The University Diversity Advisory Committee met at its monthly meeting Monday afternoon to discuss improving cultural competence, launching a bias incident response team, as well as other agenda items. 

In an effort to work toward improving cultural competency and racial climate on campus, Mike Mullen, vice chancellor and dean for Academic and Student Affairs, talked about narrowing the class options available for the GEP co-requisite diversity course. 

“I wonder sometimes if the right path isn’t to constrict the classes to a narrower subsection of courses that really hone in … as opposed to having 80 classes that meet the diversity requirement,” Mullen said.

The committee was charged by Chancellor Randy Woodson and Provost Warwick Arden.

“The University Diversity Advisory Committee is charged with advising the chancellor and the provost with diversity-related relevant issues on our campus community,” said Amy Circosta, the interim vice provost for the Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity and chair of UDAC.  

Woodson issued a letter titled “Strengthening Campus Unity,” in which he called for UDAC “to engage the campus community and make recommendations about improving cultural competence and the racial climate at NC State.” 

Woodson also went on to write that “a bias incident response team” will be launched in order “to coordinate appropriate responses to any incidents of bias and ensure support for affected populations.” 

The committee suggested that the response team respond to things such as culturally inappropriate comments or photographs posted on social media, specifically from NC State students and staff.

“We need to encourage free dialogue but at the same time how to manage that in a respectful way,” Circosta said. “I think that is a goal of this group, but also what we’re trying to encourage in our colleagues and departments.” 

A large portion of the meeting was spent on presentations from two OIED University Diversity Mini-Grant recipients. 

Due to a focus on improving cultural competence and the racial climate on campus, the committee discussed the new common reading book, “Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption” by Bryan Stevenson. Committee members were encouraged to read and be prepared to engage in dialogue with faculty, staff and students. 

Cameron Denson, the principal investigator of “eMentorship: Virtual Mentorship Program for Underserved Students in Rural Areas,” shared how his mentorship program impacted the lives of students in Bertie and Warren counties. 

Ericka N.J. Ford, the principal investigator of “Raleigh Research Partnerships for Diversity and Inclusion in Textile Engineering, Chemistry and Science,” told the committee about her partnership with chemistry students at Shaw University in teaching them the multifaceted aspects of textile engineering, chemistry and science. 

The attendees at the UDAC meeting included committee members Deb Luckadoo, the director of staff diversity for OIED, Kelly Sexton, director of the Office of Technology Transfer, Renee Wells, director of the GLBT Center, Justine Hollingshead, chief of staff for the Division of Academic and Student Affairs, and many other influential staff and leaders in the NC State community.

“The membership is based on college and division and other facets of the university like faculty, staff senate, student senate and staff at large,” Hollingshead said. “It’s not every unit that has representation. For example, Fraternity and Sorority Life is a part of [the Department of Academic and Student Affairs] and DASA has four representatives in addition to Dr. Mullen.”

Of the three student committee members, two were in attendance: Karli Moore, a senior studying chemistry and treasurer of Student Government, and John Taylor Willis, a freshman studying business management and a first-year senate member.    

“There’s three students that are appointed by Khari Cyrus, the student body president,” Hollingshead said.  

Student involvement in the council is not a priority because the committee is already so large, according to Wells.

“There are a lot of avenues [for student involvement in the diversity conversation] in existence. The average student just might not know about it,” Wells said.