Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Controversy at USD: AFFIRM or DENY?

As Reader writer Dave Rice recently reported, the University of San Diego has just received $600,000 from the National Science Foundation so that it might "increase the number of female professors, particularly females of minority origin, in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics."

"It's a wonderful gift," said USD Presider Mary Lion. "Ordinarily, that sort of grant would cover maybe two professors' salaries for a year or so. But given the down economy and the fact that women make only 75 cents on the dollar compared to men, I can probably get double that!"

But at least one professor - and a female professor, at that - is unhappy with the idea of gender-based hiring. In response to the AFFIRM program (Advancement of Female Faculty: Institutional climate, Recruitment and Mentoring) designated to administer the funds, Department of Chemicals and Biochemicals Chair Deborah Tahsammebi has founded a counter-organization. She calls it DENY - "Destroy Estrogen-based Nepotism Yesterday."

"Look," explained Professor Tahsammebi as she strolled with this reporter past the phallocratic spire of the Catholic university's Immaculata Church, "I get that some people have it tougher than others, and can use a helping hand. I mean, I coordinate the PURE program here at the school. PURE stands for Pre-Undergraduate Research Experience, and the program aims to help socioeconomically disadvantaged students who might want to attend USD. Poverty has a way of narrowing a person's vision, of engendering despair. We try to get students involved in research early in their academic careers, help them see the possibility of a brighter future through academic excellence, you know?"

But, she says, socioeconomic disadvantages are one thing, and gender is another. "Basically, AFFIRM is agreeing with whatever nitwit put the "Math is hard!" chip into Barbie. 'Ladies, we know that you would rather shop than do science, but look, we'll hold the door open and pay you extra! Then you can buy more shoes!' Frankly, it's an insult to women like myself, who earned their positions without any special programs."

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Making Love to Goats, Rachmaninoff, and Elgar

Next Article

San Diego's Uptown Planners challenged by renters from Vibrant Uptown

Two La Jolla planning groups fight for predominance

As Reader writer Dave Rice recently reported, the University of San Diego has just received $600,000 from the National Science Foundation so that it might "increase the number of female professors, particularly females of minority origin, in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics."

"It's a wonderful gift," said USD Presider Mary Lion. "Ordinarily, that sort of grant would cover maybe two professors' salaries for a year or so. But given the down economy and the fact that women make only 75 cents on the dollar compared to men, I can probably get double that!"

But at least one professor - and a female professor, at that - is unhappy with the idea of gender-based hiring. In response to the AFFIRM program (Advancement of Female Faculty: Institutional climate, Recruitment and Mentoring) designated to administer the funds, Department of Chemicals and Biochemicals Chair Deborah Tahsammebi has founded a counter-organization. She calls it DENY - "Destroy Estrogen-based Nepotism Yesterday."

"Look," explained Professor Tahsammebi as she strolled with this reporter past the phallocratic spire of the Catholic university's Immaculata Church, "I get that some people have it tougher than others, and can use a helping hand. I mean, I coordinate the PURE program here at the school. PURE stands for Pre-Undergraduate Research Experience, and the program aims to help socioeconomically disadvantaged students who might want to attend USD. Poverty has a way of narrowing a person's vision, of engendering despair. We try to get students involved in research early in their academic careers, help them see the possibility of a brighter future through academic excellence, you know?"

But, she says, socioeconomic disadvantages are one thing, and gender is another. "Basically, AFFIRM is agreeing with whatever nitwit put the "Math is hard!" chip into Barbie. 'Ladies, we know that you would rather shop than do science, but look, we'll hold the door open and pay you extra! Then you can buy more shoes!' Frankly, it's an insult to women like myself, who earned their positions without any special programs."

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.