COMMITTEE ON MULTICULTURAL CURRICULUM TRANSFORMATION
Notes from Meeting of
20 November 2012
The third meeting of the Committee on Multicultural Curriculum Transformation was held on
Tuesday, November 20, 2012 at 10:05 a.m. in Altgeld 225.
Attendance
Gary Chen (Engineering & Engineering Technology); Carolinda Douglass (Vice Provost for
Academic Planning & Development); Teresa Fisher (Education); Bill Goldenberg (Visual &
Performing Arts); Janice Hamlet (Coordinator, Academic Diversity Programs); Robin Moremen
(Liberal Arts & Sciences); Kristen Myers, chair, for this meeting (Director, Women’s Studies);
Jane Rose Njue (Health & Human Sciences); Mark Rosenbaum (Business); Donna Smith
(Supportive Professional Staff); and Kayla Schnacky (CMCT Graduate Assistant). Professor
Gonzales was unable to attend because he was delivering a paper at the University of London.
Announcements
Schnacky reported that no MCTI applications have been submitted as of this morning. However,
she is maintaining a list of individuals who have expressed interest in the Institute, and will
follow up with those individuals as necessary. She also mentioned that Gonzales recently
submitted another news release to NIU Today, which highlighted the purpose and structure of the
Institute, and included testimonial quotes from past participants.
Minutes
The minutes from the meeting of October 16, 2012, were approved without any changes.
Recruitment Efforts
Myers opened the discussion about recruiting colleagues to apply to the Institute. The possibility
of extending the application deadline to January 10, 2013 was discussed. Moremen asked
Douglass if the committee would be held to a minimum number of participants in order to
proceed with the Institute. Douglass was unaware of a preset minimum, but will address this
with Provost Alden. Hamlet reiterated the importance of having a critical mass of applicants,
given the higher costs associated with having two plenary speakers this year. The possibility of
making participation in the MCTI a requirement for new faculty was discussed. Moremen asked
how new faculty should be defined, expressing concern that, in some years, the number would be
too large to handle. The committee suggested either Professor Gonzales or Provost Alden send a
special invite to new faculty. The suggestion to print the invite on postcard-size cardstock paper
was made. Myers suggested that for the next Institute the committee consider branding and
using a logo on the call for participation and other correspondence. Chen suggested inviting
local reporters to the Institute to provide information about the MCTI efforts to the larger
community. Moremen proposed inviting reporters from beyond the immediate area as well.
Moremen noted that while past Institutes have been well done, there are still a number of people
who don’t know about the committee, the Institute, or diversity issues. Douglass reiterated
Hamlet’s suggestion of requiring participation in the Institute of new faculty, to introduce them
to diversity issues early on. She also proposed that future Institutes target one or two
departments at a time.
Rosenbaum mentioned that he has heard negative comments regarding the Institute among
faculty in the Business School, including that it “can be a bit preachy.” He suggested an
overarching Institute theme of “understanding your student,” noting that the message should be
one of faculty development and not promoting an agenda. Fisher agreed that the Institute should
highlight teacher effectiveness and be promoted in that manner. Myers noted that in the future,
we need to keep in mind target groups of interest, such as (a) those who feel they already teach a
multicultural course and won’t get anything further from attending, and (b) those who feel
learning about diversity and multiculturalism is irrelevant to them and/or their course(s). Myers
agreed that the message should be “we’re all in this together” rather than “we know something
you don’t know.”
Panel Update
Possible panel themes, topics, and speakers were discussed.
Speakers: Hamlet announced that Katrina Caldwell (Asst. VP for Diversity & Equity, Office of
Student Affairs) emailed her expressing interest in serving as a session leader. The specific
topics she could speak to include: managing difficult dialogues, trends and diverse student
populations, and negotiating power and privilege among students in the classroom. Moremen
feels these topics “cut across multiple sessions…and are relevant to other sessions.” The
committee agreed that they would like to pursue Dr. Caldwell as a speaker.
Schnacky shared Towell’s suggestion of NIU’s new ombudsperson, Sarah Klaper, as a potential
speaker for the Institute. Smith mentioned Military Student Services as another source for
potential speakers.
Myers proposed inviting a speaker from the Disability Resource Center (formerly CAAR) to
conduct a joint presentation with Sarah Klaper. She also suggested inviting a student with a
physical disability and a student with a learning disability to join them.
Themes & Topics: The committee questioned whether the plenary speakers have a theme they
intend to speak to, or if they would like the committee to suggest a theme. Schnacky will discuss
this with Gonzales.
Regarding different panel topics, Myers encouraged the committee not think of each topic in
isolation, as “race day” or “gender day,” but to work these topics into daily discussions. She
stressed the importance of keeping the topics current.
Fisher asked if Hamlet’s survey could provide any direction about potential panel themes or
topics. Hamlet reported that 49 of 50 individuals contacted participated in the survey. Of those
who teach a multi-section course, 35% said they have not participated in a past Institute; 33%
said they didn’t know about the Institute. Of those who have participated in the MCTI, 67%
have taught a transformed course three or more times. Forty-five percent of respondents would
like to serve on the committee; 23% indicated interest in serving as a small group leader; 32%
indicated interest in serving as a workshop facilitator.
Moremen mentioned that the makers of Mirrors of Privilege have made a new movie entitled,
Cracking the Codes: The System of Racial Inequity, which she proposed as the video for the
Institute. Fisher will check to see if the NIU library system has access to this film.
Myers stated that past Institutes have included a session on NIU student demographics. She
suggested that 2013 Institute participants be given a demographics handout in order to preserve
another presentation time slot.
After much discussion, the committee developed the following list of “must-have” 2013 Institute
topics (in addition to the sessions by the plenary speakers):
I.
Race and Ethnicity (with Latino issues folded in) – 2 panels
II.
Gender and Sexuality
III.
Student Panel
IV.
Social Class (perhaps call it Economic Inequalities)
V.
Dr. Katrina Caldwell: Managing difficult dialogues, trends and diverse student
populations, and negotiating power and privilege among students in the classroom
VI.
Disability Resource Center presentation
VII. Video
Chairs for each day of the Institute
The committee agreed that the nine Institute topics should be determined prior to selecting chairs
for each day.
Resource Sharing on Blackboard
The discussion turned briefly to the committee members’ experiences in the classroom.
Moremen shared her use of student group-work contracts and offered to share them with the
committee. Myers proposed that Schnacky work with Krishnamurthi to create a space on
Blackboard for resource sharing. Schnacky will create layers in Blackboard so that committee
members and both past and current MCTI participants have access to relevant documents.
Assessment Update
Myers shared that she has met with Douglass and Sherrill Morris to discuss MCTI assessment.
In brainstorming MCTI goals to be measured, Myers noted that we already have access to
participants’ course syllabi and fall presentations, both of which could be evaluated and given a
rubric. Myers also provided a Value Rubric, which she noted could be adapted to fit our
assessment needs. Myers shared that NIU currently does not have a campus climate survey, but
she is advertising for a graduate assistant to help create one. Myers noted that the current goals
of the Multicultural Curriculum Transformation Institute and Committee may be considered
objectives rather than goals.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:37 a.m. The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday,
January 15, 2013 from 10:00-11:30 a.m. in Altgeld 203.