Diversity: a Primer for Organizational Change and Excellence Sinclair Community College May 6, 2010

1. Diversity: a Primer for Organizational Change and ExcellenceSinclair Community CollegeMay 6, 2010 James A. Anderson, Ph.D. Chancellor Professor of Psychology Fayetteville State University (UNC) janderson@uncfsu.edu

2. Institutional Vision and Practical Considerations • Transformative Leadership and Organizational Change • Student-Centered Learning Environment • Defining Diversity/Globalism/multiculturalism • Diversity and Retention Considerations • Institutional Indicators • Research • Teaching for Retention

3. Retention Scorecard • Indicators of Institutional Effectiveness • Indicators of Program Effectiveness • Indicators of Student Academic/Social Integration • Indicators of Student Success/Achievement • Indicators of Student Learning • Indicators of Impact of/on Diversity

4. LESSONS LEARNED: ROADBLOCKS TO ACCOMPLISHING CRITICAL OUTCOMES AND OBJECTIVES • NEED FOR A CONCEPTUAL MODEL a) How does the diversity initiative influence the emphasis on the assessment of teaching and learning outcomes or the goal of becoming a learning-centered campus? b) How is transformational leadership incorporated into the evaluation process for administrative leaders? c) What priorities guide the direction and resource support for faculty development?

5. ALIGNING TRANSACTIONAL AND TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP a) What new modes of assessment or data collection can facilitate this alignment? b) How prevalent is risk-aversive leadership in critical decision-making at your institution (giving inordinate consideration to potential negative consequences)? c) Is the relationship between transformational leadership and benchmarking (internal and external) understood by the campus community?

6. DIVERSITY AND INSTITUTIONAL EXCELLENCE SCOREBOARD Identify four indicators that are utilized by your institution as evidence.

7. What are the Institutional Markers at Sinclair CC That Indicate That Progress Has Occurred in terms of Diversity and Globalism? • Substantive evaluation of the competencies of senior administrators relative to agreed upon leadership outcomes. • Evidence-based review of the application of the diversity plan across appropriate areas. • Faculty utilize modes of scholarly and pedagogical inquiry that immerse students into the discipline while expanding their consciousness. • Employer feedback indicates presence of cultural competencies.

8. (DIS)CONNECT BETWEEN FACULTY WORK AND ACADEMIC INITIATIVES/INCENTIVES? a) Is effective teaching and less effective teaching rewarded equally? b) Is there differential performance among diverse students in courses with consistently high failure/withdrawal rates? Why? c) What happens to a curriculum and the pedagogy when the faculty do not claim ownership for diversity?

9. General comments about the Sinclair CC Diversity Plan • Is the diversity plan an authentic extension of the 2006-2007 diversity audit? • Where are the objectives and outcomes? • Activities usually evolve from the objectives and outcomes and not from general goals. • Generally the performance measures are not substantive and indicative of a mission-centered document. • Data sources are not indicative of authentic assessment (proven indirect and direct measures). • It is evident why little movement has occurred over the last year.

10. GENERAL STUDENT/STAFF OUTCOMES 1. Behavioral outcome: increased comfort with ambiguity and conflict associated with volatile issues. 2. Affective outcome: students/staff examine dispositions, attitudes, anxieties, about differences. 3. Intellectual outcome: deeper understanding of different people, cultures, perspectives, etc. 4. Political outcomes: discuss and understand “isms”, social justice, etc. 5. Descriptive outcome: how is diversity at Sinclair CC portrayed in the media.

11. Specific Outcomes • Reduction in first to second semester attrition among first generation and low income students (Institutional effectiveness and retention) • Increased participation in tutorial sessions reduces differential grade performance across diverse groups (Program effectiveness) • Campus leaders exhibit greater maturity in their decision-making skills after exposure to diversity training (Student learning and intellectual growth) • Students voluntarily increase their participation in discussion groups with students who hold bipolar political perspectives (Engagement and academic/ social integration) • Residence Life staff increase the implementation of learning communities as a core activity in the residential experience (Engagement and learning outcome)

12. Outcomes(cont.) • A consistent increase over three years in the number of Hispanic females who compete for national fellowships/ scholarships (Student success and achievement) • Young Ph. D.’s select an institution for employment and one of the incentives is the prior success of current female faculty (Reputational image) • A consistent increase in the number of students who enroll in service-learning courses that promote social changes (Climate and community impact) • Participation with members of other races in academic courses prepares students to function effectively in a global society (Impact of diversity on students) • The impact of race-neutral admissions policies on the enrollment of diverse students (How a diversity outcome is impacted)

13. Campus Activities and the Climate for Diversity Question: To what degree do your campus activities impact racial tension on campus? Considerations: How much of that tension is a result of characteristics that students bring to the campus? How much tension is a result of the campus climate? What are the specific areas of concern about diversity issues for different racial and ethnic groups?

14. What Does it Mean to Discuss Diversity as a Scholarly Activity? • Must be intellectually compelling and conceptually sound • Incorporate research as a frame of reference • Develop an assessment plan • Generate a culture of evidence (Direct and Indirect) • Present results for public scrutiny • Promote organizational change and innovation

15. Diversity as an Intellectual or Educational Experience: What Student Outcomes Do You Expect? • Deeper understanding of: • Different cultures, people • Perspectives • Disciplines • Enhance analytical and decision-making skills • Comfortable with ambiguity and conflict • Openness to growth through dialogue in pluralistic communities (offshoot: become global communicators) • Ability to analyze and understand persuasive arguments • Inclusion of voice of underrepresented students

16. Value the Richness of Diversity • Demonstrate willingness to learn from and enter into divergent viewpoints including culture, gender, lifestyle, religion, ethnicity • Restate issues from divergent points of view • Acknowledge the validity of others’ perspectives • Analyze events, issues or conflicts from different cultural perspectives • Interpret media from the perspective of its cultural context • Communicate from a perspective that acknowledges others’ contexts and experiences

17. Institutional Globalization/Internationalization What questions should guide our thinking? • How is global learning articulated as a goal of undergraduate education?  • Are the academic and entrepreneurial aspects of globalization mutually reinforcing? • Does the general-education/core curriculum include global perspectives that are intentional and updated? • Do collaborative activities with institutions in other countries affect the overall undergraduate experience?

18. Institutional Globalization/ Internationalizationcont. • Do the international activities of faculty members have an impact on undergraduates? • Are the distance-learning courses offered to students tailored to a diverse audience in terms of content and pedagogy? • How does the institution review and assess the global dimension of undergraduate education? • How is teaching/learning with a global focus rewarded?

19. Curricular Transformation Instructions: For Each Question What Could/Should Be the Assessment Focus • At your institution what does it mean to diversify the curriculum? • What are the benefits to students/faculty of an inclusive curriculum? • Can you use your existing curricular strategies to transform the curriculum or do you need new ones? • Are there structural or political barriers which will inhibit your ability to produce an inclusive/transformed curriculum?

20. Curricular Transformation Instructions: For Each Question What Could/Should Be the Assessment FocusCont. • How do you describe the relationship between curricular transformation and the enhancement of instructional skills? • Are diversity and globalism considered as part of your curricular transformation efforts? • Will your commitment to curricular transformation impede your progress toward R/P/T?

21. Religious Literacy • What do graduates need to know about religion in a diverse democracy and global society? (Competencies) • How well are we educating students for a religiously pluralistic democracy? (Assessment) • How can campus activities address religious insights without promoting or denigrating specific religious beliefs? (Structures) • What is the responsibility of your institution to enable students to search for purpose meaning, and a spiritual context or foundation? (Accountability)

22. Raise the Level of Sophistication on Campus of the Discourse About Moral/Religious Issues • Cloning • Physician-assisted suicide • Spousal rights and life support • Rights of non-resident immigrant groups • Substance abuse and individual responsibility • Free Speech vs. Incivility/Tolerance • Campus Bookstores vs. Sweatshop Issues

23. When/How Does the Formal Application of Diversity Serve as an Attractive Recruiting/Retention Tool? When it is connected to strengthening the curriculum (General Education, First Year Seminars, Diversity Requirements, etc.) When it assumes a core identity among new/existing majors/minors/concentrations/graduate programs When it strengthens the tradition of international education, globalism and study abroad When it contributes to quality and uniformity across interdisciplinary areas When it promotes an integrative and comparative analysis of the discipline and of scholarship When it intellectually transforms how faculty think about themselves, their research and their teaching (a diverse faculty community