COMMISSION ON INCLUSION & DIVERSITY INITIATIVES
MEETING MINUTES
9/07/2018
10:03am – 10:57am
UN-250
Members In Attendance: Boris Ricks, Carlos Fuentes, Debra Hammond, Elizabeth Gutierrez, Elizabeth Say, Flavia Fleischer, Marcella DeVeaux, Marta Lopez, Mary-Pat Stein, Natalie MasonKinsey, Charles Humphrey, Priscilla Ramos, Scott Andrews, Theresa White, Susan Cohene
Members Absent: Beverly Ntagu, Gabriel Gutierrez, Irene Tovar, Janet Oh, Rose Merida, Susan Hua
Discussion Items:
A. Introduction of new CDO: President Harrison called the meeting to order at 10:03am. After thanking members for attending, she proceeded to introduce the new Chief Diversity Officer (CDO), Natalie Mason-Kinsey.
B. Group Introductions:Natalie Mason-Kinsey thanked the President for her introduction, and the commissioners for attending the first meeting of the semester. Mason-Kinsey noted that she hopes future meetings will not be scheduled on Fridays, as many faculty members have expressed that they are not scheduled to be on campus on Fridays. Members proceeded to introduce themselves until 10:13am – when the President departed. Mason-Kinsey noted that Susan Hua is still a member of the commission, however was unable to attend due to her role in the Provost’s hiring committee.
C. Overview / Plan for semester: Mason-Kinsey asked the commission if they would prefer to have a doodle poll sent out, that would include possible meeting dates for the entire semester. The commission unanimously voted yes.
D. Campus Climate Survey: Mason-Kinsey noted that Professor Jerald Schutte was unable to attend, as he was at the Chancellor’s Office in Long Beach. She then explained that he provided the commission with some preliminary data regarding the survey. Per Dr. Schutte, survey participation consisted of: 1,618 students, 382 faculty employees, 714 staff employees and 112 administrators. The survey was made up of 64 questions across 13 categories, which would result in a possibility of 430 responses per question. As the survey results were received as raw data, it took some time to organize and interpret it.
Mason-Kinsey clarified that with the survey results, the commission can hope to identify where the campus is doing well, and where there is room for improvement. She hopes to schedule a follow-up commission meeting in September, where Professor Schutte can share his findings. Commissioners noted that although the staff participation was better than expected, they hoped that more students would participate. Commissioners hope that together they can identify incentivizing opportunities for future surveys. They noted that many staff members expressed concern about being truthful when participating in the survey, in fear of retaliation. Mason-Kinsey assured the commission that confidentiality will be maintained within the commission.
Commissioners expressed concern that the data was being processed by only one person, rather than a team. They explained that having another set of eyes review the information may offset the chances of having any biases skew the data received from the survey results. Several commissioners recommended having an entity named “C.A.R.E.” review and process the data, as they are familiar with the campus and surveys of this nature. They noted that C.A.R.E. has a diverse staff, and that may be beneficial for the nature of this survey. Additionally, commissioners would like to devise a collaborative roll-out plan for the survey results. They were in agreement that a bottom-up approach would be the best method of sharing the results of the survey.
Action Items:
1. A follow-up meeting will be scheduled in September, where Professor Schutte can share the results of the survey
2. The Chief Diversity Office will reach out to C.A.R.E.
3. The Chief Diversity Office will create a doodle poll, to establish meeting dates/times for the remainder of the semester
4. The Chief Diversity Office will draft an email, to thank the campus for their participation in the survey. The email will be addressed from the commission, rather than the CDO.
End: The meeting concluded at 10:57 am.