Reunion
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Diversity Forum Reunion Minutes: May 14, 2004
Provost Sally Mason opened the program for the Diversity Forum Reunion.
- Provost Mason reflected on the death of Dr. Ian Rothwell, Head of the Chemistry Department.
- She continued to talk about the "Purdue family" and that it is important to each of us to be a part of something. The forums help us to learn a lot about others, ourselves, and to begin to see common bonds. It is important to Purdue's climate that we not only care about the institution but also each other.
Representatives spoke from the three pioneering schools (Agriculture, Engineering, and Science) about the diversity activities in their schools as a result of the forums.
- Dr. Ron Coolbaugh, from Agriculture, stated that a third of the faculty members have been through the diversity forum. He went on to say the dean decided, because of attending the diversity forum, that the School of Agriculture needed a multicultural coordinator. Dr. Nicole Gale was hired in that position and is doing a tremendous job of recruiting, mentoring, and graduating minority students. She has started diversity training for the clerical workers. Agriculture has just begun participating in the gender forum. They have provided the students with a list of diversity courses offered on campus that the students could take to meet some of their requirements. This is moving diversity education to the students.
- Dr. Dominick Andrisani, from Engineering, spoke next about the importance of preparing our students for the issues they will be facing as they leave college so it is very important that we begin that education here. The College of Engineering wrote a diversity action plan. Dominick feels that they stand between passion and bureaucracy about diversity issues. Because of the diversity action plan, Engineering is recruiting students that are more diverse and fewer students are falling through the cracks. Diversity is being taught in the classrooms and more diverse faculty is being hired. Engineering has improved in many areas since the beginning of the diversity forums.
- Barb Clark spoke about Dean Vitter's idea to help freshman students learn more about each other. A program has been developed that is called Learning through Experience and Awareness in Diversity (LEAD). This program features peer mentoring to impact student-to-student diversity especially among first-year students. The Diversity Resource Office, New Student Orientation, and University Residences will organize LEAD. The LEAD program has been established with financial support from 14 deans.
Janice Eddy led the Reunion Participants in some discussions.
- Janice said it is important that we create more community on this campus. The students/alums at the forums said that they want more relationships and want Purdue to be a more human place.
- Janice asked people to stand to indicate with which school they were associated. This allowed people to identify others who had gone through the forum at a different time than they participated. She stated that it is important that we reconnect with people who have gone through the forum with us and connect with new people that have been through the forums at a different time.
