COE: Department's commitment to diversity challenged; changes start
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matters, I have seldom encountered
worse morale. ”
He attributed this to poor commu
nications between departments.
“A major effort must be made to
create a greater sense of community
and inclusivity,” he wrote.
In an e-mail dated June 13 from
Frohnmayer to Martin Kaufman,
former dean of the COE, Frohnmay
er wrote that the report “accurately
describe(s) the cumulative status of
the college as related to ‘diversity’...
his document provides a foundation
of actions that are needed, feasible,
and have the potential to signifi
cantly advance the recommenda
tions forthcoming from the college’s
Diversity Steering Committee. ”
Frohnmayer then suggested that
the COE “begin immediately to plan
a faculty/student induction/orienta
tion” by Sept. 15.
Cortes held a workshop in Septem
ber for members of the COE, though
it was not the type of orientation de
scribed by Frohnmayer.
Other administrators and faculty
members said they mostly agreed
with and appreciated the report, al
though some faculty members said
they were hesitant to publicly criti
cize the COE.
Kaufman said the matter was a
“complex issue” and that he felt
Cortes’ input was necessary.
“I thought it was a timely and in
sightful review of the college —
where we have had successes and
where we still faced challenges —
and we found the report so valuable
that we’ve asked Dr. Cortes to serve
as a lead consultant to the college
this year regarding the implementa
tion of the plan,” Kaufman said.
Associate Dean Chard said that
considering the brevity of Cortes’ vis
it, he did a remarkable job of “captur
ing the perspectives” of different
groups within the college.
Chard discussed the problems fac
ing the COE.
“Probably the largest one is that
we are a faculty that is very lean on
resources,” Chard said. “Our
tenure-line faculty is relatively small
compared to most (similar) institu
tions, yet we are the number-one
most productive research faculty in
the country. ”
Chard said the natural result of
that situation is that faculty spends “a
lot of time working and not much
time talking to each other.”
Implementing Cortes’ suggestions
would take time, he said, and
Cortes was present at initial orienta
tions and faculty meetings to facili
tate dialogue.
Mary Ann Winter-Messiers, an in
structor at the COE and project coor
dinator for Project PASS (Preparing
Autism Specialists for Schools), said
she felt the review was both timely
and appropriate.
“I was very pleased and reassured
that the college hired Dr. Cortes to do
this initial review ... I think he really
put his finger on some of the issues,
and in doing so, provided a structure
for direction,” said Messiers. “It was
very helpful.”
Messiers feels that Michael Bullis,
the interim dean of the COE, will be
“incredibly competent” at imple
menting Cortes’ outline of action.
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Student reactions to the plan were
generally positive, although most
agreed that changes need to be made.
First-year COE student Bobbi Mal
os said she feels diversity is empha
sized at the COE.
“They stated, in the beginning, to
respect diversi
ty ... in orienta
tion, they ad
dressed all that
going into it,”
Malos said.
Steve “D”
Cohen, a COE
student, called
the current di
versity effort
“really strong” but said the school
had a long-term reputation for being
culturally incompetent.
“For a long time, there’ve been
problems with people graduating
from the teaching program that
aren’t culturally competent ... for
example, Jefferson Middle School
for a while wouldn’t even take
teachers from the College of Ed. be
cause of the damage that was being
done to the youth,” Cohen said.
In an ODE article dated June 7,
2004, Eugene 4-J School District’s
Human Resources Director Wally
Bryant said the school was hesitant
to hire graduates of the COE
because of the college’s “multicul
READ MORE ONLINE^
For more information about the external
review of the College of Education’s
diversity, go to
http://education.uoregon.edu/feature.htm
tural shortcom
ings.”
Cohen ex
pressed hope for
the future of the
COE, provided
that the college
follows through
on Cortes’ rec
ommendations.
“There’s key
points that have been made — that
diversity needs to be infused into
every aspect of the College of Ed,”
Cohen said. “But if there’s just
lip service and ‘oh, yeah, we’re
gonna take care of that,’ then I don’t
think a lot of changes are going to
be made. ”
Contact the higher education reporter
at kbrown@dailyemerald.com
IN BRIEF
Student drinking concerns
increase at Oregon State
CORVALLIS — Student leaders are
working to restore the reputation of
Oregon State University after two
deaths and a serious injury involving
alcohol this year.
The school appears no worse than
others nationally, where studies
show the majority of students drink
moderately, if at all. But the increas
ing percentage of students who binge
drink is causing problems and raising
concerns.
Last Monday, three OSU football
players were charged with providing
alcohol to 18-year-old Lance Strick
land of Joseph, who was found dead
in September in a dorm room with
more than five times the legal limit of
alcohol in his blood.
In May, a 22-year-old OSU senior
hanged herself after leaving a
houseboat party during the Shasta
Lake weekend in Northern Califor
nia. Later that month, a 20-year-old
sophomore was paralyzed after div
ing into a shallow pool at an OSU
fraternity party. Both incidents oc
curred at events where alcohol
played a significant role.
Unfortunately, the latest alcohol
related incidents have “defined our
culture. It's what we're beginning to
be known for,” said Dan McCarthy,
the OSU student body president.
The OSU student senate recently
voted to spend student fees to hire
a substance abuse prevention coor
dinator to strengthen campus ef
forts. Meanwhile, McCarthy has
joined Greek system leaders to elim
inate the annual weekend of house
boat partying at Shasta Lake.
While recent events have put the
spotlight on Corvallis, OSU students
don't drink more or less than college
students nationally, said Eric Alexan
der, the prevention coordinator hired
with student funds.
Nationally, about 60 percent of col
lege students drink moderately or ab
stain, according to a 2002 study spon
sored by the National Institute on
Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
But about 40 percent of students
report frequent binge drinking —
defined as five or more drinks in a
row for men and four or more for
women.
The study noted that college drink
ing contributes to 1,700 student
deaths, 600,000 injuries and 97,000
cases of sexual assault or date rape
each year.
-The Associated Press
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