Assessing the Diversity Needs of Eastern Oregon University

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Assessing the Diversity Needs of Eastern Oregon
University
University of Oregon Center on Diversity and
Community

• Professional Development Module
• Eastern Oregon University

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Not everything that is faced can be changed, but
nothing can be changed until it is
faced.-James Baldwin
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Mini Survey with EOU Community Members

• Perception of campus climate
• EOUs priority needs/concerns in terms of
  diversity
• Goals/Hopes

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EOU Needs Assessment Main Themes

• Poor relationship with administration
• Perceived lack of leadership
• Major communication issues
• Infrastructure issues
• Low morale
• Not knowing how to talk to one another about
  diversity issues
• Relationship between student-athletes and general
  student population is strained

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Poor Relationship with Administration

• Deep distrust
• Lack of mutual respect
• Perception that the Administration not around
  very much

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Perceived lack of leadership

• Unstable leadership with high turnover
• No ownership of diversity issues
• Excuses offered Im not qualified
• Perceived lack of follow through on important
  issues
• Reactive rather than pro-active
• In a fog in terms of next steps
• Where are we going? What are we doing? Nobody
  knows what to do

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Major Communication Issues

• Either/or thinking about complex issues
• Forced to take sides
• Information from administration doesnt flow down
  
• Its difficult to get straight information from
  on high
• people end up hanging onto partial truths
• the administration talks to the press but not to
  us
• Faculty, staff, students dont feel heard
• Policies are unclear, undeveloped and/or
  invisible
• Information on website hard to find

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Infrastructure Issues

• Perceived disconnect at all levels
• Lack of skills, knowledge, awareness on issues of
  diversity
• Role conflicts
• No clear place/procedure to report issues of
  bias/harassment
• No clear place to voice concerns
• what do you do if you have a problem with
  student affairs? Who do you go to then?
• Focus on recruitment and not retention
• Administrators think that throwing people
  together should be enough

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Morale Issues

• Its not a happy campus right now. There needs
  to be some major changes right now.
• fueled by several major issues
• Budget
• Low confidence in leadership
• Controversial incidents
• -being a small campus, things become very
  personal very quickly
• Anger, resentment, disillusionment, distrust,
  loss of hope
• Students of color feeling demoralized, isolated,
  and scared
• walking around campus you hear comments
• I am not a threat to this community or society
• Student athletes addresses printed in student
  paper

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Not Knowing how to Talk About Diversity Issues

• Awkward and uncomfortable
• it takes a crisis and a couple of students
  lives to talk about this
• Lacking skills to facilitate conversations
• No clear definition of what is meant by diversity
• No agreement on its relative importance and value
• Being conflict avoidant is part of the culture
• The reality of Eastern Oregon rural, isolated,
  White, conservative, distinct culture

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Relationship b/t student-athletes and general
student population is strained

• Athletes seen as removed from general student
  body
• Perception that athletes are above reproach/get
  away with things
• Issues compounded for male athletes of color
  especially football players
• Lack of knowledge/relationship adds to distrust,
  stereotypes, and racism

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EOU Goals and Hopes

• Feeling heard by administration
• Greater ownership of the issues by administration
  (knowledge, awareness, and skills)
• Clear understanding of the importance and meaning
  of diversity
• Clear procedures for protocols
• Diversity training for administration, faculty,
  and staff
• Plan/sense of next steps
• I want something to come out of this (our visit)
  , not just a one day event, kumbaya, then its
  gone.

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Reasons for Committing to Diversity in Higher
Education

• Demographic Argument
• Projections indicate that by 2050, White
  Americans will drop to 50 of the population
• Moral/Social Justice Argument
• Redress historic/contemporary inequality
• Civic Argument
• Civic value and responsibility of creating an
  educated citizenry
• Enrichment/Professional Standards Argument
• Diversity brings new ways of thinking
• Expectations within professions to be effective
  with diverse populations
• Political Argument
• Politically expedient to address
• Economic/Global Argument
• Taking advantage of emerging markets
• (Editors Notes. New Directions
  for Teaching and Learning, v49 1992)

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• In your leadership role you will be asked to
  justify why diversity initiatives are a
  compelling interest for EOU. Take a few minutes
  to immerse yourself in one of the arguments for
  committing to diversity in higher education.

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Examples of Immediate Goals

• create non-punitive environment to discuss issues
  
• common definitions and understandings
• sense of team/cohesiveness among leadership
• greater clarity about what it means to EOU to
  commit to diversity
• raise awareness
• stronger knowledge base
• instructional support (left field moments)
• clarify infrastructure and chain of command

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Building Fortifying the Infrastructure for
Diversity at EOU Examples of Long Term Goals

• how to keep issues on the table with clear
  forum/channels to discuss
• how to move beyond diversity as a competing
  demand
• commitment to ongoing awareness, knowledge,
  skills development
• collective ownership of the issues
• raising morale striking balance b/t positive
  and negative