DAC Archived Reports: April / May 2007
During April and May, the Diversity Action Committee focused on the ombudsperson proposal.
The DAC, along with the Minority Faculty and Staff Association, finalized a job description for an ombudsperson position and forwarded it to President Peter Mercer. The president met with the group on April 4 and offered his edited version of the job description. After discussion with the president, the DAC and MFSA agreed to work with Mercer’s version.
Mercer noted budgetary constraints for the upcoming academic year, but said that he remained optimistic about the possibility of establishing an ombudsperson at Ramapo.
In the meantime, the DAC and MFSA are identifying members who could possibly serve on a search committee should funds become available. The DAC sent out a general notice aksing for interested volunteers and also mentioned this at the last DAC meeting of the Spring semester.
Mercer told DAC/MFSA leaders that he would have a better idea of how to proceed by mid-June when the budget numbers become clearer. There will be a follow-up ombuds meeting then.
In other business, Kay Fowler and Edna Negron announced that Ruma Sen (CA) will serve as DAC co-chair starting July 1. Negron will continue on the DAC committee. Fowler, at the last DAC meeting, also asked whether current DAC members would stay on. Those present at the April meeting agreed; anyone else who plans to move on, please let Kay or Ruma know.
The DAC’s subcommittees also reported progress:
INTER-INTRA GROUP Subcommittee led by Mandy Restivo gave out its first "Bridging the Gap" award on April 30. This committee also continued its discussion of a protocol for handling bias incidents in a timely manner.
The Inter/Intra also ran two Difficult Discussion small group talks for 14 students: one on race and the other on class/disability.
RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION OF STUDENTS Subcommittee led by Rena Bacon met several times with Daniel Jean and Jackie Skrzynski, to discuss the particular needs of transfer students.
ANOTHER STUDENT REP: Jonelyn Planillo, a student senator, will replace DAC member Marli Creese. In April, Creese organized a Spring meeting with student leaders. This committee talked at length about how to broaden international student recruitment efforts as well as how to add another student rep to DAC. Marli initiated a call and several students expressed their interest. The DAC will follow-up in the fall.
The CURRICULUM/PEDAGOGY subcommittee, led by Ruma Sen and Maya Poran, continued the Dangerous Discussion workshops in April: Kay Fowler talked about handling "Grief in the Classroom," Christine Komorowski McConnell led a talk on "Disability in the Classroom" and Yolanda Prieto and Lysandra Perez-Strumolo on focused Latina students. Continuation of the series is planned for the fall.
The OUTCOMES AND ASSESSMENT Subcommittee, led by Sue Xzhang and Missy Long, revamped the objectives for each subcommittee into measurable items. The DAC members present at the last meeting agreed to the changes.
**Next meeting, sometime in mid-June to discuss ombuds position.
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