Dianne Bouvier presents at the CEHS Faculty Research Forum on Friday, May 6.

ATHENS, Ohio (May 11, 2011) -- Dianne Bouvier, who currently serves as University Ombudsman at Ohio University and Research Associate in the Patton College of Education and Human Services Center for Higher Education, presented  “Females who teach business: Exploring the impact of positive and negative affect in the workplace” at the CEHS Faculty Research Forum on Friday, May 6.  As a doctoral student in Higher Education, Bouvier conducted this collaborative research with Dr. Valerie Martin Conley, Associate Professor in the Patton College; and Dr. Josetta McLaughlin, Associate Professor at Roosevelt University in Chicago.

Bouvier, who has served as a member of the Women's Center Task Force and Executive Vice President and Provost's Women's Commission, explained various affect theories to the crowd, noting how both positive and negative affect could be perceived.  Bouvier also explained the theories behind social capital, which included differentiating between “bonding capital” (similar characteristics and background that groups can bond over) versus “bridging capital” (crossing over different backgrounds and bridging the gap).

“If you are in a group of faculty very similar to yourself, you can create bonding capital,” Bouvier said. “But if you’re (from different backgrounds), it may be more difficult to create bonding relationships, so you may need to create bridging relationships.”

For her study, Bouvier analyzed survey data collected by the Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education (COACHE), which assesses climate for pre-tenure faculty. The survey included responses from 993 faculty members who taught business and revealed some interesting trends within this discipline: female faculty are younger, less likely to be married, less likely to have spouses at home who do not work and less likely to have children than their male colleagues. Bouvier used the latter data point to note that there may be a different perception between a man leaving work to tend to his children versus a woman doing the same thing.

“I do wonder what kind of response women receive when they say they have families,” Bouvier said. “Is the message being given that it’s more acceptable for men to have families than it is for women? And does this change how they feel about the workplace?

The data became more worrisome when the discussion turned to tenure. Overall, women seemed less sure about tenure standards and uncertain if they would receive tenure compared to men. One reason for this could be the lack of opportunity to connect with a senior faculty member (likely tenured) who could act as a mentor through the tenure process.

“Overall, the picture here is that women are more interested in interaction with senior faculty members than they are receiving,” Bouvier said.

In the future, Bouvier hopes to consider other theoretical research, conduct qualitative research and replicate the study for other disciplines. Overall, her hope is utilize the results from this study in her dissertation work.

The CEHS Faculty Research Forum provides faculty members the opportunity to present their research findings to interested students and faculty as well as answer their questions. Forums are held Fridays at 12 p.m. For more information, visit http://www.cehs.ohio.edu/news-events/events.htm.

Story by R. Devin Hughes; Photo by Mark Brunton