Minneapolis, Sharon Sayles-Belton and former Commissioner for Trade and Economic Development and DFL Senatorial candidate, Rebecca Yansich were featured speakers. Liz Johnson, of the White House Project's Vote, Run, Lead Project discussed strategy to mobilize women in the greater community to vote and provide voter education on campus regarding candidates and their positions on women's issues. Julie Hellwich, designer of the "Smart Women Vote" line was present to sell her fabulous merchandise. MPP student Sarah Taylor-Nanista, the organizer of the event, outlined specific activities Humphrey School students could do.

October 12, Leadership for Black Women and Women of Color Project
The Center on Women and Public Policy invited a group of women of color faculty, staff, students, and alum and their allies to a dinner to discuss possible ways to improve the educational experiences of women of color attending the Humphrey School as well as promoting their success and leadership. Two grants have been made available to achieve these goals: (1) The Leadership for Black Women Fund of the Pan African Community Endowment and (2) The Laura M. Mullen/LBW Multicultural Fund, both of which professor Sally Kenney manages. During the summer, an advisory committee met to decide how to proceed, and decided to involve the students themselves in the planning process. The group decided to develop a mentorship program and a scholarship to attract a woman of color to HHH. We also decided to meet periodically at someone's home, and began with an afternoon's discussion at Sharon Sayles-Belton's.

November 3, Women and Public Policy Internship Session
Approximately fifteen Humphrey students joined in a discussion with colleagues about international feminist internships at a brownbag lunch. Second-year students shared their internship experiences working for organizations like Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis, American Refugees Committee International, Gender PAC and Association of Women for Action & Research. First-year students learned about funding, placement, deadlines, and how to pursue matching their interests with the work of groups abroad. For more information about feminist internships please visit out website at: http://www.hhh.umn.edu/centers/wpp/internships.html

November 5, Minnesota Women in Political Science Women in the Media Event
In 2003, professor Sally Kenney identified, created a database of, and hosted a reception of all the women political scientists in the state of Minnesota. This year, we invited the group to a dinner and a media training the night before the Minnesota Political Science annual meeting in St. Paul. Amy Phenix who used to be head of University News Service and now is at Himle Horner conducted the training. Julie Lund and Cindy Orbovich participated and offered advice. We produced informative handouts and all learned a great deal. We are in the process of completing a brochure of all the women political scientists in Minnesota to distribute to the media.

November 17, Post Election Discussion
The Minnesota Women's Campaign Fund hosted a "Post Election Discussion" to review the outcomes of the November 2004 elections and discuss the next steps for 2006. Speakers included professor Sally Kenney, MN House Representative Mindy Greiling and Hennepin County Attorney, Amy Klobuchar.