[Podcast and Transcript], NPR; Kagan Criticized For Lack of Diversity At Harvard:
"Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan is lauded by the White House and many of her colleagues for bringing ideological diversity -- and harmony -- to Harvard Law during the years she served as the school's dean. She recruited conservative law professors to balance the faculty politically. But it is a diversity of a different kind that Duke Law professor Guy Charles finds lacking during her tenure. He points out that of 32 faculty hires made under her leadership; only one was a person of color. A mere seven were women. Charles shares his concerns with guest host Allison Keyes."
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126778631
Sunday, June 13, 2010
School reverses decision to lighten Hispanic child's skin color in AZ mural; Examiner.com, 6/6/10
William Skordelis, Examiner.com; School reverses decision to lighten Hispanic child's skin color in AZ mural:
"The mural in Prescott Arizona which became the center of controversy when school officials had asked the artists to lighten the skin color of the children.
The "lightening" process began last Sunday, but by Friday, the national media had latched onto the story when R.E. Wall, the director of Prescott's Downtown Mural Project, told the Daily Courier a local Prescott newspaper about the story. He spoke of motorists hurling racial epithets at the "Mural Mice" the students who painted the mural, and labeled the reaction racist. School officials denied any racial motivation behind their decision and claimed "artistic" reasons for the change.
But the racial backlash against the project was fueled by Prescott City Councilman Steve Blair whose public comments against racial diversity and minorities, and the ethnic ratio of Prescott, were broadcast on his KYCA radio talk. And all the while denying that his comments were racist, or that he was a racist. Steve Blair has since been fired from the station.
Today the story took a turn for the best, when dozens of people protested the school board's decision to alter the original painting with light-skinned children. The decision was reversed today and the mural will be restored back to its ethnically correct state.
Diversity won this time, but there is no denying that racism and racial tension are not a thing of the past. Electing a black president was not proof that we had moved on from our dark past, instead it has proven just how far we really need to go.
If this nation can ever accept all races as equal we will have achieved something that seems at times unattainable, but then other times, like today, in Prescott, it seems a teeny-tiny bit closer."
http://www.examiner.com/x-40953-Political-Media-Examiner~y2010m6d6-School-reverses-decision-to-lighten-Hispanic-childs-skin-color-in-AZ-mural
"The mural in Prescott Arizona which became the center of controversy when school officials had asked the artists to lighten the skin color of the children.
The "lightening" process began last Sunday, but by Friday, the national media had latched onto the story when R.E. Wall, the director of Prescott's Downtown Mural Project, told the Daily Courier a local Prescott newspaper about the story. He spoke of motorists hurling racial epithets at the "Mural Mice" the students who painted the mural, and labeled the reaction racist. School officials denied any racial motivation behind their decision and claimed "artistic" reasons for the change.
But the racial backlash against the project was fueled by Prescott City Councilman Steve Blair whose public comments against racial diversity and minorities, and the ethnic ratio of Prescott, were broadcast on his KYCA radio talk. And all the while denying that his comments were racist, or that he was a racist. Steve Blair has since been fired from the station.
Today the story took a turn for the best, when dozens of people protested the school board's decision to alter the original painting with light-skinned children. The decision was reversed today and the mural will be restored back to its ethnically correct state.
Diversity won this time, but there is no denying that racism and racial tension are not a thing of the past. Electing a black president was not proof that we had moved on from our dark past, instead it has proven just how far we really need to go.
If this nation can ever accept all races as equal we will have achieved something that seems at times unattainable, but then other times, like today, in Prescott, it seems a teeny-tiny bit closer."
http://www.examiner.com/x-40953-Political-Media-Examiner~y2010m6d6-School-reverses-decision-to-lighten-Hispanic-childs-skin-color-in-AZ-mural
Some Hospitals Falling Short of Protecting for Gay Patients; Health Leaders Media, 6/8/10
Janice Simmons, Health Leaders Media; Some Hospitals Falling Short of Protecting for Gay Patients:
"An evaluation of 200 of the nation's largest hospitals found that 42% currently do not have policies in place to fully protect gay and lesbian patients from restrictions based on sexual orientation, according to a report released Monday by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation."
http://www.healthleadersmedia.com/content/QUA-252125/Some-Hospitals-Falling-Short-of-Protecting-for-Gay-Patients##
"An evaluation of 200 of the nation's largest hospitals found that 42% currently do not have policies in place to fully protect gay and lesbian patients from restrictions based on sexual orientation, according to a report released Monday by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation."
http://www.healthleadersmedia.com/content/QUA-252125/Some-Hospitals-Falling-Short-of-Protecting-for-Gay-Patients##
Census shows more diversity; Spokesman-Review, 6/11/10
Hope Yen, Spokesman-Review; Four states exceed 50 percent minorities:
"The nation’s minority population is steadily rising and now makes up 35 percent of the United States, advancing an unmistakable trend that could make minorities the new American majority by midcentury.
As white baby boomers age past their childbearing years, younger Hispanic parents are having children – and driving U.S. population growth.
“The aging of baby boomers beyond young middle age will have profound impacts on our labor force, housing market, schools and generational divisions on issues such as Social Security and Medicare,” said William H. Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution. “The engine of growth for the younger population in most states will be new minorities.”
New Census estimates show minorities added more than 2 percent in 2009 to 107.2 million people, boosted by a surge in Hispanic births and more people who described themselves as multiracial. During this time, the white population remained flat, making up roughly 199.9 million, or 65 percent, of the country.
By comparison, whites comprised 69 percent of the total population in 2000, and minorities 31 percent.
Currently four states – Hawaii, New Mexico, California and Texas – as well as the District of Columbia have minority populations that exceeded 50 percent. That’s one state more than in 2000, when Texas was not on the list.
About 311 of the 3,143 counties – one in 10 – have minority populations of 50 percent or greater. That’s up from around 250 counties in 2000.
The Census estimates released Thursday documented a widening age and race divide. They are the last government numbers before completion later this year of the 2010 census, which could change the balance of political power when legislative districts are redrawn based on population and racial diversity."
"The nation’s minority population is steadily rising and now makes up 35 percent of the United States, advancing an unmistakable trend that could make minorities the new American majority by midcentury.
As white baby boomers age past their childbearing years, younger Hispanic parents are having children – and driving U.S. population growth.
“The aging of baby boomers beyond young middle age will have profound impacts on our labor force, housing market, schools and generational divisions on issues such as Social Security and Medicare,” said William H. Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution. “The engine of growth for the younger population in most states will be new minorities.”
New Census estimates show minorities added more than 2 percent in 2009 to 107.2 million people, boosted by a surge in Hispanic births and more people who described themselves as multiracial. During this time, the white population remained flat, making up roughly 199.9 million, or 65 percent, of the country.
By comparison, whites comprised 69 percent of the total population in 2000, and minorities 31 percent.
Currently four states – Hawaii, New Mexico, California and Texas – as well as the District of Columbia have minority populations that exceeded 50 percent. That’s one state more than in 2000, when Texas was not on the list.
About 311 of the 3,143 counties – one in 10 – have minority populations of 50 percent or greater. That’s up from around 250 counties in 2000.
The Census estimates released Thursday documented a widening age and race divide. They are the last government numbers before completion later this year of the 2010 census, which could change the balance of political power when legislative districts are redrawn based on population and racial diversity."
Much Research on Campus Diversity Suffers From Being Only Skin Deep, New Studies Suggest; Chronicle of Higher Education, 4/13/10
Peter Schmidt, Chronicle of Higher Education; Much Research on Campus Diversity Suffers From Being Only Skin Deep, New Studies Suggest:
"A new collection of studies suggests that the success of minority college students and students' perceptions of race relations on their campuses are strongly influenced by factors that actually have little direct connection with ethnicity or race.
Among the studies, all published in the spring issue of New Directions for Institutional Research, is an analysis of University of California student survey data that concludes that students' choice of academic major plays a greater role than their race in determining how much discrimination they perceive on campus. Moreover, having large numbers of racially and culturally sensitive students might paradoxically cause a campus's reputation for tolerance to suffer, because such students are more likely to perceive and report bigotry around them.
Another study, unusual in that it focuses on a campus where white students are outnumbered, concludes that high minority enrollments do not necessarily lead to increased perceptions of tolerance. A third study, examining the educational progress of freshmen at several institutions, concludes that first-generation college students experience some events on the campus differently than do other students. For example, they appear not to reap the same educational gains from out-of-classroom interactions with faculty members as do their peers with at least one college-educated parent, perhaps because the first-generation students may be somewhat rattled and put off by such interactions, which leave their peers feeling more intellectually engaged.
The journal issue, titled Diversity and Educational Benefits, was edited by Serge Herzog, director of institutional analysis at the University of Nevada at Reno, who said in an interview Tuesday that the new studies reinforce his view that much past research on diversity on campuses has been focused on advancing one side of the debate over affirmative action and has lacked a sound empirical basis and an appreciation of the complexities of campus race relations.
Although a wave of other recent studies not included in the new journal issue have taken a similarly nuanced approach to examining campus diversity, Mr. Herzog said much more such work needs to be done to ensure that colleges' policies are grounded in sound research.
"Clearly, defining diversity strictly around ethnicity or race fails to capture the multidimensionality of the concept," Mr. Herzog writes in an article in the journal summarizing the studies it presents. Other student attributes that also contribute to campus diversity, he writes, "play a significant role in shaping both the academic and the social experience of students," and assessments of the educational benefits of diversity "may significantly vary with the type of data used.""
http://chronicle.com/article/Much-Research-on-Campus-Div/65051/
"A new collection of studies suggests that the success of minority college students and students' perceptions of race relations on their campuses are strongly influenced by factors that actually have little direct connection with ethnicity or race.
Among the studies, all published in the spring issue of New Directions for Institutional Research, is an analysis of University of California student survey data that concludes that students' choice of academic major plays a greater role than their race in determining how much discrimination they perceive on campus. Moreover, having large numbers of racially and culturally sensitive students might paradoxically cause a campus's reputation for tolerance to suffer, because such students are more likely to perceive and report bigotry around them.
Another study, unusual in that it focuses on a campus where white students are outnumbered, concludes that high minority enrollments do not necessarily lead to increased perceptions of tolerance. A third study, examining the educational progress of freshmen at several institutions, concludes that first-generation college students experience some events on the campus differently than do other students. For example, they appear not to reap the same educational gains from out-of-classroom interactions with faculty members as do their peers with at least one college-educated parent, perhaps because the first-generation students may be somewhat rattled and put off by such interactions, which leave their peers feeling more intellectually engaged.
The journal issue, titled Diversity and Educational Benefits, was edited by Serge Herzog, director of institutional analysis at the University of Nevada at Reno, who said in an interview Tuesday that the new studies reinforce his view that much past research on diversity on campuses has been focused on advancing one side of the debate over affirmative action and has lacked a sound empirical basis and an appreciation of the complexities of campus race relations.
Although a wave of other recent studies not included in the new journal issue have taken a similarly nuanced approach to examining campus diversity, Mr. Herzog said much more such work needs to be done to ensure that colleges' policies are grounded in sound research.
"Clearly, defining diversity strictly around ethnicity or race fails to capture the multidimensionality of the concept," Mr. Herzog writes in an article in the journal summarizing the studies it presents. Other student attributes that also contribute to campus diversity, he writes, "play a significant role in shaping both the academic and the social experience of students," and assessments of the educational benefits of diversity "may significantly vary with the type of data used.""
http://chronicle.com/article/Much-Research-on-Campus-Div/65051/
Becoming a Force for Diversity and Inclusion; Diverse Issues in Higher Education, 6/8/10
Jamal Eric Watson, Diverse Issues in Higher Education; Becoming a Force for Diversity and Inclusion:
"Rosemary E. Kilkenny made her foray into the diversity arena more than three decades ago.
Troubled at the time by the dearth of Black graduate students in her class at Kent State University, Kilkenny complained to the dean of graduate studies about the lack of diversity but was later challenged to develop a program of her own aimed at increasing Black enrollment.
She accepted the challenge, and her strategy for increasing minority enrollment by ensuring Black students had the financial and mentoring support they needed was immediately hailed as a success and Kilkenny was later appointed assistant dean for graduate recruitment. She went on to serve in various positions at Kent State University and the State University of New York at Albany before arriving in 1980 at the nation’s oldest Jesuit university, where she assumed the role of special assistant for affirmative action programs.
Today, Kilkenny is Georgetown University’s vice president for institutional diversity and equity, a position that was created for her in 2006, and she has become the university’s most visible cheerleader for diversity and inclusion.
Under Kilkenny’s leadership, Georgetown — which is largely viewed as conservative and steeped in tradition — has been aggressive in launching several campuswide initiatives aimed at making the campus more welcoming of others. The latest effort at promoting change was unveiled last spring and is a comprehensive attempt by the university to focus on diversity in recruitment and outreach, student life and curriculum.
“I am very committed to issues of social justice and equity,” says Kilkenny, who received her law degree from Georgetown. “Sometimes this is very frustrating work. You take major steps forward and then you take some steps backward.”
Those backward steps include an incident in 2007 in which several Georgetown students were targets of anti-gay attacks. The university responded by opening a resource center for gay students and hiring a full-time director to run it. The center plans events on campus such as Coming Out Week and Lavender Graduation, a ceremony held for gay students.
“There are from time to time incidents where LGBTQ students might be addressed in negative ways or harassed,” says Kilkenny. “Ultimately we want to feel like that’s eliminated so LGBTQ students feel like they’re safe on our campus.”
Responding to the various challenges that confront diversity efforts on campus has been a bit of a balancing act for the mother of two. Two years ago, the university required all university employees to participate in an online anti-harassment and discrimination course called “Promoting a Respectful Campus Community.”
Kilkenny says she remains personally committed to increasing the percentage of minority faculty on the campus. Asians, African-Americans and Latinos comprise about 15 percent of Georgetown’s faculty. The university scored a major coup when it lured Dr. Michael Eric Dyson away from the University of Pennsylvania a few years ago, and administrators have since hired three prominent African-Americans in the physics and mathematics departments.
Still, Kilkenny is discouraged by the lack of minority graduate students on campus — overall Black enrollment is about 6.7 percent, though its Black graduate student population is less than 3 percent — and says the university seeks to reverse this trend by committing a significant portion of its $1.5 billion capital campaign to fund grants for deserving minority students.
“We have to cast a wide net and build a pipeline of minority graduate students whom we can tap for the job market,” says Kilkenny.
“We need to do more to get full-time doctoral students because these students will serve as teaching assistants to our faculty, and they will be the future generation of the academy,” says Kilkenny, who wants Georgetown to partner with fellow Washington, D.C., institutions like Howard, George Washington and American universities when it comes to recruiting minority doctoral students for potential jobs. “The idea that we are living in a post-racial society is really a myth.”"
http://diverseeducation.com/article/13861/becoming-a-force-for-diversity-and-inclusion.html
"Rosemary E. Kilkenny made her foray into the diversity arena more than three decades ago.
Troubled at the time by the dearth of Black graduate students in her class at Kent State University, Kilkenny complained to the dean of graduate studies about the lack of diversity but was later challenged to develop a program of her own aimed at increasing Black enrollment.
She accepted the challenge, and her strategy for increasing minority enrollment by ensuring Black students had the financial and mentoring support they needed was immediately hailed as a success and Kilkenny was later appointed assistant dean for graduate recruitment. She went on to serve in various positions at Kent State University and the State University of New York at Albany before arriving in 1980 at the nation’s oldest Jesuit university, where she assumed the role of special assistant for affirmative action programs.
Today, Kilkenny is Georgetown University’s vice president for institutional diversity and equity, a position that was created for her in 2006, and she has become the university’s most visible cheerleader for diversity and inclusion.
Under Kilkenny’s leadership, Georgetown — which is largely viewed as conservative and steeped in tradition — has been aggressive in launching several campuswide initiatives aimed at making the campus more welcoming of others. The latest effort at promoting change was unveiled last spring and is a comprehensive attempt by the university to focus on diversity in recruitment and outreach, student life and curriculum.
“I am very committed to issues of social justice and equity,” says Kilkenny, who received her law degree from Georgetown. “Sometimes this is very frustrating work. You take major steps forward and then you take some steps backward.”
Those backward steps include an incident in 2007 in which several Georgetown students were targets of anti-gay attacks. The university responded by opening a resource center for gay students and hiring a full-time director to run it. The center plans events on campus such as Coming Out Week and Lavender Graduation, a ceremony held for gay students.
“There are from time to time incidents where LGBTQ students might be addressed in negative ways or harassed,” says Kilkenny. “Ultimately we want to feel like that’s eliminated so LGBTQ students feel like they’re safe on our campus.”
Responding to the various challenges that confront diversity efforts on campus has been a bit of a balancing act for the mother of two. Two years ago, the university required all university employees to participate in an online anti-harassment and discrimination course called “Promoting a Respectful Campus Community.”
Kilkenny says she remains personally committed to increasing the percentage of minority faculty on the campus. Asians, African-Americans and Latinos comprise about 15 percent of Georgetown’s faculty. The university scored a major coup when it lured Dr. Michael Eric Dyson away from the University of Pennsylvania a few years ago, and administrators have since hired three prominent African-Americans in the physics and mathematics departments.
Still, Kilkenny is discouraged by the lack of minority graduate students on campus — overall Black enrollment is about 6.7 percent, though its Black graduate student population is less than 3 percent — and says the university seeks to reverse this trend by committing a significant portion of its $1.5 billion capital campaign to fund grants for deserving minority students.
“We have to cast a wide net and build a pipeline of minority graduate students whom we can tap for the job market,” says Kilkenny.
“We need to do more to get full-time doctoral students because these students will serve as teaching assistants to our faculty, and they will be the future generation of the academy,” says Kilkenny, who wants Georgetown to partner with fellow Washington, D.C., institutions like Howard, George Washington and American universities when it comes to recruiting minority doctoral students for potential jobs. “The idea that we are living in a post-racial society is really a myth.”"
http://diverseeducation.com/article/13861/becoming-a-force-for-diversity-and-inclusion.html
Saturday, June 12, 2010
PG&E Receives High Marks for Diversity Efforts; New York Times, 4/6/10
New York Times; PG&E Receives High Marks for Diversity Efforts:
"Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) has been recognized for its strong diversity practices by DiversityInc, a leading publication on diversity and business, for the second year in a row.
DiversityInc included PG&E on its list of top 10 companies nationwide for supplier diversity. The publication also ranked the company second on its list of top regional utilities, up one spot from the previous year. Additionally, for the first time PG&E ranked third among the top 10 companies for Latinos, based on its long-term commitment to hiring, retaining, compensating and promoting Latinos in the workforce and management.
"PG&E strongly supports the economic health of communities in which we live and work as a major purchaser of goods and services," said Des Bell, PG&E's senior vice president of shared services and chief procurement officer. "Since 1981, our supplier diversity program has provided thousands of diverse businesses with opportunities to supply products to PG&E. It's an honor to receive this recognition as we continue our efforts to integrate even more diverse suppliers into our supply chain."
According to Bell, PG&E had to overcome a challenging economic climate in 2009 to expand its base of diverse suppliers. By the end of last year, the company spent more than $900 million, or 25.6 percent of PG&E's procurement funds, on products and services from businesses owned by minorities, women and service-disabled veterans.
While diversity and inclusion have long been hallmarks of PG&E's heritage, the company deepened its commitment in recent years by appointing a chief diversity officer, providing training to all members of its leadership team, and increasing its focus on identifying, developing and recruiting diverse talent.
"Diversity is one of PG&E's core values and is integral to our business strategy. It allows us to better anticipate, understand and satisfy the needs of the 15 million Californians we serve," said Bill Harper, PG&E's vice president and chief diversity officer. "These rankings recognize our dedication to foster diversity and support the diverse communities the company serves."
For more information on PG&E's diversity and inclusion commitment or to learn how to apply to become a certified diverse supplier, visit www.pge.com/about/company/diversityinclusion/.
About DiversityInc
Launched in 1997, DiversityInc is the leading business publication connecting diversity and the bottom line, with 1 million unique monthly visitors. DiversityInc.com includes the largest diversity job board in the nation. DiversityInc also produces events and conducts benchmarking, custom research and consulting."
http://markets.on.nytimes.com/research/stocks/news/press_release.asp?docTag=201004061310PR_NEWS_USPR_____SF82059&feedID=600&press_symbol=226189
"Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) has been recognized for its strong diversity practices by DiversityInc, a leading publication on diversity and business, for the second year in a row.
DiversityInc included PG&E on its list of top 10 companies nationwide for supplier diversity. The publication also ranked the company second on its list of top regional utilities, up one spot from the previous year. Additionally, for the first time PG&E ranked third among the top 10 companies for Latinos, based on its long-term commitment to hiring, retaining, compensating and promoting Latinos in the workforce and management.
"PG&E strongly supports the economic health of communities in which we live and work as a major purchaser of goods and services," said Des Bell, PG&E's senior vice president of shared services and chief procurement officer. "Since 1981, our supplier diversity program has provided thousands of diverse businesses with opportunities to supply products to PG&E. It's an honor to receive this recognition as we continue our efforts to integrate even more diverse suppliers into our supply chain."
According to Bell, PG&E had to overcome a challenging economic climate in 2009 to expand its base of diverse suppliers. By the end of last year, the company spent more than $900 million, or 25.6 percent of PG&E's procurement funds, on products and services from businesses owned by minorities, women and service-disabled veterans.
While diversity and inclusion have long been hallmarks of PG&E's heritage, the company deepened its commitment in recent years by appointing a chief diversity officer, providing training to all members of its leadership team, and increasing its focus on identifying, developing and recruiting diverse talent.
"Diversity is one of PG&E's core values and is integral to our business strategy. It allows us to better anticipate, understand and satisfy the needs of the 15 million Californians we serve," said Bill Harper, PG&E's vice president and chief diversity officer. "These rankings recognize our dedication to foster diversity and support the diverse communities the company serves."
For more information on PG&E's diversity and inclusion commitment or to learn how to apply to become a certified diverse supplier, visit www.pge.com/about/company/diversityinclusion/.
About DiversityInc
Launched in 1997, DiversityInc is the leading business publication connecting diversity and the bottom line, with 1 million unique monthly visitors. DiversityInc.com includes the largest diversity job board in the nation. DiversityInc also produces events and conducts benchmarking, custom research and consulting."
http://markets.on.nytimes.com/research/stocks/news/press_release.asp?docTag=201004061310PR_NEWS_USPR_____SF82059&feedID=600&press_symbol=226189
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