Summary of Open Meeting on the
HUMAN DIVERSITY GOAL
November 20, 2003

Team Members Present: D. Lynch, R. Schaeffer, G. Brey, P. Sable, R. Mayrhofer, B. Wlazelek, K. McCloskey, R. Flatley, K. Johnston

Unable to Attend: J. Chernekoff, L. Goldberg, W. Mowder

1. Welcome

  • Dr. Lynch welcomed approximately 15 faculty members. The team introduced themselves.

2. Discussion of Diversity Goal

  • Dialogue from Faculty:
    • How diverse is diverse?
    • We’re not in agreement on the word diverse.
    • Diversity includes a lot of different things.
    • Alternative names have been discussed for this goal.
    • Diverse carries a lot of baggage. Team settled for human diversity because it is a well recognized term.
    • Human engagement and engagement with the world were also discussed.
    • How could we assess goal? Happy with the language, but don’t know how it will be measured.
    • Add more language – make it inclusive.
    • Leave 2nd sentence out. Have problem with the term race; based on research, when you list terms, you create problems. Leave human diversity open to a variety of interpretations.
    • The word race is offensive, has no meaning.
    • Ethnicity a better word?
    • A variety of races represent one ethnicity.
    • Disagrees with Kim, leave term race out, leave all terms out.
    • Race is socially real.
    • Leave terms in. Patrick Beckman’s "Decline of the West" the world is changing; identify as may groups as possible.
    • Diversity denotes many things. Trying to create experiences for students to celebrate the differences.
    • Change human diversity to human condition?
    • Keep words in; terminology is used in society; affective word should be added (empathy or appreciation).
    • Inter-subjectivity.
    • No goals stand in isolation.
    • Words approved by other documents used by the university and state system; want to be on the leading edge not bleeding edge.

3. Implementation

  • Dialogue from Faculty:
    • Where do we cut diversity?
    • Difficult to think about implementation without getting a sense of background discussions.
    • Committee hasn’t discussed a change in governance system.
    • Team is listening to all ideas.
    • Mission; goals; core values.
    • Struggle with the word "intensive."
    • UCC approval.
    • Curriculum is incrusted by faculty.
    • Gen. Ed. is not major specific.
    • Gen Ed. model should enable students to broaden their integrating diversity.
    • Strand important; repeated connective experiences.
    • Want Gen. Ed. to be very broad. How many credits will Gen. Ed. have?
    • State requirements are 40%.

4. Closing

  • Dr. Lynch thanked the faculty for their comments on Human Diversity.
  • Dates to discuss the last two goals will be held in the Spring, 2004 semester.