COMMITTEE ON MULTICULTURAL CURRICULUM TRANSFORMATION
Notes from Meeting of
19 November 2013
The third meeting of the Committee on Multicultural Curriculum Transformation was held on
Tuesday, November 19, 2013 at 10:03 a.m. in Altgeld 203.
Attendance
Gary Chen (Engineering & Engineering Technology), Teresa Fisher (Education), Bill
Goldenberg (Visual & Performing Arts), Kristin Huffine (Director, Center for Latino and Latin
American Studies), Anita Maddali (Law), Robin Moremen (Liberal Arts & Sciences), Kristen
Myers (CMCT Chair; Director, Women’s Studies), Donna Smith (Supportive Professional Staff,
Catalog Editor/Curriculum Coordinator), Beth Towell (Curricular Dean College of Business),
and Carly Seibel (CMCT Graduate Assistant).
Minutes
The minutes from the meeting of October 15, 2013 were approved with one amendment.
Announcements
Towell shared information about a new program in the College of business called the "Passport
to the Business World.” She suggested this program as a way to collaborate across colleges,
increase awareness of diversity, and ensure participation at myriad events. She shared the
following link to learn more information about the program http://www.cob.niu.edu/passport/.
Debrief from Fall Presentations
Positive Feedback:
 Committee agreed that the conference format worked very well.
 Group leaders said that their group members really enjoyed the conference format.
 Members of the committee agreed that the refreshments and food were a nice touch.
 Goldenberg noted that all of his group members were able to watch and support each
other during their presentations since the presentations were all in one day.
 Goldenberg also mentioned that some of his group members had friends or colleagues
come to the presentations.
 Myers noted that her group members referenced each other several times during their
presentations. Other small group leaders added that their small group members seemed to
use one another as resources in their multicultural curriculum transformation experience.
Suggestions for future process:
 Plan for final presentations earlier.
 Have a date set for final presentations by the end of the institute.
o Have presenters videotape their presentation if they cannot present on set date.
 Begin advertising earlier.
 Provide small group presenters and committee members with flyers to distribute and
display in their centers/colleges.
Rubrics from Presentations
Feedback/Suggestions for future process:
 Myers noted that this assessment tool is brand new.
 Moremen commented that she liked the three point for knowledge about diversity
because it dealt with power and inequality, but she doesn’t think that it was met by her
group members. Myers explained that it was a very high standard for the presenters to
meet, and it was important to keep it a high standard.
 Myers reported that “meeting expectations” was the goal for the presentations, which was
a score of a 6.
o It was noted that we need to look at where group members fell below expectations
to see where we need to make improvements within the institute. We also need to
see where group members exceeded expectations to note effective aspects of the
institute. Towell added that after reviewing the rubrics, it would be important to
discuss specific ways to improve the institute.
Review of Reports
Myers confirmed that each committee member will review both the final report and the before
and after syllabi for each presenter assigned. Moremen noted that in the past they had 2 people
review each final report. It was discussed that the small group leader and one committee member
would review each report. Myers said that she would create a rubric for the report reviews.
Myers added that the deadline will be sometime in January.
Decisions for Promotional Video
Myers asked each group leader to nominate 1-2 members of their small group to be filmed for a
3-minute promotional video for the MCTI. She added that this video would reflect the
effectiveness of the institute. Myers also requested that group leaders send an e-mail to her
explaining why they recommended certain individuals. Towell suggested that it would be
important to include people of different colleges to make a very diverse video. Below are the
nominations given by group leaders:
Moremen: Julie Ramisch & Jui-Ching Wang
Goldenberg: Sheela Vemu & Steven Barleen
Myers: Shei-Chau Wang & Teresa Wasonga
Fisher: Amanda Littauer
Moremen nominated Julie Ramisch and Jui-Ching Wang. Moremen explained that Julie Ramisch
(Family, Consumer & Nutrition Sciences) did her presentation on treating couples. Ramisch
added a whole topic of “self of the therapist” which was a self evaluation on positionality.
Moremen noted that maybe Ramisch could speak of that in the promotional video. Moremen
stated that Jui-Ching Wang (School of Music) is planning on using “soundscapes” to show
diverse perspectives which could be discussed in the promotional video.
Goldenberg nominated Sheela Vemu and Steven Barleen. Goldenberg liked Sheela Vemu’s
statement in her presentation which said “We teach what we are.” Huffine added that Sheela
Vemu (Biological Sciences) looked at Eugenics and the scientific method. Goldenberg also
nominated Steven Barleen (Academic Advising Center) for the video. Goldenberg noted that
Barleen is “very aware of social inequality and power.” Barleen also discussed labor movements
and social class.
Fisher nominated Amanda Littauer (History & Women’s Studies) because she liked the way
Littauer explained her rationale for how she is going to expand her course since it has been
diversified before. Fisher mentioned that Littauer is working on bringing students’ personal
diversity into the classroom.
Myers nominated Shei-Chau Wang from the (School of Art). Myers added that maybe we can
ask him to show some of his art work. Myers expressed that “his images alone
communication volumes of information.” Myers also stated that she thought Teresa
Wasonga (Leadership, Educational Psychology & Foundations) had very good content during
in her presentation. Wasonga also showed how collaborative the MCTI can be as she
worked and learned from others in her small group. Myers added that she liked Wasonga’s
statement that “the MCTI reminded her why diversity is so important.”
Reflect on meeting structure
Myers noted that the structure of the Committee on Multicultural Curriculum began in 1993.
Myers suggested that maybe the structure of this committee should change to reflect the present
time.
Suggestions:
 Having a prescribed alternate list for those who cannot attend a meeting.
 Myers suggested electing a chair, who really wants to be committee chair, to bring fresh
ideas, new points of view, etc. She added that this would help to maintain stability.
 It was agreed that a “chair-ship” could be a possible idea.
 Having a chair and an assistant chair could be a possible idea. Each chair would have
different tasks and duties.
 Re-organize assessment committee to a committee member who is not the chair.
 Bring in other centers to represent a more diverse committee.
o It was added that it would be important to have the full committee with
representatives from all of the different colleges.
 Have more clearly defined roles for each member on the committee
 Possible orientation sessions for new committee members to become familiar with the
committee and the MCTI.
After much discussion, Moremen and Myers expressed the need to discuss the meeting structure
at a mandatory committee meeting with all members present.
Other Business
Myers suggested asking Janice Hamlet, Karen Baker, and Katrina Caudwell to attend the January
committee meeting.
 No meeting in December!
 Bring assessment rubrics from the reports you reviewed as well as your reactions to the
effectiveness of these rubrics.
 Bring ideas to January meeting on potential keynote, plenary and session presenters for
the next institute (May 2015).
The meeting was adjourned at 11:30 a.m. The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday,
January 21, 2014 from 10:00-11:30 a.m. in Altgeld 203.