UpDate - Vol. 14, No. 24, Page 2
March 16, 1995
Commission head seeks to 'encourage possibilities'

     A full agenda is nothing new to Marilou Hyson. In addition to
serving as acting chairperson of the Dey Studies and teaching two
courses each semester, Hyson is currently in the second half of her
two-year term as chairperson of the Commission on the Status of Women
     It is a role, Hyson said, that she feels is pivotal to promoting
action and advocacy for women at the University.
     "The structure of the commission provides a wide diversity of
opinions," she said, with its five constituent groups-faculty,
professional staff, salaried staff, graduate students and
undergraduate students.
     "I've been as proud of the process as I am with the product,"
Hyson said, "and the commission is a perfect place to see the
collaborative process at work to effect positive change.
     "The commission works because we think about issues from
professional and personal experiences," she said. "We don't always
agree on everything, but, if you have a group that agrees on every
issue, you're not getting to the real issues."
     Under Hyson's guidance, the commission has focused much of its
attention on three initiatives: employment, mentoring and safety.
     Hyson's duality of roles in 1994-95 creates a professional
juggling act. The key to balancing her schedule is to rely on the
energy and good will of her associates, she said.
     "I have a lot of energy, and most of it derives from the people I
work with," she said. "The commission and the faculty and staff in my
department are similar in that they support common goals and work
together to reach them.
     "The challenge of a chair is to create a climate where people's
views are heard and respected and encouraged," Hyson said. "I don't
see the role of a chair as imposing my agenda. I prefer to let people
be heard and encourage enthusiasm and possibilities."
     Hyson's academic research deals primarily with early emotional
development, attitudes toward adult-child affection, and the causes of
early academic pressures. She recently authored the book, The
Emotional Development of Young Children: Building an Emotion-Centered
Curriculum, (Teachers College Press, 1994), and is currently
researching teachers' beliefs about emotions in American and Korean
early childhood programs.
     She is associate editor of Early Education and Development and
will assume the editorship of Early Childhood Research Quarterly in
July 1995. She is also a member of the Board of Examiners of the
National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education.
                                                          -Richard Gaw


Editor's note: A copy of the 1993-94 Commission's Annual Report to the
President is available by calling the Office of Women's Affairs at 831-
8063.