Members in Attendance:

Skip Crownhart (current Chair)

Jane Jacobson (incoming Chair)

Freda McClean, Borough of Manhattan Community College (2008)

John Paul "J.P." Regaldo, University of Texas - Austin (2008)

Leigh Cunningham, Ex Officio, NACADA Executive Office

Incoming Members in Attendance:

Blane Harding, Colorado State University (2009)

Heather Doyle, Lakehead University (2009)

Monica Hutchins, Hagerstown Community College (2009)

Jobila Williams, The College of William & Mary (2009)

Nathan Vickers, The University of Texas - Austin (2009)

Absent Members:

Gustavo Albear, Eastern Illinois University (2007)

Charles Stephens, University of Akron (2007)

Adrienne Thunder, University of Wisconsin-Madison (2007)

Dawn Henderson, North Carolina State University (2008)

Jane asked members to introduce themselves and explain why diversity is important to them.

Jane reviewed charge:

• to assist in the development of plans, strategies, and initiatives to encourage increased diversity in the membership of the association and involvement in the association by diverse individuals at all levels of the association.

Emerging Leaders Program discussion:

• Nathan shared what ELP agenda will be at this conference

• Jane reviewed history of how ELP program came to be and selection process
• Jane requested discussion for whether there needs to be developed and implemented an assessment program for ELP – Should this be a steering committee or what? – How can more direction be given to the regions on their involvement? Blane noted that while regions could tailor parts of the initiative to meet their needs, there does need to be an association paradigm that they need to conform to. This committee will take it on as this year’s challenge to define that paradigm. Perhaps do this by developing expectation points. Audits should be done to evaluate this.
• Jane asked whether this committee wanted to handle the responsibility for ELP for the next year or request an AB? Need to consider the possibilities.
• Develop and implement assessment programs for regional Emerging Leaders programs.

 Other Discussion Points

• Skip shared that Council voted that Regions will need to explain how they used their $1000 budget for diversity.
• Plan for conference calls in December and Feb/Mar prior to mid-year meetings
• Identify and develop 2 – 3 initiatives other than ELP to sustain diversity within NACADA.
• Focus on Executive Office regarding diversity: try to diversify the staff
• Collaborate with other NACADA units to keep diversity of membership and opportunities as a focus. (Diversity is a responsibility of all NACADA units not just the Diversity Committee)
• Survey of African American members / former members - Summer 2007

• Analysis of responses
• Action plan for follow up
• Jane turned discussion of survey over to Skip, since she was not really involved in its inception. Skip explained that it was initiated because one person was upset about his perception of lack of diversity in the leadership and submitted a survey that he wanted sent out. Skip, Charlie and others reviewed and revamped that submission to remove questions that they perceived as biased.
• Nathan reviewed the results.
• Skip suggested that this committee should work with the new initiative that Casey is heading on how to update leadership orientation.
• Jobila shared that in the new member orientation she felt that “leadership” was primarily defined as position in that meeting – she did not catch the idea from it that we do value all the all the other avenues as leadership (such as writing, etc).
• Brainstorming:
  • Current issues or concerns of committee members
  • Identify two / three outcomes for the committee for 2007-08

ACTION PLAN

The Diversity Committee will be focusing on Strategic Goal 5: To ensure the effectiveness of the NACADA Organization. We will be concentrating on subpoint 5A – promoting diversity within the association and increasing diversity within NACADA leadership at all levels.

Outcomes for 2007 -2008:

1. To continue to develop the Emerging Leaders Program through 2007-08.
   • To articulate goals for the Regions’ Emerging Leaders Programs
   • To monitor progress of the national Emerging Leaders Program
   • To collaborate with the ELP task force
2. To benchmark NACADA in terms of diversity within the association.
3. To serve as communications agents to the rest of the association viz-a-viz diversity.

Action Plan:

1. To articulate specific goals for the Regions’ Emerging Leaders Programs.
   • Recognize responsibility to provide direction to Regions for development of Region-specific programs.
2. To develop a sustainability plan for the Emerging Leaders Program
   • Collaborate with ELP task force to monitor progress of first year ELP.
   • Recommend permanent management structure
   • Secure long-term commitment of funding
3. To develop and implement a Diversity Audit for NACADA
   • A Diversity Audit will benchmark levels of diversity within all units of the association.
   • Audit will provide basis for recommendations for future diversity programming.
4. To analyze results of survey of members of color conducted in Summer 2007.
5. To assume individual responsibility to communicate to our other NACADA affiliations the message that all units of the association must be actively engaged in connecting with members of underrepresented populations and encouraging their unique leadership development within NACADA.

TimeLine:

October: Divide into two subcommittees – ELP, Diversity Audit

• ELP tasks: develop recommendations for Regions, develop plan for sustained oversight
• Audit tasks: develop prototype of Diversity Audit
• Everyone: Analyze results of Summer 2007 and incorporate findings in project development

November 30: analyze results of Summer 2007 survey

• Discuss impact on ELP and Diversity Audit
• Discuss impact on recommendations for future activities

December 15: report from ELP subcommittee

• identify goals for Regions’ Emerging Leaders Program
• propose management structure or structures for ELP

January 30: report from Audit subcommittee

• propose Audit template

February 15: recommendations for action by Council, Board, Executive office

• subcommittees report recommendations
• develop timeline for remaining six months
• update on ELP progress