GENDER EQUITY PLAN APPROVED

The second phase of a plan designed to move Southeast Missouri State University toward gender equity in athletics was approved by the school's Board of Regents Wednesday.

Its goal is to have more female athletes and coaches and to increase funding for women's sports at Southeast.

The regents adopted a five-year plan to move the school to a male-female ratio of 55 percent to 45 percent in student athletes, coaching staff, operations budget and scholarships.

School officials said it would be accomplished by establishing a women's intercollegiate soccer program starting in fall 1999. The team will have 24 student athletes and a full-time head coach.

Universities risk losing federal funds if they don't pursue gender equity in athletics. A federal law known as Title IX bars sex bias in federally funded education programs or activities, including athletics.

Southeast president Dr. Dale Nitzschke said: "Title IX continues to ride very high in the saddle. It is the Bible of the federal government."

But he and other school officials said the university isn't pursuing gender equity just to comply with federal law. Nitzschke said there is an important message in Southeast's gender equity efforts: "It is saying that women are important here."

Dr. Ken Dobbins, Southeast's executive vice president, said the university should strive for gender equity. "It's the right thing to do," he said.

The university will help underwrite the soccer program with institutional funds that will increase from $15,000 in fiscal 1999 to $100,000 in fiscal 2003. By the fifth year, the women's soccer program is expected to operate on a budget of more than $198,000.

As part of the plan, Southeast will review its progress toward gender equity every three years.

The regents adopted the first phase of the gender equity plan four years ago. At that time, nearly 70 percent of Southeast's athletes and 66 percent of its coaching staff were men. Seventy percent of the scholarships went to male athletes and 72 percent of the budget for athletics operations went to men's sports.

The initial plan called for moving the ratio to 60 percent male and 40 percent female within three years. Southeast officials said that goal was reached in fiscal 1997.

The latest plan was drawn up by the university's gender equity committee.

Nitzschke said the ultimate goal is for the ratio to mirror the proportion of men and women enrolled at Southeast. Currently, women outnumber men 58 percent to 42 percent at Southeast.

Nitzschke said Southeast is far ahead of other Ohio Valley Conference schools in its gender-equity efforts.

Southeast's success hasn't come at the expense of men's sports as has occurred at some other schools, he said. Some schools have eliminated men's sports such as football in an effort to promote gender equity.

BOARD OF REGENTS

Agenda

Wednesday, July 8

-- Named the new polytechnic building after Otto and Della Seabaugh.

-- Approved an operating budget of $73 million and auxiliary services budget of $17.7 million for fiscal 1999.

-- Agreed to spend $950,000 over three years to upgrade the university's telecommunications system.

-- Approved capital improvement projects for fiscal 1999.

-- Approved plans to request state funding for various capital improvement projects for fiscal 2000, including development of a former Catholic seminary into the School for Visual and Performing Arts.

-- Approved second phase of gender equity plan in athletics.

-- Approved new occupational education program under the associate of applied science degree.

-- Approved an area of study for elementary education majors in TESOL, Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages.

-- Received a report on the reorganization of student services.