DIVERSITY TASK FORCE 10.31.11

Diversity Task Force

October 31, 2011
2:30 pm
Alumni

In attendance: Maryanne, Steve, Anne, Liza, Dan, Craig, Michelle, Laura,
Presenters: Brian and Claus 3 students

Updates:

• Progress Reports and Summaries are due to Liza
• Aggressive December deadline in order to meet our timeline
• Student Affairs Update will be sent via email by Liza
• Curriculum Subcommittee
• Anne met with Katie Conboy about the faculty task force about inclusion in the classroom. Provost Conboy shared insights and resources with Anne.
• Student subcommittee
• SGA Diversity Committee developed the "I am not a bystander" pledge. This will be shared and discussed tomorrow at the Town Hall. Faculty and staff are invited to sign the pledge as well.
• Enrollment Subcommitee
• Dan will share some admissions information at the Town Hall in order to dispel the myth about the alleged disparity between ALANA and non-ALANA students academic performance. The facts state that both student populations have relatively the same academic profile.

Brian and Claus Presentation

• The approach to this model includes: Develop, Test, and Implement
• It begins with cause and effect belief antecedents and developing a cause and effect model.
• This Diversity Task Force has identified the following two outcomes:
• Enhance students appreciation for the diversity of persons and cultures 
• Equip students with the skills that they need to to engage and contribute to a diverse world
• A model will be developed model that will then be presented to the committee to then test using surveys, field experiments, interviews, and objective data.
• The lenses that will be used in this model are:
• Demographics
• Students are students (what are the drivers for people?)
• Cosmopolitan (After reading a number of articles that discuss what the diversity drivers are, they have come to the conclusion that overtime approaches that single out ALANA populations has not yielded desirable outcomes.
• As a committee we need to identify what kind of diversity do we want. As a Catholic college we respect human dignity, therefore we should value diversity. We need to work towards the creation of a culture that embraces diversity. 
• Timeline
• Path modeling session can be held in December
• Process: Identify outcomes and facilitate session with stakeholders. At this meeting eveyrone will engage in a monitored brain-writing process.
• Testing can begin during the Spring 2012 semester

·         Using this approach, the presenters will use the two goals that this taskforce identified, which inputs are infinite (increase number of diverse students, recruit diverse faculty and curriculum, increase opportunities for students to engage in diversity). The approach is to test what we think may work.

·         We need to identify abstract qualities to distinguish between concrete actions and the latent model where we want to understand and assess statistically. The idea of creating the  model is to get everyone on the same page in order to combine and organize the individual variables together to reach the goals set out by the committee.

o    After we identify the abstract variables/factors that we believe will be a cause to move forward, found in the strategic plan, the goal is to understand the latent model that drives towards diversity outcomes. How do we test each variable? Survey assessments, data, existing literature, field experiments, interviews, focus groups, and objective data. The process helps identify and take inventory of the strategic plan.

o    There are factors that we are unsure of which comes first, the testing provides the context for what steps to take.

o    We have all identified topics that are important (student retention, faculty recruitment, curriculum, and etc.). The question at hand is whether our focus is only a small percentage of the story? Are there other factors that will make the impact we are seeking? This process will provide a method and structure to determine what variables and factors are needed and most beneficial, allowing us to sequence the KPI’s already established in the Strategic Plan.

·         Conclusions

o    There are many great ideas based on intuition, however, if we introduce evidence and data into selecting the ideas that will provide success, this will be more beneficial. By testing the different factors we can identify the ones that work best and prioritize them.  We know that the sequencing of things is important. For example, do we create a  diverse environment before and in order for diverse students to come or do we bring diverse students and with them then create a more diverse environment.

o    Next Steps:

§  Schedule a meeting with presenters and a small group of the committee to identify what are the areas of interest, review data and review information.

Schedule a time December to have a brainstorming meeting with the entire committee.

DIVERSITY TASK FORCE 10.17.2011

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

DIVERSITY TASK FORCE 9.28.11

DIVERSITY TASK FORCE AGENDA and NOTES
SEPTEMBER 28, 2011


meeting began at 9:32am
 

1. New England HERC Diversity Conference and General Assembly
1. Wednesday, October 26, 8:30am-5:30pm at Harvard University Faculty Club (20 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA)
2. Free one day conference that is available to Stonehill because of our HERC membership. Please contact Maryann Perry if you are interested in attending.

2. Count of ALANA students and international student discrepancy
1. conversation about the use of IPEDS, how IPEDS are defined, the official count of students is sometimes different from our internal numbers; that is fine as long as we are being transparent that we are including non-IPED categories in our internal discussion numbers

3. Strategic Plan thorough review
1. Highlights
2. Challenges
3. Areas that you identify needing revision
4. Defining our top level goals
4. The intent during the meeting was to thoroughly review the Strategic Plan with these questions in mind (what are the highlights, challenges, etc?), however the Task Force was concerned that we still are not sure what "diversity" definition we are using. Though the first item on the Strategic Plan was to "develop a shared definition of diversity", there was consensus around the table that, perhaps, we still have not done that. The desire to was have a more thorough definition that specifies HOW diversity is beneficial and to what purpose. Liza shared that the committee that wrote the Strategic Plan had many conversations about whether or not to prescriptively define diversity. There are areas in the plan that do address specific characteristics (i.e. "race" in the enrollment initiatives to "incrementally increase"). Craig suggested we individually come up with our own definitions of what we believe should be included as well as to what purpose. Those assignments are due to Liza on Monday. The information will be gathered and distributed by Tuesday so that the Task Force can work with their subcommittees in the discussion. 
5. Meeting ended at 11:02am.

Present:
Liza Talusan
Maryann Perry
Laura Uerling
Steve Beaureguard
Anne Mattina (left early to teach class)
Craig Almeida
Brendan Sullivan
Michelle Tineo '12
Jacqueline Guzman (note taking)
Eileen O'Leary
Doreen DelMonaco (will be on Task Force while Eileen is out)

DIVERSITY TASK FORCE 9.15.2011

Diversity Task Force Meeting

September 15, 2011

9:30 am - 11:30 am

 A. We reviewed the Preliminary Report to the Strategic Planning Committee on the Campus Cultural Audit that was prepared by Dr. Anne F. Mattina on January 29, 2002

• ·         After reviewing the report, Jean Hamler will be contacted to review what questions are being asked in current surveys and based on her response the committee will decide whether we can used the remaining questions in future surveys.
• ·         For the next meeting the committee will thoroughly read through the narrative and determine whether we could send the same survey today. This will then provide comparative information to be used by the committee to determine what progress has been made, if any.
• ·         Another alternative is for the committee to use the questions in an open discussion format such as in focus groups.

B. We reviewed the Beyond the Diversity Crisis Model : Decentralized Diversity Planning and Implementation

By Damon A. Williams

• ·         The committee reviewed The Diversity Planning Process on page 28 and engaged in a conversation about where in the process Stonehill College stands. This model served as a discussion starter about what steps the committee has to take in order to move forward with the charge it has been assigned.

·         C. Action Items

• The committee decided that before action steps are designed, it is important for the committee to create a definition for what diversity means at Stonehill.

D. Human Resources and Diversity Hiring

• ·         The Department of Human Resources has started searching additional sites and organizations where faculty and staff positions can be posted.

• ·         Human Resources will be working with Academic Departments to create a list of additional websites, conferences and other avenues where we can post job announcements.

E. Sustainable Management and Measurement Institute (SUMMIT)   

• Sustainable Management and Measurement Institute (SUMMIT). SUMMIT provides an innovative approach to corporate social responsibility.  The outcomes of this collaboration will be the development of strategies, focus groups, and surveys.

·   

F. Agenda for the next meeting:

• 1.       Review Strategic Plan in depth
• 2.       Identify top 3-5 goals for the committee

DIVERSITY TASK FORCE 8.09.11

Diversity Taskforce Meeting Minutes

Tuesday August 9, 2011

10 am

Liza Talusan, Michelle Tineo, Craig Almeida, Steve Beauregard, Dan Monahan, Brendan Sullivan, Laura Uerling

Objectives:

1. Identifying the Taskforce Sub-Committees

2. Assign Sub-Committees

3. Graduation Rates and Pell Graduation Rates Updates

Sub-Committees

ALANA Retention study- Craig, Laura, Dick Grant, Todd, Someone from IA, New hire?

• Identify reasons why ALANA students leave.
• Recommendations for what the institution can do to better retain these students.
• Revision of exit interview and survey process.

Craig would like to pull out the exit interviews from the past years in addition to seeing their academic record. He is also interested in seeing the effect of the Academic Community Experience (ACE) Program.

Recruitment- Dan, Brendan, Eileen, and Steve

Each counselor will share the responsibility of traveling to diverse high schools and community based organizations. Draft proposal for a Multicultural Counselor position to focus on recruitment but also with retention. This model will give the counselor the opportunity to engage with the students during their second year. There are also conversations of directly admitting students to the ACE program where the admission to the college will be contingent on the successful completion of the ACE program.

Student Programming and Leadership- Liza, Brendan

Programming for student athletes surrounding different aspects of identity.

Senate Focus Group- Michelle

Michelle will serve as the Chair of one of the focus group to identify what the needs of the students are in a statistical format as opposed to an anecdotal manner.

Employee Diversity and Hiring- Maryann and Liza

This subcommittee will work to identify resources and sites where departments can post employment opportunities to candidates from diverse backgrounds.

Financial Committee- Eileen and Steve

What are the financial implications of the changes and initiatives we want to start as a committee.

Diversity in the Curriculum: Anne

Co-Curricular: Office of Intercultural Affairs

Update on Diversity Faculty Training

Will be held on Academic Development Day. Katie shared some ideas regarding including internal department review that will assess their commitment to Diversity. During the ADD departments will be responsible for creating an assessment review for their individual departments that would be reviewed in a 3-year cycle.

  

Things to do:

• Add Diversity Task Force to Blog (Liza)
• Reach out to Fr. Mark to determine who will introduce the committee and its charge to the Stonehill community. (Liza)

Next meeting:

The next meeting will be Thursday September 15^th 9:30-11:00 am. By this meeting everyone should meet with their sub-committees and be ready to share their progress with the rest of the committee.

DIVERSITY TASK FORCE 7.19.11

Diversity Task Force

July 19, 2011

Agenda

·      Review last meeting’s agenda and conversation

·      Report of new information since last meeting

·      Assign subcommittees

·      Distribute meeting schedules for fall 2011

·      Distribute Diversity: The Untold Stories and reading materials to help inform work

·      Questions and discussions

Curriculum and Academic Programs (Craig Almeida, Anne Mattina)

~      increasing diversity-related academic programs

~      expanding the number of diversity-related courses

~      increasing the number of students studying abroad in developing countries

~      identifying faculty member in each department to be contact person for diversity task force and/or diversity initiatives in academics – what the process looks like for this, what their roles are, how this would be implemented

~      increase the graduation rates of ethnically and racially diverse students – academic advising, identifying retention issues

~      research best practices for identifying, implementing and supporting diversity related academic programs, including but not limited to ones identified in the Strategic Plan (African American studies, Asian studies, Latino studies, etc)

~      research existing programs and/or best practices for engaging students from underrepresented backgrounds in academically competitive programs, awards, grants, etc.

Student Life (Liza Talusan, Brendan Sullivan, Michelle Tineo ’12)

~      Promote an environment and co-curriculum that encourages learning through the discussion of diverse viewpoints and that serves as a safe place for diversity

~      Examine leadership programs, identify diversity outcomes, implementation and assessment

~      Research best practices at other colleges where diversity is a foundation for student life

~      Increasing students from underrepresented backgrounds in existing leadership programs and opportunities

~      Developing a culturally competent leadership program and opportunities for students

~      Promote a foundation committed to diversity, inclusion and equity in student life

Admissions and Enrollment (Dan Monahan and Eileen O’Leary)

~      Research cost impacts

~      Identify and present national best practices of recruiting students of color; best practices at Catholic colleges

~      Identify feasibility of implementing select best practices strategies at Stonehill

~      Identify “pipeline programs” that would assist in getting students to apply to Stonehill; cost analysis of participating in these programs

~      Research and identify what it means to have students of color enroll – what are they looking for, where are our accepted students going, to the best of our knowledge  - why are they not choosing Stonehill; how do we improve this?

Recruitment and Retention of Diverse Workforce (MaryAnn Perry)

~      Identify key areas of improvement for recruitment of diverse candidates

~      Future study of number of diverse candidates in pipeline, applications, interviews, yield

~      Increase the number of employees from ethnically and racially diverse backgrounds

~      Examining and implementing strategies from AACU’s publication

~      Recommend institutional change in identifying, attracting and hiring professionals from diverse backgrounds (departmental process, staff process, etc)

Assessment (Laura Uerling and Steve Beauregard)

~      Researching, exploring, implementing ways to audit cultural climate

~      Present data informed by best practices strategies