We welcome Dr. Keisha Thompson as the new co-facilitator of the Diverse Faculty Interest Group! Dr. Kevicha Echols still continues to facilitate the group along with Dr. Thompson. Dr. Echols and Dr. Thomspon are responsible for organizing the meetings, planning the agenda, selecting reading materials, and updating the wiki page. We scheduled three meetings for the Spring 2016 semester: 3/30, 5/10, and 5/24.
There is no selected book for this semester. We have decided to select a few readings from online to discuss in our upcoming meetings.
March 30th 2016
We welcomed two new members to the group. We discussed the article This Course is Racist (Towards Whites)!: An Open to Students by Roksana Badruddoja. A few members shared their experiences when they have taught sensitive topics like race and privilege. It’s can be very challenging as some have expressed, yet a very necessary part of the learning process, especially in such a diverse environment like KBCC. The issue of class came up as a way of looking at privilege. Rather than pointing to race as privilege, we should also consider the relationship between class and privilege.
May 10th 2016
Allies and Microaggressions by Kerryann Rocckquemore
May 24th 2016
For our last meeting we had Brian Brennan, the Diversity Program Manager who works with Victoria Ajibade, KCC’s Chief Diversity Officer. He gave us some beneficial information on the procedures and process of the office in regards to employee and student concerns about discrimination, harassment, and other violations handled under Title IX. We thought this was information that should be presented to the group each semester as many faculty and staff members are not aware of the process, and have previously brought some their concerns to the group. He informed us that they do conduct student orientations for new students, however we suggested that they find a way to also get the information to current students and thought it would be good to partner with the Diversity Symposium to do this. We welcomed one new member to our group, and wished everyone a Happy Summer!
