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Our proposed projects and the status are stated below:
Brown v. Board of Education:
Engage multicultural nonprofit organizations to plan for celebrations
that mark national and local milestones in improving civic engagement.
For example, 2004 marks the 50th anniversary of Brown v. Board of
Education, the 1954 Supreme Court decision ending segregation.
Status: Work in progress. The subcommittee is developing a
list of people who will be asked to assist in the planning of this
milestone event to recognize and celebrate the 50th anniversary
of Brown v. Board of Education.
Stop Out Program:
Explore the feasibility of a pilot Stop Out program
with the goals of:
- Providing exit counseling for students of color who leave the
University before graduation.
- Increasing student retention if the exit counseling is used
as a tool to inform students about their options, e.g., financial
aid resources, course enrollment issues, personal counseling resources.
- Develop a strong program that informs the University as to
problem areas and how to correct them.
Status: Fast track. The subcommittee is working with Carl Brandt,
interim director of MLK advising, to pilot this program, tentatively
titled: The First Generation Project. Juavah Lee (OMAA)
is developing the program.
As the project progresses, we will be able to develop definitions,
indicators, and measures for assessment.
Bridging the Digital Divide:
- Work in conjunction with Vice Provost Walstroms portal
initiatives to expand website to address needs of underrepresented
communities;
- Explore ways to build on existing databases to identify University
resources;
- During this process, we will work with communities of color
to learn what they want and expect from the U of M, as well as
the strengths and contributions of what they have to offer in
the area of civic engagement.
Status: Beginning stages. Working with Vice Provost Walstrom
and with other subcommittees in thinking about a C.O.P.E.
channel and how it would be organized. The typology project will
greatly assist.
Minnesota nice; making Minnesota better:
working title for Sallye McKees proposal that we actively
work to instill the ethos/philosophy of Minnesota nice in a multicultural
framework.
Status: Research and development stage.
Identify existing University-community partnerships that
have a primary or secondary focus on cultural diversity in research,
teaching and outreach and enlist their assistance with
developing practical proposals for enhancing cultural diversity
as a component of the University's commitment to civic engagement.
This might mean we would pass through small amounts of funds to
four or five programs that can help us survey students and community
groups, try a few new approaches, and find out where value can be
added to what is already working, for example, CURAs NPCR
Partnership and Public Healths center that promotes public
health careers and education with and for communities of color.
Status: Research and development stage.
Future Projects:
- Explore the development of an information resource for diverse
communities from the ranks of retired UMN faculty and staff; the
proper training coupled with the dedication and knowledge of our
retirees, would result in a valuable resource.
- Build on civic engagement programs and actively encourage students
of color to participate; outcomes from several national studies
suggest that student retention and graduation rates increase when
students work in the community.
Status: Early stages of research and development.
The Cultural Diversity Committee has a particularly ambitious agenda
to work through as we begin to work toward strengthening the covenant
of the land grant mission through cultural diversity. |
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