1994-2013:

The End of an Era

Annual Report 2012-2013

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Office of Diversity Initiatives 2012 - 2013 Annual Report

Valarie Greene King, Ph.D., Director

The mission of the Office of Diversity Initiatives is to assist the University of Central Florida in reaching its strategic goal to become more inclusive and diverse. All of our projects and programs support the university's diversity goal, and efforts are made to support and reflect other UCF goals, our metropolitan research mission, and our commitment to a viable city-state. Areas of Focus for 2012 – 2013

1. Explore ways of marketing and advertising ODI programs and activities This year emphasis was placed on informing students of the existence of the Office of Diversity Initiatives and engaging them in diversity related activities, including a focus on the student-oriented Legacy Leadership and Mentoring Program. Two interns, Amy Caisse and Laura Arias, participated in field study experiences via the industrial organizational psychology program that required a minimum of 150 hours. Each was responsible for developing and implementing marketing strategies to inform and engage students. Mass emails were distributed that promoted diversity workshops and Ally Advance sessions. Additionally, interns made presentations about the programs and services offered by ODI to a variety of student organizations. Amy Caisse placed special attention on establishing relationships with organizations such as Diversity for Society, Amnesty International, Campus Peace Action, Active Minds, Multicultural Psychological Association and Fraternity and Sorority Life. Laura Arias developed and administered a survey to selected student organizations to gather information regarding their knowledge of the Office of Diversity Initiatives. Her comprehensive report indicates that there are considerable opportunities to increase ODI visibility and promote awareness of the programs and services the office provides.

2. Expand university-wide UCF Diversity Plan implementation During 2011-2012, UCF’s major divisions and departments were sent copies of the UCF Diversity Plan, with its five areas of focus: Organizational Structures, Recruitment and Retention, Campus Climate, Education and Training, Outreach and Engagement. This year, as a foundation for implementation, unit leaders and program managers developed diversity statements that highlighted their commitment to the university’s goal of becoming more inclusive and diverse. These statements were unveiled at the 2012 Diversity Breakfast and subsequently posted on the ODI website. Emphasis was also placed on transforming the curriculum to reflect a focus on cultural competency by working with the General Education Program (Common Program Oversight Committee) to facilitate a process to include the 21 Cultural Competencies for undergraduate students that have been developed for potential incorporation into the undergraduate curriculum.

3. Continue the Veteran-Friendly Campus and Anti-Bullying Campaigns Dr. Valarie King continued to serve on the Veterans Academic Resource Center Advisory Council. Additionally, she maintained contact with veterans affairs via Robert Glenn, a veteran-student liaison, who is a member of the ODI staff. Dr. King was also one of the key speakers at the Veterans Day Service held at the UCF Veterans Commemorative Site. Efforts were made by the Anti-Bullying Discussion Group to establish acceptable terminology to define bullying concepts and behaviors for use by the UCF community. This process included cyber bullying with specific references to an article by Jordana N. Navarro and Jana L. Jasinski (2012) UCF department of Sociology. Work by this group was suspended during the Spring semester when Dr. King, the group coordinator, was on leave.

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Highlights of Selected Programs and Projects The ODI assessment process for education and training activities continued as one of the primary strategies to gather training feedback. During 2012 – 2013, we evaluated approximately one-third or 31.25% of our workshops (60 out of 192). The number of workshops evaluated was slightly less than in 2011 – 2012 because considerably more workshops were provided in a “series” format, and workshops of this type are evaluated at the end of the series only (not every workshop in the series). Data from these surveys indicate that 100% of the responses were rated as either excellent 1,044 (89%) or good 122 (11%). (see Figures A, B, and C).

Figure A

Figure B Figure C

The Leadership Enhancement Program (LEP) was implemented this year with Valencia College. Dr. Valarie King and Carmen Afonso managed the program for UCF and Rachel Lucie-Hitt participated in the program as the Valencia College representative. The graduating class included 12 from UCF and 1 from Valencia.

The LEGACY Leadership and Mentoring Program, coordinated by Zakiya McGhie, sponsored seminars focused on Legacy’s 4 pillars of success: Personal Identity, Leadership, Career Development, and Scholarship. These seminars exposed scholars to valuable insight and resources and encouraged scholars to develop meaningful relationships within the program. LEGACY continued the annual community engagement initiative called LEGACY Connect. This

5130

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OverallParicipants

Participantsgiven anevaluation

Participantswho replied

Workshops ‐ Evaluations

89%

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Evaluation Data Using ODI's Standard Evaluation Form

Excellent Good Other

192

60

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Number ofWorkshops

WorkshopsEvaluated

 

 

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229263

308

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Workshops  (by Fiscal Year)

educational outreach program for “at-risk” youth was held for students at Oakridge High School. Due to the success of the event, Oakridge has requested a return program next year. To date, LEGACY students have worked with Jones, Evans, and Oak Ridge High Schools. LEGACY has also increased its presence at UCF by wearing LEGACY t-shirts, speaking to student groups about the program, and individually soliciting new scholars.

This year, for the first time, ODI sponsored three DiversiTeas. On September 13, Dr. Ilenia Colon

Mendoza presented “Frida Kahlo: A Self-Portrait of Mexican-ness.” On October 8, in collaboration with UCF Palm Bay and Brevard Community College, the DiversiTea focused on “Celebrating Hispanic Heritage.” The last DiversiTea, “Conversations About Africa,” was presented on March 21 and featured DeLaine Priest and Tiffany Greenis, both with SDES. The September and March DiversiTeas were broadcast to our colleagues at the regional campuses. The DiversiTeas were organized and coordinated by Barbara Thompson with support from Dayanara Hudson.

Education, training, and scholarship activities occupy a prominent role in the Office of Diversity Initiatives’ operation. Following a failed search for a trainer, the vast majority of our education and training sessions were provided by our diversity educator, Barbara Thompson, with support from Dayanara Hudson. The training schedule was supplemented by a workshop facilitated by UCF Student Legal Services and one each by diversity practitioners from Walt Disney Parks and Recreation and Florida Hospital. This resulted in 192 workshops in 2012-2013, a decrease of 36 sessions from 2011-2012 (see figure D). The number of workshop participants was 5130, which was also down by 680 from the previous year (see figure E). There were 54 distinct workshop topics featured with the addition of several new topics, which provided a variety of training options (see Figure F). Our focus on education and training included thirty-six sessions held at eight regional campuses (see figure G). Overall, there was a reduction in the number of workshops, participants, topics, and sessions held at regional campuses. These reductions amplify the need to hire an additional trainer as soon as possible.

Figure D Figure E

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Training Participants  (by Fiscal Year)

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 Figure F

Figure G

The Office of Diversity Initiatives sponsored the Diversity Track of the 2013 Summer Faculty Development Conference. The theme of the track was “Expanding and Refining Cultural Competencies to Facilitate Infusion into Curricula.” Diversity Track scholars worked diligently on developing performance standards for each of the 21 cultural competencies. This track, coordinated by Barbara Thompson, included 18 scholars from 5 colleges and SDES.

A cooperative training initiative with Student Development and Enrollment Services is in its third year. The training program is designed to enhance the diversity-related awareness, knowledge, and skills of approximately 600 SDES team members. To date, this venture has resulted in more than 300 individuals completing the required 23 hours of diversity training with more than 100 individuals involved in different phases of this SDES Diversity Certificate Series.

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6554

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140

2008‐2009 2009‐2010 2010‐2011 2011‐2012 2012‐2013

Workshop Topics (by Fiscal Year)

2

8

5

12

6

1 1 1

Workshops/Events at Regional Campuses 2012‐2013

Rosen Campus

UCF Valencia West

UCF Valencia Osceola

UCF Cocoa

UCF Southlake

UCF Sanford/Lake Mary

UCF Leesburg

UCF Palm Bay

n=36

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Other Highlights

2012 marked the 20th anniversary celebration of Diversity Week which began with the annual Diversity Breakfast. Dr. Marc Nivet, AAMC Chief Diversity Officer, was the keynote speaker. The Diversity Week poster was designed by Dayanara Hudson and breakfast and other program activities were coordinated by Katie Pomp.

UCF was the recipient of two national awards of excellence in diversity and inclusion in 2012-2013. The Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) award, presented by INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, honors colleges and universities that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion. The National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education, NADOHE, selected UCF as the most outstanding university in the nation for the strategies and accomplishments in the promotion of diversity and inclusion in an educational institution. The NADOHE award is the most prestigious diversity award in the field of higher education.

Dr. Valarie King was honored at the statewide conference of the Florida Diversity as one of the outstanding leaders in the field of diversity in the State of Florida. Dr. King was also presented the Diversity Community Champion Award from Seminole State College during their annual Diversity Breakfast celebration.

Barbara Thompson was selected as the Chair of the UpStanders Advisory Committee at the

Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center of Florida and facilitated six meetings of this group. Further, Barbara was appointed to a second three-year term on the Holocaust Center’s Board of Directors. Barbara also presented a workshop for City Year, a community organization that provides tutors and mentors to help students stay on track and in school.

As an extension of the office, the ODI website continues to provide information about training, events, and diversity resources. Monitoring of the ODI website occurs through the Google Analytics service, which has allowed us to review the number of visitors between July 1, 2012 and June 30, 2013. There were 8,726 overall visitors to the ODI website, with 5,665 being unique visitors. This is an increase of 5,841 overall visitors and 3,698 unique visitors since the website’s launch in January 2012.

Issues and Concerns for 2013-2014 Dr. Valarie King is retiring in September and the status of the office relative to the configuration of university-wide diversity efforts and the continuation of programs and services provided by the Office of Diversity Initiatives are of imminent concerns. In this regard, it is recommended that the university establish a position of Chief Diversity Officer, who reports directly to the president and who is a member of the president’s cabinet. The key responsibilities associated with this position should include but not be limited to:

1. Providing strong, visible leadership to advance the university’s goal of becoming more inclusive and diverse. This includes serving as a functional resource to enhance educational experiences and the overall quality of life for members of the UCF community.

2. Serving as a change agent and collaborating with university leaders to embed diversity into the long-term sustainable operations of the organization.

3. Assisting university leadership in accessing the campus climate and reviewing, revising, or developing policies and procedures to address relevant student and human resource issues.

4. Overseeing diversity education and training efforts for faculty, staff, and students. 5. Assisting academic units with research initiatives, grant proposals, curriculum review, and course

transformation that focus on diversity, inclusion, and cultural competence. 6. Providing leadership in the area of multicultural community outreach and engagement.

 

The symbol of the Office of Diversity Initiatives is the “Unity Star.” This multifaceted, multidimen-sional image was inspired by the solitary star that appears above the Pegasus, the University of Central Florida’s official symbol that represents the university’s motto, “Reach for the Stars.” The Unity Star is an illustration of the transformative power and enhanced creativity that occurs when organizations fully utilize diverse perspectives. The Unity Star can be presented in various sizes, colors, shadings, and arrangements symbolizing humankind’s many similarities and differences.

STAFFValarie Greene King, Ph.D., Director

Barbara Thompson, Assistant Director Katie Pomp, Administrative Assistant Carmen I. Afonso, Executive Secretary Dayanara Hudson, Program Assistant Zakiya McGhie, LEGACY Coordinator

Judith Geneus, Student AssistantRobert Glenn, Student Assistant

Office of Diversity Initiatives P.O. Box 160031

Orlando, FL 32816-0031Phone: (407) 823-6479

Fax: (407) 823-6480 http://www.diversity.ucf.edu

Unity Star