A call for viewpoints on diversity

Now that two years have passed since Caltech’s first official statement on diversity was issued, the time has come for a review and to include broader input from the campus community, according to Sharyn Slavin Miller, assistant vice president for student affairs.

Noting that the Institute had not had a formal statement prior to March 2001, Slavin Miller says, “It was wonderful to have a statement that was endorsed by the administration, the Board of Trustees, and the faculty board, and it was a great beginning. But we’ve done a lot of work since then,” she adds, referring to the efforts of ACODAMA (the Administrative Committee on Diversity and Minority Affairs), which provides oversight of campus initiatives and policies to increase diversity; the Diversity Progress Group, which focuses on strategic planning and the assessment of diversity programs; the Office of Minority Student Education; and Miriam Feldblum, special assistant to the president. “So it felt like the time was right to relook at the statement and also to make it a larger discussion on campus.”

April White, director of consulting services at the Staff and Faculty Consultation Center and facilitator of the Diversity Progress Group, agrees that input from all sectors of the Caltech community will be vital. “In expanding the scope of the statement, we want to have a process that includes perspectives from the entire community,” she says.

That process includes a series of campuswide focus groups, which will meet during the month of May. Students, faculty, postdocs, and staff who are interested in discussing diversity issues may join either a general focus group or a specialized one: undergraduate men; graduate men; undergraduate and graduate women; multicultural students (African American, Latino, Native American, Pacific Islander, and international); Asian American; international; or lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community members.

Facilitating the discussion groups will be Diversity Statement Subcommittee members Rachel Deco, Tony Nannini, and Cristina Thomas, undergraduate students; Bill Deverell, associate professor of history; Parandeh Kia, associate dean of graduate studies and director of International Student Programs; Erica O’Neal, associate dean and director of Minority Student Education; Candace Rypisi, Women’s Center director; Joann Stock, professor of geology and geophysics; and Darryl Yong, von Kármán Instructor in Applied and Computational Mathematics.

To join a focus group, contact Malina Chang at ext. 6352 or machang@caltech.edu by Tuesday, May 6, and indicate your interest in a specialized or a general group. The current Diversity Statement for Caltech and other information can be viewed online at http://diversity.caltech.edu.
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