Diversity Action Council

Diversity Action Plan (October 2005)

When the Diversity Action Council (DAC) was created in 1999, one of the group’s responsibilities was to design a Diversity Action Plan. The DAC designed such a plan, with four major goals specified. These goals are listed below, with the relevant DAC activities and accomplishments listed below each goal in a bulleted list.

Goals & Accomplishments

Goal 1: Enhancing the institutional environment, curriculum, and scholarship

  • Over a five-year period, the DAC has awarded approximately $50,000 in grants to faculty members working on scholarship projects that address diversity.
  • Sponsored or co-sponsored an average of two events each term (excluding summer) focusing on diversity issues.
  • With the Center for Academic Excellence, the DAC co-sponsored the first Diversity Action Council’s President’s Diversity Initiative Awards Ceremony to recognize faculty, staff, and students for exemplary work that honors the President’s Diversity Initiative.
  • Conducted research regarding the effectiveness of diversity training efforts at comparable institutions. As a result of that research;
  • The National Coalition Building Institute (NCBI) was brought to campus to train 34 faculty and staff members to participate in and lead campus diversity work shops. The PSU-NCBI team is called PSUnity.
  • Publishes the Diversity Initiative Newsletter.

Goal 2: Increasing numbers of students from under-represented groups

  • Over a five-year period, awarded approximately $15,000 to student groups for events that celebrate and enhance the diversity of our student body.
  • Organize the Diversity Film Fest. Over a five-year period, 19 films have been shown. For the past two years, the series has been held in a residence hall and offered for undergraduate student credit.
  • Sponsor or co-sponsor various diversity events targeted primarily or partly to students, such as the Multicultural Graduation Celebration, the DiverseAbilities Conference, and the MLK Day celebration.

Goal 3: Increasing numbers of persons from under-represented groups in faculty, classified staff, and administration

  • The DAC created the Diversity Action Resource Team to assist departments with the hiring and retention of diverse faculty.
  • Created Connections, a monthly gathering for faculty and staff of color.

Goal 4: Strengthening connections with diverse communities in the region

  • Contributed to planning for PSU’s annual MLK Day celebration.
  • Provided support for Origins, a networking event for faculty and staff of color in higher education in the Pacific Northwest. The event was held on October 27, 2004, at Red Lion Hotel at the Quay in conjunction with Washington State Faculty and Staff of Color in Higher Ed's 9th annual conference, Cultural Intersections: Dialogues Among Communities of Color (October 27 - 29, 2004).


Work in Progress (2005-2006)

The work of the DAC is currently organized into four sub-committees, each with an assigned chair who serves on the DAC Chairs’ Committee. The Chairs’ Committee meets once a month, and serves as an organizing body for the DAC.

  • Subcommittee 1: Retention of a Diverse Faculty and Staff (relates to Goals 1 and 3)

This group has two major projects, the Diversity Action Retention Team (DART) and Connections. In January, 2005, the DART leadership will be meeting with each college or school dean to discuss the possibility of providing DART training to groups of department chairs. The DART conducted 10 training sessions to groups of chairs or departmental faculty during the winter and spring terms of 2005. DART plans to increase the number of visits in 2005-2006. Connections is a group in transition. The leaderships of Connections and of the DAC are currently exploring the possibility of Connections members becoming more involved in DART work.

  • Subcommittee 2: Diversity Training and Education (relates to Goals 1, 2, and 3)
This group is in the process of planning events to promote PSUnity, the PSU team building an inclusive community for all campus members.
The Diversity Training and Education committee will also enhance the DAC’s web site (http://diversity.pdx.edu/dac.php) to provide diversity-related teaching and learning resources for faculty, staff, and students.
  • Subcommittee 3: Research and Grants (relates to Goal 1)

The Research and Grants group serves as a review committee for all DAC mini-grants. For the 2004-2005 faculty diversity mini-grant competition, the group awarded a total of $8000 to fund five projects. By design, all of this year’s projects related to campus climate and the recruitment and retention of a diverse faculty, staff, and student body at Portland State. This year, the DAC will award $6,000 to fund faculty mini-grants. The DAC research and grants working group will award student mini-grants $1,000 in student mini-grants in 2005-2006. This group is also working with the Office of Institutional Research and Planning, the Office of Human Resources, and the Office of Affirmative Action to collect data on the recruitment and retention of faculty, staff and students of color. This group has conducted research on diversity best practices at other universities and researched possible grant opportunities for the DAC. The group is now in the process of developing proposal ideas and isolating the grant opportunities that are most appropriate for the DAC to pursue. The goal is to submit for at least one large grant and possibly several small grants by the end of the year.

  • Subcommittee 4: Special Events and Projects (relates to Goal 4)

This group is in the process of planning the second annual Diversity Action Council’s President’s Diversity Initiative Awards Ceremony to recognize faculty, staff, and students for exemplary work that honors the President’s Diversity Initiative for June 6, 2006.

This group is also researching the possibility of hosting a scholarly conference to focus on how diverse and cultural knowledge affects teaching and learning.