Diversity Task Force
October 17, 2011
2:30pm-4:00pm
Merkert-Tracey
I. Academic Development Day
a. Seven students participated on a panel where they shared their classroom experiences at Stonehill. After the student panel faculty were divided into smaller groups to work on an exercise.
b. Feedback:
i. Longer time to process the conversations.
ii. Some of the faculty stated that the panel was incredibly moving and shocking. Their response indicates that the faculty are interested in this topic and want to learn more about diversity and our students experiences. Some faculty showed disappointment after hearing these stories and were sad to know that these students face these situations.
iii. Some faculty discussed revisiting the non-discrimination clause and the exclusion of sexual orientation.
iv. Some of the students stated that it felt good to have an opportunity to do something they have been talking about for so long and to be well received by faculty. It meant a lot to the students for their panel to be included in Academic Development Day.
II. Purpose of Diversity Task Force
a. Our role is to create a set of recommendations and carry out the Enhancing Diversity section in the Strategic Plan.
b. We must then decide if we want to bring forth the conversation about the non-discrimination clause.
III. Purpose of Diversity Statement
a. Why diversity?
i. Represents the larger society outside of the school.
ii. The students need exposure to life outside of the Stonehill bubble.
iii. Upon graduation and entrance to the work-world students will need to be prepared to work in a diverse workforce.
iv. Collection of perspectives needed to contribute to the conversation. We need to have the bodies present to bring forth these perspectives.
v. Two themes:
1. Learning outcome: If we have diversity at Stonehill this will increase the student’s knowledge.
2. Practical outcome: We need to incorporate diversity education because our students need to be prepared for life after Stonehill.
vi. Learning outcome for faculty and staff not solely the students.
b. Committee Goals
i. What are our high level goals for this committee?
1. Recruitment and retention of our ALANA students
2. Learning Outcome- Appreciate and be inclusive of diversity at Stonehill
3. Get them to a point where they feel capable to engage in a diverse world upon graduation from Stonehill College.
II. Subcommittee Updates
a. Enrollment
i. Next meeting the sub-committee will bring Brian’s forecast for future ALANA enrollment trends.
b. Curriculum
i. Anne will meet with Provost Conboy and get more clarification regarding the role of the committee she has called.
ii. Anne will email the chairs and get their feedback.
III. Timeline
a. Goal for December 2011 recommendations
a. Committee reports due by October 31, 2011.
b. Use next Spring 2012 to test the assumptions
c. Present preliminary suggestions to Trustees at January 2012 meeting
d. May/June 2012 Trustee meeting with final recommendations
IV. HERC Meeting
V. Anything in the plan that needs clarification
VI. Town Hall Meeting (Student Government Association) November 1, 2011 5:30 pm Commons A
