CSWEP Chair, Robin L. Bartlett - Denison University

The annual meetings in Chicago marked the 25th Anniversary of CSWEP. To commemorate its creation the original committee members were invited back for a special reception and reunion. Walter Adams, Carolyn Shaw Bell (the first chair), Francine Blau, Colletta Moser, Barbara Reagan, and Myra Strober were all present to reminisce about the early years. Phyllis Wallace and Kenneth Boulding who were also members of the original committee are deceased and were remembered. John Kenneth Galbraith was the first ex-officio member of the committee by virtue of his Presidency of the AEA. He was unable to attend because of health reasons. Most of the previous CSWEP chairs were present as were over 40 of the previous commmittee members. Joan Haworth was recognized for her many years of service as Membership Secretary.

Two prizes were announced: The Carolyn Shaw Bell Prize and the Elaine Bennett Prize. The Carolyn Shaw Bell prize is intended to honor women and men who have successfully mentored young women economists and the Elaine Bennett prize is to recognize outstanding research by young women economists. The AEA executive committee gave CSWEP the go ahead to plan and institute both of these prizes. There was a huge birthday cake, punch, and champagne punch for all.

In addition, Joni Hersch, Stacy Dickert-Conlin, and Shelia Murray organized the first Women on the Run/Walk event. The inaugural three mile run had eleven male and female runners and two walkers. The weather was wet and the wind was strong, but everyone returned safely and had a good time.

The three gender-related and three non gender-related sessions were well attended and the roundtable on the effects of Social Security changes on women drew a crowd. The hospitality suite served as a meeting place for persons interested in joining CSWEP and for asociates to meet and discuss the job market and network over coffee and tea.

The crowning event was the "Creating Career Opportunities For Female Economists: CCOFFE" workshop sponsored by CSWEP and funded by the National Science Foundation. Beth Allen (University of Minnesota), Rebecca Blank (Council of Economic Advisors), Elizabeth Hoffman (University of Illinois-Chicago), Beth Ingram (University of Iowa), Kala Krishna (University of Pennsylvania), Valerie Ramey (University of California-San Diego), and Michelle White (University of Michigan) provided guidance and expertise to 40 junior women from across the country. Kathryn Anderson (Vanderbilt University), Hali Edison (Federal Reserve Board), Barbara Fraumeni (Northeastern University), Joni Hersch (University of Wyoming), Joyce Jacobsen (Wesleyan University), Daphne Kenyon (Simmons College), Arleen Liebowitz (UCLA), and Susan Pozo (Western Michigan University) served as facilitators. Catherine Eckel (University of Virginia and NSF) served as a resource person. Marianne Ferber and Mariam Chamberlain were recognized for their pioneering work in bringing women into the field and Dan Newlon gave a talk on how to write the perfect NSF grant proposal. The two day workshop provided time for the senior and junior women to work on their projects and to discuss issues around research, grant-writing, networking, and balancing life choices. We owe a great deal of thanks to all who volunteered their efforts and to Andrea Ziegert and Sally Scheiderer (Denison University), both of whom helped me with the details of the workshop.

There will be four more CCOFFE workshops at the regional meetings over the next year. Contact your regional CSWEP representative for additional information.

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