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Bryn Mawr Club of New York City
March 2005 E-LetterBryn Mawr Club of New York City Events
Bryn Mawr Club of New York City Events A View from the Board Room Corporate and Nonprofit Have you been asked or are you considering becoming a member of a board of directors of a corporation or a non-profit organization? Do you know what your rights and responsibilities might be? On Wednesday, March 23, the Club is sponsoring a panel discussion, A View from the Board Room, about the new procedures and standards required of boards of directors in the wake of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, a legislative response to recent accounting scandals. Members of the panel will include Marilyn Muir Pfaltz, ’54, a director of a Fortune 500 company for over 23 years, Lucy Norman Friedman, ’65, who serves on numerous non-profit boards including the Center for Work-Life (formerly the National Parenting Association) and the Afterschool Alliance, and Suzan Habachy who represents several non-profit boards like Hands Along the Nile. If you were asked to serve on a board would you know what to expect? Would you accept? There will be no charge for this event as Lois Collier '50 is hosting us at her apartment, One Sutton Place South (between East 56th and 57th streets). The event will open at 6:00 p.m. with light refreshments served; the panel discussion will start at 7:00 and conclude at 8:30. Space is limited to 50, so reservations are necessary (if there are still openings a few days before the event, we can open it up to non-alumnae.) To reserve, please e-mail Beth Crossman: bethspatch@worldnet.att.net and Ann Schack: aschack@bellatlantic.net. Or phone Beth at 212-662-8344. It would be helpful if you would let alumnae who do not have e-mail know of
this
opportunity. BMC Connections Bryn Mawr Book Club On March 17, the Bryn Mawr Book Club will discuss “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime” by Mark Haddon An edited description from RandomHouse.com "Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime," by Mark Haddon: Christopher John Francis Boone knows all the countries of the world and their capitals and every prime number up to 7,057. He relates well to animals but has no understanding of human emotions. He cannot stand to be touched. Although gifted with a superbly logical brain, Christopher is autistic. Everyday interactions and admonishments have little meaning for him. Routine, order and predictability shelter him from the messy, wider world. Then, at 15, Christopher's carefully constructed world falls apart when he finds the body of his neighbor's dog and he is initially blamed for the killing. This engaging mystery is tragic and funny in turn.
The April selection will be 'Mountains beyond Mountains' by Tracy Kidder. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------Club Members march through “The Gates” Intrepid and enthusiastic Bryn Mawrters led by Emily Bardack Folpe ‘65 marched through a snow-dusted Central Park on Tuesday, February 22 and Wednesday, February 23 to view "The Gates" by Christo and Jeanne-Claude. Discussion ranged from Christo's artistic training in Bulgaria and his work leading up to "The Gates" to the history of Central Park and the features of its artful landscape designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. While walking from the Metropolitan Museum towards the Great Lawn and on to the Sailboat Pond and Bethesda Fountain, there was ample opportunity to look closely at the ephemeral "Gates" installation and to appreciate the timeless beauty of the park. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Career Network
This month's top career issue could be seen as the remarks made by President Summers of Harvard, questioning, among other things, women's innate ability to succeed at the top levels of math and science. In discussing this with Bryn Mawr alums, two points were made repeatedly: why didn’t the respondents reframe the question? If women test better than men in language, then why do men still occupy the top positions where those skills are crucial? (Supreme Court, anyone?) The second point made by the respondents conceded that, at the margins, Summers's statement may have had some merit. But, why should that affect the vast majority of the women and men who are equal in ability? To level the playing field, more attention should be paid to preparing women, rather than assigning them to the dustbin of mediocrity. President Vickers said so in a letter to the Philadelphia newspapers. We would like to get your responses, either to the e-letter address or to NancyKirk9@aol.com or jfv1999@aol.com. Jessica Vasquez and Nancy Kirk are your career development representatives in the New York metropolitan area. If anyone would like to help us organize an event to discuss the issue, please let us know. We are planning to launch a law and a business affinity group in New
York. Stay tuned, and let us know if you'd like to be part of either one. The Interactive Component of a Job Search Working daily with job seekers from the BMC community, I have come to think that I have seen or heard it all, although of course this is not the case. There are often quirky aspects of the process that come to light. My husband Bill recently posted a listing on Monster.com and interviewed candidates for a project management position with his small construction management firm. Intrigued by the clever email of a long-distance candidate, he scheduled an interview with the applicant during his upcoming trip from the Bay Area to the East Coast. Naturally, a long-distance search is exponentially more difficult than a local one, so Sam, as I will call him, sounded elated to have secured an interview in Philadelphia. Though Sam was as charming and articulate in person as he was in writing, the match was not perfect; he actually had too much experience and was a bit over-qualified for the position with Bill’s firm. Employer and candidate both realized the lack in the fit, but the interview was positive, and Sam promised to stay in touch. Bill hired a less experienced candidate, and that should have been the end of the story. Interestingly enough, Bill received another email from Sam several weeks later with the good news that he had found an ideal position in Connecticut and that he and his family would be relocating immediately. Sam was effusive in his gratitude to Bill. He wrote that his search had been a difficult one and that Bill’s genuine interest in him had sent a signal that some employers would take a serious look at long-distance candidates and that Sam should redouble his efforts at finding them. The effect of being taken seriously after a long drought of unanswered applications was important to Sam. The interaction with an attractive and supportive employer had made an impression, had a positive effect, and provided Sam with the motivation required to find the right job. A job search can take curves and twists and can seem to lead nowhere, but the connections one makes along the road can recharge and energize the journey. What surprises me in the story of Bill and Sam is the importance of a single positive connection in keeping the job seeker on course, providing the necessary confidence to reach his destination. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ THE BMC OF NYC E-LETTER |