 |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Faculty Liaison Diversity Task Force Report
to Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Richard Edwards
May 11, 2000
Introduction
The Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs initially created the Faculty Liaison Task Force for Diversity in the fall of 1998. After one year, the Task Force recommended that it be continued for another year. The Senior Vice Chancellor accepted that recommendation and reappointed the Task Force for this academic year.
The Task Force serves as a link between faculty and administration on diversity issues and in an advisory capacity to the Senior Vice Chancellor on gender equity and diversity issues. More specifically, the charge to the group was:
• To promote and support shared responsibility for building and sustaining a supportive environment for diversity at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL);
• To identify programmatic needs for faculty and academic administrators on diversity and gender equity issues; and
• To implement a small grants program to support faculty and/or unit initiatives on diversity issues.
The Task Force includes faculty representatives from all the academic colleges and the Women's Studies and Ethnic Studies programs. It also included representatives from the Chancellor's Commissions on the Status of Women and People of Color; the Teaching and Learning Center; Student Affairs; and the Equity, Access & Diversity Programs office. A list of the Task Force members is attached. The Task Force and its subcommittees (described below) met regularly throughout the 1999-2000 academic year.
This Report is presented in three sections. The first section describes the major initiatives undertaken by the Task Force this year. The second section identifies the group's collective reflections on diversity at UNL. The third section contains the Task Force's recommendations for the future.
I. Major Initiatives
A. Diversity Enhancement Projects
The Senior Vice Chancellor allocated funds again this year to support pilot projects and activities on campus aimed at enhancing diversity. A call for proposals was sent to members of the UNL community in the fall of 1999, inviting proposals for projects that contributed to one or more of the three goals found in the UNL Diversity Plan:
1. Do more to recruit and retain a truly diverse community of faculty, staff and students that represent the society we serve;
2. Create a learning community that reflects both our multi-cultural society and individual differences among citizens;
3. Create a campus climate where all groups feel welcome and wanted, and are supported so that they enjoy equitable opportunities for professional development and personal fulfillment.
Priority was given to those projects that addressed the campus climate, were designed and jointly submitted by teams of UNL faculty, staff and students, and would benefit the entire campus community. Forty proposals were received from members of the UNL community. A Subcommittee of the Task Force reviewed the proposals using the same review process as the UNL Research Council. Fifteen proposals were recommended for full or partial funding. A short description of all the funded projects is available on the Task Force's web site at http://www.unl.edu/svcaa/priorities/diversity/funds99.html.
As of May 2000, all fifteen funded projects were either completed or in process. Status reports from recipients indicate that the funding enhanced the overall quality of the projects, attracted sizable audiences, and stimulated discussion about diversity issues on campus. The written reports we have received to date are attached.
Looking to the future rather than the past, the Diversity Enhancement Program provides both a symbolic and actual boost to diversity efforts on this campus. Symbolically, the Program indicates a commitment of hard dollars, rather than simply words, to the diversity effort. In practice, the Program provides a diverse array of interesting events and programs that enrich the campus environment for diversity. We understand that the Program will continue, and applaud that decision
B. Teaching for Inclusion Resource Manual
The Task Force commissioned and consulted on a resource manual to assist professors interested in incorporating more diversity into their teaching. The manual, Teaching for Inclusion: A Resource Book for NU Faculty, was edited by Suzy Prenger, a member of the Task Force and consultant with the Teaching and Learning Center. It provides concrete suggestions for teaching students with diverse learning styles, selected strategies for teaching in a manner sensitive to diverse cultures, and a wealth of resource and background material to enable faculty to create a supportive learning environment for all students.
In preparing the manual, the general editor collaborated with students who reflect the cultural and ethnic diversity of the UNL campus, as well as diversity of learning needs, age, sexual orientation, religious identity, and economic background. Chapter authors and editors drew on their varied experiences and incorporated their diverse perspectives as learners into the manual.
The manual has been distributed widely throughout the University and many other universities have requested and been sent copies. The Task Force views the manual as an important and potentially valuable aid to improving teaching on this campus. The manual will remain only "potentially valuable," however, if its messages are not actively promoted across the campus. The Task Force is pleased that the Vice Chancellor's Office and the Teaching and Learning Center are supporting activities to ensure that the lessons of the manual are communicated and reinforced through appropriate means.
C. Art Exhibit and Lecture Series
In conjunction with the Nebraska Commission on the Status of Women, the Task Force organized and presented an art exhibit and lecture series, Out of the Shadows and into the Light. The event occurred on November 15-17, 1999, in the Ballroom at the Nebraska Union.
The art exhibit was presented by David Helm, an Omaha artist who projected images of women in Nebraska history on large screens in a darkened room. The lecture series included thirteen lectures on various aspects of the experience of women in Nebraska. A brochure for the exhibit and lecture series is attached. It contains a list of the lecturers and their topics.
More than 1,000 people attended this event during its three-day run, several professors assigned their students to observe the art exhibit and attend lectures, and the press reports were very favorable. Several people attending commented that it was positive to see such tangible and visible University support for a project devoted to women's issues.
D. Support for Campus-Wide Diversity Initiatives
The Task Force and its members were actively involved in a wide variety of diversity initiatives across campus. These types of activities are too numerous to list comprehensively, but they include assisting with and participating in the campus-wide Diversity Summit sponsored By the Chancellor's Commission on the Status of People of Color, providing advice on the training program developed pursuant to the Office of Civil Rights agreement, assisting with the Women's Mentoring Program, and attending and disseminating information from an American Council on Education seminar.
E. Subcommittee Work
The Task Force organized three subcommittees during the year.
The Outreach Subcommittee. The Outreach Subcommittee was formed to facilitate the dissemination of information on diversity enhancement at a grassroots level throughout the University. The Task Force's basic assumptions in deciding to proceed with this Subcommittee were: 1) the University contains many people with considerable expertise on topics related to diversity (such as how to enhance recruitment efforts, how to incorporate more diversity into the curriculum, how to identify and address sexual and racial harassment, etc.); 2) many units of the University would like to contribute to the University's diversity efforts, but do not have the expertise to do so as effectively as possible; and 3) progress could be made by putting the people with expertise in contact with units that desire and need their expertise. Given this situation, the Outreach Subcommittee's basic mission is to try to match those with expertise on diversity issues at the University with units who would like to take advantage of that expertise. The Subcommittee is currently attempting to identify those with expertise and to develop a structure which will facilitate the matching process.
Accountability Subcommittee. The Accountability Subcommittee was formed to examine and make recommendations as to how diversity efforts can be better incorporated into the University's accountability structure. Questions the Subcommittee considered included:
• What kinds of measures would be appropriate on University evaluation instruments for assessing diversity efforts?
• Can we define standards of multicultural competency?
• What can be done to articulate diversity-related expectations of administration, faculty, students and staff?
• What steps can be taken to ensure that contributions to the University's goals for diversity are adequately acknowledged and rewarded?
This subcommittee is not continuing its work as a group, but one of the subcommittee members has begun a research program designed to address some of these issues.
Funding Subcommittee. The Funding Subcommittee was formed to explore the possibility of funding for diversity efforts, along the lines suggested by Tess Arenas, a diversity expert from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who consulted with the Task Force in the fall. The subcommittee is attempting to identify sources of outside funding directed specifically to diversity efforts and also to explore opportunities across the campus to incorporate diversity elements into proposals whose primary focus is elsewhere. This subcommittee has also ended its work. Some modest progress was made in alerting Task Force members to possible sources of funding and to the viability of including diversity elements in grant proposals.
II. Reflections on Diversity - What We Have Learned
The basic lesson learned from the second year of the Task Force's efforts is that much is being done to enhance diversity on this campus and, yet, much remains to be done.
Many individuals and groups are working hard to improve the climate for diversity on this campus. The very existence of this Task Force and the funds committed to it are evidence of the commitment of senior administrators to the diversity effort. Their commitment is also evident in their public statements and reports, such as President Smith's Statement on Diversity, the Comprehensive Diversity Plan, and the Plan for Increasing Diversity Within the Faculty. Their continued public and forceful articulation of institutional beliefs, values and policies on diversity are essential to continued progress. The strong interest in presenting Diversity Enhancement Projects, and the strength of the projects funded and presented, provide evidence of the depth of the interest in these issues at the grassroots level of this University. In addition, many individual faculty and staff members and students contribute much time and energy to the myriad efforts to improve diversity on this campus.
Despite these encouraging signs, much remains to be done. The Task Force regularly hears of frustration and anger about limited awareness of diversity issues across campus. People on campus who need to know more about diversity issues often continue to act with limited knowledge because they do not know how to access the wealth of information available on this campus. Not everyone with authority over others in the University is sensitive to diversity issues. Recent gender equity reports show progress in hiring, but continued problems in retaining and mentoring people who are here. Continued attention and commitment to diversity issues is essential.
III. Recommendations for the Future
The Task Force has several specific recommendations for the future of diversity efforts on this campus which relate to our own deliberations and activities during the year:
1. Discontinuation of the Task Force/New Coordination Efforts. The Task Force has served an important function during its two year existence, however, we recommend its discontinuation in this form at this time.
If the Task Force is to end, however, it is important that the University establish an alternative administrative structure to fulfill at least some of the Task Force's functions, for example, as a clearinghouse for information on diversity issues across campus and to coordinate diversity issues and events. This, obviously, could be accomplished in many different ways. For example, a person could be appointed to assume these responsibilities or the existing Faculty Associate Program could be used (faculty might be encouraged to become a faculty associate focusing on diversity issues). Alternatively, the duties could be assigned to an existing office, or a new office or task force. We have no firm, uniform preference among these alternatives, but do feel strongly that these functions must be performed and, therefore, that someone (or some office or group) must be made responsible for them.
2. Continued/Renewed Attention to the Retention Issue. As we mentioned above, progress has been made on diversity issues in hiring, but retention continues to be a problem. In fact, the progress in recruitment has served, somewhat ironically, to heighten significantly the visibility and importance of retention issues. We understand that the Senior Vice Chancellor's Office is attempting to address this problem through its efforts to establish and bolster mentoring programs, but call for continued and renewed attention to the issue. Each unit, for example, could be encouraged to think about and develop a retention/mentoring plan of its own. And the campus community should redouble its efforts to find other avenues to address the problem. But, once again, we do not presume to decide here the specific or even general direction of the effort. Instead, we suggest only that the issue is important and deserves careful attention.
3. Continued Support for the Outreach Subcommittee. As indicated above, the Task Force has one subcommittee which is continuing to work on its project. The Outreach Subcommittee is currently compiling a list of people across campus who have expertise on diversity issues and who would be willing to share that expertise. In the fall, the Subcommittee plans to publicize this list to inform the community of this locally-available expertise and to facilitate contact between those with expertise and those units who would like to take advantage of it. Since this work will not be completed by the time the Task Force disbands, it is important that the Senior Vice Chancellor continue to provide support. This would likely involve only very modest amounts of money and staff time.
4. Assessment of Diversity Components of Comprehensive Education Requirements. The comprehensive education requirements include components which require students to develop a level of competency in various aspects of diversity. Concern was expressed in the Task Force about the extent to which the intent of these requirements is being met substantively. The Task Force is encouraged that an outcome assessment process is underway in the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affair's Office which will engage the campus community in a discussion about this issue. The Task Force suggests that those engaged in this process coordinate their efforts with those of others on campus who are interested in assessing diversity outcomes. An ultimate goal of this assessment process and, indeed, of this portion of the University's comprehensive education requirements, ought to be the development of a firmer understanding of what it means for a person to be culturally competent and what it takes to develop this type of competency.
In addition to these suggestions, the Task Force also encourages forceful pursuit of the many initiatives suggested in UNL's Comprehensive Diversity Plan. The Plan contains a number of very valuable initiatives, some of which are already in place, and others which require continued effort. But Plans like this have a constricted effective life in a fast-moving world with a limited attention span. It may be worthwhile for the University to consider requiring an annual report on progress made in pursuing the initiatives of the Diversity Plan, along the lines of the annual gender equity report. Although this would require some work by the person or office preparing the report, such as the Office of Equity, Access and Diversity Programs, it would also signal to other important actors in the University that the Plan cannot be simply filed and forgotten, that instead they need to pay continued attention to its goals and aspirations. An annual report would also produce renewed attention and discussion of diversity issues and initiatives each year when it is issued.
At the end of the day, the Task Force has found that the vast majority of those who make up the University of Nebraska-Lincoln believe that the diversity of Nebraska and the nation are assets which must be harnessed to make the University all that it can be. That alone is significant progress because the diversity effort takes time and resources and people will only be willing to expend them if they see the effort as valuable. The Task Force also believes, however, that the University has not yet tapped that asset to the fullest extent possible. Much remains to be done on objective measures of diversity; on improving the subjective experiences of women and minority group members who join our community; and in providing the full array of educational experiences required to prepare students for the new century. The Task Force believes that the University can justly claim that it is the flagship research university for all of Nebraska only when it has fully tapped the creativity and energy present in a truly diverse academic community. Although our recommendation is that this Task Force has run its course, each of us individually stands ready to help the University reach its full potential.
Respectfully submitted,
Rita C. Kean, Co-Chair
Steven L. Willborn, Co-Chair
|
|
| |
|
|
