2,472 research outputs found
Chapter 4: Furthering a Research Career at MD Anderson
No full textDr. Travis begins this Chapter by explaining that she was aware of MD Anderson throughout her career. After her post-doctoral fellowship at the Gray Laboratory, she was recruited to serve as Cancer Expert at the National Institutes of Health (National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, 1979−1982) and she was recruited by Lester Peters for MD Anderson in 1982. Next Dr. Travis explains how her work on radiation damage to normal lung tissue in mice had implications for patient care. She describes some experiments conducted to explore radio-protectors, radio-sensitization, and strategies for changing the fractionation of beams to do less tissue damage. She undertook this work at MD Anderson and mentions individuals she worked with and the seminal data produced showing that it was better to use a lot of radiation on a small area of tissue to do the least damage to normal disuse.
Dr. Travis notes that she came to MD Anderson as an Associate Professor and she was the only woman in the Department of Experimental Radiation Oncology. She describes the department as very vibrant, one of the best in the field, and she brought her focus on normal tissue, which no one else was researching at the time. She also observes that the Department “took a chance” on her, as she had no grant funding at the time. However her first R01 grant proposal was funded; she also had a program project grant.
Dr. Travis describes how writing grant proposals helped her develop as a researcher during her first years at MD Anderson. She explains how a grant proposal creates a road map for an experiment and forces the researcher to articulate hypotheses and think about a research question in a holistic way. “You see it from 35,000 feet,” she says.
Dr. Travis compares her experience at MD Anderson with the environment at the NCI.https://openworks.mdanderson.org/mchv_interviewchapters/2019/thumbnail.jp
Chapter 05: Gender Issues at MD Anderson and the Creation of Advocacy and Equity Services for Women
No full textDr. Travis explains how a movement to address women’s issues began in the eighties. The University of Texas System had convened a Commission on Women and Minorities. She also notes that Dr. Margaret Kripke, a major player in these events, came to MD Anderson in 1983. Dr. Kripke put together a small, ad hoc group to work on the status of women at MD Anderson. Included were: Elizabeth Travis, Lillian Fuller, and Judy Watson (Dr. Charles LeMaistre’s “right hand”). They conducted a study (1984) and found inequities: unequal pay for women; women took longer to be promoted, women were not serving on committees or as department chairs or in high-profile positions. Dr. Kripke took the data to Dr. LeMaistre and the Vice President of Research, Dr. Frederick Becker. She notes that women themselves were generally not aware of the inequities prior to the report. Next, the ad hoc group started the Women Faculty Organization to work for access to opportunities for women. She explains why it was important that senior women comprised the core groups. She also reflects on how the activities of the group were received.
Dr. Travis next talks about the rationale for putting together the book, Legends and Legacies, one of the first projects of the Office of Women Faculty Programs.
Dr. Travis tells a story about a table in the dining room of the Clark Clinic where men always ate their lunch. She recalls a day when the women involved in the Women Faculty Organization reserved it, much to the men’s shock. She talks about how humor was important as she and others worked for visibility for women. She tells how the “dining table” incident developed and showed a shift in the culture.
Next, Dr. Travis explains how the Office of Women Faculty Programs operates, stressing that women alone cannot make these changes to culture, the men in the institution must also be engaged. She talks about some measures of success: e.g. in 2007, nine out of the eleven faculty receiving faculty achievement awards were women. She goes on to talk more about the evolution of the early movement to address gender issues, when the faculty group was expanded to include women on the administrative side, as changes were not happening fast enough. In 1996, Dr. Travis observes, another survey was conducted about women in leadership confirming few women in high positions. At that point, Dr. Travis notes, Dr. Margaret Kripke was Chief Academic Officer and was in a position to correct inequities and identify rising-star women. Dr. Kripke was also on the point of retiring and concerned that she would leave a vacuum at the leadership table. (She was the first and only woman to date to sit on the President’s executive committee.) Dr. Travis explains that Dr. Kripke hired consultants (Wanda Wallace and one other consultant) to suggest plans of action. The idea for a dedicated office addressing women’s issues was formed. Dr. Travis applied for the position (and she explains why she decided to slow down her research career at this point), as she had always been passionate about gender issues.https://openworks.mdanderson.org/mchv_interviewchapters/2020/thumbnail.jp
Chapter 12: Leaving a Legacy of Visible Women
No full textDr. Travis talks about the legacy she feels she will leave at MD Anderson: more women in leadership roles and communities of women who feel visible and recognized. She is particularly gratified by the community building and gives an example of how the Office supports growth of community. She also feels she has had an impact on male colleagues who are now aware of gender issues. Dr. Travis shares some milestones she would like to see accomplished before she retires.
Dr. Travis says she has no immediate plans to retire. She is “having too much fun” and she has worked since she was twelve and would need to have an outlet for her energy. She talks about Dr. Margaret Kripke, who retired for a time, then took on another position.
Dr. Travis makes some final comments about MD Anderson, where “what we do is truly remarkable.”https://openworks.mdanderson.org/mchv_interviewchapters/2027/thumbnail.jp
Chapter 7: Women Faculty Programs: Its Beginnings; Awards for Progress Made
No full textIn this Chapter, Dr. Travis reviews the history leading to the formation of the ad hoc committee in the 80s tasked to evaluate the status of women and discusses some documents (not yet in the MD Anderson Archive) related to this history. She talks about the report produced by the Committee to Evaluate the Status of Women (1988/89). (She also has a copy of the report made to the institution by consultant Wanda Wallace, called in to advice how to address gender inequity.) She notes that MD Anderson has a better track record than most medical institutions in promoting women. She notes that MD Anderson received a Leadership Development Award in 2012 from the American Association of Medical Colleges: this recognized the body of work accomplished by the Office of Women Faculty Programs. Dr. Travis herself received this award as an individual in 2009. She outlines the accomplishments that have been made, among them an increase in women in leadership roles from 15% to 27%. Dr. Travis says this is a “model office” and that she speaks all over the country to talk about its structure and role.https://openworks.mdanderson.org/mchv_interviewchapters/2022/thumbnail.jp
Chapter 09: Working through Challenges for Women at MD Anderson
No full textIn this chapter, Dr. Spitz talks about challenges and changes for women faculty at MD Anderson. She recalls the salary review spearheaded by Elizabeth Travis and others and changes that came from that initiative. She notes that she herself was the first female MD to become a department chair. She also recalls the dinner for senior women at which she receive the Faculty Alumnus Award. She talks about contributing an essay to the book about senior women, Legends and Legacies and shares her views about the group photo of the contributors in eveningwear.https://openworks.mdanderson.org/mchv_interviewchapters/2578/thumbnail.jp
Chapter 06: The Office of Women Faculty Programs: Activities and Challenges
No full textIn this Chapter, Dr. Travis describes some of the main projects developed through the Office of Women Faculty Programs (which opened in 2007). She begins by describing the book, Legends and Legacies (published 2008), that brought together personal narratives written by MD Anderson’s key women scientists and clinicians. She notes that she worked with Mary Jane Schier, Steve Stuyck, and Maria Dungler in the Public Affairs Office. She also explains the rationale behind the photograph best associated with the book: a group photo of the featured women dressed in cocktail dresses. She notes that it was inspired by an Annie Liebowitz photograph, but also notes that the group photo stresses that “We have to build communities of women.” She describes the book launch events and the impact of the book on the institution, noting that the book put a different and more human face on the women of the organization.
Next Dr. Travis describes several early activities of Women Faculty programs, including the website and its monthly online feature, “Women Leading the Way.” She also describes setting up the Kripke Legend Award to honor people who promote and women: it is a highly competitive in cancer medicine and is awarded to women and to men.
Next Dr. Travis describes reactions to the Office’s activities: “Male colleagues were not happy,” and Dr. Travis explains that she was described as “too strident.” There are still naysayers, she observes. Next she describes how she learned to address complaints after a particularly difficult set of personal attacks. She went to Dan Fontaine in the UT System for advice. He said, “Do a survey of Division and Department heads about Women Faculty Programs.” She explains the results and discusses how important it was that she reported the results at the Research Council and Clinical Council –transparency that did a great deal to change the tone of reactions to her work.
Dr. Travis explains that the Office of Women Faculty Programs is an independent office that reports directly to the Provost.
Dr. Travis stresses that the focus of the Office of Women Faculty Programs is to promote women into leadership positions. She explains that women leaders bring a different perspective and different problem-solving strategies to institutions when they are in leadership roles.
Dr. Travis explains some of the changes in culture she has observed at MD Anderson: for example, men on search committees now will say, “There are no women.” Dr. Travis then explains that many people resist thinking about gender as an issue because they feel they are being accused of not being fair-minded. At the end of this session, she talks about how she handles this and how the institution has changed.https://openworks.mdanderson.org/mchv_interviewchapters/2021/thumbnail.jp
Elizabeth L. Travis, PhD, Oral History Interview, August 10, 2021
No full textMajor Topics Covered: Personal Background Obstacles, Challenges, Barriers Women and Minorities at Workhttps://openworks.mdanderson.org/mchv_interviewsessions/1231/thumbnail.jp
Chapter 21: A View of Women’s Careers at MD Anderson
No full textDr. Elting offers observations and personal experiences to illustrate changes in the climate for women at MD Anderson.
She talks about challenges when she was not accorded respect or opportunities. She notes that she was the fortieth woman at MD Anderson to be promoted to full-professor.
Dr. Elting observes that the executive leadership at MD Anderson expresses concern about women’s representation, but this was not repeated at the mid-level of management until Dr. Elizabeth Travis [Oral History Interview] began working on advancement for women. Dr. Elting explains why she was reluctant to align herself with the Women Faculty Organization and Women Faculty Programs. She observes that women have an equal chance at becoming a department chair, but not at rising any higher. She explains why this is the case.
Dr. Elting points out some differences in the ways that men and women look at their subject matter, particularly the way men are quicker think in entrepreneurial ways about their work. She explains how she developed this perspective.https://openworks.mdanderson.org/mchv_interviewchapters/1722/thumbnail.jp
Chapter 17: An Absence of Women in Executive Leadership at MD Anderson
No full textIn this chapter, Dr. Summers observes that since her arrival at MD Anderson, there has been little progress in promoting women and minorities above the level of vice president: executive leadership continues to be white and male. She explains that the impediment seems to be a lack of self-awareness, and offers some examples of interactions that show how senior leadership does not see a problem. She observes that there is a similar problem in promoting women faculty and notes Dr. Elizabeth Travis’ work (Women Faculty Programs [Oral History Interview]) to advocate for women. Dr. Summers explains why the absence of women in leadership limits MD Anderson’s success. She also notes that, in other cancer centers, women serve as senior executives and MD Anderson is an anomaly, even among Houston institutions.https://openworks.mdanderson.org/mchv_interviewchapters/2251/thumbnail.jp
Chapter 11: Setting up the Office of Women Faculty Programs
No full textIn this Chapter, Dr. Travis describes how she went about setting up an office that could create rapid results for women at MD Anderson. She first hired a data person, because “it’s all about the data.” She explains data is fundamental to all of the Office’s work, decisions about priorities, and role in debunking myths. She describes how her skills in presenting issues and responding to naysayers evolved as she set up the office. Next she explains the elements of the Office’s mission: to increase the visibility of women within the institution and beyond and to have an impact on policy. As an example of the latter role, she describes how the Office was instrumental in changing the policy on tenure clock extension for faculty with a new child. She also talks about the Office’s role in getting people to look at their unconscious biases: she does a lot of teaching about this issue, using a test developed at Harvard University for unconscious bias. She also discusses mentoring. Faculty Development runs the institution’s formal mentoring programs, however Women Faculty Programs addresses issues that this program misses, such as why women don’t like to promote themselves and the skills they lack in self-promotion. She quotes Walt Whitman: “Ya done it, you’re not bragging.” She also talks about training she does for men to help them understand that they must ask women questions.
Next Dr. Travis talks about the concept of “sponsorship.” She has published a paper on sponsorship and defines it in contrast to mentoring, explaining that it’s a business model that she is adapting to a medical/scientific concept. She intends to put together a sponsorship workshop at MD Anderson and will also develop a Women’s Leadership Network spanning all fifteen units of the University of Texas System, further breaking down barriers between faculty and administrative women.
Dr. Travis speaks about one project she has not yet been able to push through: Cultural competency training focused on gender for Department chairs. She explains the need and notes that this is on the calendar for August 2014. She intends this as a pilot program to see how it works.
Dr. Travis talks about the issues that cultural competency training would cover and stresses that she sees her role as helping department chairs develop the best of the best.https://openworks.mdanderson.org/mchv_interviewchapters/2026/thumbnail.jp
- …
