Update: In the January 1985 issue of Perspectives, we published a story about twenty-three women faculty of the City University of New York and their class action suit against the school on thirteen counts of discrimination (“Landmark Case: Bittersweet Victory Against the City University of New York“). In 1983, a federal judge found that CUNY had deliberately discriminated against the women in payment of salaries. As a result, this past spring Lelia Melani received a symbolic $7 1/2 million check that represents the amount of the settlement that will be shared by about 5,000 women.
The check was symbolic because the money will not be distributed to the women involved until, according to a University spokesman, officials determine whether or not income tax should be withheld.
The settlement, which was reached last fall, provides back pay for the women and a means of redress for any future bias.
Christopher Columbus Quincentenary Jubilee Commission: In mid-September the Christopher Columbus Quincentenary Jubilee Commission held its first meeting. The Commission members are: Lee Collins, Bank of Hapoalin, Los Angeles; Virgil G. Dechant, Knights of Columbus, Hamden, Connecticut; Daniel M. DiCarlo, Jr., Area Lighting Research, Hachettstown, New Jersey; John N. Goudie, Chairman of the Commission, Goudie & Associates Realty, Miami; Herbert Cameron Knight, Lutheran Mutual Life, Spokane; William Hardy McNeill, Vice Chairman of the Commission, University of Chicago, Chicago; James J. O’Connor, Commonwealth Edison Co., Evanston, Illinois; Venrendo S. Sequenzia, Florida Italian Bulletin, Ft. Lauderdale; Arthur E. Teele, Jr., National Business League, Washington, DC; Mary Jane Checchi, freelance consultant, Washington, DC; Luis A. Ferre, Luis Ferre Foundation, San Juan; Jayne H. Plank, US Department of State, Washington, DC; Charles William Polzer, Arizona State Museum, Tucson; Peter F. Secchia, Universal Cos., Grand Rapids; Michael A. Valerio, Papa Gino’s of America, Inc., Framingham, Massachusetts; Mario Cuomo, Governor of New York, Holliswood, New York; Aldo Annuzzio DeAngelia, Illinois State Senator, Olympia Fields; Eugene C. D’Angelo, Jr., WBNS & WTHR Television, Dublin, Ohio; Arthur J. Decio, Skyline Corp., Elkhart, Indiana; Jane Lee Garcia, Bronx Museum of the Arts, Bronx, New York; Charles N. Ginoli, Ginoli & Co. Ltd., Peoria; Henry Raymont, Mondus Novus Foundation, Inc., Washington, DC.
The Hansard Society for Parliamentary Government announces the inauguration of the Hansard Scholars Programme in Political and Parliamentary Studies.
The Hansard Society is an impartial, non-party and non-profit foundation, which brings together legislators and people from industry, education, and the public services in seminars and conferences. It sponsors major research in the field of parliamentary democracy and related matters; and encourages civic education. Among its publications is the internationally respected scholarly journal, Parliamentary Affairs.
The President of the Hansard Society is Sir Bernard Weatherill, Speaker of the House of Commons; its Chairman is the Rt. Honourable Lord Barnett; Margaret Thatcher, Neil Kinnock, David Owen, and David Steel, are its Vice-Presidents; and its Council numbers among its members distinguished figures from the worlds of government, business, and labour.
The Hansard Scholars Programme in Political and Parliamentary Studies is a new addition to the Society’s educational work. It is intended for serious students of politics and public affairs who can bring to the program outstanding qualities of intelligence, initiative and responsibility.
Its aims are to bring future leaders of American society into sustained and active contact with the political process in Britain and, by means of carefully selected and supervised internship placements, to enable them to work with some of its leading figures. Each program lasts for one fourteen-week semester.
The internship placements of Hansard Scholars are as assistants to Members of the House of Commons and the House of Lords or to key personnel in local government, the political parties, public policy research institutes, the public affairs sections of business firms and trade unions, and public interest and advocacy groups.
Three related academic courses, taught by well-known faculty members of British universities and involving outstanding practitioners and other specialists, accompany the internship placements. Classes and seminars are held at Birkbeck College, University of London, and Hansard Scholars have access to the Birkbeck College Library.
Grades and credits are validated by Birkbeck College, University of London. Fifteen units of upper division credit are given for the semester, comprising six credits for the internship placement and three credits each for the other academic courses.
The Hansard Scholars Programme is selective and the numbers are limited, so early application is advised. Hansard Scholars must have completed two or more years of college study.
The costs of the programme for one semester is £3,300 (pounds sterling), which covers housing in Central London as well as tuition, credits and evaluations, and other aspects of the formal program. Dates of Semesters, 1986-1987: Fall semester: September 8, 1986 to December 12, 1986 (Deadline for Applications, March 15, 1986). Spring semester: January 12, 1987 to April 17, 1987 (Deadline for Applications, June 15, 1986).
For further information and copies of the prospectus and application forms, write to: Mary Goudie, General Secretary, The Hansard Society for Parliamentary Government, 16 Gower Street, London WCIE 6DP, England, Tel. 01- 323-1131.
Computers and the Past, One Classroom Application: Contrary to popular opinion, the use of computers by historians is a fad, at least at Stanford University. FAD, for Faculty Author Development program, is designed to help faculty members create their own computer programs for classroom use (“Nobility and Revolutions Play a Part in Program at Stanford that Helps Professors Write Software,” Chronicle of Higher Education, May 22, 1985, p. 20).
The Director of FAD, Michael P. Carter, developed his first program while teaching history at Dartmouth College to illustrate the vicissitudes of life under revolution—specifically the political fluctuations during the French Revolution of 1789. According to Carter, such programs have two benefits: first, they demonstrate change within a historical context by offering a matrix of options or variables that bring historical problems or processes to life in the classroom, and second, they enable educators to determine the paths computer-assisted instruction will take in the future.
National Competition for the Bicentennial of the US Constitution: The 200th anniversary of the Constitution offers a singular occasion for the National Endowment for the Humanities to encourage renewed scholarly interest in and public reflection on the history, principles, and foundations of the constitutional government.
To commemorate that occasion, the Endowment is offering a special nationwide competition for high school and college students to conduct research and writing projects on the US Constitution. The deadline for the special competition is December 15, 1985. Awards will be announced in March 1986.
Proposals are expected to meet the guidelines of the Younger Scholars program except that they should fall within one of the following areas of constitutional study: 1) The philosophical, historical, jurisprudential, political, or literary origins of the Constitution; 2) The substantive intent, meaning and history of one or more of the principles or provisions of the Constitution; 3) The relation of the structure of the Constitution to American political, social, or intellectual culture; 4) The connection between self-government and the purposes of human life.
Applicants are expected to discuss the way in which their projects engage one of the above four areas of emphasis. For information write: National Bicentennial Competition-Younger Scholars, Office of the Bicentennial, Room 504, NEH, Washington, DC 20506.
