2008-2009 Committee Members

Executive Committee

Chair:  Carolyn Fallahi, Psychology (832-3114, fallahic@ccsu.edu)

Vice-Chair:  Beth Merenstein, Sociology (832-3174, merensteinb@ccsu.edu)

Secretary:  Stephen Costanza, Criminology and Criminal Justice (832-3139, costanzaste@ccsu.edu)

Subcommittee

Chair Policy Committee:  Lisa Frank, Finance and Law (832-3261, franklic@ccsu.edu)

Chair curriculum Committee:  Beth Merenstein, Sociology (832-3174, merensteinb@ccsu.edu)

Chair Outreach:  Sarah Stookey, Management and Organization (832-3284, stookeysab@ccsu.edu)

Chair Programming:  Laura Marchese, Institutional Advancement (832-2554, marcheselav@ccsu.edu)

Members

Michael Ansarra, Athletics (832-3072, ansarra@ccsu.edu)

Balkaran, Stephen, Philosophy (832-2915, BalkaranSte@ccsu.edu)

Berry, Gregory, Management and Organization (832-3266, berrygrr@ccsu.edu)

James Bryant, Design (832-2564, bryantj@ccsu.edu)

Gloria Marie Caliendo, Modern Languages (832-2880, caliendo@ccsu.edu)

Connie Cabello, Student Activities (832-1994, st_cabelloc@mail.ccsu.edu)

Matt Ciscel, English (832-2749, ciscelm@ccsu.edu)

Stephen Costanza, Criminology and Criminal Justice (832-3139, costanzaste@ccsu.edu)

Carolyn Fallahi, Psychology (832-3114, fallahic@ccsu.edu)

Lisa Frank, Finance and Law 832-3261, franklic@ccsu.edu)

Audra King, Philosophy (832-3677, kingaul@ccsu.edu)

Khoon Koh, Marketing (832-0136, kohk@ccsu.edu)

Bobbie Koplowitz, Athletics (832-3172, koplowitz@ccsu.edu)

Catherine Kurkjian, Reading Language Arts, 832-2179, kurkjianc@ccsu.edu)

Kurt Love, Teacher Education (832-2124, lovekua@ccsu.edu)

Laura Marchese, Institutional Advancement (832-2554, marcheselav@ccsu.edu)

Mark McLaughlin, AVP, Marketing and Communications (832-0065, mclaughlin@ccsu.edu)

Beth Merenstein, Sociology (832-3174, merensteinb@ccsu.edu)

Carlos Liard-Muriente, Economics (832-2732, liardcaf@ccsu.edu)

Nusser Raajpoot, Marketing (832-3318, Raajpootnus@ccsu.edu)

Awilda Reasco, Pre-Collegiate and Access Services (832-1905, reasco@ccsu.edu)

Moises Salinas, Chief Diversity Officer (832-3104, salinasm@ccsu.edu)

Benjamin Sevitch, Communication (832-2693, sevitch@ccsu.edu)

Reginald Simmons, Criminology (832-3134, simmonsred@ccsu.edu)

Sarah Stookey, Management and Organization (832-3284, stookeysab@ccsu.edu)

Susan Sweeney, Student Activities/Leadership Development (832-1991, sweeney@ccsu.edu)

Jeffrey Thomas, Physics Earth Sciences (832-2934, thomasjed@ccsu.edu)

Eleanor Thornton, Design (832-2707, thorntone@ccsu.edu)

Steve Villanti, Athletics (832-3078, villantis@ccsu.edu)

Wujun (Will) Wang, Design (832-0074, wangwuj@ccsu.edu)

Meeting Dates

September 10, 2008               October 14, 2008                    October 16, 2008

November 5, 2008                  January 18, 2009                     February 3, 2009        

March 5, 2009                                    April 7, 2009                           May 14, 2009

Programming Report

Submitted by Laura V. Marchese, Program Chair

Annual Theme of Program Committee

“Race and Gender in regards to Elections”

The Program Committee had the following meetings

 

·         October 14, 2008

·         December 18, 2008

·         February 3, 2009

·         February 17, 2009

Discussion of Programs
The Hip Hop Generation: Young, Gifted, and Black; Presenter David A. Canton, CT College
Partial sponsorship of Facilitator Rosa Clemente
Full sponsorship of Dr. Carlos Cortes
Diversity Speaker/Film/Workshop Series

Presentation on Race and the Election by Dr. Marisa Mealy

Programs Sponsored by the Committee
Facilitator Rosa Clemente:  $1,000- partial sponsorship
Full Sponsorship of Carlos Cortes:  $4,000

Sponsorship of Dr. Marisa Mealy:  no cost associated with this presentation.

Thursday, February 19, 11:00-12:15 Torp theater, Dr. Marisa Mealy, Assistant Professor of Psychology, presented a lecture for students on race and gender in the election.  Approximately 300 students were in attendance.

Tuesday, March 17, 11:00 am-12:15 pm, Torp Theater, Carlos Cortes, Professor Emeritus of History at UC Riverside and faculty member at Harvard Institutes for Higher Education, presented to students on the media’s role in our understanding and accepting of diversity.  Approximately 400 students were in attendance.  Author of the Making—and Remaking—of a Multiculturist, Cortes also conducted a faculty workshop in Founder’s hall from 2:00-4:00 on incorporating diversity into the curriculum.  Approximately 20 faculty were in attendance.  Finally, performance in Semester’s (Student Union) from 7:00-8:00 pm., his one-man show on diversity within his family.  Approximately 20 faculty and students were in attendance.

Curriculum Sub-Committee

The Diversity Faculty Senate Sub-Committee on Curriculum worked hard this year to implement a d-designation course into the general education curriculum. We met with representatives from the Arts and Sciences Diversity Committee, the Provost’s Ad Hoc committee on Diversity, and participated in the President’s Diversity task Force with the committee emphasizing curriculum issues.  Additionally, we went to all colleges’ Curriculum Committees – School of Education, School of Business, School of Technology, Arts and Sciences, as well as submitting our proposal to the General Education Curriculum Committee. After over a year of hard work, the proposal passed unanimously in the University Curriculum Committee, and with overwhelming support in the Faculty Senate. {Please see proposal below}

{D} Designated Courses

General Education Curriculum Proposal

Submitted on behalf of the Faculty Senate Diversity Committee

As the United States becomes an increasingly diverse and often polarized society, colleges and universities have sought to implement courses to improve students’ multicultural awareness and respect for diversity.  For example, in a survey of 65 institutions involved in a recent curriculum transformation project sponsored by the Association of American Colleges and Universities, almost 60% had instituted requirements that students take at least one course addressing diversity. 

General Education Objectives:

Diversity is listed as one of the goals and objectives under our General Education guidelines and objectives.  While there are two objectives in particular which deal with issues of diversity, the first is focused primarily on international issues:

To develop global awareness, historical perspective, and appreciation of social and cultural diversity in the world, with relevant outcomes including the ability to: analyze an issue from the perspective of another cultural tradition or historical period; understand and respect cultural differences; read, write, speak, and understand a foreign language at an enhanced level.

In this proposal we are concerned more with the second general education objective that deals specifically with issues of diversity in the United States:

To recognize issues of social equity and social justice in the United States, with relevant outcomes including the ability to: recognize the diverse forms and effects of social and economic inequality; understand bias and discrimination based on individual and group factors such as race, color, religious creed, age, sex, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, and mental or physical disability. 

To this end, we believe all students should be exposed to at least one class that deals explicitly with issues of diversity, social equity, and social justice within the United States.

Support and Endorsement Received From:

A core mission (no. 5) of the university, promoting diversity has become increasingly important to develop critical thinking in our students in a modern society. 

1.      The 2008 Blue Ribbon Commission on Diversity recommended that a goal of the university should be to educate our students towards appreciation of diversity with the skills and understanding necessary for students to succeed and thrive in a culturally diverse nation and world. 

2.      Members of the Faculty Senate Diversity Committee have been working to develop curriculum and pedagogy to promote diversity as part of the general education requirements. 

3.      This objective was also outlined as part of the Diversity Initiatives circulated by President Miller.  In particular, the President’s October 2007 Diversity Initiatives Proposal, under the Education heading, stated that  “There should be full funding for a general diversity requirement based on the FYE model, which includes stipends/release for faculty/staff conducted training, and incentives for faculty to teach diversity sections.” 

4.      Additionally, we have received the support and endorsement of:

a.       the Arts and Sciences Diversity Committee’s Sub-Committee on Curriculum

b.      the Office of Diversity and Equity

c.       The Provost’s Ad Hoc Committee on Diversity

d.      The President’s Diversity Task Force

The {D} designated sections Will:

• A {d} designated section will address the culture of equity and social justice within the United States through course content, pedagogy, and classroom climate.
• A {d} designated section will examine and explore bias and discrimination within the United States based on a variety of individual and group factors.
• The {d} designated section will be an integrated part of the General Education requirements. 
  • {d} designated sections will be both upper- and lower-level courses.
  • {d} designated sections can be taken as part of the general education requirements, or as part of the major or minor, or as an elective.
• These sections will be based on both the FYE and International course models.
  • {d} designated sections will incorporate issues of diversity and social justice into their established course content with an emphasis on inclusive pedagogy and classroom climate.
• It will not be the course that is {d} designated, but the specific section which is{d} designated; therefore, it will be specific sections that are designated as {d} designated courses.
• {d} designated sections can be – and will be encouraged to be – offered in any one of the schools within the university. 
  • Faculty teaching existing courses in a variety of disciplines will have the opportunity to introduce diversity into their established courses in order to create {d} designated sections.
• {d} designated sections will be limited to 25 students.
• Faculty wishing to teach a {d} designated sections will have one of three options:
  • A) they may either submit an existing course to the Faculty Senate Diversity Committee to receive a {d} designation for their sections
  • B) they may submit an existing course to the Faculty Senate Diversity Committee for {d} designation and participate in a half day workshop geared towards issues of pedagogy and classroom climate or,
  • C) they may take a two day diversity curriculum development workshop so that their section fits the {d} designation model in both pedagogy and content.

The {d} designated sections Will Not:

• The objective is not to burden our students with additional coursework, many of whom are already taking on average over 6 years to graduate, but to incorporate a diversity course into the established general education curriculum. 
  • It is understood that the requirement to take a{d}designated section, when and if instituted, would not require a student to take additional credits over and above what he or she is already taking to fulfill General Education requirements
• A {d} designated section will not simply input one or two lessons on “other cultures” into the curriculum to satisfy the {d} designation requirement.
• A {d} designated section  may not also satisfy the I designation

Procedure and Process:

• the University Curriculum Committee is the ultimate authority as to whether a section can bear {d} designation
• However, it is understood that the University Curriculum Committee, and specifically the General Education Subcommittee, will delegate to the Faculty Senate Diversity Committee the authority to make recommendations as to whether a section of a course will receive the {d} designation 
• The Faculty Senate Diversity Committee will compile the list of sections requesting {d} designation and will bring this list to the appropriate Curriculum Subcommittees.
• The Faculty Senate Diversity Committee will submit the final recommendations to the University Curriculum Committee, and specifically the General Education Subcommittee, which will approve or disapprove the recommendations.

Goals:

• The recommendation is to institute the {d}designation with the understanding that in three to six years, the University Curriculum Committee will decide whether there exists a sufficient critical mass of {d} designated sections to institute a formal requirement. Therefore, this is considered a pilot program until the Curriculum Committee reassesses the {d} designation.
• Although students will not initially be required to take any {d} designated section, once there are a sufficient number of sections available, all incoming first year students will be required to take a {d} designated section as part of their general education requirements before graduating from the University.

Central Faculty Experts in Diversity

This year we compiled a list of experts in diversity here at the university and posted it on our website.

 Barr, Burlin                                         Diversity in popular media and film

 Caliendo, Gloria Marie                    Nonviolent Communication (NVC)

                                                                Creating a culture of peace and learning to speak peace 

Ciscel, Matthew                                                Linguistic diversity

                                                                Societal multilingualism and language policy issues

                                                                Endangered languages

 Cohen, Stephen                              Gender and race in Renaissance England, from a historical perspective

Costanza, Stephen                          Race and immigration and how it relates to criminal justice

                                                                Race and crime

                                                                Race differences in drug sentencing

 Fitzgerald, Glynis                             Embracing diversity in the workplace

 Fried, Jane                                         Multicultural counseling

                                                                Major ethnic groups

                                                                Sexual orientation, race, age

 Greenebaum, Jessica                    Gender

                                                                Theories of intersectionality of gender, race, class, sexuality  and                                                                              speciesm

 Kim, Ki Hoon                                     The East and the West:  Cultural Contrast

                                                                Origami (Paper-folding handiwork)

                                                                Kirigami (Paper-cutting handiwork) workshop

                                                                "Why do we have to know other cultures?"

 King, Audra                                        Affirmative Action

                                                                Social Justice

                                                                Feminism

                                                                Critical Race Theory

                                                                Global gender justice   

 King, Cherie                                       Individuals with all types of disabilities (physical, psychiatric, cognitive 

Love, Kurt                                           Critical pedagogy

                                                                Ecojustice pedagogy

                                                                Feminist pedagogy

                                                                Multicultural Education

                                                                Critical Social Theory

                                                                Critical and Multicultural Science Education 

Mahony, Mary Ann                         Race and ethnicity in the Americas, especially Brazil, African Diaspora in                                                                                 Latin

                                                                America, and Brazillians in the United States 

 Mealy, Marisa                                  Intergroup relations

                                                                Intergroup communication

                                                                Prejudice

 Merenstein, Beth Frankel           Race and ethnic relations

                                                                Immigration

                                                                Pedagogy of diversity

 Morales, Angela                              Implementing diversity across the curriculum

 Park, Michael                                     The nature of human biological diversity and its relationship to the                                                                         sociocultural categories of

                                                                race

 Prescott, Heather                           Women, Gender and health issues

                                                                Children, youth, and disability rights

 Reagan, Timothy                             Language Diversity (esp. in educational contexts)

                                                                 English as a Second Language,

                                                                Bilingual Education

                                                                Social Multilingualism/Language Policy

                                                                ASL/Deaf Culture

 Sevitch, Ben                                      African American History, particularly Black speakers (abolitionist,                                                                            integrationist,

                                                                 separatist, political, civil rights, and Black speakers for women's rights)

 Stookey, Sarah                                 Classism (particularly in higher education)

                                                                Recent Latino immigrants to the United States

 Sugg, Katherine                               Latino/a literatures

                                                                Comparative ethnic studies and literatures

                                                                Transnational feminist cultural studies

                                                                Cross-cultural representation and communication in the U.S. and                                                                             globally

 Thomas, Jeffrey                              Multicultural Science Education

                                                                Urban Education

                                                                GLBT Education and Issues

 White, Cindy                                     Images of gender and race in media (especially advertising)

                                                                Media literacy

                                                                Feminist thought and theory

 Wilson, Elaine                                   English as a second language program

                                                                Multicultural curriculum reform

 Wolff, Robert                                   Whiteness and racism in American society

                                                                Enslavement/slavery

                                                                Race, ethnicity, and migration in American history

 Changes to the Faculty Senate Diversity By-laws

Passed on November 19, 2008

 Amended, Proposed Article 111 membership:  Attendance at the Faculty Senate Diversity Committee is open to all current university students, faculty, administrators, and employees.  Members can either be nominated or send self-nominations to the Elections Committee of the Faculty Senate or by submitting a request for membership to the Chair of the Diversity Committee.  For people who join by submitting written requests, voting privileges remain with individuals who have a minimum of 30 days membership on the Faculty Senate Diversity Committee roster.  The term of membership is one academic year, and there is no limit to the number of years a member may serve, nor is there a limit to the number of members who may serve on the Committee.  Once the academic year begins the Chair of the Diversity Committee is responsible for keeping membership records and is responsible for informing the Senate President monthly of any additions or subtractions from the initial membership of that academic year.

 Respectfully Submitted,

Carolyn R. Fallahi, Chair Faculty Senate Diversity Committee