Inclusion and Awareness Committee Minutes
Thursday, November 2, 2017
Bresnahan 3
Revision 2
Present:Howard, Anderson, Atway, Barkett. Becker, Blake,Clyde, Driscoll, Fitzgerald, Greenaway, Jaronski,Kent-Strollo,Murphy
Primary Issues:
Review of the Minutes
The minutes from theSeptember 28, 2017Inclusion and Awareness Committee meeting were reviewed and approved.
Open Mind & Heart Programs – Kate
Mr. Howard told the committee how happy it made him to see people opening doors for one another. Kate said her clings came in and by Monday or Tuesday all doors facing the core of campus will have a cling regarding Open Door Tuesdays. They will place them on the doors facing the outside of campus next. She said Open Minds was this semester and Open Hearts will be next semester. She then passed out a flyer with the Open Hearts symbol on it.
Kate also passed out information regarding the program Dear World. The group would come to the campus and have a meeting to share stories. They then will take a photo of the person who shared a story and post both a picture and the story around campus. The first day they would be here to share stories from students and staff. On the second day, they would be on a stage and the audience will be able to share their stories as well as take a photo. This could possibly be on the list for a spring project. Kate said they are to let her know how much this will cost sometime in November.
She said an alternate project could be from the Rhode Island School of Design. They have been doing stories on campuses from volunteers that are willing to tell a story about something that happened in their life and place it on a poster with a picture of that person. She suggested the committee go to the websites for these programs to read more about them and when the group meets in January, to discuss if they would like to pursue one of them or both.
Several questions were asked such as, if students agree to do this and they are posted, how long should the posters be up and what happens when the posters come down, as well as how many students would be willing to do it? It was decided that further discussion needed to take place especially regarding the length of time the posters would stay up. William said it would be nice to do a collage of all the people.
Mr. Howard said once the committee knows what the price point is there could be further discussion about the program.
Subcommittee Reports
- Subcommittee 1 – Community Forums
- Community and Campus Cultural Competence Workshop - William
William reported having two excellent Community and Campus Cultural Competence workshops. The morning workshop had quite a few people and 24 surveys were turned in with positive ratings. Comments stated the value and the need for a strong commitment for YSU and the community to work together. William said Dr. Thompson had made a lot of in roads for students which have helped increase graduation rates. His model could easily be adopted by YSU to have a greater access to networking. It can also develop internships for career tracks. He said there were no limitations, just some technical difficulty.
- Student Leader Workshop
William reported Rayann and Ernie oversaw the afternoon workshop for student leaders and it was a Q & A session. He said it was very interactive. Ernie stated how much he loved how the students reacted. William also reported a total of 50 people attended both workshops.
Sandra said she noticed only one negative feedback and it was about the off-campus facility where the event was held. She felt the person might not have understood what the event was about. Overall she was pleased and loved Dr. Thompson.
William reported currently working on the committee’s next project regarding Jill HartExecutive Director, Career & Professional Development at Mercy College in New York City. She works with underprivileged children.
- Subcommittee 2 – Common Language
- Updates
Erin reported the Tuesday’s Terms were still being posted weekly but had no additional updates.
- Subcommittee 3 – Training and Education
- Updates
Karen reported the following:
1)She is sitting on the International Task Force Committee.
2)The Gen Ed video has been updated in order to build an understanding of the value of the Gen Ed courses.
- Cultural – Student Abroad
Mr. Howard stated he attended an International Task Force meeting on October 31st and they discussed a lot of topics, i.e., global experience (study abroad). There is an increase in the international student population at YSU and they need to engage with our student programs. The deans are on board with including in the curriculum, information where international students come from and what they do. How can we shareour international student’s world with other YSU students? We need to try to give all students the opportunity to experience what each other have. We would like to bring a variety of international projects or programs to expose their worlds to our students(i.e., Lyceum Series, global programming). Possibly bring events that happen in the community to campus to share with one another. Mr. Howard said as we move forward, we can combine the needs from both groups.
- Subcommittee 4 – Board Resolutions
- Resolution Update – Forward to Major Projects Committee
Rayann said they have made headway with the SGA Resolution and that the Academic Senate had signed off on it. She said John Hyden came to the SGA meeting on Monday and spoke to them regarding the implementation plan. He said one of the quick changes they will be able to do is signage. Also, they should be able to retrofit some of the doors. Items needing more work will be baby changing stations. Joy Polkabla-Byers helped in moving that forward.
- Preferred Name Update – Eddie
Mr. Howard reported meeting with Kate, Jeanne, and Cindy regarding preferred names in Banner. He said they want to possibly consider using what Kent State does as a template and goal of where YSU should be. Mr. Howard stated the need to engage with IT and connect it to the Enterprise Application. He explained the emergency of getting something started regarding implementation in January. In Phase One, Registration will be creating a policy to allow students the option of using a preferred name in specific situations. On Blackboard and Starfish students will have the ability to see that we are trying to do something. Phase Two, will be to have the ability to see the preferred names in other areas. Ann stated Titanium has that service and they will be able to use it in the Counseling Center. Jeanne had said there was no effective way of keeping people informed of preferred names at this time and that it would have to be manually posted until Banner 9 was up and running. Admissions collects the preferred names now but the preferred namecan’t be pulled into the current Banner system. Only the student’s official name can be pulled into Banner.
Karen asked how the faculty could get this information so they were aware. Erin said Tysa sends out an informational letter to them and they could see if the information could be included.
The level of customization has to be tested since there are limitations with the current system. The institution’s current systems need to be kept upgraded and updated and IT is in the process of doing that.
Mr. Howard stated this is really about the heart, mind and respect of that person.
- Resolution on Inclusive Language (December Board Meeting)
The Resolution on Inclusive Language has been tabled at this time.
- LGBT Resource Center – St. Johns
Ernie said he has worked with Tim Bortner from Full Spectrum LGBT/YSUnity Community Outreach Center located in St. John’s Church on Wick Avenue and thoughtit would be nice for the committee to connect with him. Kate said she has referred students to him but there needs to be a balance where students feel comfortable going. However, she said she has had positive responses from students going there. Ann said there is a need for support and advocacy and we should be mindful of this. Nicole asked if Megan List had any connections with this group. Mr. Howard said he will have Donna set a meeting with Tim so he could get to know him and learn more about what the center does.
Next Meeting: January 18, 2018.1:00p.m. – 2:30 p.m. in Room 2069,Kilcawley Center
Respectfully submitted by Donna Greenaway