EEO/Diversity Committee
Minutes
Friday, April 17, 2015 - 3:00 p.m.
D-129
MEMBERS
Name
Representing
Peter Calvert
Melissa Chin-Parker
Ann De Jesus Riley
Liz Estrella
At-large
Administration
Faculty
Faculty, co-chair
Brenda Jones
Terri Pyer
Lizbeth Roldan
Nora Torres-Zuniga
CSEA
CHRO; co-chair
Student
At-large
Present
Absent
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
Others
Name
Alma Arriaga
Title or Representing
HR Recruiting
CALL TO ORDER & INTRODUCTIONS
Meeting called to order at 3:20 p.m.
Present
Absent
x
Terri Pyer
ACTION ITEMS
1. The agenda was approved.
2. March minutes were approved with one correction.
INFORMATION/DISCUSSION/PRESENTATIONS
1. Diversity training update. Terri said that 63 people attended the make-up session of the diversity
training on March 27, leaving only 23 employees who were not on leaves who had not received the
training. Laura Schulkind was so kind as to make herself available for one additional session on April
24, so that nearly everyone will be trained. Members have received positive feedback about this
training.
2. Developing the 2015-16 calendar. Terri presented a model for creating a theme-based calendar of
activities for next year around the theme of the immigrant experience. We agreed to have a major
focus on activities around T.C. Boyle’s Tortilla Curtain in the fall, and to choose a different piece of
literature about the immigrant experience in the spring. Several were shared (see agenda), and each
member will come with suggestions for the May meeting. Nora will reach out to the bookstore to see
if anyone has taught Tortilla Curtain recently, and then we’ll see if that person might help us in
creating a book club experience, maybe culminating in a book discussion one evening with a potluck.
1
HARTNELL COLLEGE VISION STATEMENT
Hartnell College will be nationally recognized for the success of our students by developing leaders who will contribute
to the social, cultural, and economic vitality of our region and the global community.
HARTNELL COLLEGE MISSION STATEMENT
Focusing on the needs of the Salinas Valley, Hartnell College provides educational opportunities for students to reach
academic goals in an environment committed to student learning, achievement and success.
Melissa will reach out to our sociology instructor to update her on our plans and see if she would like
to participate. Melissa suggested that we make the book club like The Big Read, and invite the
community, too. Melissa will find out when Matthew Spangler might be available to talk to the book
club group, targeting sometime between September 28 and October 10. We also might try to have a
special evening performance that would include a special reception for the bookclub group with the
play personnel. For the spring themed event, we might want to provide an event where we have a
guided way for folks to tell their own stories related to the book and the year’s theme.
Nora will reach out to our communication studies instructor to see if he could present a talk or
workshop for the college community on intercultural communication sometime before the end of this
semester. If not, we would want this to happen early in the fall.
We brainstormed whether we also could create activities around Luis Valdez’s Corridos, going up at
TWS on August 29. Melissa will check with the musical director to see if we might be able to get his
help to involve interested community members in a musical experience that reinforces the show’s
content and themes (a sing-along? Choral workshop?), and that maybe we would see if he also
could find music from other cultures that would be interesting comparisons.
Homework: everyone will look for short videos that we might use in our campaign to send monthly
emails to Hartnell employees next year that encourage people to explore ways for us to build a
welcoming, strong community around issues of diversity, things we might call conversation starters.
Melissa has sent several videos to us already. Nora wanted us also to include some of the videos we
have that tell the stories of our students. In each monthly email, we also could ask people to
participate by asking them to do something, like answer a question or offer a suggestion, that we
call prompts, and then we could post those responses on our webpage and, if appropriate, on
plasma screens around campus. Focus: emphasize our humanity, offset negativity and promote
positives.
We might try to also have activities around visual arts, culture of food, and other ways of
storytelling.
OTHER ITEMS/BRIEF ANNOUNCEMENTS
NEXT MEETING(S)
June 15, 2015
ADJOURNMENT
Meeting adjourned at 4:40 p.m.
2
HARTNELL COLLEGE VISION STATEMENT
Hartnell College will be nationally recognized for the success of our students by developing leaders who will contribute
to the social, cultural, and economic vitality of our region and the global community.
HARTNELL COLLEGE MISSION STATEMENT
Focusing on the needs of the Salinas Valley, Hartnell College provides educational opportunities for students to reach
academic goals in an environment committed to student learning, achievement and success.