2008 Woodie Awards
Faculty and staff meet for diversity discussion
Emily Ulber
Issue date: 11/18/08 Section: News
It's the first day of classes.
Saundra Ardrey walks into a classroom full of freshmen, ready to take her place in the front of the room to begin a lecture, when the room goes silent.
"I normally hear an audible gasp when I don't take my seat or start cleaning," said Ardrey, the head of the political science department.
Ardrey said it's sometimes hard for students to see a black woman in a position of authority.
That was one topic of conversation at the diversity dialogue on the morning of Nov. 13. The session was hosted by the department of human resources.
All Western faculty and staff members were invited to attend.
Monica Burke, visiting assistant professor in counseling and student affairs, fielded questions with a panel of professors about ways to improve diversity on Western's campus.
About 25 faculty and staff members attended the event.
Burke said that she wanted to have a way for faculty and staff to talk openly about diversity issues after fights broke out on campus on Oct. 22 and Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., was elected the first black president of the United States.
Burke said she normally leads diversity training sessions, but in this case she wanted to have more of an informal form of discussion.
"This is something that's being talked about anyway," she said.
Ardrey, Aaron Hughey, professor in counseling and student affairs, Bryan Carson, associate professor in library public services and Quentin Hollis, associate professor in liberal arts and science at South Campus served as panelists at the session.
Burke will present notes from the session at the Diversity Enhancement Committee meeting on Thursday, she said.
She is not sure what will come from that meeting.
"This is the starting point for future discussions," she said.
Burke asked the group if they thought diversity training should be mandatory for all faculty and staff.
Hughey said he thought making training mandatory would have negative effects.
"A lot of times, there's an undercurrent of resentment toward the things that get mandated," he said.
Hughey said people are often reluctant to talk about the possibility that there might be a diversity issue.
Hollis said that trying to see every person as the same isn't the important thing.
"It's not about seeing everyone the same, but seeing people as equals," he said.
Panelists also discussed diversity outreach for students, making the diversity tab more visible on Western's Web site and going above and beyond Western's diversity statement, Burke said.
Burke said she hopes to host more diversity dialogue sessions in the future, including a session for students.
Saundra Ardrey walks into a classroom full of freshmen, ready to take her place in the front of the room to begin a lecture, when the room goes silent.
"I normally hear an audible gasp when I don't take my seat or start cleaning," said Ardrey, the head of the political science department.
Ardrey said it's sometimes hard for students to see a black woman in a position of authority.
That was one topic of conversation at the diversity dialogue on the morning of Nov. 13. The session was hosted by the department of human resources.
All Western faculty and staff members were invited to attend.
Monica Burke, visiting assistant professor in counseling and student affairs, fielded questions with a panel of professors about ways to improve diversity on Western's campus.
About 25 faculty and staff members attended the event.
Burke said that she wanted to have a way for faculty and staff to talk openly about diversity issues after fights broke out on campus on Oct. 22 and Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., was elected the first black president of the United States.
Burke said she normally leads diversity training sessions, but in this case she wanted to have more of an informal form of discussion.
"This is something that's being talked about anyway," she said.
Ardrey, Aaron Hughey, professor in counseling and student affairs, Bryan Carson, associate professor in library public services and Quentin Hollis, associate professor in liberal arts and science at South Campus served as panelists at the session.
Burke will present notes from the session at the Diversity Enhancement Committee meeting on Thursday, she said.
She is not sure what will come from that meeting.
"This is the starting point for future discussions," she said.
Burke asked the group if they thought diversity training should be mandatory for all faculty and staff.
Hughey said he thought making training mandatory would have negative effects.
"A lot of times, there's an undercurrent of resentment toward the things that get mandated," he said.
Hughey said people are often reluctant to talk about the possibility that there might be a diversity issue.
Hollis said that trying to see every person as the same isn't the important thing.
"It's not about seeing everyone the same, but seeing people as equals," he said.
Panelists also discussed diversity outreach for students, making the diversity tab more visible on Western's Web site and going above and beyond Western's diversity statement, Burke said.
Burke said she hopes to host more diversity dialogue sessions in the future, including a session for students.
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