12 weeks paid maternity leave for Stanford grad students

[eridani]

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/business/technology/13722480.htm

Stanford University on Thursday promised its women graduate students 12 weeks of paid maternity leave, a bold step aimed at attracting and retaining female intellectual talent.

The policy -- believed to be the second of its kind among major U.S. universities -- also guarantees that new mothers can maintain full-time student status and eases their return to class work, research, and teaching.

"It is vital to the nation that we retain those women who seek graduate degrees," said Arthur Bienenstock, Stanford's vice provost and dean of research and graduate policy, who announced the policy at a meeting of the Faculty Senate, the university's legislative body. "Otherwise, we will lose our lead in innovation and ultimately our standard of living, as well as national security," he said.

Universities are working hard to recruit more women into rigorous fields, particularly engineering and computer sciences; still, many more women drop out then men all the way along the academic track, according to a 2002 report by the National Council for Research.

[kalibex]

1. Kewlies! n/t

[alarcojon]

2. Excellent news

Thanks for posting!

[MountainLaurel]

3. That's impressive

It's still not European impressive, but for academic in the U.S., it's huge.

[bobbieinok]

4. Stanford+other prestige grad deans in 67 when student deferment

was eliminated

they protested b/c, they said, the grad schools would be filled with 'the halt, the lame, and....WOMEN'

the quote is quite probably not exactly accurate, but I was in grad school at Stanford at the time and I remember how my female colleagues and I felt