Campus Center Room 204
Thursday, October 5, 2006 7:00pm
Members Present: Meg Ambrus, McKay LeBlanc, Jillian Flynn, Kamille King, Molly
McCadden, Jan Arbaugh, Adrienne Lee, Ali Woodruff, Margaret MacRae, Michele Chapdelaine,
Devin Burke, Rae-Anne Butera,
Members Absent: Mary Opler, Ayesha Siddiqui, Monique Robinson
I.
II.
III.
Call to Order: Meg
A. Meg called the meeting to order at 7:03pm
Opening Activity - McKay
Special Guest – Naomi Miller, Dean of Institutional Diversity
A. Common Ground Report
1. Process of how they got to where they are
2. Diversity outside the context of the campus
3. Focus groups
a. No preconceptions or expectations
4. Themes that are representative of the characteristic voices; have three quotes
(faculty, staff, students)
5. Survey of Smith Democrats and Republicans and religious groups; have own
focus groups, and individual interviews (100/350 interviews were individual
interviews)
6. SGA, faculty council, and staff council
7. Carol Christ – round tables for students
8. Any SGA Strategic Planning proposals, let Common Ground know; can sign
on to each other’s proposals, or at least know where they intersect
9. CMP is the main group focusing on this
B. Initiatives
1. Faculty: 3 initiatives
2. Are all of our classes accessible to people from different backgrounds?
3. Different ways of understanding student learning
4. Teachers have been teaching with traditional methods; want to reach students,
but don’t have a sense of the tools in order to reach their range
5. Recognize diverse backgrounds of our student body
a. Provost thinks it’s a great idea
6. Alternative ways of presenting material (students with disabilities (including
learning disability)
7. Use pre-major advising system (first real exposure to Smith; best first
semester) to help students assimilate to academic culture, and AHB – proper
citations, best guidance with classes (FYS)
8. Classes – useful not to assume someone has knowledge (effective classes build
from bottom to top to include everyone)
9. First-year WI courses – give students the writing foundation to evaluate, guide
them to the Jacobsen Center so don’t flounder in sophomore year; should
include learning about citation
IV.
V.
10. Open Curriculum – a guided path through the curriculum
11. Some certificate or separate document saying the student fulfilled Latin
Honors requirements
12. Potential disconnect between pre-major and major advisers, or major adviser
to major adviser
13. Requirements or options that are guided
14. First-years have to think about what they’re going to take in their first year,
keeping in mind their future
15. Advisers: tell first-years to ease themselves into the course load
16. Language courses: native speakers/people who have taken an intro course
before are taking it with people who have never studied it before
C. Student Initiatives:
1. “Difficult dialogues” with civil discourse for all students – there will be
conflicts within the houses and difficult times
2. Not just for ResLife but also for faculty
3. Dean Ohotnicky – revamp House Fellows program, which can talk about
diversity
4. Student orgs that organize events around discussing issues
5. Political student orgs talk about diversity
6. Cultural orgs
7. Try to open up Resource for Sexuality and Gender Center to cultural orgs
8. Service learning opportunities usually occur 8am-5pm, when students are busy
with other things
a. SOS – service learning
9. Opening Doors to Women of Promise – at Smith and in the outside community
D. Alums in NY meeting were excited to connect with current students
1. Realize many times what Smith gave you after you left (challenges Smith
presented), learned the skills to work through challenges
2. They really want to talk to current students and pass on advice
3. Alums can adopt students and send them things throughout the year
E. Open Hours
1. Naomi Miller’s open hours M 2-3pm, class office hours TR 2-3 (e-mail first),
and in the afternoon after open hours on 1st floor of College Hall
a. Maria Viejo – assistant
Minutes – All
A. Motion to approve the minutes from 10-5-06 passes 10-0-0
Committee Updates – All
A. McKay
1. Committee updates
B. Molly
1. Optional dinner meeting – 3 people
C. Madge
1. One professor resigned from AHB
a. Dean Mahoney appoints new one
D. Ali
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VI.
VII.
IX.
1. Getting ready for wine and cheese event for parents weekend catered by Sam’s
on Saturday
2. Doing care packages a week earlier this year
3. Shirts are being ordered
4. Meet and Greet event in November
E. Michele
1. Georgia coming on the 9th
F. Adrienne
1. Have spots filled for junior and first-year classes; 5 sophomore presidents;
EnA Chair
G. Devin
1. New member
2. Org rollover – don’t know how much
H. Kamille
1. Committee met twice
2. Articles in The Right View (not from the Republican Club)
3. Tonight, she and McKay were informed that a few Adas went to the
Republican meeting and addressed the article
4. Tamra: “Starting discussion is great if you start it respectfully”
5. ORC guidelines: Budget needs to be in by 12pm, use the form for all budgets,
must meet with liaison before submitting their budget
I. Jill
1. Wine and cheese is 8 November
College/ SGA Updates – Meg
A. College Hall Open House
1. HPA level of enthusiasm – publicity is high
2. Move it to the spring
3. Dean Mahoney to Cabinet next week – Retention Rate
B. Month of October and Cabinet
1. Speaker every night tonight, next week, Audrey Smith (19th), 26th – President
Christ (right before Seven Sisters conference); 20th – Board of Trustees
presentation
Seven Sisters Updates – All
A. Jill Ker Conway
1. Confirmed, may be coming to tea the night before at the President’s House
2. Trying to get this event in the NY Times
B. Food
1. Janelle is on vacation until next week; likely will not be able to get it
2. Ordered breakfast with Sam
C. Space
1. Davis ballroom – booked at 4pm for Women of Distinction
2. Can cater in Parsons, Cushing, Wilson
D. Gifts
1. Latest we can order is 10 business days prior – by next Friday
Motion to Adjourn
1. Meg adjourned the meeting at 9:12pm
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