Unity StarNewsletter

Fall 2014Distribution: All Without OPS and F

Diversity Week Update

4th Place Design by Devin Leitenberger, Junior

3rd Place Design by Giselle Jimenez, Junior2nd Place Design by Melissa Barretta, Junior

1st Place Design by Ebone Grayson, Junior

Diversity Week typically takes place in October, and every year, our UCF family and the Central Florida community astound us with their commitment to being a part of the celebration. This year, the support was so outstanding that the Diversity Breakfast, scheduled for October 13, sold out by June 20.

As we commemorate the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Civil Rights Act, we welcome Mr. Julian Bond, a Civil Rights leader, activist, writer, teacher, and lecturer, as the Diversity Breakfast Keynote Speaker. Former chair of the NAACP, and veteran of more than 20 years of service in the Georgia General Assembly, Mr. Bond will be sharing with us his speech, “The Road to Freedom: From Alabama to Obama.”

As you may know, ODI held a student poster contest earlier this year, and while the winners’ names were announced back in April, the images below are the ones that placed in the top four spots. During the month of

October, the top 15 student poster designs will be on display at the John C. Hitt Library, second floor. Please come view the hard work of our talented UCF students.

From the Diversity Breakfast on Monday, to the last event on Friday, Diversity Week celebrates everything that makes our UCF family truly a family. We hope that you will take a moment to either participate by presenting a workshop, scheduling an event, or being a participant at any of the events that will be on the calendar for the week of October 13.

After 21 years as the UCF Office

of Diversity Initiatives, we are now

the UCF Office of Diversity and

Inclusion. We hope you will join

us in celebrating what’s

to come.

ODI Spotlight

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Dr. Adam Meyer is currently the Director of the University of Central Florida’s Student Disability Services office, following similar roles at Eastern Michigan University and Saint Louis University. Adam also has been part of a three-year national grant project that focused on how to infuse social model concepts into disability office operations and campus collaborations. Since 2010, Adam has presented numerous sessions at the National Disability Conference.

Pam Rea has been with Student Disability Services since 2004. She has worked as Coordinator, Assistant Director, and Director. As a nationally certified sign language interpreter, she has scheduled sign language and captionist accommodations for students who are deaf and/or hard of hearing. She currently functions as the Assistant Director and continues to work with students with disabilities who connect with SDS.

Grace Moskola has been with Student Disability Services since 2010, and currently serves as an Accessibility Consultant. Grace’s role involves working with students, faculty, and staff in determining individual accommodations and improving accessibility awareness on campus. She also is a current doctoral student in the Higher Education Policy Studies program at UCF and has a specific interest in disability studies and universal design in learning.

Warm Good Bye and Welcome

Dr. Adam Meyer

Pam Rea

Grace Moskola

As the new academic year starts, we would like to thank our former LEGACY Coordinator, Ms. Zakiya McGhie, for all the hard work she put into “running the show” for two years. At the same time, we congratulate Ms. McGhie for earning her MA as a Reading Specialist and her new position as Reading Instructor for Robinswood Middle School, Orlando. We know she will do great, her students will love her, and we will definitely miss her.

Now, we extend a warm welcome to Ms. Stefanie Campbell who took over for Zakiya in July, and has hit the ground running, simultaneously learning and preparing all the materials for the 2014-2015 LEGACY Scholars’ Welcome event. A scholar herself, Stefanie walked in the door with great ideas, and the support of the present scholars. Currently majoring in Sports Exercise Science, Stefanie looks forward to being a December graduate, and the prospect of a Masters Degree in Health Education and Behavioral Sciences down the road.

Stefanie Campbell joins the ODI family as the new LEGACY Mentoring and Leadership Program Coordinator.

AdditionAl Spotlight on pAge 4

One of the new workshops ODI will feature this semester is titled Examining the Real Disability Barriers. Created by UCF’s Student Disability Services (SDS), this workshop explores some of the barriers that exist in day-to-day activities for people with disabilities. The workshop will be facilitated by alternating members of UCF’s SDS staff, and they’re introduced below in this issue’s ODI Spotlight.

ABCs OF DIVERSITY (DIV008)• Monday, September 15, 2014 1:30 – 3:30 PM

Location: UCF Valencia West, Bld. 11, Rm. 107• Monday, September 29, 2014 1:30 – 4:30 PM

Location: Research Pavilion, Suite 169• Monday, October 6, 2014 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Location: UCF Valencia Osceola, Bld. 4, Rm. 335 Facilitator for all three: Barbara Thompson

BARNGA (DIV077)Thursday, October 23, 2014 2:30 – 4:30 PM Location: Human Resources, OD&T Training Room on Progress Drive Facilitator: Patty Farris

DEVELOPING AND NURTURING INCLUSION:A STEP-BY-STEP APPROACH TO CREATING INCLUSIVE SPACES (DIV222)Thursday, November 6, 2014 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM Location: UCF Cocoa, Bld. 3, Rm. 271 Facilitator: Barbara Thompson

EXAMINING THE REAL DISABILITY BARRIERS (DIV223)• Wednesday, September 24, 2014 1:00 – 3:30 PM

Location: SU Key West Room 218A• Thursday, October 16, 2014 1:00 – 3:30 PM

Location: SU Cape Florida 316D• Wednesday, November 19, 2014 9:30 AM – 12:00 PM

Location: SU Cape Florida 316A Facilitators: Student Disability Services Staff

GENDER DIFFERENCES IN COMMUNICATION: THEORIES AND PERSPECTIVES (DIV071)Tuesday, October 21, 2014 1:30 PM – 3:30 PMLocation: UCF Valencia West, Bld. 11, Rm. 107Facilitator: Barbara Thompson

INCLUSIVE COMMUNICATION (DIV053)Wednesday, October 29, 2014 1:30 – 4:30 PM Location: Research Pavilion, Suite 169Facilitator: Barbara Thompson

MICRO-MESSAGES AND MICROAGGRESSIONS: IMPACTS ON INCLUSION (DIV225)Friday, December 5, 2014 2:00 – 4:30 PM Location: Research Pavilion, Suite 169Facilitator: Barbara Thompson

PEACE FILM SERIES - 12 YEARS A SLAVE (DIV226)• Thursday, September 18, 2014 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Location: UCF Cocoa, Bld. 3, Rm 271• Friday, October 24, 2014 2:00 – 5:00 PM

Location: Research Pavilion, Suite 169• Wednesday, November 19, 2014 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Location: UCF Daytona, Bld. 530, Rm. 118 Facilitator for all three: Barbara Thompson

PEACE FILM SERIES - A DAY WITHOUT A MEXICAN (DIV103)Tuesday, September 23, 2014 12:00 – 3:00 PMLocation: UCF Valencia Osceola, Bld. 4, Rm. 105Facilitator: Barbara Thompson

PEACE FILM SERIES - BABEL (DIV148)Monday, October 13, 2014 3:00 – 6:00 PMLocation: UCF Daytona, Bld. 140, Rm. 206Facilitator: Barbara Thompson

PEACE FILM SERIES - PEOPLE LIKE US: SOCIAL CLASS IN AMERICA (DIV049)Thursday, October 23, 2014 1:00 – 4:00 PMLocation: UCF Valencia Osceola, Bld. 4, Rm. 304Facilitator: Barbara Thompson

PEACE FILM SERIES - TOUGH GUISE 2 (DIV227)Thursday, November 20, 2014 2:00 – 5:00 PMLocation: UCF Valencia West, Bld. 11, Rm. 107Facilitator: Barbara Thompson

PERFORMANCE STANDARDS FOR UCF’S CULTURAL COMPETENCIES (DIV150) ONLINEVisit: www.diversity.ucf.edu/online_workshops.asp and follow the instructions. You must complete all three sections with a score of 75% or higher to receive credit.

Fall 2014 Workshop and Training ScheduleTO REGISTER:

• Faculty and Staff ONLY, register online via your My UCF account at https://my.ucf.edu.• Students or OPS, please e-mail your name, phone number, and PID/employee I.D. number to

diverse@ucf.edu. • For the Safe Zone LGBTQ+ 101 workshops, use http://safezone.sdes.ucf.edu/training.

For detailed descriptions of the diversity workshops offered, visit www.diversity.ucf.edu. Other opportunities for diversity workshops may be scheduled by calling the Office of Diversity and Inclusion at (407) 823-6479, or by e-mailing diverse@ucf.edu. All workshops are FREE unless otherwise noted. Please note that LOCATIONS VARY.

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Consultations: An individual or group meeting to assist in planning diversity-related programs, events, and activities. Consultations may occur face-to-face, by e-mail, or by telephone.

Presentations: We make presentations to classes, departments, organizations, student groups, and external organizations. Our presentations cover a variety of topics to meet specific needs.

Training: Selected topics in English and Spanish

Services

Diversity Includes All of Us - All the Time

12424 Research Parkway, Suite 169, Orlando, FL 32826Ph: (407) 823-6479 F: 407-823-6480

E: diverse@ucf.edu www.diversity.ucf.edu

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Diversity anD inclusion staff

Katie Pomp Administrative Assistant,

Diversity Breakfast Coordinator

Dayanara HudsonProgram Assistant

Judith GeneusOffice Assistant

Carmen I. Afonso LEP Coordinator

Stefanie CampbellLEGACY Coordinator

Lakeisha Fortulien Student Assistant

Tee Rogers

SAFE ZONE LGBTQ+ 101 (DIV033) FORMERLY ALLIES ADVANCEWednesday, September 10, 2014 1:00 – 4:00 PMTuesday, October 7, 2014 4:00 – 7:00 PMThursday, November 6, 2014 9:00 AM – 12:00 PMFor Location and registration, visit http://safezone.sdes.ucf.edu/training.Facilitators: TBA

SECULAR AND RELIGIOUS MINORITY AWARENESS (DIV224)Wednesday, October 22, 2014 3:00 – 4:30 PMFriday, November 7, 2014 3:00 – 4:30 PMLocation: Research Pavilion, Suite 169Facilitator: Tee Rogers

UNDERSTANDING POWER & PRIVILEGE (DIV016)• Wednesday, October 15, 2014 2:00 – 5:00 PM

Location: UCF Valencia West, Bld. 11, Rm. 107 *Pre-Requisite: ABCs of Diversity

• Wednesday, November 5, 2014 1:00 – 4:00 PM Location: UCF Valencia Osceola, Bld. 4, Rm. 304 Facilitator for both: Barbara Thompson

WOMEN OF THE MOVEMENT: “HONORING THE DREAM” (DIV145)Thursday, November 13, 2014 1:00 – 4:00 PMLocation: Research Pavilion, Suite 169Facilitator: Belinda Boston

Workshop and Training Schedule

ODI SpotlightAnother featured workshop this

semester is Secular and Religious Minority Awareness. Created and led by Tee Rogers, this workshop is meant to generate “positive dialogue to help increase our understanding of the diverse religious perspectives around us, focusing on the rapid growth of secular Americans.”

Tee has served in the Office of the Vice President for Administration and Finance since 2004. She assists with the university’s United Way Campaign efforts and is involved in various charitable initiatives at UCF. She serves as the staff advisor for two

UCF registered student organizations as well as having served as a mentor for various university programs.

Her personal and professional experience in philanthropy and service has improved her understanding that we must be able to stand shoulder-to-shoulder, regardless of our beliefs, and work together to make the world a better place. Tee actively promotes respect and inclusion for all faith and non-faith perspectives and is proud to be part of bringing the secular and religious minority communities into the university’s diversity conversation.

Barbara Thompson Interim Director

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