Diversity Action Committee

1
Diversity Action Committee

• Midyear Report and Recommendations
• 2004-2005

2
The Charge

• Listed below are three general topics related to
  diversity and equity that need to be addressed by
  the committee. Note that the committee itself
  will have the opportunity to develop a detailed
  charge to recommend to me early in fall term.
• 1. Campus atmosphere and equity
• 2. Student recruitment and retention
• 3. Faculty/staff recruitment and retention
• The focus will be on practical suggestions that
  can be put into action as soon as possible, after
  review by all appropriate bodies. Further, the
  assumption is that some changes will require
  either new or redistributed funding from college
  resources.

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DIVERSITY ACTION COMMITTEE MEMBERS

• Patrick Chang, Associate Dean of Students/ Chair
  x7591, pchang_at_ramapo.edu
• Professor Lisa Cassidy, , Assistant Professor of
  Philosophy/ AIS x7146, lcassidy_at_ramapo.edu
• Professor Joseph Dallon, TAS and Acting Director
  of Study Abroad x7730, jdallon_at_ramapo.edu
• Rosa Diaz Mulryan, Assistant Vice President of
  Marketing and Institutional Relations x7636,
  rmulryan_at_ramapo.edu
• Peter Goetz, Vice Provost for Enrollment
  Management x7307, pgoetz_at_ramapo.edu
• Judith Grieco, Office Assistant/ TAS x7290,
  jgrieco_at_ramapo.edu
• Professor Edna Negron, Assistant Professor of
  Journalism/ CA X7186, enegron_at_ramapo.edu
• Anthony Olarerin-George, Student representative-
  OAU and the Black Student Union President
  aolareri_at_ramapo.edu
• Professor Andre Perry, Associate Professor/ CA
  X7573, aperry_at_ramapo.edu
• Diana Williams, Assistant Director of the Student
  Assistant Program x7446, dwilliam_at_ramapo.edu
• LIAISONS
• Lorraine Edwards, Affirmative Action/Workplace
  Compliance liaison
• Babette Varano, Institutional Research liasion

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FIRST THE GOOD NEWS.

• In general, the faculty, staff and students of
  Ramapo College are happy to be here. They cite a
  very personal, friendly and warm environment as
  being key elements supporting their remaining
  here. People agree that Ramapo is an informal
  environment where everyone knows and refers to
  each other by first name. It is a caring place
  that encourages creativity and experimentation in
  terms of teaching and administrative practice.

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NOW THE BAD NEWS

• The ability to personally engage contingencies
  through discussion, collegiality and
  inclusiveness are essential factors in
  institutional decision making at Ramapo College.
• Many decisions at Ramapo College are based on
  relationships that people have with each other.
  The downside of such an environment is that
  several members of the community feel that they
  are left out of the loop.

6
The pervasive perception of those disenfranchised
members of the community is that it is who you
know in order to receive funding or permission
to develop programs at Ramapo and that those who
are in power decide who to allow into their realm
of power.
The obvious effects of such a perception are that
discrimination takes place quite frequently and
that some people feel frustrated by their
inability to be promoted or receive the equal
treatment that they see being distributed to
their peers/colleagues.
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Another issue identified is the false assumption
that policy decisions are clearly communicated in
a trickle down method from more senior
officials to all that work at the college.
Frequently, this doesnt happen. Messages are
either never communicated or reinterpreted to the
point of losing their focus.
8
In a 1999 study conducted by the Affirmative
Action Task Force utilizing full time faculty
data according to gender, ethnicity and race from
1997, Ramapo Colleges profile met or exceeded
national breakdowns. At the same time, Ramapo
came in 5th of the 8 New Jersey state colleges.
As quoted in the study

• The data revealed that while we have
  substantially increased the representation of
  females, most notably White, Non-Hispanic
  females, on the faculty, we have shown only
  slight gains in the number and percentage of
  faculty of color, primarily in the number of
  Black, Non-Hispanic males and females. All other
  categories of faculty of color remained low and
  static over the last ten years. In comparing
  Ramapos results to those of seven other New
  Jersey state colleges and universities for Fall
  1997, we found that with the exception of Black,
  Non-Hispanic male faculty, we had the lowest or
  the second lowest proportion of faculty of color
  in all racial/ethnic categories. In contrast, we
  had the highest percentage of White, Non-Hispanic
  males. Among the four state colleges and
  universities not accessible by mass
  transportation, Ramapo College has the lowest
  proportion of faculty of color.

9
Significant concerns also exist about our current
student body.

• The perception by the community is that the
  price we have paid for increased selectivity and
  a better prepared student is a more homogenous
  student body characterized mainly by white,
  middle or upper class full-time students.

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10-Year Minority Student Enrollment
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The Result

• Teaching about diversity is becoming
  increasingly challenging given the fact that the
  other is rapidly becoming an abstraction rather
  than a living, breathing being with a wide range
  of life experiences to counter preconceived
  notions of race, ethnicity, culture, sexual
  orientation and identity, socioeconomic status,
  religious background, physical abilities and
  political leanings.

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In addition, minority students have anecdotally
cited the following experiences as part of their
day-to-day existence at Ramapo

• Differential treatment in the classroom by some
  professors ranging from either being completely
  ignored to being singled out as the lone
  spokesperson for their race/ethnicity.
• Rude, stereotypical treatment by some staff
  members in such student support offices as
  Security, the Registrar and Advisement.
• Rude, insensitive treatment by some roommates or
  suitemates who may not be the same race or
  ethnicity.
• Differential treatment of minority clubs and
  organizations (i.e., required to have more
  Security and Police at social events)
• Lack of response to formal grievances filed
  through Affirmative Action
• Stereotypical treatment of being guilty of
  suspicious behavior by the township (i.e.,
  inordinately high rate of pullovers by Police).

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The Process

• Meta analysis of volunteer responses
• Weekly meetings beginning in October with
  Enrollment Management, Marketing and
  Institutional Relations and Affirmative
  Action/Workplace Compliance
• 2 day January Retreat with the Minority Faculty
  Staff Association, Institutional Planning, Office
  of Specialized Services, Provosts Office, Ad hoc
  Coalition of Black Faculty and Administrators
  (AHCBFA)

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Sources

• 1999 Affirmative Action Task Force Report
• Ad hoc Coalition of Black Faculty and
  Administrators (AHCBFA) Memorandum to President
  and BOT
• 10-Year Minority Student Enrollment Statistics
• Fall 2005 Minority Student Recruitment Plan
• Marketing materials

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RecommendationsOver-Arching

• The President, Board of Trustees, faculty, staff
  and students must have a full understanding of
  what the diversity initiative is and support it
  from the top down. This diversity initiative must
  be demonstrated as an integral part of campus
  life, particularly since it is referred to in the
  Mission Statement, Strategic Plan and Middle
  States review. An example of such an initiative
  comes from Oregon
• State University
• American colleges and universities are charged
  with creating an environment characterized by
  equal access for all students, faculty, and
  staff regardless of cultural differences, where
  individuals are not just tolerated but valued.
  Institutional missions suggest that higher
  education values multicultural awareness and
  understanding within an environment of mutual
  respect and cooperation. Institutional strategic
  plans advocate creating welcoming and inclusive
  climates that are grounded in respect, nurtured
  by dialogue and evidenced by a pattern of civil
  interaction.

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A clear definition of diversity needs to be
communicated to the community. A sample
statement that could be modeled after is that
drafted by the University of Toledo Commission on
Diversity Human diversity is variety and
otherness. It includes, but may not be limited
to age, ethnicity, gender, religion, physical or
mental abilities and disabilities, socio-economic
status, sexual orientation, gender identity, and
national origin. In promoting diversity, the
University pledges to respect and value personal
uniqueness and differences, to seek to attract
diverse faculty, staff and students, to challenge
stereotypes, and to promote sensitivity and
inclusion. It understands that its staff,
faculty and students must reflect the diversity
of the metropolitan area and beyond. It takes
seriously its commitment to diversity as
expressed in the Mission Statement and Strategic
Academic Plan. (Draft-not yet approved by the
Commission on Diversity-June 2, 2003)
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• Develop a Minority Affairs (or, more ideally, a
  Diversity Action) Office that will be fully
  staffed and funded. Such an office would be
  responsible for providing advocacy, counsel and
  guidance for the Ramapo College community. This
  Minority Affairs leader should be a trained and
  experienced person in the area of diversity/race
  relations/human resources from outside of Ramapo
  College appointed to head an appropriately
  staffed Office of Diversity Action who will be
  given a senior level of authority through which
  enforcement can be realized.
• It has become abundantly clear that the charge of
  the Diversity Action Committee will extend well
  beyond this academic year and that its direction
  and priorities will be defined by our new
  President and Board of Trustees. If the DAC is
  to continue, we recommend setting terms and
  representation (or staggered appointments for
  continuity) of the committee for future years.
• Update the 1999 Affirmative Action Task Force
  Report for immediate implementation (DAC).

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SHORT TERM (By Spring 2005)

• Begin work on conducting an institutional
  environmental survey in order to more accurately
  gauge campus climate. A recent sample survey
  that was recently distributed can be found at
  Oregon State University,

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Short Term (Spring 2005)

• Establish a Grievance Committee or (ideally) an
  Ombudsperson who will be responsible for
  providing advice and counsel and further
  investigating complaints when individuals feel
  that progress on grievances is unsatisfactory.
  Naturally such an individual(s) will need to be
  trusted and respected the Ramapo community for
  their fair and objective judgment, knowledgeable
  in the internal workings of the college and able
  to work with a diverse population.

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Short Term (Spring 2005)

• Restore Schomburg funding to its original
  allocation of 30,000. This group has been
  subject to the whims of the institution and has
  experienced a significant cut in funds during the
  past few years. Creating an established
  management and reporting structure for the future
  disbursement of funds would also ensure continued
  provision of funds.
• Conduct a feasibility study on establishing a
  Diversity Action Office comparatively researching
  format, budget and structure.
• Establish a campaign clearly demonstrating our
  commitment toward diversity that will be
  prominently displayed on bulletin boards, the
  world wide web and publications.
• Expand the currently existing Experts Guide to
  include multicultural expertise and experience of
  our faculty and staff. Consider placing this
  valuable resource on the Intranet in some
  searchable manner for utilization by our in-house
  community.

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Short Term (Spring 2005)

• Continue creating opportunities to make the
  enrollment management recruitment processes as
  transparent as possible (and within legal
  guidelines). Recent efforts by the Vice Provost
  of Enrollment Management to meet with concerned
  faculty and students should continue and be
  recognized as a valuable part of improving
  communications and misperceptions of such
  processes. The process of exploring increasing
  our minority populations within legal guidelines
  needs to be changed from of a you cant do this
  because to a more proactive if you wish to do
  this, you need to model.
• Create a more formal system for soliciting
  resumes within convening groups for more wide
  reaching searches (i.e., are search committee
  chairs aware of minority based publications and
  databases within their fields? Should one office
  be responsible for distributing such
  information?)
• Create a general searchable directory of
  community services for use by the entire Ramapo
  community listing ethnic restaurants, salons,
  houses of worship and businesses.
• Meet with recognized clubs and organizations to
  determine what their perceptions of diversity are
  and what they feel the college should be doing to
  continue creating such an environment (DAC).
• Develop an End of Year Report summarizing major
  findings and recommendations of previously
  written reports such as the Affirmative Action
  Task Force Report of 1999 (DAC).

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MIDTERM (By Summer 2006)

• Have the unit councils commit time toward
  discussions on diversity during the Spring and
  Fall 2005 semesters. Frank and honest dialogue
  on the role of diversity in hiring, its impact on
  classroom environment and recruitment and
  retention of faculty and students is an important
  first step to ensure that a common dialogue is
  being broached across the campus. Deans should
  provide a summary of their unit meeting
  discussions to the Provost.
• Create a formal funding structure for diversity
  programs that is well communicated campus wide.
  The current perception is that funding is a
  highly informal process based on knowing where
  potential sources might be.
• Work with the Faculty Resource Center in
  developing a Faculty In Service to discuss
  integrating diversity into the curriculum with an
  opportunity to cull best practices.

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MIDTERM (By Summer 2006)

• Continue creating opportunities to make the
  Affirmative Action processes as transparent as
  possible (and within legal guidelines). For
  example, more clearly communicating time frames
  for responding to grievances has been expressed
  by the community as a source of clarification
  still needed.
• Develop formal mechanisms to encourage faculty,
  staff and students to become more actively
  involved in the Enrollment Management and
  Affirmative Action processes. The recent
  assistance of Assistant Professor of History Karl
  Johnson in connecting Enrollment Management to
  local church communities is a good example
• Develop formal mechanisms to encourage faculty,
  staff and students to become more actively
  involved in the Affirmative Action process.

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LONG TERM

• Restructure the formal exit interview process for
  the Office of Affirmative Action/Workplace
  Compliance to conduct with all college employees
  to determine reasons for leaving. The same
  should be conducted for departing students by
  either Enrollment Management or the respective
  schools. Data should be gathered and trends
  should be identified on an annual basis and
  findings should be shared in an open forum
  opportunity
• .

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LONG TERM

• Develop a campus wide training day for the entire
  campus to participate in the result of which can
  be measured. The topics, presenters (external or
  internal) and format (mandatory or non-mandatory)
  need serious consideration

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CONCLUSIONS (FOR NOW)

• The Diversity Action Committee feels that they
  have just begun to scrape the top of the
  proverbial iceberg. Utilizing the research and
  recommendations from such esteemed colleagues as
  the Affirmative Action Task Force of 1999, the Ad
  Hoc Coalition of Black Faculty and Administrators
  and the Minority Faculty Staff Association, we
  plan on conducting a thorough analysis, summary
  and offering of recommendations on the following
  areas by the end of calendar year 2005

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• Search procedures, networking and recruitment
  including the interviewing and selection process
• Updating faculty data according to gender,
  race/ethnicity and comparing it to our other
  state college colleagues and national statistics.
• Updating student data according to gender,
  race/ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation,
  socioeconomic status, physical abilities and
  comparing it to our other state college
  colleagues and national statistics
• Retention of faculty and professional staff
• Recruitment and retention of students
• Reappointment/Tenure and promotion
• Issues of religious tolerance in a public
  institution and the role of an on-campus
  meditational space
• Making the DACs processes more transparent to
  the Ramapo College community through

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• Luminis / My.Ramapo.edu
• The World Wide Web
• Open interest meetings (every
• Tuesday at 11 AM in SC-217)