questions posed in advance of and during the listening session

13.07.2015 Views
Color Blocks–Horizontalthere is no mechanism to hold them accountable across the board. It is only permissible forthem to seek intercultural competence and knowledge of how to foster success in a diversesetting (staff, students, colleagues, etc.). Institutionalizing welcoming and inclusiveenvironments is of great interest to many constituents.What is the University's plan to improve the retention of faculty and staff of color? When willwe see a strong commitment to diversity in every college?What kind of resources are you prepared to commit to the recruitment and retention of adiverse staff at the University?For sustainability, diversity initiatives seem to need to be managed and resourced with somecontinuity (permanent staff, faculty). Often it is students who might be around for only a yearor two who are the most energetic about this work. How do we effectively bring theconsistent and the transient members of our community together to work towards sharedgoals?How will the University make it clear that working on issues related to equity and diversity iseveryone's responsibility?How do we create/obtain longevity with regards to equity and diversity? How do we keep iton the front burner?Why does the College of Ed and Human Dev. refuse to orchestrate a concerted effort to takeon relevant issues in urban education, like the under education of students (particularlystudents of color, English language learners and low income students), and diversifying theteacher pool? What will be the institutional consequence for such complacency?This is very complex because (1) by its very nature as a 150-year-old institution, certainprivileges and assumptions are deeply entwined in the structure and operations and tend toperpetuate the status quo. (2) Genuine inclusion takes a large investment of time and awillingness to change some of the rules of the game. It takes real and ongoing conversationthat facilitates understanding and valuing across differences, and it takes side-by-side worktoward shared objectives. (3) All aspects of diversity need to be recognized and valued,including disability. (4) To really do this, you have to think differently about time, getcomfortable with discomfort, and figure out how to reward people for their hard work alongthe way, even when there is no money. So my questions are, (1) how can youcompassionately dismantle and reassemble an institution to work in this new age? and (2)who can you bring in who is in it for the long haul to get the process started?OutreachHow can the UMN engage the University community to participate in work such as thatgoing on at UROC? The University needs to be a provider of these resources and notnecessarily the leader of that whole process or the guide to it, which sometimes has ruinedrelationships.Many communities in TC area have a lack of trust in the UMN -- the closing of GeneralCollege, Commanding English program that outreached and served a great number of highschool students, and the move to close the MA program in Teaching English as a SecondLanguage. I feel these kinds of moves on the part of the administration create a sense ofdistrust among communities that UMN is trying to reach.I have been at UMN since 1999 and have seen a lot of changes. I feel that the UMN brokesome trust with the native and indigenous communities around the state. I understand UMNis driving to be one of the top three research institutions in the world but I'm very concernedabout the telescope on Mount Graham, which is sacred to the Apache People. And UMNinvolvement in wild rice issues that are also sacred to Ojibwa people. I feel that these andother past experiences contribute greatly to native peoples lack of trust in UMN. I want tostress the benefits of MN being home to 11 tribal nations, though less than 1% of overall MNCOLOR BLOCKSIrregular shapes in multiplpalette add movement an10

population. The lost of trust the indigenous community now feels towards UMN effects usall and students the most.How do we reach out to underrepresented students?The University of MN claims that diversity and multicultural education are a vital part of itsmission, and yet since 2000 the U has closed General College, an award winning collegewith the most diversity of any other college on campus; the Commanding English Program,the only program which primarily served refugees and permanent residents; the MinnesotaEnglish Center for international students (it was reopened in another college in 2006 as theMinnesota English Language Program, or MELP); and last fall the dean of CLA announcedthe closing of the Second Language Studies M.A. program (SLS), the only TESL graduateprogram in MN with a focus on teaching ESL for higher education. What do these moves sayabout how much the University of MN values diversity? The U of MN is a land grantinstitution, which means it should serve the people of MN. Increasing our internationalstudent enrollment to meet diversity quotas is disingenuous.Requests for ResourcesCOLOR BLOCKSHow can the Center for Health Equity engage with the Office of Equity and Diversity tosupport efforts in hiring and retaining diverse faculty and staff?Irregular shapes in multiple colors fPlease share information or updates on DREAM the Act. Is UMN prepared for receiving andsupporting new populations (recent immigrants?) of students?palette add movement and energyI am concerned about fair treatment for persons who occasionally suffer setbacks due todepressive disorders. In my experience there is 1) Complete lack of seriousacknowledgment of such conditions 2) Resultant negative annual review of an employeewho, the majority of the time, functions at a productive, thoughtful and engaged level. Thesame individual previously received high marks/ glowing reviews. What should the Universitydo to acknowledge and support employees who may struggle with mental health issues, onoccasion, and how can the climate be improved?What exactly do you mean by diverse staff members? Disability enabled people as well asMulticultural peoples? I have a disability with being tired because of my medication and Ineed areas in which to take a break with out being a nuisance to others. What is theuniversity doing to provide private break areas? (Not to mention these areas could be usedfor other things like nursing mothers, who want to breast-feed.)Is a UM employee able to use University resources (meeting room) to host a ChristianLeadership Lunch? The event would be open to all faculty and staff regardless of theirreligious beliefs. The leadership topic discussion would include teaching from the bible.It appears that the aspiration of the Univ of Minnesota to be a leading research entity is abarrier in itself because the Univ has made admission requirements extremely difficult. Oneof the recent online interviews for the Office of Equity & Diversity stated that the University,as a land-grant mission college and location being in the middle of a large city, should bemade routinely accessible to the multitude of K-12 students in the metro. How is the Univgoing to reach out with programming to expose students to a University environment at ayoung age so our admission requirements become a typical college goal for the multitudes?And how will the Univ be held accountable in reporting progress to faculty and staff?Please describe the process used to determine reasonable accommodations for employeeswith disabilities and what happens when an employee can no longer perform at a full timelevel due to their disability or due to the excessive use of sick leave.Will you work to expand lactation spaces on campus for staff coming back from maternityleave? Currently, space is limited to areas near the AHC and there is not enough places oncampus near the University Avenue area to account for staff breaks (travel time) to use thelactation facilities. Also, if there is more than one woman nursing it is difficult to find anotherarea close by. Other staff members also may presume you are taking a "break", when in fact11

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