Committee on Diversity Requirement for General Education

Committee Membership? 2023-2024

  • Eugenia Opuda, Library, Chair
  • Ryan Gibson, COLA, Vice Chair
  • Anna Wainwright, COLA, Past Chair
  • David Benedetto, CEPS
  • Serita Frey, COLSA
  • Iago Hale, COLSA
  • Sherri Simmons-Horton, CHHS
  • Clarissa Michalak, CHHS
  • Lauren Haley, PAUL?
  • Noele Lee, PAUL
  • Laurie Shaffer, CPS
  • Molly Tucker, Student Representative?

Non-voting members

  • Kate Ziemer, Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs or her delegate
  • Nadine Petty, Chief Diversity Officer

Committee Charges

Approved by the Faculty Senate on November 29, 2021?

Motion # XXV-M23?(to?create a new Ad Hoc Committee on a General Education Diversity Requirement) stipulates that the Diversity Requirement ad hoc committee is “to develop the framework, objectives, and student learning outcomes (SLOs) for this requirement.”??

To this end, the Agenda Committee issues the following charges to the new Diversity Requirement ad hoc committee.?

Logistics and Research?

Arrange an initial meeting (with Faculty Senate Chair and/or Vice Chair in attendance). If a committee chair has not already been appointed, the committee will hold an election. ?

Collect and review all relevant documents from previous and/or current committees at UNH, including especially documents from the 2019-21 Discovery Review Committee. Contact Kathy Brunet to secure access to these documents. ?

Construct a list of existing UNH course offerings that may be relevant. Solicit input from faculty across the university. Since the SLOs for the new requirement are not yet finalized, the committee should initially defer to faculty in deciding which existing courses may be relevant. ?

Solicit and review existing SLOs for any relevant courses identified (above). Drafts of SLOs should already be available in some form as an outcome of the recent NECHE accreditation process. They may be included in course syllabi, or they may exist as separate documents on a departmental level. ?

Locate and review existing general education diversity requirements at comparable institutions. In reviewing such programs and requirements, focus on their student learning outcomes and overarching objectives, rather than the details of their requirements (number of credits/courses, etc.).

Analysis and Deliberation

The committee's first report to the full Senate should cover 1) the scope of the diversity requirement, including clear guidelines for the range of content, methodologies, and disciplinary approaches anticipated in courses satisfying this requirement and 2) how this range of content, methodologies, and disciplinary approaches would satisfy the principal SLOs of this requirement. ??

In order to prepare this report, the committee should consult any additional faculty, students, researchers, or professionals whose expertise may be helpful in focusing the committee’s discussions or addressing questions that may arise. These persons may be employees at UNH or elsewhere, including from other institutions’ programs as identified above. ?

The Faculty Senate is committed to shared governance.??Therefore, the work of the committee should involve discussions and coordination with relevant university administrators and staff, including the Chief Diversity Officer, directors of the Beauregard Center, with DEI?college committees, the Student Senate,?and?the?Graduate Student Senate.??Seek advice from the Agenda Committee, if necessary, to identify relevant experts who may serve as consultants or guest speakers for the committee. ?

In collaboration with the Agenda Committee, consider hosting one or more open-forum sessions where faculty, administration, and staff may discuss the work in progress in developing SLOs. These forums may serve as feedback sessions for the committee to address emerging questions, and may also serve as information sessions to increase transparency around the SLO development process.?

Expected Outcomes

In preparation for a final recommendation to the Senate, an iterative approach?is necessary that should include?presentations to and discussions with the Senate, and?motions to endorse?elements of the recommendation?in advance of the final recommendation. ?

The ad hoc committee will submit a final report on its recommendations and present it to the full Senate for approval. The final report and presentation will include recommendations for the framework, objectives, and student learning outcomes of a new general education diversity requirement. ?

This committee will be working concurrently with the ad hoc committee on General Education Review (GERC).??The work of identifying how a diversity requirement will?fit into the general education curriculum will be a joint effort.??For example, questions about whether the diversity requirement is a stand-alone course or whether it could overlap with another requirement will need to be?considered by both committees and ultimately approved by the Senate.???

Timetable

The committee will present an update on their progress to Senate by the end of the fall 2021 semester, and another update early in the spring 2022 semester.

Membership Parameters

Approved by the Faculty Senate on August 30, 2021?

The Agenda Committee?recommends?that membership?of the?General Education?Diversity Requirement?Ad Hoc Committee?include, to the extent possible,?the following?with due recognition of the overlapping nature of?the?categories:?

  1. Representation across categories of gender, ethnicity, career stage (junior to senior), and appointment type (lecturer, TT, Clinical), as?is?feasible.
  2. Faculty?from all undergraduate degree-granting colleges, as well as the?Library.
  3. Faculty?from relevant stakeholder groups, including college DEI working groups.
  4. Faculty or staff?with relevant disciplinary and/or professional expertise.
  5. At least one?undergraduate?student?representative.
  6. Adequate representation of?Faculty Senators.
  7. Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs Kate Ziemer or designee?(in a non-voting role)?
  8. Chief Diversity Officer Nadine Petty?(in a non-voting role)

Note:?The ad hoc committee should consult with?any and all?constituencies who may be affected or have specialized expertise (e.g.,?Beauregard Center,?Student Affairs, etc.).??

ARCHIVE

Committee Membership? 2022-2023

  • David Benedetto, CEPS
  • Casey Golomski, COLA
  • Anna Wainwright, COLA
  • Iago Hale, COLSA
  • Alicia Ingargiola, CHHS
  • Clarissa Michalak, CHHS?
  • Eugenia Opuda, Library, Chair?
  • Lauren Haley, PAUL?
  • Noele Lee, PAUL
  • Ryan Gibson, COLA, Vice-Chair
  • Laurie Shaffer, UNH - Manchester
  • Christian Zepeda-Lipovsky, Student Representative?

Non-voting members

  • Kate Ziemer, Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs or her delegate
  • Nadine Petty, Chief Diversity Officer