Univ. President Jordan Deals with Diversity
On November 20, 1987 Penn
State President Bryce Jordan addressed
the Board of Trustees on the subject of
diversity. The message printed below is
the follow-up to that November
statement.
I should like to update you
regarding steps that have been taken or
are under way as a result of the statement
on diversity I made to the Board on
Friday, Nov. 20. As I noted then, my
comments are concerned in particular
with black members of Penn State's
community, but I emphasize their
relevance for Hispanics, Asian
Americans, and American Indians. I
would note further that Penn State's
commitment to diversity extends to the
international community as well.
Before I review with you the
steps taken since November, I want to
express my thanks to all those who have
voiced support for our efforts in this
regard. Deans and unit heads, students,
faculty and staff, and members of our
town/gown community have expressed
to me their commitment to diversity at
Penn State. Such dedication and--I
might add--determination, will reaffirm
our well placed confidence in this
University.
Now, let me outline the follow
up to my November statement.
1. As promised in November, I
will issue today a statement which
makes it clear that racism has no place at
Penn State and that help is available for
persons experiencing or witnessing racial
incidents.
That help is available, in the
case of students, through the Office of
Campus Life, headed by Pat Peterson.
Such help for Commonwealth Campus
students is available through appropriate
staff persons at those campuses. In the
case of faculty and staff, help is available
Universitywide from the Affirmative
Action Office, headed by Suzanne
Brooks.
In the event that help is needed
during non-business hours, the
University Park community will be
advised to contact the Department of
University Safety or the Center for
Assistance and Information. We will
make it clear that these offices will
contact appropriate personnel to respond
to concerns and questions during non
business hours, if necessary. The
campuses also will make after-hours
arrangements with appropriate personnel
there.
In addition to the statement I
am releasing today, Carol Cartwright and
Roger Williams have developed posters
that have been placed throughout the
university communtiy. These posters
note the offices that may be contacted as
needed here at University Park. Identical
posters with appropriate campus
telephone numbers have been placed on
the Commonwealth Campuses. Dr.
Cartwright advises me that the demand
for these posters is so great that we have
had to go into a second printing.
2. I also am pleased to note that
a working model has been developed to
prevent, anticipate, respond to, and
manage acts of intolerance.
The model uses existing
University offices and programs which
allowed us to implement it quickly.
a. In the area of
PREVENTION, we continue to
promote activities which support a
climate that is inhospitable to acts of
intolerance.
One example would be acts of
advocacy in support of diversity by
many offices throughout the University
community including the Office of the
President, Campus Life, the Deans'
offices, Student Programs, Human
Resources, the Paul Robeson Cultural
Center, Public Information, and--in the
case of organization--the Black Caucus,
the Black Graduate Student Association,
the Undergraduate Student Government
Office of Minority Concerns (student),
the Forum on Black Affairs, and the
local chapter of the N.A.A.C.P.
Additional examples would
include human relations training
programs and other awareness and public
education programs.
b. In the area of
ANTICIPATION, we will be
identifying issues and indicators which
give rise to acts of intolerance. This is
done, generally speaking, by operational
departments or teams managing the
residence halls, student activities,
campus safety, affirmative action, and
academic assistance programs.
In the past, communication
between these groups was uneven. To
address that, an "Anticipation Team" has
been developed and is already meeting
regularly to discuss issues of mutual
concern.
The team, which will consult
with appropriate persons
Universitywide, consists of Carol
Cartwright, dean for undergraduate
programs and vice provost and chair of
the University's Equal Opportunity
Planning Committee; Bill Asbury,
vice president for student affairs; Pat
Peterson, assistant vice president for
campus life; Suzanne Brooks,
affirmative action officer; and Dave
Stormer, director of public
information, also is participating, and
the team is keeping my office apprised
of the full range of activities through
Carol Herrmann.
We are advised that mediation,
reconciliation, or mere acknowledgement
that a condition exists may be used to
rAuce the level of conflict and the
likelihood of an incident. That certainly
is an important goal in this whole
program.
c. In the area of RESPONSE,
and here we are talking about hours
following an incident, specific protocols
have been developed. It is agreed that
the following actions will be taken after
every incident:
--evaluation of information
about the incident, the victim or
victims, the persons responsible, and the
reasons why the incident occurred.
--notification of the appropriate
offices
--provision of support to the
individual victims and the groups of
which they are a part and the larger
community they share.
--removal of the offending
material and repair of datives
--initiation of a University
response statement if approopriate.
--activation of response teams
to help control rumors, settle disputes,
and discuss issues. We plan here to
involve the skills of selected students as
well as staff.
d. In the area of
MANAGEMENT, and here we are
talking about days, weeks, or months
following an incident, the model does
not list specific protocols.
Rather, in the area of
MANAGEMENT there needs to be an
assessment of the short- and long-term
impact of the incident in order to "return
to normal." Toward that end, the
following general activities will be
undertaken:
--identification of the people
and/or groups who may be victims.
--determination of what needs to
e done to respond to the victims and to
heal the community.
--identification and assignment
of community resources which can help
heal individuals, groups, and the larger
community.
--coordination of responses to
achieve the goal.
Offices involved in this long
term process include the Office of the
President, Counseling and Psychological
Services, Human Resources, Student
Programs, Affirmative Action, and
others as well as--in the community--
community leaders, local churches and
the local media.
3. I have asked the University
Policy Committee to review Penn
State's Code of Conduct in relation to
racism and they have done so. We are in
the process of reviewing its
recommendations now.
Capital Times February 3, 1988, Pa;e
It is my goal to have the
sanctions in place early in the Spring
Semester to make our position on the
inappropriateness if racism ever more
clear.
4. I have asked Carol
Cartwright to follow up regarding my
pledge to urge the use of black studies
and women's studies to fulfill general
education requirements.
She is working with academic
administrators and faculty in the colleges
on appropriate ways to bring such course
content to the attention of students.
There are many ways in which the
academic program supports our goals for
diversity. We need to make these
opportunities more visible to students.
Even before the new general
education program is implemented, we
cue auverusing to students the current
course opportunities in black studies,
women's studies, and related fields. Dr.
Cartwright worked with Roger Williams
to develop appropriate advertisements,
and we are very pleased with what has
been developed. The advertisements, in
fact, are running in The Collegian this
week.
5. Finally, I am pleased to note
that Roger Williams and his staff already
have implemented a regular feature in
Intercom on minority programs and
concerns.
The feature appeared for the first
time in the Intercom of Nov. 26 under
the tag, "Focus on Diversity." We have
a great deal of good work to report in
this new feature.
In addition to this specific
ioliow-up to my statement to you, I
continue to be very concerned about
what has come to be called "the climate
for women and minorities" at Penn
State.
As I have thought about how to
address this aspect of University life, I
have come to the conclusion that climate
is a matter for leadership.
Administrative officers across
the University must make it clear that
we have a large stake in making Penn
State a place where women and
minorites feel comfortable and can move
their work forward in what I have
described as a caring environment.
One way to do that is for deans
and unit heads to call to the attention of
faculty and staff existing presentations
and materials. The handbook recently
published called, "A Penn State Mind Is
a Terrible Thing To Waste," is a case in
point. The video materials this Board
saw in July, which highlight problems
minority students face, are another
example. These and other materials
should be used by those at the highest
levels to underscore that our investment
in them is serious. The message needs
to carry down to department heads,
faculty, staff, and clerical and technical
service personnel.
See JORDAN, p. 14