UNH President's Commission on the Status of People of Color
Final Report for the 1999-2000 Academic Year

Mission

On December 13, 1999 the President's Commission on the Status of People of Color (CSPC) held a planning retreat in order to identify its goals and priorities. Remarks made by President Leitzel, Provost David Hiley, Assistant Vice President David Butler, and Vice Provost Marked Rubinstein to the group helped it to clarify its mission.

The mission of the Commission on the Status of People of Color is to help the University of New Hampshire to achieve its goal of enhancing racial diversity among its students, faculty, staff, and administrators. The chief task of the Commission is to adopt an institution-wide perspective and identify the critical issues that UNH has to address to meet its goal. This requires that the Commission be informed of University policies, programs and activities that affect its ability to attract people of color, assess their effectiveness, and recommend improvements directly to those people responsible for developing and implementing those policies and programs. The Commission also has the task of bringing together the entire University community to address the issue of increasing racial diversity on campus and support the Commission's initiatives.

Priorities

Discussion at its planning retreat and the President's response to CSPC's 1998-99 Final Report have led the Commission to set the following priorities:

• Develop creative ways of attracting more minority students, faculty and staff

• Make increasing racial diversity a common and high-priority goal of all members of the University community

• Strengthen and increase the visibility of the African-American Studies and Race, Culture and Power minor programs because these programs help recruit students of color

• Obtain information from graduating students of color regarding their experience at the University

• Provide greater support for students, faculty and staff of color and make this a priority of the University community

• Work closer with University organizations and offices that promote racial diversity

• Strengthen relationships with communities of color outside the University, especially the alumni

• Develop partnerships among communities, businesses, and the University that would provide opportunities for students, faculty and staff of color

Goals

The 1999-2000 Commission has retained the four overlapping areas of concern that have been identified in the past: 1) Academic Programs, 2) Climate, Equity and Welfare, 3), Community Relations and 4) Recruitment. As in the past, the membership was divided into four committees that specifically addressed each of these areas.

Given the priorities identified above, the four committees developed the following short and long-term goals:

Academic Programs

Short-term goals:

• Encourage Provost Hiley to develop a post-doctoral fellowship program for scholars of color

• Work to stabilize the Race, Culture and Power minor - including hiring a faculty member/coordinator for the program

Long-term goals:

• Develop an academic speaker's series that would bring scholars of color to campus

• Take a proactive role in the external evaluation process of the African-American Studies and the Race, Culture and Power Minors

Climate, Equity and Welfare:

Short-term goals:

• Identify the resources and services that are available to students, faculty and staff of color

• Encourage faculty and staff of color to organize; this will allow the Commission to establish a formal communication link with minority faculty and staff

Long-term goals:

• Assist in the development of a mentoring project in cooperation with the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs

• Establish a "welcoming committee" for new faculty and staff of color

• Establish a diversity training program for faculty, staff and administrators

Community Relations

Short-term goals:

• Complete the Durham/Seacoast and Manchester resource guides for students, faculty and staff of color

• Create a web page for the Commission

• Follow up with Pat Gormley on the status of the Partnership Council and assist her efforts to build relationships among its members and the university.

Long-term goals:

• Work with members of the Partnership Council to establish internship and career opportunities for students of color

• Work with OMSA, the Diversity Team, Student Affairs, Office of International Students and Scholars, Health Services, Residence Life, Student Life and other interested UNH offices/departments to sponsor a "diversity resource fair" for the entire UNH community.

Recruitment

Short-term goals:

• Request that Provost Hiley establish a faculty recruitment policy that asks departments to develop a pool of potential candidates of color before actual vacancies arise

• Institute a process where faculty and staff candidates of color have the opportunity to meet with Commission members during their on-campus interviews

• Encourage Alumni Affairs to coordinate a "students of color alumni reunion"

Long-term goal:

• Follow-up with Provost Hiley on hiring faculty of color. The Commission and the University must not lose track of agreement made with the BSU

Accomplishments

The 1999-2000 Commission has achieved the following:

• Throughout the academic year, the following representatives met with the Commission at our monthly meeting. These people were invited to update and inform the Commission on their office/organization's diversity efforts:

Dr. Nina Glick Shiller, Associate Professor Anthropology and Coordinator of Race, Culture and Power

Sean McGhee, Stephen Pereira, Michele Holt Shannon and Chanda Corbett - representing the Diversity Team

Diversity Support Coalition members

Scott Chesney, Director of Residential Life and Kait Buckley, Residence Hall Director

Mark Rubenstein, Vice Provost for Enrollment Management

• The Commission helped to support the hiring of Dr. Justus Ogembo. He has recently accepted a tenure track position in the Anthropology department and will teach in the Race, Culture and Power minor.

• The Academic Programs Committee worked closely with the Race, Culture and Power program and the Provost to clarify the specifics of the external evaluation of the minor. We have written to Dean Marilyn Hoskin and highlighted the importance of the Race, Culture and Power and African-American Studies Minor Programs to the University's effort to increase racial diversity

• The Commission Chairperson and the Academic Programs Committee had considerable contact with Provost Hiley during the past year. As a result of these interactions, progress has been made in the following areas: asking departments to establish a pool of faculty candidates before positions become available; the establishment of an affirmative action liaison on all faculty search committees; and a commitment to develop a post-doctoral fellowship program for scholars of color.

• Conversations with the Provost have also included discussion on strategies to bring scholars of color to campus, including, but not limited to an academic speaker's series. Additionally, the Commission has also requested that all faculty and staff candidates be given the opportunity to meet with Commission members during their on-campus interviews.

• The Commission coordinator, chairperson and vice-chairperson met with Dr. Leila Moore, Vice-President for Student Affairs, regarding the implementation of an exit interview for graduating students of color. As a result of the Commission's 1998-99 report to the President, Dr. Moore was charged with developing a plan to carry out exit interview with students by May 2000. This deadline was not reached and Commission leaders are in the process of negotiating with Dr. Moore a new deadline for this project.

• At the request of the Diversity Team, the Commission coordinator is working with Commission members, and representatives from Academic Affairs and the Center for Teaching Excellence to draft course evaluations questions that seek to measure classroom climate, course content and instructor knowledge of diversity issues within subject matter. It is hoped that the questions will be post-tested during the fall 2000 semester.

• The Commission completed the Durham/Seacoast and Manchester resource guides for students, staff and faculty of color. The guides are currently available on the Commission's web page and will be available in a paper format in the fall of 2000. The office staff also completed the web site for the Commission, http://www.unh.edu/cspc.

• The Commission expressed concern to Pat Gormley of the Affirmative Action Office, regarding the fact that the University was not utilizing the resources of Partnership Council members. After several discussions with both Pat Gormley and President Leitzel, a new strategy was developed for connecting with Partnership Council members. The new plan emphasizes the need to build individual relationships between Partnership Council members and University staff, faculty and administrators. This will provide members with the opportunity to connect, on a personal basis, with offices and administrators working on recruitment and retention of students, staff and faculty of color. Additionally, the Affirmative Action Office plans to distribute to all Partnership Council members a biannual newsletter that presents enrollment information and other updates, as well as opportunities for members to participate on in-campus activities and projects.