University employees will follow in students' footsteps next semester with the establishment of a Sustained Dialogue group specifically designed to open lines of communication among diverse groups of faculty and staff.
Instructional Technology Manager John Alexander established the group along with Rachel Saury, director of the Center for Instructional Technology, and Daisy Rodriguez, assistant dean for Asian/Asian Pacific American students. Saury and Rodriguez will serve as moderators and facilitators.
According to Alexander, the idea for organized discussions about diversity among University faculty began two and a half years ago, when he, Saury and Education Prof. Bob Covert started an ad hoc faculty committee on diversity.
"We definitely hear the students' voice in wanting change and greater action on these issues of diversity, and we felt like the faculty's voice just wasn't being heard," Alexander said. "Part of the issue for us is that we know that students turn over every few years -- if you are going to have real change in the culture, you need to engage the faculty."
The ad hoc committee started with 20 members and presently has 60 members. Alexander said the Sustained Dialogue group will differ from the ad hoc committee, as it will be more tight-knit and introspective.
"There is a whole different level when you can talk about these things personally," Alexander said. "With those of us in the ad hoc group, many of us, our eyes started to sparkle because we wanted to have a chance to explore these things personally."
Sustained Dialogue Chair Clark Herndon said student Sustained Dialogue members are working closely with faculty to establish the new group.
"We are excited to basically be used as a process anywhere where people are willing," Herndon said. "The fact that they are willing to work with us and maintain the structure that we have in place is also exciting."
According to Herndon, Sustained Dialogue differs from other open forums on diversity -- such as the faculty's ad hoc committee -- because it is maintained over time and fosters a strong sense of trust among members.
"The main difference is in the name itself, sustained dialogue, over time, providing a safe place where those conversations can continue," Herndon said.
According to Saury, work for the new group, which is slated to start up in the spring, is currently underway.
"We are still in conversation with the organizers of Sustained Dialogue," Saury said. "There is still work to be done."
The formation of the Sustained Dialogue group comes on the heels of the President's Commission for Diversity and Equity report, an examination of issues of diversity, climate and culture at the University. Commission co-chairs Michael Smith and Angela Davis are both members of the ad hoc committee.
"I hope that we are complimentary" to the report, Alexander said. "We hope the Sustained Dialogue group will be useful in some of the recommendations that Diversity Commission has come up with"
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