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Core Committee for the Support of Underrepresented
Ethnic Groups
Meeting Highlights
January 11, 2006
Present: Patrick Adegboyega, Sandra Garvock, Jose Gonzalez, Clifford
Houston, Raymond Lewis, Anita Mercado, Freddy Paniagua, Suzanne
Peloquin, Rebecca Saavedra, Cindy Stanton, Melvin Williams, and Miguel
Ybarra. Guest: Dr. Stobo.
1. Approval of December 14, 2005 Minutes
The minutes from the December 14, 2005 committee meeting were
approved.
2. Comments from Dr. Stobo, Melvin Williams, Rebecca Saavedra and
Sandra Garvock
Dr. Paniagua announced that he was immensely happy to have Dr. Stobo
join the group to share some comments with them.
Dr. Stobo informed the group that he appreciated being there and the
work the committee was doing and wanted to share the following
information with the committee:
• The administrative reorganization will better serve our students,
the faculty and employees.
• As part of the administrative reorganization, the Academic Executive
Council’s name has been changed to the Council of Deans to better serve
the institution’s educational mission. The group is led by Dr. Valerie
Parisi, Dean of the School of Medicine, Chief Academic Officer and Vice
President for Academic Program Administration and Services and is
comprised of the four deans along with Rebecca Saavedra, Rudy Guerrero
and Brett Kirkpatrick who will address academic services. The Council of
Deans will meet twice a month.
• The Council of Deans plan on increasing their efforts in faculty
development, including the recruitment and retention of a diverse
faculty.
• Dr. Stobo announced that the final results from the 2005 Faculty
Survey are in the Dean’s hands. The Deans will communicate the results
from their individual schools to their faculty. The institutional
results will be shared with the Core Committees and the Faculty Senate.
While the survey pointed to some issues and things the faculty didn’t
like, there were no real surprises. One-half of faculty reported that
they had thought about leaving UTMB, some wanted more protected time,
some didn’t think they were paid enough, and some had AP&T issues. There
were no striking differences or glowing defects in minority responses.
• Melvin Williams reported that the numbers cast a wide net for AP&T
positions amongst a majority pool of candidates and that the Office of
Equal Opportunity and Diversity hasn’t done the job they wanted to do
with a diverse pool of applicants. They are providing training to search
committees and implementing things to assist them. There are
commonalities across the institution regarding AP&T.
• Dr. Saavedra reported that one of the big problems of search
committees is that it tends to elongate the process and creates extra
steps. The way we were doing it is not the norm.
• Dr. Garvock informed the committee that the Hispanic Center of
Excellence had a meeting with the clinical chairs resulting with good
incentives. Dr. Garvock also announced that the Hispanic Center of
Excellence was hosting a social for students to provide an opportunity
for discussion of careers and opportunities in academic medicine on
Thursday, January 12, from 5:30-7:00 p.m. at the Rosenberg House. The
social gathering would include all Hispanic house staff in academic
medicine. Dr. Stobo announced that he was pleased that the house staff
is working with these folks.
3. Proposal of a Multicultural Teaching Scholars Program – Freddy
Paniagua
Dr. Paniagua presented a Multicultural Teaching Scholars Program from
the University of Missouri – Columbia. A similar program initiated here
would enhance the ability of departments to recruit members of
underrepresented ethnic groups for future employment at UTMB and prepare
students across all schools with the clinical and basic science skills
to better serve the diversity of American society.
This process could be used to enhance the recruitment of
underrepresented ethnic minority faculty across the four schools at
UTMB. Sandra Garvock informed the committee that their grant may be able
to support a program like this for the School of Medicine.
Dr. Paniagua asked for volunteers from the committee from all four
schools to form a subcommittee that would draft a proposal that could be
presented first to the committee and then to Dr. Stobo for approval. Dr.
Jose Gonzalez from the School of Medicine agreed to be chair of the
subcommittee, Mr. Raymond Lewis agreed to represent the School of Allied
Health Sciences, and Dr. Clifford Houston agreed to represent the
Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. It soon became apparent that the
committee was lacking a representative from the School of Nursing. Dr.
Paniagua asked Sheryl Lashway to email Ernestine Cuellar, a previous
member of the committee, to ask if she would be willing to serve on the
committee and this subcommittee for the remainder of the year.
Dr. Paniagua asked the subcommittee to prepare a draft proposal by
the March meeting which would justify some salary support, decide what
would be the next level, and would answer what participants would leave
with.
4. Determine the Process to Collect Information Regarding Diversity
in Department AP&T Criteria
The committee wanted to gather information regarding AP&T to
determine what the process is across all four schools. The summary from
the School of Medicine was not ready yet. This process has not been
communicated right in the past. There needs to be absolute transparency
in the process across all four schools.
5. Other Business
Melvin Williams announced activities in honor of the 20th annual
birthday celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Friday, January
13, 2006. At 11:30 a.m. there will be lunch and memories of Dr. King in
the William C. Levin Hall Dining Room along with a performance by
Matthew Stanford II, a playwright and founder of Aesop’s Fable Theater.
At 6:00 p.m., there will be a reception and presentation of the Martin
Luther King, Jr. Service Awards and at 9:00 p.m. until midnight, the
Skylites Band will play at the Central Cultural Center Gymnasium for
ages 21 and over. All events are open to the public.
Meeting adjourned at 1:01 p.m.
Our next meeting is scheduled on Wednesday, February 8, 2006, from
12:00 – 1:00 p.m. in the Ballinger Mills Room.
Recorder: Sheryl Lashway, Office of the President
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