Status
of Recommendations
Cultural
Diversity Task Force
August
1999
Recommendation
#1
INSTITUTIONAL
COMMITMENT AND ACTION PLAN
Present
to all East Tennessee State University's publics and constituents, a statement
from the President that affirms and requests others to commit to the
university's core values that, "people come first, are treated with dignity
and respect, and are encouraged to achieve their full potential," and that
"diversity of people and thought is respected," and announces a plan
of action (which follows in the Task Force report) that enables academic and
administrative units to reach out and make conscious efforts to build diverse
learning environments consistent with their own unique mission and the larger
mission of the university.
Recommendation
#1:
MET
Recommendation
#2
CREATION
OF A POSITION: SPECIAL ASSISTANT
TO
THE PRESIDENT FOR DIVERSITY
Create
a position entitled "Special Assistant to the President for Diversity"
with responsibility to plan, coordinate, administer, and monitor campus
diversity efforts. The individual
will report directly to the President.
Recommendation
#2:
NOT MET
Ms.
Mary Jordan was given the title “Special Assistant to the President for
Diversity”. This title is all
that has been given at this point in time.
She has not received additional resources in order to implement the
needed initiatives for this position.
Recommendation
#3
CREATION
OF AN ADVISORY COUNCIL
Appoint
an Advisory Council charged with advocating and providing support for diversity
initiatives at the institutional level.
Recommendation
#3: MET
Council
has been appointed. Expected
outcomes from the Council have not been accomplished.
President Stanton determined that the Council would not be Advisory,
however, but would have the role of overseeing the progress of the campus toward
meeting these recommendations. It
is the President’s Council on Cultural Diversity.
Recommendation
#4
NON-DISCRIMINATION
REGARDING SEXUAL ORIENTATION
Establish
a policy and procedure statement committing East Tennessee State University to
non-discrimination regarding sexual orientation and expand the university's
non-discrimination statement to include sexual orientation.
Recommendation
#4:
MET
Recommendation
#5
AUGMENT
THE ETSU "PHILOSOPHY AND GOALS OF GENERAL EDUCATION"
Augment
the ETSU "Philosophy and Goals of General Education" to address the
need for diversity competency.
Recommendation
#5
MET
The
General Education Council has addressed this issue and expansion of the
commitment diversity took place in writing the goals of general education.
Recommendation #6
ESTABLISH
DIVERSITY CURRICULUM REQUIREMENT
Establish a core curriculum requirement that can be met
by a course or set of courses for which the topic is human diversity in America.
Recommendation #6
NOT MET
The
General Education Council has addressed this issue and determined that diversity
is being addressed in present curriculum throughout the university.
Recommendation #7
IMPLEMENT
PROFESSIONAL FACULTY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
Develop, fund and implement a comprehensive professional
development program for faculty that emphasizes the inclusion of diversity
issues throughout the curriculum and appropriate treatment of diverse
populations of students in the classroom. Offer
an incentive structure to support departments that excel in this effort.
Dedicate a significant portion of the funds in the Instructional
Development Grant Program to address diversity issues in course and/or program
development.
Recommendation #7
NOT MET
Recommendation
#8
RECRUITMENT
AND RETENTION PLAN FOR AFRICAN-AMERICAN
TEACHING
FACULTY
Make
committed and intentional efforts to recruit, retain, and provide
sustained follow-up support (e.g., mentoring and social interaction) for faculty
of color, especially African-American teaching faculty.
Recommendation
#8: NOT
MET
In response to
Geier going into consent decree, a committee is looking at “best practices”
in an effort to move toward serious and integrated recruitment and retention
efforts.
Recommendation
#9
DIVERSITY
EDUCATION FOR ALL UNIVERSITY EMPLOYEES
Develop
a plan to insure that all training programs at ETSU - new as well as existing
efforts, are infused with sensitivity to diversity issues and offer settings
where exploration of sensitive issues is made easier. Included in the plan should be a variety of diversity
training experiences for all university employees.
Recommendation
#9:
NOT MET
There
is a University Diversity Training Task Force
presently working on designing diversity training modules for staff,
faculty and students. After these
modules are designed, this committee will request that attendance at a training
module be required of all ETSU employees (similar to the sexual harassment
training mandate).
Recommendation
#10
RECRUITMENT
AND RETENTION OF HIGH-LEVEL MINORITY AND FEMALE ADMINISTRATORS
Increase
efforts to recruit and provide sustained follow-up support for upper-level
administrators who are minorities and/or women, and members of other diverse
groups.
Recommendation
#10: NOT
MET
Recommendation #11
INCREASE
DIVERSITY RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION EFFORTS
Increase
recruitment and retention efforts directed at building a more diverse student
body.
Recommendation
#11: NOT
MET
In
response to our change in the Geier mandate, a committee designed to look at
recruitment of African-American undergraduate student, chaired by Mr. Michael
Pitts, has been established. Ms.
Mary Jordan is chairing a committee that is addressing retention.
Recommendation
#12
EXPANSION
OF THE OFFICE OF MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS IN THE
DIVISION
OF STUDENT AFFAIRS
Expand
the functions and staff of the Office of Multicultural Affairs to insure that
the director has adequate time to address administrative duties associated with
campus-wide multicultural programs and services, and joint programming efforts
with the community.
Recommendation
#12: NOT
MET
Recommendation
#13
CONTINUED
OFFICES AND PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT
Continue
development of existing offices/programs that support international programs,
disability services, women's studies, Appalachian studies, and African and
African-American studies.
Recommendation
#13:
UNSURE OF STATUS
Recommendation #14
CAMPUS
SPACE FOR MULTICULTURAL GROUP INTERACTIONS
Identify
and furnish space on campus that can be dedicated for multicultural group
interactions - include students in planning and designing the functional use of
this space.
Recommendation
#14: NOT
MET
This committee
has been inactive. UT-Knoxville and
Appalachian State University was visited and a visit to NCSU has been planned.
Recommendation
#15
DIALOGUE
ON DIVERSITY
Develop
and implement opportunities for students that will promote an active dialogue on
diversity for the campus.
Recommendation
#15: NOT
FORMALLY MET.
There have been
some efforts in Multicultural Affairs to address dialog, but efforts that expand
beyond this office have not been established.
Recommendation
#16
FACULTY/STAFF
MENTORING OF STUDENTS
Expand
faculty/staff mentoring efforts of students from diverse backgrounds
Recommendation
#16: NOT
MET
Recommendation
#17
CO-CORRICULAR
ACTIVITIES
Develop
a plan to focus on diversity in extracurricular entertainment activities and
programming. Additional funds
should be dedicated for this purpose.
Recommendation
#17: NOT
MET/MET A plan has not been established, but some funds have
been set aside.
Recommendation
#18
DATABASE
OF COMMUNITY CONTACTS
Enhance
community-campus connections by developing a database of community contacts and
encouraging involvement in community service activities by faculty and students.
Recommendation
#18: IN PROCESS
If
you have any questions concerning these recommendations or comments please
contact:
Dr.
Patricia Robertson, HDAL, ETSU Box
70548, Johnson City, TN 37614, 423-439-7688, robertpe@etsu.edu
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