Meeting Minutes
Diversity Committee
Meeting, October 24, 2006
Present: Eleanor Block (Chair), Amanda Clark, Eboni Francis, Rebekah Kilzer, Beverly McDonald, Duke Morgan, Charles Smith
Absent: Wendy Adcock, Linda Gonzalez, Deidra Herring, Cyndi Preston
Eleanor also told us about the policy at the University of Pennsylvania which is sent to all faculty and is very specific about religious holidays and what can and cannot be done on these days; for example, no examinations or assigned work can be given on Yom Kippur.
Eleanor then sent an email to President Holbrook asking if Ohio State University had a policy on religious holidays and, if so, what the policy was. President Holbrook replied that some colleges and departments had policies, but that there was no university-wide policy and she would have Academic Affairs look into this. Martha Garland, Vice Provost, Enrollment Services and Dean,Undergraduate Education will prepare a report for President Holbrook on religious holidays at Ohio State.
In relation to future workshops, Duke wondered if the Diversity Committee could get its own funds to present programs. Is this possible? What does it involve? We now meet with Joe Branin if we need money. Duke will draft something for the next committee meeting. Can Linda Gonzalez offer any guidance on this topic? Linda meets with the Staff Advisory Council to discuss their funding; would this be similar in any way to what we want to do?
One possibility for Spring Quarter 2007 was offered by Eboni Francis. She came across a brochure from the Ohio State University Leadership Center that listed some of the training workshops and programs that the Center offers. Eboni requested more information about a few of the programs that sounded interesting and then shared the results of her inquiry with the other committee members. The four workshops/programs that were described in detail were: Leadership at the movies-- women in leadership roles; Pigeon-holed in the land of penguins; Wealth, innovation & diversity; and Showdown at Generation Gap.
One possibility for a Winter Quarter 2007 program would be to have minority students from various groups do selected readings for us. This idea needs to be fleshed out more-- time and location; choosing possible readers and readings; relation, if any, to the Libraries' weekly ReadAloud presentations; any (other) tie to the Libraries. Charles Smith will explore this idea further and report back at the next meeting. Eleanor has a list of the various student groups at Ohio State; that list will help us to contact people for this presentation. Another possibility would be to contact Mac Stewart, Vice Provost for Minority Affairs and Chief Diversity Officer. He has programs but needs the space to present his programs. We could work with him on this.
The following mission statement was proposed at the October 11, 2005 meeting: "The Diversity Committee is committed to recognizing an environment that welcomes, cultivates, values and celebrates the diversity of students, faculty and staff at the Ohio State University. The Committee plans and executes programs, training opportunities, and displays that promote understanding and invite the participation of individuals across the cultural spectrum, while exploring the differences and contributions that enrich all of our lives."
Are there any additions, deletions and/or changes that need to be made to this statement? The mission statement will be discussed at our next committee meeting.
We were all asked to bring our copy of the Resident Librarians web site with our comments, corrections and suggestions to the next committee meeting. A goal for this year will be to revise this web site. We need to examine the links and current information and re-evaluate what is already on the site. Rebekah Kilzer volunteered to work with us on the web site. She will help us to use the laptops in SEL 090 to project the information that we want to discuss on a screen.
Absent: Wendy Adcock, Linda Gonzalez, Deidra Herring, Cyndi Preston
Minutes
The minutes of the May 23, 2006 and the September 26, 2006 meetings were approved as written.Meetings scheduled during religious holidays
Eleanor Block presented the annual report of the Diversity Committee at the Library Faculty meeting on October 10, 2006. The report mentioned the statement on meetings scheduled during religious holidays that the Committee had prepared for Joe Branin and some questions were asked about this statement. Joe indicated that religious holidays would be added to the calendars, and every attempt would be made to be sensitive to religious holidays, but there could be times when meetings will have to be held.
Eleanor also told us about the policy at the University of Pennsylvania which is sent to all faculty and is very specific about religious holidays and what can and cannot be done on these days; for example, no examinations or assigned work can be given on Yom Kippur.
Eleanor then sent an email to President Holbrook asking if Ohio State University had a policy on religious holidays and, if so, what the policy was. President Holbrook replied that some colleges and departments had policies, but that there was no university-wide policy and she would have Academic Affairs look into this. Martha Garland, Vice Provost, Enrollment Services and Dean,Undergraduate Education will prepare a report for President Holbrook on religious holidays at Ohio State.
Dr. Conrad's visit
Dr. Cecilia Conrad, Associate Dean and Stedman-Summer Professor of Economics at Pomona College, will be speaking at Ohio State University on November 8, 2006 on the topic "Beyond Recruitment:
Institutional Transformation and Women of Color in the Academy." The next day all women faculty are invited to a luncheon with Dr.
Conrad. Eleanor can't go to the November 8 presentation, but plans to be at the luncheon. Several other committee members also hope to take part in one or both of these events.
OSU Libraries/Kent State School of Library and Information Science Fellowship
According to the web site that lists the Ohio State University Libraries' Standing Committees, the Diversity Committee oversees the OSU Libraries/Kent State School of Library and Information Science Fellowship. Linda Gonzalez will investigate this further, see what the situation is now and report back at our next meeting.
Vice Chair of the Diversity Committee
Duke Morgan talked about his responsibilities and concerns as Vice Chair of the Diversity Committee. Duke will take on tasks that Eleanor assigns him and will chair meetings in her absence. He has also agreed to be the contact person for announcements of diversity meetings and workshops, has already talked several times with Pat Hall, the Assistant Director of the Multicultural Center, and will look into possible future workshops.
In relation to future workshops, Duke wondered if the Diversity Committee could get its own funds to present programs. Is this possible? What does it involve? We now meet with Joe Branin if we need money. Duke will draft something for the next committee meeting. Can Linda Gonzalez offer any guidance on this topic? Linda meets with the Staff Advisory Council to discuss their funding; would this be similar in any way to what we want to do?
Programs sponsored by the Diversity Committee
Because of the move to Ackerman and Sullivant and other activities, the Committee won't be sponsoring any programs during Fall Quarter
2006 but should plan to do something substantive during Spring Quarter 2007 and have at least one and perhaps two events during the year.
One possibility for Spring Quarter 2007 was offered by Eboni Francis. She came across a brochure from the Ohio State University Leadership Center that listed some of the training workshops and programs that the Center offers. Eboni requested more information about a few of the programs that sounded interesting and then shared the results of her inquiry with the other committee members. The four workshops/programs that were described in detail were: Leadership at the movies-- women in leadership roles; Pigeon-holed in the land of penguins; Wealth, innovation & diversity; and Showdown at Generation Gap.
One possibility for a Winter Quarter 2007 program would be to have minority students from various groups do selected readings for us. This idea needs to be fleshed out more-- time and location; choosing possible readers and readings; relation, if any, to the Libraries' weekly ReadAloud presentations; any (other) tie to the Libraries. Charles Smith will explore this idea further and report back at the next meeting. Eleanor has a list of the various student groups at Ohio State; that list will help us to contact people for this presentation. Another possibility would be to contact Mac Stewart, Vice Provost for Minority Affairs and Chief Diversity Officer. He has programs but needs the space to present his programs. We could work with him on this.
Office of Minority Affairs
Charles Smith has agreed to be our liaison with the Office of Minority Affairs. He will contact the Office of Minority Affairs and report back to us at our next meeting.
Diversity Committee mission statement
The mission statement currently on our web site states that "The Diversity Committee is committed to creating an environment that welcomes, cultivates, values and celebrates the diversity of talents, abilities, cultures, backgrounds, and histories of students, faculty and staff at University Libraries. The Committee plans and executes programs, training opportunities, and displays that promote understanding and invite the participation of individuals across the cultural spectrum, while exploring the differences and contributions that enrich all of our lives."
The following mission statement was proposed at the October 11, 2005 meeting: "The Diversity Committee is committed to recognizing an environment that welcomes, cultivates, values and celebrates the diversity of students, faculty and staff at the Ohio State University. The Committee plans and executes programs, training opportunities, and displays that promote understanding and invite the participation of individuals across the cultural spectrum, while exploring the differences and contributions that enrich all of our lives."
Are there any additions, deletions and/or changes that need to be made to this statement? The mission statement will be discussed at our next committee meeting.
Resident Librarians web site
The Diversity Committee web site, especially the part on Resident Librarians, is severely out of date and needs to be updated. The mission statement is long and wordy and needs to be reviewed (see the discussion above).
We were all asked to bring our copy of the Resident Librarians web site with our comments, corrections and suggestions to the next committee meeting. A goal for this year will be to revise this web site. We need to examine the links and current information and re-evaluate what is already on the site. Rebekah Kilzer volunteered to work with us on the web site. She will help us to use the laptops in SEL 090 to project the information that we want to discuss on a screen.
Resident Librarians
Now that Deidra Herring and Eboni Francis are regular faculty members, the Resident Librarian positions are vacant. Will we be filling these positions now or will we wait until the two-year program is finished in 2007? Eleanor will talk to Linda Gonzalez, who wasn't able to be at today's meeting, about this question.
Next meeting
The meeting scheduled for November 7, 2006 has been cancelled to give us time to work on our various assignments. The next scheduled meeting will be Tuesday, November 21, 2006, 1:30 p.m.-2:30 p.m. in Room 090 East, Science and Engineering Library.