DIVERSITY RESOURCES

Outline of relevant events, initiatives and programs

This list is only a starting point and is far from exhaustive. Many of you are involved in, or are leading, programs that are not on this list. There is a tremendous amount of activity going on that we need to do a better job communicating. The Provost's Office and the newly established OID are developing websites that will serve as virtual clearing-houses on diversity, with links to events and resources around the university. These should be up and running some time this semester. If you would like something listed, please email the Provost at provost@tufts.edu or the Executive Director of OID at Lisa.Coleman@tufts.edu.

Office of Institutional Diversity and other Diversity Initiatives

The administration has established a new Office of Institutional Diversity (OID), which reports directly to the President and to the Vice President for Human Resources, with a dotted line reporting relationship to the Provost. This Office was established so that we can focus more attention on forging a campus climate that can strengthen and sustain diversity in all its facets. Additional staff will be hired to work on compliance, grievance and ADA issues that will continue to be the focus of the Office of Equal Opportunity (OEO), enabling the Executive Director and others to be more pro-active on issues of diversity. As announced last Friday, Lisa Coleman has been appointed the first Executive Director.

Community meetings following the publication of the carol parody

Just before the holidays, President Bacow met with student leaders, and at a special dinner at Gifford House met with black leaders from the Boston area to discuss the situation. Tufts students organized a unity rally at which Dean of Undergraduate Admissions Lee Coffin spoke.

Student Journalism Conference

President Bacow has launched the Student Journalism Conference, at which professionalism, ethics, and responsible journalism will be discussed. The leaders of major campus publications (from Tufts and other schools), alumni, and professional media groups will be involved, as will members of our faculty and Tisch College.

Admissions Initiatives

Last spring, Deans Sternberg and Abriola enhanced the budget for minority recruitment and approved the recruitment of an additional admissions officer dedicated to minority recruitment. These resources have enabled the staff to visit more schools serving under-represented students across the country, access more programs and mailing lists for high-achieving students of color, and sponsor a two-day campus visit in November for guidance counselors from urban high schools. We are pleased to report that the effect of these outreach efforts has been dramatic. A record number of students participated in the Telescope Weekend, an annual program that showcases multiculturalism at Tufts. Nearly 300 came to campus for the two-day program versus 80 who attended the previous year. Many of the participants have applied for admission to the Class of 2011, enhancing the applicant pools for both African-Americans and Hispanics. Our African-American applicant pool has increased more than 20 percent over last year and the Hispanic pool has climbed nearly 15 percent.

Of course, larger applicant pools do not necessarily translate into larger enrollments. Steadily expanding our ability to offer need-based financial aid is the key to ensuring progress on this front. That's why financial aid is our top priority for the "Beyond Boundaries" Capital Campaign.

Undergraduate Education Initiatives

• Dean of Undergraduate Education James Glaser has formed a Task Force on Retention to examine climate and retention issues at the undergraduate level.

• The Biology Department is seeking NSF grant funding for a Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) and Undergraduate Research Mentoring (URM). The intent of both programs is to increase the participation of under-represented students in scientific research.

Other Diversity Initiatives

OID builds on other staffing initiatives that were launched over the past few years. These include the appointment of Yvette Dalton-McCoy as a diversity recruiter in the Office of Graduate and Professional Studies on the Medford Campus, and the appointment of Elise Ahyi as Assistant Provost, with a range of responsibilities including diversity. Elise has since moved to South Carolina, but leaves behind a powerful legacy on which OID can build. Among the initiatives she launched in the Provost's office are:

• Tufts Diversity Network, which brings together faculty and staff representatives from across the University, and

• Graduate and Professional Student Admissions Recruitment Committee (GAPSARC), which coordinates and shares diversity-related admissions practices across Tufts' schools. GAPSARC has put together a diversity brochure for prospective students of all the graduate and professional schools

With Elise's departure, her role as an advocate for diversity within the central administration has been elevated to the newly created position of Executive Director of OID. These recent initiatives in turn build on the existing Office of Diversity, headed by Margery Davies, serving the Schools of Arts & Sciences and Engineering.

As an institution of higher education, it is important that we seek to study and understand the fundamental nature of bias as we debate how to address it. We are fortunate to have several faculty members whose work is focused on this topic. The work of Sam Sommers, Keith Maddox, and Nalini Ambady, all faculty members in the Psychology Department, was recently featured in the Tufts Magazine. Assistant Professor Sam Sommers has also been organizing a Diversity & Cognition lecture series, bringing in speakers around the country to speak on campus and share their research.

Fletcher School Diversity Initiatives

http://fletcher.tufts.edu/about/diversity.shtml

Dean for Multicultural Affairs at School of Medicine

Dean of the School of Medicine Michael Rosenblatt organized a forum on diversity, which was attended by over 100 students, faculty and staff. At the forum, Dean Rosenblatt announced the creation of a new position for the medical school: Dean of Multicultural Affairs.

Other Initiatives on the Health Sciences Campus

The School of Dental Medicine:

• Annual dinner to recognize members of the Student Hispanic Dental Association and the Student National Dental Association

• Mentoring program in which dental students mentor students at local middle schools and high schools and encourage their interests in health science careers

• Joint admissions agreement between the School of Dental Medicine and Tougaloo College, an historically black college in Jackson, Mississippi

Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy:

• The Agriculture Food and Environment Program (AFE) received a USDA National Needs Fellowship grant to support 5 Sustainable Science Fellows from traditionally underrepresented populations

• The nutritional epidemiology program has an active program of research focused explicitly on the health and nutrition problems affecting minority populations - studies are ongoing at the moment on Latino populations and in Chinatown

Past Events

• January 18, 2007 - Welcome Back Reception for first-year students of African descent hosted by Trustees

• January 22, 2007 - Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration in Goddard Chapel, 4:00 PM, featuring Beverly Morgan-Welch, Executive Director of the Boston Afro-American History Museum

• January 26-27 - Student Hispanic Dental Association booth, reception and lecture at the Yankee Dental Congress

• February 1 - Tisch College Social Policy Forum: Jonathan Kozol, "Still Separate, Still Unequal: The Continuing Decapitation of Potential in America's Apartheid Schools," 3:30 PM in ASEAN Auditorium

• February 1 - Annual Black History Month Kickoff Event, 5:30 pm at Sophia Gordon Hall

• February 7 - Arts, Sciences & Engineering Symposium on Campus Climate and Stereotyping, sponsored by Deans Robert Sternberg and Linda Abriola. Details TBA

• February 15 - "Who Counts as American?" series organized by the Asian American Center. Last semester's featured guest was Valerie Kaur. The speaker this semester is Tram Nguyen, discussing her book, "We Are All Suspects Now: Untold Stories from Immigrant Communities after 9/11," 6 PM, location TBA

• February 24 - Nancy Wilson concert to celebrate the opening of the new Music Building and coordinated with Black History Month, details TBA

• February 27 - Inaugural Dean's Lecture, School of Engineering: Dr. Julian M. Earls, "The Definition of a Human Being." Come hear Dr. Earls' thoughts on how "...diversity, in every sense of the word, must be embraced and sought for any organization to be successful..." The lecture will take place from 3:30-4:30 in Nelson Auditorium and a reception will follow from 4:30-5:30 in Burden Lounge (both are in Anderson Hall.)