University of Hawaiʻi President M.R.C. Greenwood will receive certificates by the legislature congratulating the UH Commission on the Status of Women on its 25th anniversary.
The Senate floor presentation will take place on Tuesday, March 13, 11:30 a.m. at the State Capitol, as part of the activities for Education Week at the legislature. The event is open to the public.
The Commission on the Status of Women was originally established as a Mānoa campus group in 1972, the same year Hawaiʻi became the first state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. The commission’s initial goal was to raise the consciousness of the campus community regarding the status of women, and it focused on the under-representation of women at higher faculty ranks and in high demand fields, and the lack of women in executive positions.
In 1986, the commission was reorganized as a systemwide group covering all UH campuses.
In 2009, Greenwood became the university’s first female president in its century-long history. The second highest UH position, executive vice president for academic affairs and provost, is also held by a woman, Linda Johnsrud, as are other high-level executive and academic positions.
Since the commission’s founding, it has addressed issues regarding childcare, gender equity in athletics, students on welfare, campus safety and security, equitable hiring practices, promotion and tenure and much more.
Commission members include students, faculty, staff and executives from the entire 10-campus system. They advise President Greenwood on issues concerning women who work in or attend Hawaiʻi’s only state system of higher education, and they strive to support the well-being, development and advancement of all university women.
