The Consortium on High Achievement and Success

 

 

Multicultural Affairs Conference
hosted by
HAMILTON COLLEGE
Clinton NY
October 22-23, 2009

Multicultural Affairs staff from 21 institutions participated in this conference with the concentration on effective strategies in support of those who share similar responsibilities and goals within the fields of multiculturality, interculturality, and diversity.
This meeting was a wonderful success and we would like to thank Hamilton College (in particular, Allen Harrison and Steven Yao of Hamilton, and the entire planning committee who coordinated this event), all the panelists and facilitators, and, of course, the active participants who helped to fulfill the goals of this meeting.
Each participant (below) is linked to his/her email address in an effort to keep the lines of communication open among the participants. We hope this will assist in the continuity of networking efforts.

BARNARD COLLEGE
Jessica Nunez	Assistant Dean for Student Development and Diversity
Pamela Phayme	Program Director of Diversity Initiatives
BATES COLLEGE
Roland Davis	Assistant Dean of Students
Boston University School of Social Work
Lisa Moore	Clinical Visiting Assistant Professor
BUCKNELL UNIVERSITY
Shaena Moody	Multicultural Student Services
Jessica A. Quintana Hess	Director of Multicultural Student Services
COLGATE UNIVERSITY
Dawn LaFrance	Associate Director, Counseling Center
Aurelius Henderson	Director Office of Undergraduate Studies
COLLEGE OF THE HOLY CROSS
Luz Colon-Rodriguez	Assistant Director, Office of Multicultural Education
HAMILTON COLLEGE
Nancy Thompson	Dean of Students
Allen Harrison	Associate Dean of Students for Diversity and Accessibility
Steven Yao	Associate Dean of Faculty for Diversity Initiatives
Madeleine Lopez	Lecturer in History and Education Studies Program
HAVERFORD COLLEGE
Frederic MacDonald-Dennis	Interim Director Office of Multicultural Affairs
OBERLIN COLLEGE
Domenico Ruggerio	Multicultural Resource Center
Eric Estes	Associate Dean of Academic Diversity
SKIDMORE COLLEGE
Mariel Martin	Director, Office of Student Diversity Programs
Rosana Lemus	Prog. Coordinator for the Office of Student Diversity Programs
SWARTHMORE COLLEGE
Rafael Zapata	Assistant Dean and Director of the Intercultural Center
SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY
Dr. James K. Duah-Agyeman	Director, Office of Multicultural Affairs
TRINITY COLLEGE
Karla Spurlock-Evans	Dean of Multicultural Affairs
Carol Correa de Best	Associate Director of Multicultural Affairs
UNION COLLEGE
Karen Ferrer-Muniz	Director of Multicultural Affairs
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND
Jean-Pierre Laurenceau-Medina	Associate Director- Office of Multicultural Affairs
UNIVERSITY OF  THE SOUTH
Eric Benjamin	Director of the Office of Multi-Cultural Affairs
VASSAR COLLEGE
Edward Pittman	Associate Dean of the College/CHAS Steering Board
Steve Lavoie	Assistant Director for Campus Life
Jocelyn Tejeda	Associate Director for Campus Life/ALANA Programs
WELLESLEY COLLEGE
Michelle Lepore	Associate Dean of Students
WELLS COLLEGE
Joel McCarthy	Associate Dean of Students
WILLIAMS COLLEGE
Sergio Marte	Assistant Director of Admissions
CHAS
Patti Maisch	Assistant Project Coordinator

 

AGENDA:

Thursday, October 22^nd

3:00 - 6:00 PM: Check in at Hotels

6:00 PM: Shuttle to campus leaves from Radisson Hotel

6:30 - 8:00 PM: Welcome & Dinner (Dwight Lounge, Bristol Campus Center)

8:30 - 10:30 PM: Networking and Socializing (Little Pub)

9:30 & 10:15 PM: Shuttles from campus return to Radisson Hotel

Friday, October 23^rd

7:30 AM: Shuttle to campus leaves from Radisson Hotel

8:00 - 9:00 AM: Breakfast (Great Room, Spencer House)

9:00 - 10:15 AM: Partnering Across the Institution in Times of Economic Difficulty (Dwight Lounge)

How best can Multicultural Affairs professionals pursue their mission during these times of unprecedented economic challenge? This panel will offer ideas about resource sharing and concrete strategies and techniques for establishing partnerships with different offices, departments and divisions across the institution in order to promote achievement among students from underrepresented groups. Panelists will discuss the challenges and potential benefits of actively pursuing innovative collaborations within a liberal arts setting.

Moderated by: Steven Yao, Assistant Dean of Faculty for Diversity Initiatives, Hamilton College

Panelists:  Jessica Hess, Director of Multicultural Student Services, Bucknell University
                   Carol Correa de Best, Associate Director of Multicultural Affairs, Trinity College
                   Lisa Moore, Clinical Visiting Assistant Professor, Boston University School of Social Work

10:15- 10:45 AM Break

10:45 - 12:00 AM: Multicultural Affairs in a “Post-Racial” America (Dwight Lounge)

Since the election of Barack Obama, declarations about the achievement of a "post-racial" America have been numerous and repeated. Yet, events on our campuses provide ample evidence for the ongoing importance of "race" and other categories of difference as factors shaping the college experiences of students from underrepresented groups at liberal arts institutions. This panel will address both new and persistent challenges facing Multicultural Affairs professionals as they seek to foster achievement among underrepresented students in the face of recent changes in the political and ideological landscape of the U.S.

Moderated by: Karla Spurlock-Evans, Trinity College

Panelists: Eric Estes, Associate Dean of Academic Diversity Director of MRC, Oberlin College
                  Eric Benjamin, Director of Minority Affairs, The University of the South (Sewanee)
                 

12:15 - 1:15 PM: Lunch (The Hub, Bristol Campus Center)

Keynote Speaker: Dr. James K. Duah-Agyeman  Director, Office of Multicultural Affairs,
                                   Syracuse University
                                    on:
                                    "Building on the Activism of our Students:
                                     A Campus-wide Collaborative Initiative of the Office of Multicultural Affairs at Syracuse University"

Dr. Duah-Agyeman holds a Ph.D. degree in Mathematics Education and is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Cultural Foundations of Education and teaches Intergroup Dialogue on Race and Ethnicity [SOC/WSP 230] which is part of the national Multiversity Intergroup Research Project. He has been at Syracuse University since 1982 assuming a fulltime employment position in 1986 as assistant director/counselor of the Office of Supportive Services.

His talk will begin with a brief history of the Office of Multicultural Affairs at Syracuse University, and from there Dr. Agyeman will discuss Syracuse's collaboration with academic and student affairs departments and how they meet the needs of our African American, Asian American, Latino/a, and Native American students. Programmatic initiatives such as the WellsLink Leadership Program, Multicultural Empowerment Network (MEN), Dimensions, the Multicultural Living Learning Community, and the Haudenosaunee Promise will be discussed.

1:15 - 2:45 PM: Engaging Students in Diversity Planning (Dwight Lounge)

Millennial students have demonstrated an increased interest both in individual public service and in setting the terms of their own educational experiences. This panel will address strategies for incorporating student voices, experiences, and concerns into the process of diversity planning. How do we balance the demands of students considering their relatively brief stays at our institutions? What role can Multicultural Affairs professionals play in breaking down institutional and other barriers to meaningful student participation in diversity planning? How can we help to overcome resistance in other areas of our institutions to the prospect of student involvement?

Moderated by: Edward Pittman, Associate Dean of the College, Vassar College

 Panelists: Madeleine Lopez, Director, Cultural Education Center, Hamilton College
                  Joel McCarthy, Associate Dean of Students, Wells College
                   Rafael Zapata, Assistant Dean & Director of the Intercultural Center, Swarthmore College

3:00 - 4:00 PM: Professional Development Discussion (Dwight Lounge)
Moderated by:  Gordon Hewitt
                           Assistant Dean of Faculty for Institutional Research\
                           Hamilton College

4:00- 4:30 PM: Closing Remarks

                                   
The planning committee for this conference includes:

Allen Harrison (Chair)	Hamilton College
Steven Yao	Hamilton College
Jessica Hess	Bucknell University
Mable Millner	College of the Holy Cross
L'Tanya Richmond	Smith College
Darryl Smaw	Swarthmore College
Karla Spurlock-Evans	Trinity College
Patti Maisch	CHAS