September 20, 2001
Present: Tom Sonnichsen, Kristin Lovig, Kathryn Kamp, Laura Sinnett, Mary Phipps, Julie Owens, Michael Sims, Esmeralda Flores, Frank Thomas
Equal Opportunity Tagline: After introductions were made, Frank Thomas reported that the Executive Council had asked that the Committee consider word changes in the equal opportunity tagline in advertising. The tagline currently reads:
Grinnell College is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer Committed to employing a highly qualified staff that reflects the diversity of the nation.
Concern was raised, within the Executive Council, that the word "employing" does not encourage faculty recruitment in that the faculty do not see themselves as "employees" of the college but integral stakeholders to the institution. The committee considered various wording changes and eventually agreed to provide substitute language to the Executive Council for consideration. The language agreed to is:
Grinnell College is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer committed to attracting and retaining highly qualified individuals who reflect the diversity of the nation.
Thomas agreed to transmit the substitute language to the Dean of the College for inclusion in the agenda of the Executive Council for their consideration.
Multicultural Brochure: Thomas passed a copy of the new Multicultural Brochure prepared under the direction of the Office of Admission. While the Committee reviewed the brochure, Thomas advised that he was not happy with some of the content of the brochure and that he was not sure of the overall intent of the brochure. Mary Phipps suggested that any comments Thomas had should be directed to Lisa Alexander, Assistant Dean of Admission and Coordinator of Multicultural Admission; and to James Sumner, Dean of Admission and Financial Aid. She advised that both people needed to know of any concerns, as they had been intensely involved in preparation of the brochure. Thomas agreed to provide comments to Alexander and Sumner. The Committee decided that Alexander and Sumner should be invited to a future meeting to discuss the brochure. Phipps stated that she would provide copies of the brochure to each member of the Committee.
Mission of the Committee: Thomas distributed draft copies of a schema for activities of the Diversity Steering Committee and the Vice President for Diversity. Thomas stressed that this was a work in progress and that he was seeking the assistance of the Committee in further development. Laura Sinnett, after discussion, suggested that it would be helpful to have an audit of what efforts toward enhancing diversity had already been completed or in progress. Included would be the forthcoming mission statement for the College that would allow for the mission statement's inclusion into the Committee's efforts. It was decided that particular offices and individuals responsible for certain areas would be asked to produce information for the Committee, e.g., the Director of Human Resources would provide data related to employees of the college.
Next Meeting: The Committee agreed that it would meet on October 4, 2001, for 1.5 hours beginning at noon. Thomas will determine a location for the meeting and provide food.
Long Range Planning: Tom Sonnichsen asked that the Committee discuss the issue of long range planning for diversity efforts at the College. He indicated that the faculty had raised that issue during the September 20 faculty meeting and it seemed appropriate to parallel those efforts. The Committee again agreed that an audit of diversity efforts to date would be helpful in any further discussion. Thomas advised that he had a compilation of information regarding diversity within the administration that he would distribute to the Committee. There was a lively discussion regarding the College's efforts and ways in which the Committee could assist in enhancing the diversity plan as presented. No decisions were made but the Committee agreed that the issue was pivotal to its mission and would continue its discussions.
Frank Thomas
Minutes Recorder
