Diversity: Current plan ties a professors cultural competence to raises
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Diversity and Community, a pro
gram that promotes dialogue and
understanding of diversity issues
through theoretical and applied
research, outreach programs and
public events.
Gary said the current draft of the
Diversity Plan will not be used as a
template but as a resource. Other re
sources currently being used, or
that will be used in the future, in
clude subcommittee reports written
during the initial drafting of the
Diversity Plan.
Gary, a member of the University
Senate, said her experience as co
chair has been enriching so far.
“What is impressive is the com
mitment of the people on the com
mittee. It was like, ‘Gee, this is real
ly important and we want to do as
much work as possible,’” said Gary,
who described her fellow commit
tee members as busy.
The goal for the immediate future
is to hold meetings each of the
next two weeks. In August, Gary
would like to make the meetings
weekly occurrences.
The creation of the Executive
Working Group came after a volley
of correspondence between Frohn
mayer and a number of faculty
members and committees.
“We in the Women’s and Gender
Studies Program are troubled by
some of the responses to the Diver
sity Plan distributed in draft form
around campus recently,” wrote
Julie Novkov, director of Women’s
and Gender Studies, in a May 27
e-mail to Frohnmayer. “We worry
that the public and vitriolic battle
over the draft of the Plan will con
sume the resources and energy nec
essary to define and resolve the real
problems that the University has
with diversity. ”
In her e-mail, Novkov prescribed
a number of solutions, including
appointing an engaged group of
faculty members to review the cur
rent draft and determine which ele
ments should be developed and im
plemented through University
Senate action.
“We recognize and endorse the
need to incorporate the serious con
cerns raised by our colleagues
primarily in math and the sciences,
but we encourage the appointment
only of those individuals who begin
from the premise that the University
must take action to address the se
rious problem stemming from its
lack of diversity,” Novkov wrote.
In his response to Novkov,
Frohnmayer wrote that the adminis
tration will strive to maintain vocal
support for “concrete action to
promote diversity. ”
In a June 11 e-mail to Frohnmay
er, Emeritus Math Professor
and member of the Executive
Working Group Richard Koch
detailed his concerns regarding
the Five Year Diversity Plan. Prior
to being named to the Working
Group, Koch was a co-signer of
the “Open Letter to President
Frohnmayer.” The letter voiced
the concerns of 25 faculty members
who believed that the Five Year
Diversity Plan would give
administrators too much authority
over faculty.
“Frankly, (the Diversity Plan) is
vague enough that it is difficult to
know whether to be alarmed, but
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there are sections that troubled me,”
wrote Koch.
Chief among Koch’s concerns is
the section on developing cultural
competency, which dictates tying a
professor’s cultural competence to
raises and promotions.
“The University has a central the
ology: if you hire the best research
people, they will be the best teach
ers and as their careers mature they
will become active UO citizens,”
Koch wrote. “This (cultural compe
tency) section was clearly not writ
ten by someone who believes the
theology I described at the begin
ning of this letter.”
Koch wrote that tying cultural
competency evaluations to promo
tions could not work within the cur
rent University model because
many departments have traditional
ly told non-tenured faculty that
tenure evaluations concentrate on
teaching and research abilities;
service to the department or the
community is considered ancillary.
“The University model works,”
wrote Koch.
In an e-mail to Jeff Hurwit, chair of
the University’s ad-hoc committee on
diversity issues, President Frohnmay
er explained that further discussion
of diversity issues was necessary be
fore the Five Year Diversity Plan
could move forward.
“My assessment of our
campus community is that numer
ous voices still need to be heard,”
Frohnmayer said.
The Working Group is a
closed committee. Gary and Hall
barred the media from attending the
July 7 meeting.
“Because of the nature of the is
sues, people feel freer to speak if
things are not being recorded,”
said Gary.
Despite the disparate views and
the scheduling problems inherent
when attempting to get a number of
busy professors to meet at regular
intervals, Gary said that she is opti
mistic about the future of the Five
Year Diversity Plan, though she
cannot promise that it will be ready
by the beginning of fall term.
“We’re doing the best job we
can,” said Gary.
IN BRIEF
University may lose funds
to pay for OSU campus
Funds may be diverted from the
University of Oregon’s budget in or
der help fund Oregon State Universi
ty’s Bend campus.
The plan by state Senator Ben West
lund (R-Tlimalo), would give OSU’s
Bend campus extra funds for adminis
tration and overhead, the Bend Bulletin
reported on Thursday.
Currently, Eastern Oregon Universi
ty, Western Oregon University, South
ern Oregon University and the Oregon
Institute of Technology receive such
additional funding.
These schools currently split $10 mil
lion annually and receive additional
funding through a formula that factors
in the number of students and the costs
of programs.
Westlund hopes to secure an addi
tional $1 million in funding to compli
ment the currently budgeted $6.7 mil
lion by shifting the OSU Bend campus
to the Small School Funding formula.
Rather than take money away from
the other schools in the Small School
Funding formula, Westlund’s plan
would divert money from the Universi
ty, OSU, and Portland State University.
Both the House and Senate have
passed versions of the Oregon Uni
versity System Budget.
— Gabe Bradley
SATYA
YUGA
APHRODESIA
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