May 2005, Vol. 1, No. 2| Back to Index

New Employees* Please welcome the newest members of our community: Barbara Burbank, Financial Services Tamara Clark, BioCurrents Research Center Joseph Consiglio, Robert Greenberg Lab Maureen Conte, The Ecosystems Center Deanne Drake, The Ecosystems Center Andrew Gaylord, The Ecosystems Center Heather Handley Goldstone, Josephine Bay Paul Center Shelby Hayhoe, The Ecosystems Center Suilou Huang, The Ecosystems Center Susan Huse, Josephine Bay Paul Center Seth Kauppinen, Josephine Bay Paul Center Steven Peters, Communications Mindy Richlen, Josephine Bay Paul Center Jennifer Rocca, Josephine Bay Paul Center Abigail Toltin, The Ecosystems Center Andrea Early, Communications Lorna Street, The Ecosystems Center Shanta Messerli, Robert Greenberg Lab Melissa Lerch, Josephine Bay Paul Center Tiffany Van Mooy, BioCurrents Research Center Please also welcome Trish Halpin, Josephine Bay Paul Center, whose name was accidentally omitted from the list in our last issue. * since December, 2004 Milestones Celebratory events and announcements from our employees: Library, IT Staff Celebrate 100 years of Marriage! Pam Fournier, Systems Administrator, and Eleanor Uhlinger, Assistant MBLWHOI Library Director, each celebrated their 25th wedding anniversaries on April 19. Eleanor is married to Marine Resources Research Assistant, Kevin Uhlinger. Becky Mountford, IT Coordinator, and Denis Renna, Computer Network Service Associate, and their spouses are also celebrating their 25th wedding anniversaries in 2005. Congratulations!				Message from the Equal Employment Opportunity Coordinator Great strides for diversity and challenges remaining Dr. Condoleezza Rice, an African-American woman, became Secretary of State on January 26, 2005. In 2004, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission received 27,696 charges of race discrimination and 24,249 of sex-based discrimination. In February of 2004, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that there was no basis to deny same-sex couples the right to wed thus allowing lesbian and gay couples to marry in the state of Massachusetts. A gay Army sergeant, who received the Purple Heart while serving in Iraq, would like to remain in the military but will be denied the opportunity because of the Pentagon’s current “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, that permits gay men and women to serve only if they keep their sexual orientation a secret. For the first time in history Oscars for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor went to African-American men at the 2005 Academy Awards ceremony. Blacks account for only 3.2% of the Oscar nominations, a disproportionate percentage given that 12.9% of the U.S. population is African-American, according to the 2000 census. Customers banking with Wells Fargo & Company now have their choice of six different languages when using over 6,000 ATM machines: English, Spanish, Chinese, Hmong, Korean, and Vietnamese. A recent change to the format of the SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test)—the addition of an essay portion to the exam that has been historically multiple choice—will have the greatest effect on one particular group of students: those who are immigrants with limited English-speaking abilities and who are most likely to be Asian, black, and Hispanic. Six Woods Hole scientific institutions come together in 2004 to sign a diversity initiative. Of the 12,000-17,000 Doctorates awarded in the U.S. annually to national and international candidates, only ~700 are awarded to underrepresented minorities. —Jane MacNeil, eeo@mbl.edu
In 2004 the leaders of six Woods Hole science institutions signed a memorandum committing their institutions to work together to attract and retain a more diverse workforce. As a product of that agreement, The Woods Hole Diversity Advisory Committee has launched a new website, www.woodsholediversity.org, which serves as a resource for current or potential students, employees, and visitors to MBL and other Woods Hole institutions. The site aims to: Raise awareness of the diversity that exists in our community List resources for people living in the Woods Hole/Upper Cape area Display educational and job opportunities Spread the word about what a good place Woods Hole is to live, work, and study Help create a better life for all of us