Diversity Council ::: Meeting Minutes ::: September 22, 2006
Members Present: Carol Archbold, Holly Bastow-Shoop, Gene Berry, Ann Burnett, Malika Carter, D.C. Costin, Kambiz Farahmand, Sandy Holbrook, Bunnie Johnson-Messelt, Rhonda Kitch, Allyn Kostecki, Andrea Laverdure, Kisha Loewen, Craig Schnell, Kari Spiering, Kara Stack, Karla Thoennes, Wendy Troop-Gordon, Rita Ussatis
TOCAR Members Present: Kristina Peterson
Announcements:
-
Thursday, October 19, 2006: "It's Time to Talk" luncheon, 11:30 am - 1:00 pm. Sposored by the YWCA and held at the Holiday Inn, Fargo. The Provost indicated that if any Diversity Council mbmers are interested in attending, his office would cover the expense.
-
September 26-28, 2006: From 11:00 am - 1:00 pm, the Diversity Council will have an inforamtion table display in the Memorial Union. Volunteers are needed to assist. A sign-up sheet for volunteers was circultated.
-
Friday, October 27, 2006: Conference on "Professional Issues Related to Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender People and Thier Families." Scholarships available to students. Contact Kara for more inforamtion. Also looking for volunteers to participate on the conference committee to plan the next conference.
Funding Proposals: Kristina repoted on Diversity Council funding proposals:
-
Two received:
Proposer: Multicultural Student Services requested $1,000 for an event titled "Faces of America," being held on October 25, 2006. Funding of $500 was granted.
Proposer: Safe Zone Allies requested $500 for an event titled "Reading Rainbows: An Evening with Transgender High School Librarian," being held on October 26, 2006. Funding of $250 was granted.
Discussion of High Profile Criminal Cases : Discussion was held regarding recent high profile criminal cases in the media and issues of race surrounding them. Council members addressed how the Diversity Council could help the students and the community to deal with feeling regarding these cases. Wendy suggested setting up a forum in the format of a town hall meeting, which could focus on and offer discussion regardng racism and the justic system. Gene volunteered to coordinate the event. Carol, Wendy, Kara, Sandy, and Malika volunteered to with him on the project.
Language Proficiency: Issues regarding language proficiency in the classroom were presented by the Provost:
- A legislator recently reported that although there is a policy in place regarding language proficiency, there is no mechanism at NDSU for student to report if they cannot understand a professor. The Provost said that there are general ways to report, but nothing specific and suggested the need for specificity and assurance of confidentiality for students. He indicated that he would discuss the issue with student government and ask them to assist in developing a reporting process.
- Current information needed when making a report includes:
Name of instructor
Name of course.
Time and location of class. - Information is reported to the Provost's office and he arranges to have the class and the instructor observed.
- If there are ny suggestions for improving this process, please e-mail them to the Provost.
Small Group Discussion: Discussion of two articles Sandy provided at the last meeting. Groups were asked to address the following questions:
- From the 10 reasons why diversity initiates fail, identify the 3 that your group thinks are our greatest challenges at NDSU.
- From the 7 levels for implementing a meaningful diversity change project, which 2-3 do you think would be most importatnt for us to use in promoting and encouraging the implement of our strategic plan for diversity?
- Send notes from you small group discussion to Sandy and she will sent out an e-mail to all.
Next meeting scheduled for:
Friday, October 27, 2006, 12:00 - 1:30 pm, Meineke Board Room.
Please notify Linda Gill (Linda.gill@ndsu.edu or 1-8124) no later than Wednesday morning before the meeting date if you cannot attend so that she can adjust the lunch count.
Please send new items or information about events for the web page to Deb McDonough (Debra.Mcdonough@ndsu.edu)