The Women of Color Task Force

The Task Force is a staff organization at the University of Michigan providing professional development opportunities for employees.  For more than 25 years, the Task Force has served as a forum for the exchange of information about the status of women of color at the University of Michigan and as a focal point for action necessary to the resolution of their concerns.

General Membership Meetings

Women of Color Task Force meetings are every other Thursday at noon at the Center for the Education of Women, Michigan Square Building, 330 E. Liberty Street (corner of Division & Liberty).  Please contact WCTF Coordinator Janice Reuben at 734.764.6331 to confirm dates or email Janice at reubenjs@umich.edu

Membership

Any University of Michigan employee is eligible for membership in the Task Force if she or he is an active, regular staff, faculty, research fellow, or primary employee receiving a University salary, or is a University of Michigan retiree.  The Task Force encourages the participation of individuals from all University of Michigan departments and units who wish to promote the professional and personal development of women of color staff.

The 2007-2008 Executive Team is Lucy Brown, Joyce French, Michelle Rosemond, Janis Williamson and Grace Wu.

2007-2008 WCTF members:

Aisha Langford, UMHS Cancer Center
Angela Johnson, UMHS Women's Health Program
Antoinette M Booze-Battle, ISR
Belinda Eberhardt, Registration/Verification/Finance
Beverly McKinney, UMHS CVC Wellness Resource Center
Beverly Thomas, University Housing
Bruce Donald, Honorary Member
Catricia Thomas, UMHS Cancer Center
Cecelia Nash, Ross School of Business
Cherie Dotson, College of Pharmacy
Denise White, Honorary Member
Dinella Crosby, UMMS Minority Health Research Program
Elizabeth Mimms, SOE Programs for Educ. Opportunity
Ella Williams, UMHS Entrance Services
Grace Wu, UM Medical School - Psychiatry
Janice Reuben, WCTF Coordinator - CEW
Janis Williamson, UHS Managed Care
Johnnie Joplin, UMH Radiology/Pathology
Joyce French, ICPSR
Katrina Patterson, Ross School of Business
Kirsten Elling, CEW
Leonia M Gregory, Housing
Leslie E McGraw-Smith,
Lucy Brown, Ross School of Business
Lynette Wright, Plant Operations
M. Michelle Rosemond, LS&A Comprehensive Studies
Marisa Arnold, Transportation
Michelle Phelps, Office of Financial Aid
Michelle Woods, School of Social Work
Monica Smith, UMMS Internal Medicine
Pamela Smith, Plant Operations
Priscilla Rice, School of Education
Rachel Rush, School of Nursing
Regina Sims, Rackham School of Graduate Studies
Robyn Hampton, LS&A Academic Advising
Rosalind Anderson, UMH Pediatric Clinic
Stacy Peterson, School of Social Work
Tesenga Sha Duncan Smith, School of Public Health
Tiffany Porties, UMMS Program In Biomedical Sciences

Annual Career Conference

The Women of Color Task Force hosts an annual career conference which features 50 professional development workshops, a networking luncheon, a vendor exhibit area and a special keynote speaker. On average, more than 600 women and men (90% of whom are UM employees from the Ann Arbor, Dearborn and Flint campuses) attend the conference. The Task Force will host its 26th Annual Career Conference on Friday, February 29, 2008 from
8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For more information about the 2008 Conference.
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Read a recap of the 2007 conference. View the video of the keynote speech by Mary Frances Berry.

Career & Personal Development Workshops

The Task Force offers free career development workshops for its membership during its biweekly meetings on a variety of professional and personal development topics. This includes project management, negotiations, strategies, time management, networking skills, and health & wellness.

Woman of the Year Awards Program

The Task Force implemented a second major program initiative in 1986 - the Woman of the Year Awards Program. This program was designed to honor women of color staff and faculty who had made outstanding contributions in the areas of leadership (outstanding service as a project leader, administrator or peer leader), human relations (improved group dynamics within the University community, at the unit level or beyond) and community service, but were not being recognized through regular university channels. 

A Task Force selection committee reviews the nominations submitted by the deans, department chairs and directors of academic and research units to determine the winners of the leadership and human relations awards. The Rebecca A. Vaughn Distinguished Service Award is bestowed upon a Task Force member for exemplary service and dedication. Nominations for each award category will be accepted until February 11, 2008, and the winners will be announced during the opening session of the annual career conference on Friday, February 29, 2008.

Download the award criteria and nomination form.

View past awardees.

Staff Mentoring

The Task Force believes that creating opportunities to share experiences and exchange of knowledge fosters professional success and personal excellence. In order to produce those opportunities and conduits for sharing, the Task Force provides mentoring to its members.

The goals of the program are to:

Promote leadership development and increase professional skills & specific competencies;

Provide information and direction to identify and achieve career goals; and

Establish a network of support services for staff.

History of WCTF

In 1979, Jennie Partee of the Affirmative Office and Beulah Sanders of the School of Education created the Minority Women’s Task Force, a staff organization that would provide career development opportunities for minority women employed at the university.  With additional support from the University’s Affirmative Action Office (HRAA), Human Resource Development Office, the School of Education and the UMH Office of Organizational Effectiveness (Medical Center), Ms. Partee and Ms. Sanders developed a series of workshops designed to build professional skills that would empower and support African American women in their career advancement efforts at the University of Michigan. The format consisted of small groups of women coming together to discuss employment concerns and career development opportunities within the University.  Over the course of the next four years, the membership grew and focused on enhancing the workshop training modules.  These efforts culminated in a one-day career development conference on February 25, 1983 that featured eleven professional development workshops and more than two hundred conference participants.

The Minority Women’s Task Force experienced a major shift in its recruitment focus in the mid-1980s as it actively targeted Latina, Asian and Native American women for membership. During the 1985 summer retreat, the members voted to change the name of the organization to the Women of Color Task Force. The membership, which is comprised of staff from various job classifications, has received support for the past 21 years from the University and surrounding community.  In 2002, the Women of Color Task Force became an administrative unit of the Center for the Education of Women (CEW).

For more information about the Women of Color Task Force, please contact Janice Reuben, WCTF Program Coordinator (wctfadmin@umich.edu), at 734.764.6331