CIVIL SERVICE / BARGAINING UNIT WOMEN’S INITIATIVE (CS/BU WI)
CS/BU Women’s Initiative Video
“Holding Up the U: 150 Years of Staff Women at the University of Minnesota”
“While the contributions of students and faculty members are often highlighted in University publications, staff contributions to the University are not as well known. Civil service and bargaining unit employees are found in a wide variety of categories. We are legal assistants, groundskeepers, secretaries, medical record clerks, custodians, nurse practitioners, production artists, veterinary technicians, roofers, law enforcement officers, cooks, mechanics, parking attendants, scientists, public relations representatives, editors, engineers, and social workers, just to name a few. We create the brochures, publications, and Web sites that encourage students to attend the University. We cook and distribute the food that keeps the University population fed. We make certain books are available to faculty and students; keep the campus safe, and buildings in good condition. We assist deans, directors, faculty, scientists, doctors, coordinators, students, and each other with myriad projects and concerns. Civil service and bargaining unit staff women are, in many ways, the spine of the University—the support system that holds up teaching, research, and so much more.”The “Holding Up the U” video was funded by a University of Minnesota Sesquicentennial grant and features interviews with current and former University staff women.
—Lisa Higgs, Journalism and Mass Communication
The women interviewed exemplify how staff women helped shape—and continue to shape—the quality, diversity, and direction of the University of Minnesota by sharing stories of how they or their co-workers have held up the University of Minnesota. They also discuss changes in the campus climate for women at the University during their employment and offer advice to future generations of staff women. Those interviewed are:
- Jo Anne Benson
Sergeant of Police, University of Minnesota Police Department - Patty Erickson
Facilities Support Supervisor, Facilities Management Elevator Shop - Barbara Foster
Retired Senior Administrative Director, General College - Jean Olson
Senior Research Nurse Clinician - Peg Wipperman
Retired Assistant to the Vice President, Institutional Relations
Purchase a video for $15 by e-mailing women@umn.edu or calling 612.625.9837.