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The National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine’s Action Collaborative on Preventing Sexual Harassment in Higher Education held its 2020 Public Summit virtually Monday-Tuesday, Oct. 19-20. Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s Carol Colaninno, PhD, research assistant professor in the STEM Center and adjunct professor in the Department of Anthropology, was among the national event’s speakers.

The Collaborative comprises more than 60 colleges, universities and research institutions, and is “dedicated to working toward targeted, collective action on addressing and preventing sexual harassment across all disciplines and among all people in higher education.”

Colaninno presented the initial findings of her research aimed at preventing sexual harassment from occurring during undergraduate field-based courses, specifically in the field of archeology. She is principal investigator of the project “Evidence-based Transformation of Undergraduate Field Schools to Promote Safety and Inclusivity,” funded by a $300,000 grant from the National Science Foundation.

“Attending this conference was rewarding, and a great opportunity for professional growth,” Colaninno said. “Scholars who have been influential in research into sexual harassment in higher education presented their work. There was a full range of higher education professionals, researchers and graduate students in attendance. It was beneficial to learn how other universities are approaching sexual harassment and assault in ways that support populations who have been historically impacted. I hope I can bring some of these approaches to archaeology. “

In 2018, the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine released its report on the sexual harassment of women in higher education: Sexual Harassment of Women: Climate, Culture, and Consequences in Academic Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

“That report detailed the ways in which the climate and culture of higher education perpetuates environments where women are frequently subjected to harassing behaviors, as well as means of preventing harassment and supporting women,” Colaninno explained. “Our field school research was heavily influenced by the report.”

Colaninno and her co-researchers are all members of the Southeastern Archaeological Conference, the professional organization Colaninno and her research team are working with to conduct this work. Along with Colaninno, the team includes:

• Emily Beahm, PhD, research station archeologist with the Arkansas Archeological Survey, University of Arkansas-Winthrop Rockefeller Institute Station
• Carl Drexler, PhD, research assistant professor with the University of Arkansas and station archeologist with the Arkansas Archeological Survey – Southern Arkansas University research station
• Shawn Lambert, PhD, assistant professor at Mississippi State University and research fellow at the Cobb Institute of Archaeology

In the project’s first year, surveys were administrated to field school directors asking how often they implement certain policies and practices at their field schools that prevent and reduce sexual harassment and assault. Field directors were also asked to share their field school syllabi for document analysis and coding.

“Our initial findings revealed areas where field directors can improve their practices. We found that they don’t generally require students to have participated in sexual harassment and assault training before attending field school,” Colaninno said. “Additionally, nearly half of our respondents do not provide contact information for their university’s Title IX coordinator, and few provide contact information for counseling services.”

Among the positive findings, according to Colaninno, is that field directors generally participate in sexual harassment and assault training, and tend to require that their supervising graduate assistants and/or staff do the same.

“Most directors provide students with the contact information for their supervisor (i.e. department chair or dean), so that students may report complaints directly to those individuals,” she noted. “This helps provide some accountability over the field director and gives students more power, too. We are seeing areas where field directors have been thoughtful and are making meaningful changes that support students. Still, we see areas for improvement.”

Next, the researchers will develop recommended practices, and then help implement them while documenting how these practices help create a safer and more inclusive field learning environment.

For more information, visit siuestemcenter.org/safe-field-schools. Questions can be sent to safefieldschools@gmail.com.

Photo: Carol Colaninno, PhD, research assistant professor in the SIUE STEM Center and adjunct professor in the Department of Anthropology.