The safety of women on campus, college reorganization, and the higher education budget were a few of the topics discussed at "Conversation with the Provost," held Monday.

The event, which takes place every semester, gave faculty the chance to talk to President-designate Lou Anna Simon about issues that concern them, such as the recent reported sexual assaults on campus.

Simon said some women discussed campus safety and the way the reports are handled, during the meeting sponsored by the Women's Advisory Committee to the Provost.

"As you can expect from a women-oriented group, they were very concerned that statements that are made would not be done in a way that would blame the victim," Simon said.

She also said the group wanted to make sure that because most of the reported sexual assaults were by acquaintances, too much emphasis wasn't placed on trying to prevent stranger assaults.

"They also thought we needed to really look at questions of the respect that's shown between men and women in relationships," Simon said.

Women's Resource Center Director Patricia Lowrie said the event, which has been taking place since the mid-'80s, gives Simon a chance to answer faculty questions and talk about her concerns.

"She encouraged those in attendance to provide, through the (Women's Advisory Committee to the Provost) their sense of what the institution should be as a land-grant institution for the 21st century," Lowrie said.

She also said that she thinks it's important for women faculty members specifically to meet with Simon to address women-oriented issues.

"It's important to get an opportunity to meet the leadership in the institution in an informal setting and have questions answered directly," Lowrie said. "It's important for women to know the leadership and recognize what roles they play as leaders across the campus."

Simon said she updated the audience about where different committees stand with reports on the liberal arts and budgets, and the questions asked were typical of what is asked every year.

Simon said the group talked about how to make MSU more diverse for students and faculty.

"We talked about how to move ahead -from their perspective -on issues that would make MSU a much more inclusive climate," she said.