MEMO TO:
Mahruq F. Khan
Joint Minority Affairs Committee
FROM:
Joe Gow
Chancellor
DATE:
December 18, 2013
SUBJECT:
Committee Charge for 2013-2014 Academic Year
Thank you for sharing with me the work thus far of the Joint Minority Affairs Committee and the plans &
objectives for the remainder of the academic year. Please convey my gratitude to the committee members for
their willingness to serve.
I commend the committee for tasks completed Fall semester, which include:
1) Met with Antoiwana Williams, OMSS Director, and had many concerns and questions re: the Early
Alert System and its impact on students of color
2) Met with Sharie Brunk and Jennie Hartzheim about integrating a discussion on campus diversity &
faculty/staff diversity with new students at the New Student Orientation and within the UW-L 100 courses
3) Raising concerns with the Provost regarding SEI data, funding questions and bias training.
I understand that as a result of the meeting with the Provost, she has proposed to:
a. Ask Nizam Arain (Affirmative Action Office) to undertake a training session in January for the Joint
Promotion Committee (JPC) re: bias issues and further to ensure training occurs at the first organizing
meeting of JPC each year thereafter;
b. Invite a JMAC representative to present SEI issues to Dept. Chairs at their Fall meeting in August 2014;
c. Share a revised version of last year’s JMAC Report (with data/research on experiences of faculty of
color) with relevant committees, including Deans’ Council (please supply her with an updated and revised
copy for distribution);
d. Ask the Advising Task Force to consider how best to address workload and other concerns to do with
advising students of color;
e. Return to discuss further issues with the committee as appropriate.
The Provost has also indicated that a review of current grant offerings is underway, which precedes your
discussion. This review is examining where we have unmet needs and how best to address them, and the results
of this review will be shared widely. She would also be interested in seeing your report on general education
courses and advises you to meet with the General Education Committee if you have ongoing concerns. The
Provost also recommends that you review data supplied to the Inclusive Excellence committee regarding gateway
courses, which is available from Institutional Research. Finally, the Provost recommends that you meet with PTS
if you have questions over promotion and tenure.
I encourage you to continue working on the following identified by the committee as objectives for the remainder
of the year:
1) Meet with the following individuals:
a. Anne Galbraith, Faculty Senate Chair, re: incorporating reporting on diversity within
departmental by-laws and moving this through Faculty Senate
b. Bob Hoar, Associate Vice Chancellor, re: integrating a conversation on the importance of
supporting diverse faculty within the New Faculty Orientation program
c. Paula Knudson, Dean of Students, re: similar issues of concern for staff of color
2) Compile the following documents:
a. A list of Best Practices for recruiting faculty/staff of color to give to the Provost
b. Incorporate the Campus Climate Survey data for UW-L into last year's JMAC report
3) Review Institutional Research data on recruitment, retention, and promotion of faculty/staff of color at
UW-L.
As chair of the Joint Minority Affairs Committee, your primary responsibilities include:



promptly informing the Chancellor’s Office of the results of the election of officers and any changes in
committee membership
organizing and conducting meetings
completing a year-end report on the committee’s activities to be submitted to the Chancellor’s Office no
later than May 25, 2014.
In the event the committee chooses to rotate recorder duties, please designate one person to be responsible for
emailing the meeting minutes to Judith Albert jalbert@uwlax.edu to post on the Joint Committees’ website.
As this is a Joint Committee, recommendations of the Joint Minority Affairs Committee should be forwarded
directly to the Chancellor’s Office. Throughout the process I hope individual committee members will consult
with their respective governance groups for input on and agreement with issues. If we determine that a particular
committee recommendation requires further deliberation and comment, we may elect to forward it to one or more
of the three governance groups for further analysis and recommendation.
Again, please convey my gratitude to the members of the Committee, and thanks so much for your outstanding
leadership.
Best wishes on your committee’s work over the course of the coming year!
JG/ja
cc:
Chancellor’s Staff
Academic Deans
Anne Galbraith, Faculty Senate
Patrick Barlow, Academic Staff Council
Bob Wilson, Classified Staff Advisory Council
Nick Bezier, Student Association