EEOC
MARCH 28, 2008
Athletic Director Fired Female Coach Over ‘Life Choice’ to be a Mother, Federal Agency Charged
NEW ORLEANS – Centenary College of Louisiana has agreed to pay $200,000 to settle a sex discrimination lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today. The EEOC had charged that the Shreveport college had demanded the resignation of its women’s intercollegiate basketball head coach and then fired her because she had had a child. The EEOC’s suit was resolved by a Consent Decree, which was signed by Judge Donald E. Walter on March 26, 2008 and entered into the record of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana on March 28, 2008.
According to the EEOC’s suit (No. 5:07CV-1561 in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana), in September 2005 Elizabeth Wamsley gave birth to a child while unwed, and returned full time to her coaching duties 10 days later. After the conclusion of the team’s basketball season in March 2006, then-Athletic Director Taylor Moore told Wamsley that she should not continue coaching because she was now a mother. A month before her termination, Moore also reportedly told an assistant athletic director that his major concern with Wamsley was her “life choice” in deciding to have a baby and that he was concerned she would not be able to be 100% committed to her coaching duties as a result. Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Although the college denied wrongdoing, it agreed to pay Wamsley $200,000 in damages. The college also agreed to post a written policy concerning sex discrimination, and to have much of its staff undergo training on sex discrimination.
“This resolution, while of substantial benefit to Ms. Wamsley monetarily, also serves the public and the interests of the Centenary College community,” said Jim Sacher, the EEOC’s regional attorney in Houston. “The college’s agreement to post a written policy and undergo training will enhance its work force’s education and promote compliance with federal law. The EEOC stands committed to protecting the rights of mothers to work. Employers must understand that a mother’s right to earn a living is every bit as important, and as legally protected, as a father’s. As this suit has shown, when necessary, the EEOC will prosecute employers who fail to uphold the federal law’s requirement that women be treated the same as men at work.”
Wamsley was hired as an assistant coach of Centenary’s women’s intercollegiate basketball team in 2003. She was selected as its interim head coach in April 2004, and subsequently served as head coach for two seasons.
In May of 2007, the EEOC issued its “Enforcement Guidance: Unlawful Disparate Treatment of Workers with Caregiving Responsibilities,” discussing sex discrimination and related issues for child caregivers. That guidance can be found on the internet at: http://www.eeoc.gov/policy/docs/caregiving.html .
The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. Further information about EEOC is available on its web site at http://www.eeoc.gov/ .
Anyone who believes he or she has been subjected to a discriminatory employment practice is encouraged to contact the EEOC's New Orleans Field Office, which is located at 1555 Poydras Street, Suite 1900 in New Orleans.
Friday, April 4, 2008
DILLARD’S TO PAY HALF MILLION TO SETTLE EEOC CLASS SEXUAL HARASSMENT SUIT
EEOC
April 1, 2008
Assistant Manager Harassed 12 Women, Including Teen, in Two States, Agency Charged
DENVER – The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today announced it has settled its class sexual harassment lawsuit against the Dillard’s department store chain for $500,000 and substantial remedial relief on behalf of a class of 12 female former employees who were sexually harassed by an assistant store manager in two states.
The EEOC maintained in its suit that assistant store manager Scot McGinness sexually harassed women at two Dillard’s stores. The EEOC said that Dillard’s knew that McGinness was sexually harassing young female subordinates at the Palmdale, Calif., store, but failed to take appropriate action to stop the misconduct. Instead, Dillard’s transferred him to a managerial position in its Westminster, Colo., store, and failed to notify the new store about McGinness’s history of sexual harassment.
Moreover, after a Colorado female associate complained to her store manager that McGinness inappropriately touched her, McGinness was given only a verbal warning regarding his conduct. Only 10 months later, when McGinness physically and verbally sexually harassed an 18-year-old high school senior and the Westminster police were contacted, did Dillard’s finally fire McGinness.
Sandra Padegimas, the EEOC trial attorney who prosecuted this case, said, “Cloaked with his mantle of authority, Mr. McGinness used his power over his female subordinate employees as a way to reward or punish his victims. By failing to notify the Colorado store about this man’s sexual harassment in California at the time of his transfer to Colorado, Dillard’s permitted its Westminster employees to go in harm’s way.”
Chester V. Bailey, director of the EEOC’s Phoenix district, which oversees Colorado, said “Sexual harassment violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The EEOC filed the suit in U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado after investigating multiple charges of discrimination and first attempting to reach a voluntary settlement.”
In addition to paying $500,000 to the 12 women, the consent decree settling the suit (EEOC v. Joslin Dry Goods, d/b/a Dillard’s, Civil Action No. 05-CV-00177-WDM-KLM) provides an injunction prohibiting the company from discriminating based on sex or retaliation. The company will provide significant sexual harassment training to employees and management officials, including training for managers on how to properly investigate sexual harassment allegations. Dillard’s further agreed that, henceforth, if it transfers an employee from one store to another after it receives a sexual harassment complaint about the employee, the new store will be advised of the complaint. The company also agreed that, unless its investigation of such complaints demonstrates that the complaint has “no merit,” the alleged harasser will receive two hours of additional anti-harassment training. During the decree’s three-year term, Dillard’s will provide reports to the EEOC about any sexual harassment complaints it receives.
Ybarra Lloyd, who worked at the Palmdale store, said, “The EEOC helped us ladies stand up to Dillard’s. In order to settle this lawsuit, Dillard’s had to agree to make changes in its workplace that, hopefully, will prevent others from being victimized. I think employers should be required to tell their employees about the EEOC because most of us don’t know that there is an agency that can help victims fight workplace discrimination. The EEOC gave us a voice!”
Another class member, Ketty Lopez, who worked at the Palmdale store, said, “Our complaints about sexual harassment were ignored because no one seemed to care – but the EEOC made them care. Now Dillard’s will have to follow up on any complaints about sexual harassment it receives.”
According to company information, Little Rock, Ark.-based Dillard's ranks among the nation's largest fashion apparel and home furnishings retailers, with annual revenues exceeding $7.7 billion. The company operates 330 Dillard's locations spanning 29 states, all under the Dillard's name.
EEOC Regional Attorney Mary Jo O’Neill, said, “Employers have a legal duty to take appropriate corrective and preventative action the first time they learn of discriminatory conduct in the workplace. We can’t stress enough the importance of employers taking adequate steps to protect the rights of all employees.”
In September 2004, EEOC Chair Naomi C. Earp (then vice chair) launched the federal agency’s national Youth@Work Initiative -- a comprehensive outreach and education campaign designed to inform teens about their employment rights and responsibilities and to help employers create positive first work experiences for young adults. The EEOC has held more than 3,400 Youth@Work events nationwide since the program was launched, reaching more than 212,000 students, education professionals, and employers. Further information about the Youth@Work campaign, including how to schedule a free Youth@Work outreach presentation, is available on the agency’s web site at http://www.eeoc.gov/initiatives/youth/index.html. Specific EEOC-related information for teens is available on the Youth@Work web site at http://www.youth.eeoc.gov/.
The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. Further information about the EEOC is available on its web site at http://www.eeoc.gov/.
April 1, 2008
Assistant Manager Harassed 12 Women, Including Teen, in Two States, Agency Charged
DENVER – The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today announced it has settled its class sexual harassment lawsuit against the Dillard’s department store chain for $500,000 and substantial remedial relief on behalf of a class of 12 female former employees who were sexually harassed by an assistant store manager in two states.
The EEOC maintained in its suit that assistant store manager Scot McGinness sexually harassed women at two Dillard’s stores. The EEOC said that Dillard’s knew that McGinness was sexually harassing young female subordinates at the Palmdale, Calif., store, but failed to take appropriate action to stop the misconduct. Instead, Dillard’s transferred him to a managerial position in its Westminster, Colo., store, and failed to notify the new store about McGinness’s history of sexual harassment.
Moreover, after a Colorado female associate complained to her store manager that McGinness inappropriately touched her, McGinness was given only a verbal warning regarding his conduct. Only 10 months later, when McGinness physically and verbally sexually harassed an 18-year-old high school senior and the Westminster police were contacted, did Dillard’s finally fire McGinness.
Sandra Padegimas, the EEOC trial attorney who prosecuted this case, said, “Cloaked with his mantle of authority, Mr. McGinness used his power over his female subordinate employees as a way to reward or punish his victims. By failing to notify the Colorado store about this man’s sexual harassment in California at the time of his transfer to Colorado, Dillard’s permitted its Westminster employees to go in harm’s way.”
Chester V. Bailey, director of the EEOC’s Phoenix district, which oversees Colorado, said “Sexual harassment violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The EEOC filed the suit in U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado after investigating multiple charges of discrimination and first attempting to reach a voluntary settlement.”
In addition to paying $500,000 to the 12 women, the consent decree settling the suit (EEOC v. Joslin Dry Goods, d/b/a Dillard’s, Civil Action No. 05-CV-00177-WDM-KLM) provides an injunction prohibiting the company from discriminating based on sex or retaliation. The company will provide significant sexual harassment training to employees and management officials, including training for managers on how to properly investigate sexual harassment allegations. Dillard’s further agreed that, henceforth, if it transfers an employee from one store to another after it receives a sexual harassment complaint about the employee, the new store will be advised of the complaint. The company also agreed that, unless its investigation of such complaints demonstrates that the complaint has “no merit,” the alleged harasser will receive two hours of additional anti-harassment training. During the decree’s three-year term, Dillard’s will provide reports to the EEOC about any sexual harassment complaints it receives.
Ybarra Lloyd, who worked at the Palmdale store, said, “The EEOC helped us ladies stand up to Dillard’s. In order to settle this lawsuit, Dillard’s had to agree to make changes in its workplace that, hopefully, will prevent others from being victimized. I think employers should be required to tell their employees about the EEOC because most of us don’t know that there is an agency that can help victims fight workplace discrimination. The EEOC gave us a voice!”
Another class member, Ketty Lopez, who worked at the Palmdale store, said, “Our complaints about sexual harassment were ignored because no one seemed to care – but the EEOC made them care. Now Dillard’s will have to follow up on any complaints about sexual harassment it receives.”
According to company information, Little Rock, Ark.-based Dillard's ranks among the nation's largest fashion apparel and home furnishings retailers, with annual revenues exceeding $7.7 billion. The company operates 330 Dillard's locations spanning 29 states, all under the Dillard's name.
EEOC Regional Attorney Mary Jo O’Neill, said, “Employers have a legal duty to take appropriate corrective and preventative action the first time they learn of discriminatory conduct in the workplace. We can’t stress enough the importance of employers taking adequate steps to protect the rights of all employees.”
In September 2004, EEOC Chair Naomi C. Earp (then vice chair) launched the federal agency’s national Youth@Work Initiative -- a comprehensive outreach and education campaign designed to inform teens about their employment rights and responsibilities and to help employers create positive first work experiences for young adults. The EEOC has held more than 3,400 Youth@Work events nationwide since the program was launched, reaching more than 212,000 students, education professionals, and employers. Further information about the Youth@Work campaign, including how to schedule a free Youth@Work outreach presentation, is available on the agency’s web site at http://www.eeoc.gov/initiatives/youth/index.html. Specific EEOC-related information for teens is available on the Youth@Work web site at http://www.youth.eeoc.gov/.
The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. Further information about the EEOC is available on its web site at http://www.eeoc.gov/.
Education board supports affirmative action
KPTM FOX 42
Associated Press - April 3, 2008 4:25 PM ET
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - The Nebraska Board of Education has approved a resolution in support of diversity in the state's public education facilities.
The measure adopted Thursday comes as state lawmakers consider an amendment to the state constitution that would bar preferential treatment on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin in public employment, education or contracting.
It is being pushed by a California group that must get about 114,000 signatures to put its proposal on the November ballot.
The board's resolution says diversity "enriches the educational experiences of students and strengthens the competitiveness of our state and nation."
http://www.kptm.com/Global/story.asp?S=8114771&nav=menu606_2_4
Associated Press - April 3, 2008 4:25 PM ET
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - The Nebraska Board of Education has approved a resolution in support of diversity in the state's public education facilities.
The measure adopted Thursday comes as state lawmakers consider an amendment to the state constitution that would bar preferential treatment on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin in public employment, education or contracting.
It is being pushed by a California group that must get about 114,000 signatures to put its proposal on the November ballot.
The board's resolution says diversity "enriches the educational experiences of students and strengthens the competitiveness of our state and nation."
http://www.kptm.com/Global/story.asp?S=8114771&nav=menu606_2_4
The Other Side of the Mountaintop
Washington Post
Scholars Assess Nation's Progress -- And an Icon's Rougher Edges -- Four Decades After Assassination
By Kevin Merida
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, April 4, 2008; A01
Near the end of his life, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. felt cornered and under siege. His opposition to the Vietnam War was widely criticized, even by friends. He was being pressured both to repudiate the black power movement and to embrace it. Some of his lieutenants were urging him to jettison his urgent new campaign to uplift the poor, believing that King had taken on too much and was compromising support for the civil rights struggle.
Today students learn of his powerful "dream" that children be judged not "by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." Politicians and private citizens of all ideologies summon King's soaring oratory as the inspiration that challenged the nation to better itself. But this beleaguered young man -- he was only 39 when he died -- was not just the icon celebrated at Martin Luther King Day programs and taught in U.S. schools.
His life, like those of other historical figures -- Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt -- has been simplified, scholars say, his anger blurred, his militancy rarely discussed, his disappointments and harsh critiques of government's failures glossed over.
Forty years after King was gunned down by an assassin in Memphis, it is this sharper-edged figure who has come into focus again. To mark today's anniversary, several scholarly reports have been released charting the nation's uneven social and economic progress during the past 40 years. Some scholars and former King associates are using the occasion to zero in on the two issues -- war and poverty -- that were consuming him at the time of his death.
Both have particular resonance now: The United States is engaged in a war in Iraq that has grown increasingly unpopular, and the poor -- despite the concerns highlighted by Hurricane Katrina and the subprime mortgage crisis -- are as voiceless as they were in King's day, advocates contend.
"His challenge was much bigger than being nice," said Taylor Branch, author of a three-volume history, "America in the King Years." "It was even bigger than race. It was whether we take our national purpose seriously, which is the full promise of equal citizenship."
King's legacy, Branch said, should have been to give the nation confidence that it can address big problems such as the crumbling economy, the endangered environment and ending the war. "Instead, our sense of what we can do has kind of atrophied," he said. "We're still imprisoned by the myths of the 1960s" -- that it was a period when the country went off the rails and government overreached.
If King could look across the landscape today, he would see a mixture of progress and regression on the issues he cared about: The overall poverty rate hasn't changed much since 1968, though there has been a big drop among the elderly. Wider income disparities exist between the richest and poorest Americans, but opportunities for educational advancement have broadened and workplaces have become more diverse.
The number of African Americans in prison or local jails, currently more than 900,000, is nearly six times the number incarcerated in 1970. But the growth in the number of black elected officials is even greater, from 1,469 in 1970 to an estimated 10,000 now. One of them, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), is given a serious chance of becoming the next president.
King was not a fan of fawning testimonies to his greatness, but in the years since his death about 770 streets and 125 schools have been named after him, according to research by Derek H. Alderman, an East Carolina University geographer. The street-namings are fitting tributes to King's legacy, Alderman said, because so much of the civil rights movement unfurled in the streets. Roads link our homes to our schools to our jobs, "the three areas where we struggle the most to negotiate our differences," Alderman said.
But there is an uneasy irony to these tributes: Most of the King avenues run through black communities, often in low-income neighborhoods. In some cities, attempts to rename major thoroughfares -- streets that cross racial and economic boundaries -- after King were met with political resistance.
"Here was this man whose life was committed to bridging races," Alderman said, "and in death his commemoration is largely segregated."
King was the son, grandson and great-grandson of preachers, and he grew up studying and practicing what messages might work best on people. In 1958, Branch said, he traveled 250,000 miles delivering sermons and speeches. As Branch put it, King thought he could preach America out of segregation.
Lawrence E. Carter, dean of the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel at Morehouse College, King's alma mater, said that he "recognized the humanity even in people who oppressed him," adding: "He saw in them something that could be redeemed."
But King was not meek, nor were his words always soothing. He called for boycotting discriminatory businesses, sometimes demanding that they advertise in black newspapers and deposit some of their money in black savings and loan associations. He spoke of "cultural homicide" committed against blacks, how their worth and achievements were diminished in schools while white superiority was promoted. In one speech, he even noted that there were 60 "offensive" synonyms for blackness in Roget's Thesaurus, and 134 "favorable" synonyms for whiteness.
But King reserved some of his toughest assessments for the U.S. government, which he called "the greatest purveyor of violence" in the world.
"His admonishments to us of how we ought to live seem to be reflected in his social consciousness, and that is rooted in his understanding of Jesus and the social gospels," said Carter, who met King on four occasions. "When he chastised us for being the greatest perpetrator of violence in the history of the world, think about Jeremiah Wright" -- Obama's former longtime Chicago pastor, who came under fire recently for controversial statements in his sermons. [To read the entire article, go to: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/03/AR2008040304345.html?wpisrc=newsletter ]
Scholars Assess Nation's Progress -- And an Icon's Rougher Edges -- Four Decades After Assassination
By Kevin Merida
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, April 4, 2008; A01
Near the end of his life, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. felt cornered and under siege. His opposition to the Vietnam War was widely criticized, even by friends. He was being pressured both to repudiate the black power movement and to embrace it. Some of his lieutenants were urging him to jettison his urgent new campaign to uplift the poor, believing that King had taken on too much and was compromising support for the civil rights struggle.
Today students learn of his powerful "dream" that children be judged not "by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." Politicians and private citizens of all ideologies summon King's soaring oratory as the inspiration that challenged the nation to better itself. But this beleaguered young man -- he was only 39 when he died -- was not just the icon celebrated at Martin Luther King Day programs and taught in U.S. schools.
His life, like those of other historical figures -- Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt -- has been simplified, scholars say, his anger blurred, his militancy rarely discussed, his disappointments and harsh critiques of government's failures glossed over.
Forty years after King was gunned down by an assassin in Memphis, it is this sharper-edged figure who has come into focus again. To mark today's anniversary, several scholarly reports have been released charting the nation's uneven social and economic progress during the past 40 years. Some scholars and former King associates are using the occasion to zero in on the two issues -- war and poverty -- that were consuming him at the time of his death.
Both have particular resonance now: The United States is engaged in a war in Iraq that has grown increasingly unpopular, and the poor -- despite the concerns highlighted by Hurricane Katrina and the subprime mortgage crisis -- are as voiceless as they were in King's day, advocates contend.
"His challenge was much bigger than being nice," said Taylor Branch, author of a three-volume history, "America in the King Years." "It was even bigger than race. It was whether we take our national purpose seriously, which is the full promise of equal citizenship."
King's legacy, Branch said, should have been to give the nation confidence that it can address big problems such as the crumbling economy, the endangered environment and ending the war. "Instead, our sense of what we can do has kind of atrophied," he said. "We're still imprisoned by the myths of the 1960s" -- that it was a period when the country went off the rails and government overreached.
If King could look across the landscape today, he would see a mixture of progress and regression on the issues he cared about: The overall poverty rate hasn't changed much since 1968, though there has been a big drop among the elderly. Wider income disparities exist between the richest and poorest Americans, but opportunities for educational advancement have broadened and workplaces have become more diverse.
The number of African Americans in prison or local jails, currently more than 900,000, is nearly six times the number incarcerated in 1970. But the growth in the number of black elected officials is even greater, from 1,469 in 1970 to an estimated 10,000 now. One of them, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), is given a serious chance of becoming the next president.
King was not a fan of fawning testimonies to his greatness, but in the years since his death about 770 streets and 125 schools have been named after him, according to research by Derek H. Alderman, an East Carolina University geographer. The street-namings are fitting tributes to King's legacy, Alderman said, because so much of the civil rights movement unfurled in the streets. Roads link our homes to our schools to our jobs, "the three areas where we struggle the most to negotiate our differences," Alderman said.
But there is an uneasy irony to these tributes: Most of the King avenues run through black communities, often in low-income neighborhoods. In some cities, attempts to rename major thoroughfares -- streets that cross racial and economic boundaries -- after King were met with political resistance.
"Here was this man whose life was committed to bridging races," Alderman said, "and in death his commemoration is largely segregated."
King was the son, grandson and great-grandson of preachers, and he grew up studying and practicing what messages might work best on people. In 1958, Branch said, he traveled 250,000 miles delivering sermons and speeches. As Branch put it, King thought he could preach America out of segregation.
Lawrence E. Carter, dean of the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel at Morehouse College, King's alma mater, said that he "recognized the humanity even in people who oppressed him," adding: "He saw in them something that could be redeemed."
But King was not meek, nor were his words always soothing. He called for boycotting discriminatory businesses, sometimes demanding that they advertise in black newspapers and deposit some of their money in black savings and loan associations. He spoke of "cultural homicide" committed against blacks, how their worth and achievements were diminished in schools while white superiority was promoted. In one speech, he even noted that there were 60 "offensive" synonyms for blackness in Roget's Thesaurus, and 134 "favorable" synonyms for whiteness.
But King reserved some of his toughest assessments for the U.S. government, which he called "the greatest purveyor of violence" in the world.
"His admonishments to us of how we ought to live seem to be reflected in his social consciousness, and that is rooted in his understanding of Jesus and the social gospels," said Carter, who met King on four occasions. "When he chastised us for being the greatest perpetrator of violence in the history of the world, think about Jeremiah Wright" -- Obama's former longtime Chicago pastor, who came under fire recently for controversial statements in his sermons. [To read the entire article, go to: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/03/AR2008040304345.html?wpisrc=newsletter ]
DIVERSIFYING FACULTY IN ILLINOIS
Diverse Issues in Higher Education
by Ronald Roach
Apr 3, 2008, 12:51
After more than a decade of working in the Illinois corrections systems, LaMetra Curry in 2003 enrolled part time in the Adult and Higher Education program in the College of Education at Northern Illinois University. For Curry, a busy mother of two teenage sons, the move in 2004 by the Illinois Legislature and state education officials to restructure the minority graduate student support programs made it possible for her to become a full-time student.
Expecting to finish her doctorate in education by summer 2009, Curry has recently gone back to working full time as a student recruitment coordinator in the NIU education college. Her goal after completing her doctorate is to become a research professor at an Illinois college or university.
“Without my fellowship, I would neither be as far along in my program nor likely in my new position,” Curry says.
Curry is one of 150 current fellows in the Diversifying Higher Education Faculty in Illinois (DFI) initiative. It was established in 2004 when the Illinois General Assembly combined two long-running minority graduate student support programs: the former Illinois Consortium for Educational Opportunity Program and the former Illinois Minority Graduate Incentive Program. Aimed at boosting the number of traditionally underrepresented faculty and administrators at Illinois institutions and the higher education governing boards, DFI operates as a fellowship and mentoring program.
The $2.8 million annual program provides stipends and tuition assistance for traditionally underrepresented students — including those of Black, Hispanic, Asian and American Indian descent — to pursue and complete master’s and doctoral degrees at Illinois institutions. Participants are required to have earned high school diplomas or postsecondary degrees from Illinois schools or have three or more years of Illinois residency.
The two programs were combined following a study on faculty diversity in the state by the Illinois Board of Higher Education.
“While we thought those programs were quite effective, as they were getting minority students graduated, we thought there needed to be more focus on the hiring aspect of that,” says Terry Nunn, the Illinois Board of Higher Education deputy director for diversity and outreach and the state director for DFI.
“Because if you look at the hiring numbers across the country, even right now, they’ve been relatively flat for many, many years for minority faculty,” he adds.
Dr. Ansley Abraham, the director of the Southern Regional Educational Board State Doctoral Scholars Program, says the DFI may now form the single largest minority graduate student support program operated by a U.S. state. The SREB State Doctoral Scholars Program is one of the nation’s largest regional support programs for minority graduate students. Abraham was part of a team hired by Illinois prior to the 2004 consolidation to evaluate minority graduate student programs. [To read the entire article, go to: http://diverseeducation.com/artman/publish/article_10945.shtml ]
by Ronald Roach
Apr 3, 2008, 12:51
After more than a decade of working in the Illinois corrections systems, LaMetra Curry in 2003 enrolled part time in the Adult and Higher Education program in the College of Education at Northern Illinois University. For Curry, a busy mother of two teenage sons, the move in 2004 by the Illinois Legislature and state education officials to restructure the minority graduate student support programs made it possible for her to become a full-time student.
Expecting to finish her doctorate in education by summer 2009, Curry has recently gone back to working full time as a student recruitment coordinator in the NIU education college. Her goal after completing her doctorate is to become a research professor at an Illinois college or university.
“Without my fellowship, I would neither be as far along in my program nor likely in my new position,” Curry says.
Curry is one of 150 current fellows in the Diversifying Higher Education Faculty in Illinois (DFI) initiative. It was established in 2004 when the Illinois General Assembly combined two long-running minority graduate student support programs: the former Illinois Consortium for Educational Opportunity Program and the former Illinois Minority Graduate Incentive Program. Aimed at boosting the number of traditionally underrepresented faculty and administrators at Illinois institutions and the higher education governing boards, DFI operates as a fellowship and mentoring program.
The $2.8 million annual program provides stipends and tuition assistance for traditionally underrepresented students — including those of Black, Hispanic, Asian and American Indian descent — to pursue and complete master’s and doctoral degrees at Illinois institutions. Participants are required to have earned high school diplomas or postsecondary degrees from Illinois schools or have three or more years of Illinois residency.
The two programs were combined following a study on faculty diversity in the state by the Illinois Board of Higher Education.
“While we thought those programs were quite effective, as they were getting minority students graduated, we thought there needed to be more focus on the hiring aspect of that,” says Terry Nunn, the Illinois Board of Higher Education deputy director for diversity and outreach and the state director for DFI.
“Because if you look at the hiring numbers across the country, even right now, they’ve been relatively flat for many, many years for minority faculty,” he adds.
Dr. Ansley Abraham, the director of the Southern Regional Educational Board State Doctoral Scholars Program, says the DFI may now form the single largest minority graduate student support program operated by a U.S. state. The SREB State Doctoral Scholars Program is one of the nation’s largest regional support programs for minority graduate students. Abraham was part of a team hired by Illinois prior to the 2004 consolidation to evaluate minority graduate student programs. [To read the entire article, go to: http://diverseeducation.com/artman/publish/article_10945.shtml ]
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