President S Commission for Diversity
President’s Commission for Diversity
Meeting MinutesOctober 2, 2008
Opening
The regular meeting of the President’s Commission for Diversity was called to order at 1:00 pm on October 2, 2008, in Carrington Hall, by A. Leslie Anderson.
Present
A. Leslie Anderson (chair) Rob Baird
Shelly Duran Charlotte Hardin
Sandra Hart Pawan Kahol
Thomas Lane Severin Lwali
Juan Meraz Kathy Morrison
President Michael Nietzel Wes Pratt
Clif Smart Steve Willis
Katheryne Staeger-Wilson
Kris Arnette, guest
Alison Hembree (graduate assistant)
I. Approval of Minutes
The minutes of the previous meeting were unanimously approved as distributed.
II. Charge from President Nietzel
· Stated the intent of the group:
o Operate at a high-level
o Give recommendations to him regarding minority groups on campus
o Wants the learning community to recognize the importance of diversity
o To implement policy
o Discuss and identify the goals and strategies of the university
o Wants to have a policy to give to the board
o Wants to consider multiple audiences
o Use the university as an example to the community
o Wants ideas from the commission in order to bring an appeal to the public
III. Reports
Report on Upcoming BOG Resolution – Clif Smart, University Counsel
· Discussion on the Governing Policy: Diversity Hiring and Recruitment:
o Identified that there will always be some resistance from the community
o The Board is behind the policy and wants to move forward on ethnic diversity
o The policy is broad by design to withstand scrutiny and is intentionally flexible
· Discussion of the Public Scorecard:
o Less than 1% movement in 4-years for the faculty
o The staff has had no improvement
o Overall, there has been no success in an increase in diversity
Report from AISA (American Indian Student Association) – Kris Arnette
· AISA consists of students and the community
· Works in conjunction with the Southwest Missouri Indian Center
· AISA has had difficulty in generating interests
· Upcoming Pow-Wow to be held, in order to generate interest for American Indian month (November)
· Stated that two American Indian faculty members have left due to lack of support
IV. Updates & Discussion
Religious Diversity
· Students are still unaware about being protected from academic punishment due to attending religious services
Juan Meraz and Wes Pratt, Diversity Coordinators
· There is a current program involving African American students
· A recent event for Hispanic recruitment was offered, with the attendance of 100 students and 20 parents
· Creating a presentation on working with diverse students
· There is concern regarding outreach, recruitment and retention:
o A current outreach has been made to public schools at the elementary and secondary levels
o Networks are being created in Kansas City and Saint Louis
o All ethnicities need to feel part of the community
o Suggest training for diversity for the community and university campus
Applying the Charge: Task Planning
· We need to take the stories heard from the university community and use them for recommendations
· We need to utilize the scorecard and goals identified
· Look over 2005-2006 commission for refinement and value
· Look at the six themes identified by the President; identify concerns or recommendations for the next meeting
Roundtable Discussion: “The State of Diversity – MSU and Region”
· Steve Willis:
o Wants the commission to keep in mind the small minorities
o Recommends faculty training regarding otherness and relief of fear in regards to diversity
· A. Leslie Anderson:
o How do you engage faculty that is resistant?
· Shelly Duran:
o In the corporate world everyone is required to participate in diversity training; something that could be mirrored at the university
o There has to be commitment and accountability for diversity awareness
· Juan Meraz:
o States that students want diversity training because it is expected in the “real world”
· Shelly Duran:
o Retention should also be a focus because it will allow for recruitment via word of mouth and promotion
V. Announcements
· Charlotte Hardin:
o New diversity publications are out
o Calendars will come out in the next week or soon thereafter
· Steve Willis:
o Missouri NAME regional conference is October 10-11
VI. Adjournment
Meeting was adjourned at 3:00 pm, by A. Leslie Anderson. The next general meeting will be at 1:00 pm, December 4, 2008, in Carrington Hall, room 203.