Well I am just saying that the author of the report is making some very general sweeping statements, in some aspects. IE: "Many women" well how many is many, 5 or 100?
Or how about the comment: "(Living with someone of the opposite sex outside of marriage was illegal in North Dakota until this year.)" was the line put in there to be factual or to support some other agenda the writer had?
Or how about "North Dakota State University, a cold place in the estimation of many female professors, is trying to warm up their welcome." sounds a little targeted doesnt it?
Or "Campus officials here acknowledge that North Dakota State has not always been a place where women feel comfortable, and they want to change that." who are these campus officials, just the lady that retired?
Or "But the university has not always treated her well. It stripped her of her laboratory during a restructuring" could this have something to do with lack of funding, space, resources, time etc.? The article makes no claim to as why. The occurrence is just presented in a way that supports to position of the article.
My statement: "there are some women who hold important positions" was not an attempt to defend what was in the article, it was simply stating that some women do hold important positions. This was in response to the article that basically made it sound like there were no women in any important positions.
Other things that should be looked at: How many women total are employed, how do their "ranks" compare to males. How do these positions relate to predominately male fields (engineering etc.)? How many women have been asked to move up compared to the number that have choose to or not to? Are there externalities that are not being reported/noticed? How representative are these claims/quotes? Was this article written in a targeted manner, if so how, if not how not? Are cultural influences present? What affect does location really have? How many tenure track positions are open? How many tenure spots have been filled for quite some time? Etc. Etc. Etc. There are many other questions that need to be answered.
I am not trying to defend NDSU or say there isnt a problem, I am just saying that this report sounds rather one sided and doesnt provide much my way of verifiable information. Some statistics yes, some quotes, but are these feeling representative of the women at NDSU? The article would lead you to believe this but is it true?
This does need to be looked at and I am sure that it is being looked at. I serve/served on some related University committees and I have never heard any concerns or complaints like this.