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Senate committee finds employee
involvement in diversity 'woeful'
Staff Senate’s diversity committee is working on a plan to help increase NC State employees’ participation in diversity initiatives and programs on campus.
Citing a “woeful lack of representation” of staff involvement in campus diversity activities, David Serxner, committee chair, encouraged employees to include a diversity component in their individual work plans. The idea came out of a meeting with José Picart, vice chancellor for diversity and African-American affairs.
“[The diversity committee] is willing to put a diversity commitment into our work plan that would say we are going to participate in a certain number of diversity programs in a calendar year,” Serxner said. “To do this, we would need the support of our supervisors.”
Serxner said the committee has gone back to Picart seeking his assistance to garner support for such a plan from supervisors from different units on campus. Serxner also asked others to join the diversity committee in testing out the proposal.
“If anybody else is willing to serve as guinea pigs with us let me know because it just can’t be the five of us,” Serxner said. “If we want to see programs geared toward staff and encouragement for staff to participate in diversity issues and programs on campus, we need more than just the five of us.”
Staff Senate Chair Laura Massengill echoed Serxner’s comments that more involvement from faculty and staff in diversity issues is needed. She said the topic came up at a meeting she attended in January when the results of a student diversity climate survey were released.
“One of the things that came out of that survey and from the students that got up and spoke was that the staff and faculty did not participate in seminars and functions,” Massengill said. “They felt like we were not supportive enough. I heard that from more than one person there. It really amazed me.”
Serxner said he would like to initiate a similar climate survey for staff to gauge their perceptions of diversity programs. He also said learning more about diversity was an ongoing process.
“Diversity training is not just going to a lecture or attending a workshop,” Serxner said. “It’s not just five minutes at new employee orientation. That’s why I’m willing to put it in my work plan.”
Posted November 19, 2004
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