2011-2012 Office of Diversity Initiatives Annual Report

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Take a Closer Look

Annual Report 2011-2012


Office of Diversity Initiatives 2011 - 2012 Annual Report Valarie Greene King, Ph.D., Director

The mission of the Office of Diversity Initiatives is to assist the University of Central Florida in reaching its strategic goal to become more inclusive and diverse. All of our projects and programs support the university's diversity goal, and efforts are made to support and reflect other UCF goals, our metropolitan research mission, and our commitment to a viable city-state. 

Areas of Focus for 2011– 2012 with Selected Highlights Implement an enhanced assessment process for ODI education and training activities. In an effort to gather feedback about ODI training and to assist in continuous improvement of training, the evaluation form was revised and a specific protocol was developed to encourage workshop participants to provide requested feedback. Following a review of the types of training offered, we decided to survey at least one-third of individual sessions and all series.

Workshops ‐ Evaluations 7000 6000 5000 4000 3000 2000 1000 0

5810

Overall Paricipants

2291

2095

Participants given an evaluation

Participants who replied

Figure A

Evaluation Data Using ODI's Standard Evaluation Form Excellent

Good

14%

Other

0%

250

228

200 150

89

100 50 0

86%

Figure B

Number of Workshops

Workshops Evaluated

Figure C

In keeping with our areas of focus for 2012, over one-third of our workshops (89 of 229) were evaluated using a revised ODI standard evaluation form. Data from these surveys indicate that 1512 (86%) rated the training as excellent, followed by 240 (14%) as good and, other ratings were less than one percent. In past years, we have often experienced difficulty getting participants to complete and return evaluation forms. This year our evaluation protocol included sharing the value of this information in a pre-session presentation. This process has contributed to a 91.5% response rate for completed evaluation forms. 1


Continue implementing the UCF Diversity Plan to include but not limited to: a. Veteran-Friendly Campus Campaign A Veteran-Friendly Campus Think Tank was designed and facilitated by Dr. Valarie King and Tammie Nadeau, Veterans Academic Resource Center, as a special track of the Summer Faculty Development Conference. Several members of the faculty and staff and Robert Glenn, Army veteran and ODI student assistant, produced a report that included a series of recommendations for a Veteran-Friendly campus. The most urgent recommendation was for UCF to participate in the Yellow Ribbon Program. Think Tank participant, Dr. Alzo Reddick, submitted the report to Vice Presidents Al Harms, Maribeth Ehasz and Dan Holsenbeck. These vice presidents immediately called a meeting where it was learned that measures were already underway for UCF to gain Yellow Ribbon status. Other recommendations from this report are being considered for implementation. b. Anti-Bullying Campaign Dr. Valarie King initiated an anti-bulling discussion group with representatives from key divisions and units throughout the campus. Barbara Thompson and Janet Balanoff coordinated the initial sessions of this group. They are now in the process of researching antibullying initiatives and developing a comprehensive definition of bullying to serve as the foundation for anti-bullying policies and procedures at UCF. Katie Pomp provided support to this initiative. c. UCF Climate Study The implementation of a process to assess campus climate was transferred to Operational Excellence and Assessment Support.

 Engage in a comprehensive ODI Self-Study This area of focus was eliminated due to a decrease in staff and an increase in projects and activities. Diversity Plan: Five Areas of Focus 1. Organizational Structures  Members of the ODI staff served on several committees and participated in projects including the Strategic Planning Council, USPS Staff Council, Faculty Summer Conference Planning Committee, Veterans Advisory Committee and several others. 2. Recruitment and Retention  Assistance was provided to Dr. John Malala, Leadership Enhancement Program Scholar, on recommendations for the Provost’s Diversity Enhancement Program to recruit and retain diverse faculty. 3. Campus Climate  The very essence of ODI programs and activities contribute to a campus climate that respects and embraces the other as important and significant. These include, Diversity Week, the Leadership Enhancement Program, LEGACY, and other educational and training initiatives. 4. Outreach and Engagement  Dr. Valarie King facilitated a diversity session for the Association of Community College Trustees, made the keynote presentation at the Naval Air Command Diversity Day, worked with the Marine Corps in developing their National Student Recruitment Conference, and served as the honorary chair of the Florida Diversity and Leadership Conference.  The Leadership Enhancement Program (LEP) was continued with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Dr. Valarie King and Carmen Afonso managed the program for UCF and Richard Stickney replaced Cindy Oakley-Paulik as the manager for ERAU. The graduating class included 13 from UCF and 7 from ERAU.  Barbara Thompson facilitated two diversity workshops for the Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center of Florida where she serves on the Board of Directors. She participated on the center’s Anti-Bullying Steering Committee and facilitated three community forums focused on bullying prevention initiatives that included approximately 30 community organizations. Barbara Thompson also represented the Office of Diversity Initiatives at the Global Business Expo. 2


Michael Freeman and Social Work Instructor, Mary Mann, presented at the Council of Social Work Education Conference and the Florida National Association of Social Workers Conference. These sessions focused on various learning opportunities around the issues of working with LGBT youth and the NASW Code of Ethics on inclusive practices and cultural competencies. For the second year, The LEGACY Leadership and Mentoring Program continued its community engagement initiative called LEGACY Connect. This educational outreach program for “at-risk” youth was held at Evans High School and more than 400 freshmen through senior students participated. The coordinator for this activity was Kwame Walker, a former LEGACY scholar, who graduated from UCF in the Spring of 2012 with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration.

5. Education and Scholarship  Education, training, and scholarship activities occupy a prominent role in the Office of Diversity Initiatives’ operation. Mid-year, diversity educator, Michael Freeman, moved to another department, resulting in Barbara Thompson facilitating the vast majority of ODI training. Dayanara Hudson provided support for the full range of education and training activities.  The Office of Diversity Initiatives sponsored the Diversity Track of the 2012 Summer Faculty Development Conference that was themed “Culturally Responsive Teaching.” Special guest facilitator, Dr. Margery Ginsberg from the University of Washington-Seattle, worked with Diversity Track scholars on implementing the Motivational Framework for Culturally Responsive Teaching into their courses. This track, coordinated by Barbara Thompson, included 20 scholars from 5 colleges and SDES.  A cooperative training initiative with Student Development and Enrollment Services is in its second year. The training program is designed to enhance the diversity-related awareness, knowledge, and skills of approximately 600 SDES team members. To date, this venture has resulted in more than 100 individuals completing the required 23 hours of diversity training with an additional 200 individuals involved in different phases of this SDES Diversity Certificate Series.

Training Participants (by Fiscal Year) 10000 7309

8000

4000

5810

5438

6000

8212

3666

2000 0 2007‐2008 2008‐2009 2009‐2010 2010‐2011 2011‐2012

Figure D

3


Workshops (by Fiscal Year) 350

308

300

263 229

250 200

228

177

150 100 50 0 2007‐2008 2008‐2009 2009‐2010 2010‐2011 2011‐2012

Figure E Following five years of increasing participation in diversity training activities, this year the number of participants fell to just above the 2008-2009 level of 5438. This appears to be a decrease in participation, however, it must be noted that over twelve months in 2008-2009, two trainers facilitated a total of 229 workshops. When compared to 228 facilitations in 2011-2012, this decrease reflects the mid-year loss of one of our full-time trainers. Since the number of workshops was nearly identical for both years in question, we actually experienced increased participation per workshop during 2011-2012. See figures D and E.

Workshop Topics (by Fiscal Year) 140

119

120 100 80

78

121

84 65

60 40 20 0 2007‐2008

2008‐2009

2009‐2010

Figure F

2010‐2011

2011‐2012

Figure F shows a decrease in the number of topics covered in our training. This is a direct result of the loss of a trainer and the increasing requests for specific training topics to accommodate the Student Development and Enrollment Services training initiative. The diversity of topics was still sufficient to provide a variety of training options for members of the university community.

4


Workshops at Regional Campuses 2011‐2012 5

1

UCF Daytona Beach

6

Rosen Campus UCF Valencia West 6

7

UCF Valencia Osceola UCF Cocoa UCF Southlake

4 9

UCF Sanford/Lake Mary UCF Leesburg

5

n=43

Figure G Our focus on education and training included forty-three sessions held at eight regional campuses. This is an increase in the number of sessions from last year by eight and an increase in the number of campuses served by three. Other Highlights  Dr. Valarie King was recognized in the March issue of Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, as one of 25 national women leaders for her leadership role in making a difference in the field of diversity and inclusion.  Each year, ODI sponsors two DiversiTeas. One is typically an educational forum and the other focuses on the arts and culture. On September 1, 2011, Dr. M.C. Santana discussed “Making Definitions of Gender: Popular Culture as a Magic System.” On March 29, 2012, our second DiversiTea was entitled “An Overview of Music Created by African Americans” and featured Dr. JoAnne Stephenson, Associate Professor of Music, as she shared the history and impact of centuries of music. Both presentations were broadcast to our colleagues at the regional campuses. The DiversiTeas were organized and coordinated by Barbara Thompson with support from Dayanara Hudson.  The redesign of the Diversity Initiatives website was initiated in November 2011 and completed by January 24, 2012 by Dayanara Hudson. The website serves as an extension of the office and provides information about training, events, and diversity resources. On March 5, 2012, Google Analytics, a free website monitoring service, was implemented to capture visitor information. Between March 5 and June 30, there were 2,885 visitors to the ODI website. Of these 1,967 were unique visitors. Most visitors were from the United States (2,792) followed by the Philippines (38), India (11), and South Korea (4).  The Unity Star, the ODI newsletter, was enhanced by Dayanara Hudson with the addition of several new features, including a Director’s Corner and newsworthy articles. The Unity Star is distributed each semester via campus mail and is available electronically on the ODI website. Areas of Focus for 2012 – 2013 1. Explore ways of marketing and advertising ODI programs and activities 2. Expand university-wide UCF Diversity Plan implementation 3. Continue the Veteran-Friendly Campus and Anti-Bullying Campaigns

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Unity Star The symbol of the Office of Diversity Initiatives is the “Unity Star.” This multifaceted, multidimensional image was inspired by the solitary star that appears above the Pegasus, the University of Central Florida’s official symbol that represents the university’s motto, “Reach for the Stars.” The Unity Star is an illustration of the transformative power and enhanced creativity that occurs when organizations fully utilize diverse perspectives. The Unity Star can be presented in various sizes, colors, shadings, and arrangements symbolizing humankind’s many similarities and differences. STAFF Valarie Greene King, Ph.D., Director Barbara Thompson, Assistant Director Katie Pomp, Administrative Assistant Carmen I. Afonso, Executive Secretary Dayanara Hudson, Program Assistant Zakiya McGhie, LEGACY Coordinator Breanna Calhoun, Student Assistant Robert Glenn, Student Assistant Office of Diversity Initiatives P.O. Box 160031 Orlando, FL 32816-0031 Phone: (407) 823-6479 Fax: (407) 823-6480 http://www.diversity.ucf.edu


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