University of Texas Medical
Branch
Institutional Diversity Council
Annual Report
2006 - 2007
Institutional Diversity Council
Annual Report – FY 2006
Background
The Institutional Diversity Council is pleased to provide this annual report of
the Council’s FY 06 activities and recommendations to enhance diversity at UTMB.
During FY 06 Rudy Guerrero, Assistant VP for Planning & Management Systems
served as chair of the Institutional Diversity Council. One of the first
objectives of the chair was to coordinate a council retreat with the theme
“Where do we go from here?” The retreat was conducted in October 2005 to assess
the state of diversity on campus, to identify the future focus of the council,
and to determine how the council could improve its efficiency and effectiveness.
During the retreat a variety of issues were examined and six areas of importance
were identified for further examination by the council during the year. From
those six areas evolved five functional subcommittees of the Institutional
Diversity Council.
Each subcommittee was chaired by a council member and staffed by council members
(see attachment A for the subcommittee membership). Each subcommittee met during
the year, presented findings to the council and produced a report outlining its
scope, review methodology, findings, and recommendations. The subcommittee
reports are summarized below and are provided in attachment B.
The Diversity Council appreciates the support from the President’s office and
the opportunity to provide the following conclusions and recommendations to the
President for consideration.
Summary Recommendations
The following are the summary recommendations from the five subcommittees.
1. Establish a philosophy and process for career development
2. Establish a Faculty/Administrator Excellence Center
3. Continue campus dialogue regarding the institution’s commitment to diversity
4. Enhance sharing of information about groups and resources that support
diversity at the institution
5. Re-evaluate the role, scope and structure of the core committees and the
diversity council
6. Further explore the use of metrics and systems that can be used to evaluate
progress in achieving diversity goals
7. Broaden the scope of diversity week activities to being year round
8. Prioritize remaining items of the Diversity Implementation Plan and provide
resources to complete the items
Subcommittee Summaries
Career Development Opportunities – Dr.
Alice Speer, Chair
The subcommittee on Career Development Opportunities reported on career
development for faculty and administrators. Two recommendations for improving
career development were to establish a philosophy for Career Development, and a
Faculty/Administrator Excellence Center.
The philosophy for Career Development is based on a systematic integration of
individuals’ career development goals with the annual evaluation process and
institutional objectives.
The “Faculty/Administrator Excellence Center has several features that would
support career development including: a central repository of information
(activities already happening on campus; activities available off campus for
research, clinical, educational; and faculty resources (for junior faculty for
APT advice; research technique; basic knowledge in particular area/skill); a
needs assessment tool to assess different skills or knowledge that would be
important for faculty and administrators; a Mentoring Resource, information
about possible mentors/advisors; a New Faculty Orientation package for new
faculty with appropriate information from each school; and Online Information, a
web site for presentations, announcements, contact information. Finally, a
system for evaluating the center would be put in place to assess the quality of
the programs and the outcomes of those participating.
Increasing the Awareness of Diversity beyond Race and Gender
- Phyllis Jendrusch, Chair
The subcommittee addressed three key issues: 1) to institutionally acculturate
diversity issues beyond short-term programming; 2) to create campus dialogue
about status inequities, real and perceived; and 3) to review
non-discrimination, compliance and access policies, activities and resources.
The subcommittee found that institutional commitment to diversity is widespread
and tangible, a variety of diversity supportive organizations exist on campus,
channels for addressing diversity related concerns are in place, ADA issues are
being heard and a task force has been identified to specifically explore
concerns and make recommendations for improvement, controversial issues are
supported such as SAFE – Support and Acceptance for Everyone, and that the Core
Committees for the Support of Underrepresented Ethnic Groups and the Advancement
of Women Faculty and Administrators have specific charges to represent these
populations but no such organization exists for classified employees. Lastly,
the diversity council itself was designed to keep a focus on issues of diversity
for the campus at large, although disproportionate attention is given to faculty
issues as opposed to other employees or students.
Other issues the subcommittee discussed included organizational changes
specifically to the OEOD office; ADA and grievance process management; faculty
compensation plan, tenure debate and faculty lay-offs. With the current
institutional financial issues the subcommittees concern is that the degree of
commitment to overarching diversity issues may be eroded, and lose some
momentum.
The subcommittee recommends continued campus dialogue regarding our commitment
to diversity; communication about new resources and systems supporting the
grievance process; enhanced communication of information about all groups and
resources supporting diversity to the campus community; and reevaluation of the
role, scope and structure of the core committees and the diversity council.
See list of resources...
Identifying Diversity Metrics and Reports to Evaluate Progress
- Dr. Caroline Jansen, Chair
The subcommittee addressed accountability in the 2004 Implementation Plan
specifically the objective to “improve institutional data sources, data analysis
and data reporting. The subcommittee explored metrics used to quantify the
status of diversity efforts and impact on the UTMB campus and explored metrics
to capture changes in diversity of the UTMB workforce comprehensively and
succinctly.
The subcommittee reviewed multiple web sites and data to search for valid and
reliable metrics that can be used to evaluate the progress in achieving
diversity goals. The subcommittee found academic web sites that demonstrate a
comprehensive diversity plan, such as Georgetown University Center for Child and
Human Development, the most structured plan of metrics was found in the area of
Law, in a non-profit organization named the Minority Council Cooperation
Association (www.mcca.com).
The subcommittee recommends:
1. The Diversity model used by the Minority Council Cooperation Association is
worthy of further exploration. The specific details of the calculations need to
be adjusted to serve the missions and goals of UTMB.
2. Broaden the current scope of measurement and capture a broader spectrum of
diversity activities.
3. UTMB should consider the selection of a family of measures and include the
diversity measures in all goals and missions. It is recommended that UTMB create
score cards including stretch goals and target goals, and implement a total
score card for all levels of diversity commitment.
4. Special attention should be given to pipeline measures that help monitor how
and if employees move forward in their careers.
5. Expand presentation of diversity data to include the full model of diversity.
This means combining results from existing data resources such as representation
and retention data in conjunction with data obtained from the “You Count” survey
and “Faculty Satisfaction Survey”, and even numbers of completed training and
numbers of participants in diversity events.
It is recommended that a larger group discussion, perhaps of all the members in
the diversity council take place to select desired pathway measures in
collaboration with representatives from the other core committees and
representatives from the administration. This to ensure that metrics are chosen
that are meaningful for all and feasible to complete.
Diversity Campus Outreach - Georgia Leisey,
Chair
The subcommittee’s initial focus was planning for Diversity Week however the
scope was expanded to broaden diversity awareness to the campus community year
round. The subcommittee discussed the opportunity to bring various activities
such as film, panel discussions, special speakers, music and entertainment, and
other diversity education and awareness activities to the campus community.
Diversity activities will be included in a calendar of “Common Threads
throughout the Year” and placed on the UTMB calendar and the Diversity Council
web site with links to other areas around campus. Calendar activities include:
Diversity Week, Martin Luther King celebration, spirituality series, classical
concerts, Hector Garcia Awards, Diversity Essay Contests, Dean’s report on
Diversity, and other events.
Visit Events Calendar...
Evaluating the Status of the Existing Implementation Plan
- Jennifer Raeke, Chair
The subcommittee reviewed the status of the 2004 Diversity Council
Implementation Plan. The subcommittee recommendations include expanding the
focus of the implementation goals to include non faculty employees; and, while
progress has been made it is recommended that the President and SEC prioritize
the remaining items, establish clear expectations for each item, assign
appropriate institutional leaders to complete the implementation, hold the
assigned leader accountable, and provide required funding.
Respectfully submitted,
Rudy Guerrero, FHIMSS
Chair, Institutional Diversity Council
Institutional Diversity Council
Subcommittee Membership
1. Career Development Opportunities
• Dr. Alice Speer*
• Dr. Hoang T. Nguyen
• Dr. Melisa Martinez
• Dr. Hanlin Liu
• Dr. Freddy Paniagua
2. Increasing the Awareness of Diversity beyond Race and Gender
• Phyllis Jendrusch*
• Anna Rains
• Pep Valdes
• Dr. Ulli Budelmann
• Jodean Schmiederer
• Melvin Williams
3. Identifying Diversity Metrics and Reports to Evaluate Progress
• Dr. Caroline Jansen*
• Dr. Hoang Nguyen
• Dr. Alice Speer
• Dr. Giulio Taglialatela
• Dr. Rebecca Saavedra
4. Diversity Campus Outreach
• Georgia Leisey*
• Dr. Ulli Budelmann
• Phyllis Jendrush
• Dr. Melisa Martinez
• Jodean Schmiederer
• Dr. Kathy Shingleton
• Pep Valdes
5. Evaluating the Status of the Existing Implementation Plan
• Jennifer Raeke*
• David Ketchens
• Dr. Vince Loffredo
Salary Disparity between Male and Female Faculty and A&P
Not formalized
* Denotes Subcommittee leader
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