Diversity Council ::: Meeting Minutes ::: August 31, 2007
Members Present: Carol Archbold, Holly Bastow-Shoop, Kristen Behrens, Gene Berry, Betsy Birmingham, Monica Bruhn, Ann Burnett, Malika Carter, Kambiz Farahmand, Bruce Frantz, Wendy Troop Gordon, Michael Harwood, Joe Heilman, Bunnie Johnson-Messelt, Kevin McCaul, Casey Peterson, Kerri Spiering, Chris Suriano, Gene Taylor, Rachelle Vettern, Jaclynn Davis Wallette, DC Coston
Members Present: Evie Myers, Craig Schnell
Announcements:
- New member orientation was conducted by Kristina Peterson, former Diversity Council/TOCAR graduate assistant. Handouts of the PowerPoint were distributed to members.
- Diversity Council members were introduced. A handout with names, departments, e-mail and phone numbers was distributed.
- Kristina shared information about the Damali Ayo presentation on Friday, October 19, at 7:00 pm. Chris distributed a flyer of the event.
- Information was shared about the online sexual harassment training.
Diversity Strategic Plan :
- Evie Myers, the new Executive Director/Chief Diversity Officer shared her background experiences with diversity.
- Evie addressed the timetable for review and assessment of the Strategic Plan for Diversity, Equity and Community, 2006-2010. A handout was distributed. Members were asked to identify areas that were not completed yet. A discussion was held regarding incomplete items such as the focus groups, bias reports not shared yet, and other items.
- Evie shared information about the climat assessment scheduled in 2008. Volunteers for a planning subcommittee for the assessment were Jaclynn, Bunnioe, Ann, Chris, Casey and Joe. The committee will be chaired by Evie and she will schedule the first meeting.
- Gene B and Bunnie reported on the review team training and the review team process. Gene B indicated there would be a second training for team members who could not attend. Gene B noted there had been a very good discussion of diversity at the review team training. A tentative date of December 2007 has been identified for completion of the reviews. Gene B and Bunnie will meet with Evie to provide updates on the review teams.
- The new grant review committee was identified. Members are Malika Carter (chair), Kevin McCaul, Betsy Birmingham, and Evie Myers (ex-officio). Evie will be the contact for the grants. There will be $10,000 available for grant requests. Discussion was held on how to publicize the grant inforamtion. Suggestions included articles in "It's Happening" and The Spectrum, information on the Diversity Council web site, and information sent to the faculty, staff University Senate, and student organization listservs. Joe and Monica will work with the committee to arrange for information to be sent to the student listserv. A handout titled "The President's Diversity Council Guidelines for Requesting Endorsements or Sponsorship" was distributed.
- A summary handout was distributed on the NDSU on-line bias reporting system. Evie explained each of the items on the handout. Evie and Craig addressed some important points regarding this report and protection of privacy. Discussion was held on how these reports would be addressed and how this information would be shared with the campus community.
- Meetings for fall semester 2007 are set for Sept 28, Oct 19 (joint meeting with TOCAR team), Nov 16, and Dec 7. The meetings are scheduled from 11:30-1:00 pm.
Miscellaneous Items:
- Craig informed members of the President's Task Force for exploring the possibility of a Women's Center. Ann and Wendy provided additional information to the council.
- Craig shared information about the FORWARD grant porposal to NSF. Betsy and Ann are prime writers on the grant due December 2007.
- Craig commented on how muich progress has been made toward diversity efforts at NDSU since the beginning of the Diversity Council and the first climate assessment.
- The next meeting will be held on September 28, 2007, at the Hidatsa Room (formerly Dakota South), Memorial Union, at 11:30 am. Craig adjourned the meeting.
Reminders
- 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 diversity-related news items or information about events for the web page to Deb McDonough (Debra.Mcdonough@ndsu.edu).