Commission on the Status of Minorities
Meeting Minutes: April 17, 2012
Call to order
James Jackson called to order the regular meeting of the 2011-12 Commission on the Status of
Minorities at 11:05 am on April 17, 2012 in the Psychology Department Conference Room.
Attendance
The following persons were present:
James D. Jackson – Black Faculty Liaison Committee
R. Todd Rober – College of Visual and Performing Arts
Patricia Richter – Office of Social Equity
Darlene Schoenly – College of Education
Joo Tan – College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Rajeev Kumar – College of Business
The following persons were absent:
Rhonda Branford – Division of Multicultural Services
Thomas Robinson – Black Faculty Liaison Committee
Veronica Lepore – Graduate Student Representative
Louis Rodriquez – Latino Caucus
Kelly Hedlund – Student Government Board
Cassius Morris – PAC (Participation, Academics and Campus Life), BSU
Maciel De Los Santos – McFarland Student Union
Danté Givens – PAC/BSU/Gospel Choir
M. Reese Lovelace – PAC/Black Student Union/Gospel Choir
Joshua Keller – Black Student Union
I. Agenda
James Jackson indicated several students and members had other commitments that prevented them
from attending the meeting. The items that need to be addressed today are finalizing the letter
concerning cuts to the Multicultural Center, the fall schedule of events, and the Climate Survey.
II. Letter
T. Robinson indicated by email that he will be writing a more detailed letter in the near future, so that
the letter drafted for the March meeting by T. Rober should be sufficient at the present time. The
members present made suggestions for minor revisions, which will be corrected and sent to the
membership of the Commission by email to get their final approval of the letter before it is sent to the
Administrative Council.
II. Jackson Katz
D. Schoenly has authorized the transfer of the $1500 to pay for our share of expenses for the campus
visit of Jackson Katz in the fall that was voted on by the Commission.
III. Distinguished Service Awards
Schedule was settled for the timeline for the Distinguished Service Awards. The nomination forms will
be available at the end of the spring semester, and through the summer. One final call for nominations
will be made at the beginning of the fall semester, with a deadline of September 7, 2012. The
Commission will discuss the nominations at the regular meeting on September 18, and will present the
awards at a ceremony on October 16, 2012 at 11 am, which will be in time for any faculty going up for
tenure or promotion to add the award to their materials.
IV. Website
J. Tan reported that we have had very few visits to our website, which is a concern if we want to become
more visible on campus. We should work to find ways to direct more faculty, staff, and students to the
site, and then have useful information posted about our activities. The distinguished award nomination
forms should bring more to the site, and it would be a good idea to have our calendar of events for the
fall posted, especially when we get the student meeting about the climate survey scheduled.
V. Officer Nominations
As there was not a quorum to elect officers for the next year, and there were no additional nominees
suggested or volunteered, the current slate of officers is being put up as a panel for the approval of the
membership by email. The slate of officers would be:
James Jackson, Chair
Thomas Robinson, Vice-Chair
Darlene Schoenly, Treasurer
R. Todd Rober, Secretary
Adjournment
J. Tan motions, R. Kumar seconds to adjourn meeting at 10:50 am.
Minutes submitted by: R. Todd Rober
Approved: April 15, 2012 (by email vote)