Diversity Activities

APPENDIX C Diversity Activities

Asselin, Susan  All the graduate courses that I teach are related and supported by my research on universal design, accommodations, for learners with disabilities in addition to a diversity course for career & technical education majors.  Southwest VATS coordinated by Rick Barrow (Asselin PI)  Collaborated with RU-TTAC transition specialists, NRCC to offer transition awareness events to students with disabilities and teachers in Roanoke City, Roanoke County, Salem, Botetourt, Franklin, Carroll, Giles, Montgomery, Pulaski school divisions:  Provided assistive technology demonstrations, training, information & referral, and technical assistance in 38 counties in VA and for various statewide efforts.  Served the state Assistive Technology Council (DRS) in partnership with the other regional VATS offices (GMU & ODU) .  Maintained regional connections to support AT needs of individuals with disabilities with rehabilitation services, blind and visually impaired, deaf & hard of hearing, community services boards, disability services boards, social services, centers for independent living, senior services, FREE Foundation (recycling AT), AgraAbility (VT grant) , AARP, and VA Relay.

Barksdale, Mary Alice  The Fulbright research project was conducted in a high poverty, all black township school. Across the project, I worked daily in classrooms with teachers and children in an effort to improve methods of literacy instruction in a variety of ways.  My research and outreach with Brenda Brand in the context of Project ESTEEM deals with supporting cultural identity and academic development in minority students. The Write to Read project in South Africa dealt with supporting teachers in improving literacy instruction in a high poverty township school in which the majority of the students were indigenous Xhosa in terms of culture and language.

Bodenhorn, Nancy  Regularly teach the masters level Diversity course in our program, and the Doctoral level Multicultural course in alternate years.  The study from which I continue to publish was conducted to study aspects of diversity within school counseling. The study is aimed at increasing functions of school personnel that can result in lower ethnic achievement gaps.  Owens, D., Bodenhorn, N., & Bryant, R. M. Self-Efficacy and Multicultural Competence in School Counselors – under review at Journal of School Counseling.  Airen, O., Bodenhorn, N., & Wolfe, E. W. School Counselor Multicultural Competence and Achievement Gap. Being prepared for a school counseling journal.

Brand, Brenda  Green, A., Glasson, G., & Brand B. (2010, March). Issues Affecting African American Students in Science Majors at Predominantly White Universities. Paper presented at the annual conference of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching, Philadelphia, PA.  Project ESTEEM (Exploring Strategies To Engage and Empower Minority Students) focuses on positively influencing conceptions of identity, self-esteem, and self-efficacy in PK-5 grade African American children in Montgomery County in southwest Virginia. The project integrates cultural identity with literacy and mathematics including visual and performance arts. It occurs twice a week after school at Christiansburg Primary School. Data are being collected. The project was developed collaboratively with Dr. Mary Alice Barksdale, Dr. Tamara Wallace (Radford University), the Montgomery County Community Group and the Christiansburg Institute, and Dr. Vanessa Pitts Bannister.

Brandt, Carol  My scholarship directly addresses the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse students in science. The participants in my studies are students from ethnic and racial groups who have been historically underrepresented in science careers: American Indian, Latino/a, and African American students.  I am working with low-income communities in southwestern Virginia on environmental monitoring and in after school STEM education.  All of my teaching is organized within a social justice framework where students come to grasp the dynamics of inequity inherent within structures of knowledge and the discursive practices that reproduce and shape these structures.  Through my graduate courses, masters and doctoral students come to understand how difference is constructed through our teaching; my courses provide strategies for confronting discrimination to transform oppressive practices.

Brill, Jennifer  September 25, 2009: Attended Virginia Tech’s Fifth Annual Multicultural Luncheon/Lecture held by the office for Equity and Inclusion. This excellent lecture explored the biases that many of us hold, how they impact others in our community, and strategies for reducing such biases across diverse groups and individuals.  September 24, 2009: Attended Advance VT Mentoring Networks for Assistant Professors workshop through which Dr. Mary Dean Sorcinelli shared research regarding mentoring models, relationships, and planning. This event provided a more contemporary conceptual framework of mentoring in higher education to meet the needs of an increasingly diverse faculty.  January 23, 2009: Attended Advance VT luncheon lecture by Dr. Alice Eagly of Northwestern University regarding her research on Women As Leaders: Negotiating the Labyrinth. This event enabled me to better understand women as leaders in higher education and network with colleagues across the university.

Brott, Pamela  EDCO-5214: diversity issues as applied to theories of individual counseling and introduction of contemporary theories that embrace issues of diversity; critical discussions of theories and consultation as to multicultural, gender, age appropriateness; strengthsbased and positive psychology  EDCO-5254: diversity issues related to career development and to life roles; context, selfconcept, life satisfaction, decision making, planned happenstance through the lens of diversity; labor market information regarding diversity issues  EDCO-5264: diversity issues for appraisal in counseling; cultural competency in assessment and appraisal; using qualitative assessments as a dimension of diverse attitudes and behaviors in appraisal  EDCO-5364: diversity issues related to school counseling; disaggregating school data to understand the needs of all students (data driven decisions); effectiveness of program and services; application of American School Counselor Association National Model for School Counseling Programs and Virginia Standards for School Counseling Programs with specific emphasis on addressing the needs of marginalized and underrepresented student groups; academic achievement for all students specifically drawing on social justice  EDAE-6914: Critical review and discussion of diversity, context, and cultural implications related to appraisal in counseling and to career development. Specific course learning modules and assignments to demonstrate knowledge and application of principles.  Encourage doctoral research and dissertations related to underrepresented and marginalized groups (e.g., GLBT, parenting adolescents, incarcerated youth).

Burge, Penny L.  Lead researcher in continuing efforts to investigate Black women’s experiences at Virginia Tech. See other sections of this report for dissemination results of this work.

Cennamo, Katherine  Submitted Fields Everywhere NSF grant proposal (with Mitzi Vernon, Paul Orseli, Michael Ermann, and John Simonetti) to develop a museum exhibit to encourage girls’ interest in science through narratives. Currently under review.

Chang, Mido  Kim, S., & Chang, M. (2010). Does computer use promote the mathematical proficiency of ELL students? Journal of Educational Computing Research, 42(3), 285-305.  Chang, M., Singh, K. Filer, K., & Sung, Y. (2009). All day kindergarten and academic performance of racial minority students in the USA. Journal of Educational Psychology, 3(2), 33-43.  Chang, M., & Kim, S. (2009). Computer access and computer use for science performance of ethnic and linguistic minority student. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 40(4), 457-489.  Chang, M., Park, B., Singh, K., & Sung, Y. (2009). Parental involvement, parenting behaviors, and children’s cognitive development in low-income and minority families. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 23(3), 309-324  Chang, M., Filer, K., & Byrd, W. C. (2009, April). Teacher Evaluation Methods and Language minority Mathematics. Paper Discussion at the American Educational Research Association, San Diego, CA  Member, College Diversity Committee, (2007-Present) Creamer, Elizabeth  Grant work related to the topic of diversifying the STEM workplace. Some of the work is focused on undergraduate students, while the rest is focused on female faculty in STEM.

Day-Vines, Norma  I routinely incorporate theory, practice, and research issues in my course as they relate to counseling culturally and linguistically diverse populations. I develop strategies and interventions that help students address their own attitudes, biases, and assumptions around cultural difference that may interfere with culturally competent counseling practice. I help students acquire factual information about people from culturally diverse groups, and I help students identify culturally responsive strategies, interventions, and techniques that promote effective helping.

Doolittle, Peter  The course that I teach, EDCI 6644: College Teaching, addresses strategies and perspectives related to teaching a diverse student body.  Resurrected the online database Social Justices Resources Center, dedicated “promot[ing] social equality by transforming educational practices and curricula.”

Eller, John F.  Diversity is very important to me as a member of the Virginia Tech community. The Northern Virginia campus serves a very diverse population with many students of color in our doctoral and principal preparation programs. I have worked hard to understand their unique backgrounds and have tried to use their diversity to help them be successful. I had several African American male and female students in my professional seminar classes during the 2007-2008 academic year. Many of these students had been working at Virginia Tech for a number of years but were not able to complete their dissertations and graduate. I took a special interest in these students, met with them individually, and helped them to learn the writing genre that is required for dissertation completion. In the last two academic years, I have assist two African American male students and one African American female student in successfully completing and defending their dissertations. For the males I served as their chair; for the female I served as a committee member.  In my other classes, I integrate issues of diversity into my readings and discussions. Most of my students in the Principal Preparation course are employees of Metropolitan Washington DC districts where the student and staff populations are very diverse. They need to have discussions and strategies to work in these diverse environments. I am presently working with an African American student who is a principal in the Prince William County Schools to recruit candidates for our EdD leadership program. Several of these students would represent diverse backgrounds and experiences. These students also work with diverse populations of learners in their schools and could learn much from our program while enhancing the scope of students we serve.  In my courses I strive to make diversity a central theme. I have taught in Hampton Roads, Richmond, and Northern Virginia. All three of these areas are very diverse. In my classes I incorporate readings and discussions to help raise student awareness of diversity issues and their impact and student achievement and leadership. In my courses, I place an emphasis on understanding and promoting diversity. Diversity is very important to me as a member of the Virginia Tech community. I have spent considerable time reading and learning about the various cultures that I interact with and work with at Virginia Tech. In addition to learning by reading, I’ve also made a personal connection with my students who represent diverse backgrounds and tried to get to know and understand them better.  In the environments where I teach leadership, diversity is an everyday fact of life for school principals. I promote the understanding of diversity in my classes and ways that leaders can work with diverse staff and students. This is accomplished through readings, case studies, and discussions. I believe diversity goes beyond race/ethnicity. I encourage the formation of diverse opinions and ideas in my classes. I welcome students who challenge the status quo and think “out of the box.” As future leaders they need to develop their own opinions and be able to help their future staff members to think for themselves.  In the National Capital Region we have many students from diverse racial backgrounds. I take great pride in working with diverse students and assisting them in completing their doctoral studies. During the time period from April 2008 to March 31, 2009 I have extensively advised two African American males successfully conduct their research projects and write and defend their doctoral dissertations. My advising duties included developing study check points, instruction and support in the genre of research writing, and developing a sound oral defense. My advising efforts have been successful. Both students successfully defended their dissertations in the last year. I continue to advise one African American male who recently completed his preliminary exam.  I also integrate diversity content into my courses through readings and experiences. The students I work with here in the National Capital Region will lead schools with very diverse student and faculty populations. These students need ideas and developmental opportunities to be successful leaders in these diverse environments. I provide this information through course reading, discussions, and the analysis of case studies from actual schools.  I am working with a student in the Prince William County Schools to recruit students from diverse backgrounds for next National Capital Region Principal Preparation Cohort (starting in the fall of 2009) and the next EdD cohort program (starting in the fall of 2010). This student has the relationships and the connections to assist us in recruiting more diverse students to our program.  I advised an African American doctoral student through the Orientation to Residency Process here in Northern Virginia as a pilot program for the program area. This student had difficulty in attending the Orientation to Residency program in Blacksburg because she had a handicapped child. I periodically met with this student, developed expectations for her Orientation to Residency program, developed a schedule for her work over the summer, and helped her navigate through the paperwork and procedures at the University level.

Evans, Michael  Kids for Change Project looks specifically at encouraging girls and minority students to consider STEM-related disciplines. Glenn, William  Board of Advisors, Brotherhood Program, Mt. Vernon High School. This program is designed to help improve the achievement of African American males at Mt. Vernon High School.  Publishing the paper “Altering grade configurations in Virginia schools: Reducing school segregation without necessarily considering race” in the University of North Carolina Law Review. This paper discusses a means for school districts to implement voluntary desegregation plans without running afoul of the decision in Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District #1.  Presenting the paper “Altering Grade Configuration in Virginia Schools: Reducing School Segregation without Explicitly Considering Race” at the Looking to the Future: Legal and Policy Options for Racially Integrated Education in the South and the Nation Conference (sponsored by The Civil Rights Project/Proyecto Derechos Civiles at UCLA, the University of North Carolina Center for Civil Rights at the UNC School of Law, and the University of Georgia Education Policy and Evaluation Center), April, 2009, Chapel Hill, NC.  Guest speaker at the Mt. Vernon High School 30-30 Club to discuss resilience in education (the 30-30 Club is an initiative at the school for the principal and others to have close contact with 30 underrepresented students for 30 months in order to attempt to move the children from poor outcomes to becoming serious candidates to attend college) February 20, 2009  Personally recruited an African American woman to serve as an adjunct in our program (this effort fell through at the last minute due to budgetary concerns)  All courses feature an emphasis on achievement gap issues in education 11  Panelist in a discussion at the Northern Virginia Center regarding multi-ethnic families (Spring 2008, 2009, 2010)  Attended Undoing Racism Workshop on February 17 & 18, 2006 and served on the committee (AURVT) that is addressing issues related to institutional racism at Virginia Tech. Among other things, I participated in the AURVT session in which we worked on drafting diversity related questions to ask of the CLAHS Dean candidates.  Member of the Coordinated School Visits Program. I was unable to take any trip due to budgetary issues, but remain willing to serve.

Hicks, David  Taught course entitled History and Social Science is focused on the teaching of future citizens. At the heart of this mission is an ongoing focus on diversity in all its shapes and sizes. Diversity issues are a key part of my courses in terms of case studies we use, and the examples that are used that stress the importance of teaching social and economic history, democratic education, and the need to include minority and marginal voices in the history and social science curriculum.  Publication in Disability and Society  Dealing with issues of special education  And one in press on parents of children with disabilities in Journal of Education Policy  Presentation on special education and film at the Virginia Transitions Forum  My work as CUFA chair and past chair involved charting a course for the creation of an organizational diversity statement. The focus of our conference always has a massive social justice initiative and that involved bringing in keynote speakers--- Rep John Lewis, Deborah Lipstedt (holocaust education) and Morris Dees (Southern Poverty law center). I also helped initiate a book drive for a local school in need in Atlanta.

Hirt, Joan  Dissertation on University of West Indies  Dissertation on higher education in Africa  invited a guest lecturer from Monterrey Tec (Mexico) to address students in ELPS 5314 in Fall 2009  Invited a guest lecturer from Finland to address students in ELPS 6304 in Fall 2009  Course entitled Race, gender, and sexual identity development are covered in ELPS 5314  The Free Clinic of the New River Valley provides a medical home to uninsured adults in Montgomery, Floyd, and Giles counties. Clients must have incomes less than 175% of the federal poverty line to receive services (i.e., economically disadvantaged).

Janosik, Steven M.  I devote significant time in my Higher Education Law class to affirmative action and the legal history connected to the desegregation of higher education in America.  I devote significant time in my Staffing Practices in Education class to the need to the hiring, training, and supervising of a diverse workforce.  Dr. Hirt and I advertise the Higher Education program to Historically Black Colleges and Universities each fall. Our selection process is very sensitive to the recruitment of underrepresented populations. Our commitment to affirmative action results in cohorts that include approximately 30+% minority students.

Jones, Brett  My research contributions to diversity include examining how stereotypes affect female engineering students and how pedagogies affect the retention and career plans of women in engineering programs.  A conference paper presentation: Ruff, C., Jones, B.D., Paretti, M., Knott, T. (2010, February). Is Stereotype Threat In the Air? Applying Stereotype Threat Theory to Femail Engineering. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Eastern Educational Research Association, Savannah, GA.  The NSF grant that I was awarded this year: A Mixed-Methods Study of the Effects of First-Year Project Pedagogies on the Retention and Career Plans of Women in Engineering.

Kajder, Sara  In identifying, building relationships with, and supporting field placement sites for students within the English education program, I closely consider what it means to prepare teacher to teach ALL students. To that end, our placement sites have expanded to include partnerships with Roanoke City Schools (to provide experience in more urban contexts), and methods courses utilize video, podcast, and other media tools to interact with English classrooms in urban and global contexts. Further, students in the program are required to complete detailed ethnographic studies examining classroom contexts, student diversity (i.e., learning needs, ethnic and cultural backgrounds, socio-economic backgrounds, interdisciplinary interests, etc.) in an attempt to create avenue for reflection on their own dispositions and beliefs.  As I work within schools across the U.S. (and, particularly, in urban contexts), I will continue to both thread my learning (and relevant narratives/videos/cases/etc) into my methods courses given that the majority of the students in the English education program seek (and secure) teaching positions in diverse, high-need settings. Further, I will continue to disseminate findings through presentations and publications which both capture and thickly-describe the realities of literacy teaching and learning in high-need, diverse school settings and which advocate for change.

Kreye, Bettibel  Through the MSP grant, planned and presented workshops and courses that were tailored to involve math and special education teachers from all 4 MCPS middle schools as they worked with the special needs of students in mathematics.  Acted as a grader for MCPS VGLA portfolios (alternative assessment for SOL testing), math in grades 6-8, May-June

Lambert, Simone  Facilitated a panel discussion, Issues Facing Immigrants in a New Country

Lawson, Gerald  Member of the Association for Multicultural Counseling and Development.

Magliaro, Susan  A key curriculum component of EDCI 2984 was the focus on diversity in terms of race, socioeconomic status, and disability

Mesmer, Heidi Anne  All of my teaching and research are pointed to pragmatically creating social justice for diverse, struggling, rural and urban readers. In 2001-2002 I worked intensively with teachers in two high-needs schools, to close the achievement gap in reading (99%, and 51%, African American). A 2006-2007 grant did the same in an impoverished rural school (35% American Indian & 29% African American). A funded 2009 grant will support work in two Roanoke City Public Schools (> 65% African American). In 2009 I was awarded a Niles Research Award to study the reading preferences of African American boys and in 2007-2008 participated in Faculty Study Group: Teaching for Social Justice.

Miyazaki, Yasuo  Member, CLAHS Diversity Committee, 2007 - present

Parlo, Amy  Embedded within the Technology Applications course, we deal with Universal Design for instruction, which allows students to address the needs of diverse student populations. Parks, Kelly  Attended Advance VT History of Women at VT event, May 2010 and “Through Feminist Eyes” , Embodied Disclocations by Dr Paterson, November 2009  Attended Dr David Hicks and Tom Ewing’s lecture “Making Citizens: The Politics of Race and Civics Education in Virginia's Segregated Schools” as part of Black History Month, February, 2009  Attended the Advance VT lecture series “Navigating the Labyrinth Women as Leaders”” in January 23 2009 to hear Alice Eagly speak about women become leaders in an effort to re-align my views on female diversity within the Academy at Virginia Tech  Attended the Advance VT Female Peer Mentoring workshop January 2007  In my practice as a teacher educator, an open dialogue about diversity is firmly maintained in my classroom as I help by own students acknowledge the diversity (cultural, racial, learning style, socio-economic status, and religious) that they face within Virginian middle and high schools

Pitts Bannister, Vanessa  I incorporate readings related to issues of diversity and equity in mathematics education. After reading the selections, students are required to submit a paper, which included (1) a summary of major points, (2) a discussion of the ways in which equity issues may present challenges for the classroom teacher, and also ways in which gender and ethnicity may impact the classroom differently, and (3) a discussion of the implications of these issues for teaching mathematics in secondary schools. In addition, students are encouraged to incorporate their findings in an assignment that requires them to make a lesson (which they have observed in a school) more culturally relevant for students. Students continue to problematize issues of diversity and equity in EDCI 5784.

Redican, Kerry  Active in SOE/VCOM collaborative program. This program has 9+ physicians working toward a Ph.D. in Education (Health Promotion) - their work is directed at development, implementation and evaluation of primary and secondary prevention programs in third world countries

Singh, Kusum  Chang, M., Singh, K. Filer, K., & Sung, Y. (2009). All day Kindergarten and academic performance of racial minority students in the USA. Journal of Educational Psychology, 3(2), 33-43.  Chang, M., Park, B., Singh, K., & Sung, Y. (2009). Parental involvement, parenting behaviors, and children’s cognitive development in low-income and minority families. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 23(3), 309-324.

Skaggs, Gary  For each class I teach, I put a quote for the day on the whiteboard. I make sure that these quotes (I look for ones both humorous and inspirational) come from a diverse group of individuals. Sutphin, H. Dean  Graduate PhD advising includes 3 African American students, one of whom graduated in Spring 2009.  Developed and Coordinated Global Seminar for Environment and Sustainability cluster including 3 HBCU institutions, assisting with preparations including professional workshops for faculty members and administrators, preparation for interactive video conferencing, case based learning and interactive protocols, case writing and free video conference bridge.

Tilley-Lubbs, Gresilda  Teach courses that foster opportunities for students to develop an appreciation for and understanding of diversity and multicultural education through service-learning in non- dominant communities and critical examination of societal oppression and discrimination through academic readings and written reflections  Address needs for interpretation and cultural/societal navigation in the Latino community through courses incorporating service-learning to foster reciprocal relationships between students and community members  Directed family literacy program in Latino community through Crossing the Border  Major professor: four female Ph.D. students, one of whom is Mexican, all conducting diversity/social justice research regarding English language learners in K-12 education  Committee member: one international Ph.D. student of color and one African-American student, both females conducting diversity-based research one in health promotions and one in education  Multicultural Fellow, 2004-present  Participated in three CEUT faculty study groups discussing social justice, phronesis in service-learning, and service-learning in non-dominant communities  Brought a minority scholar from Mexico through Women and Minority Scholars grant. Arranged lectures and other public forums regarding immigration on campus, in classes, and at the Roanoke Higher Education Center  Member of ESL Consortium to address needs of English language learners in Roanoke. Worked as part of team to facilitate ESL Summit for service providers in local area  Member of Virginia Latino Advisory Board, previously Commission. Facilitated Governor’s Latino Summit to provide information to ESL service providers throughout the Commonwealth. As secretary, prepared the written and web materials for the Summit. Organized Town Hall Meeting on Latino issues to report to Governor  Advisor for three undergraduate students who won Undergraduate Research Award 2005. Supervised research on establishing an exchange between Mexican medical students and VCOM medical students.  Facilitated for an event for students and local Latino families to participate in a Health Fair at VCOM  Conducted transnational research in Mexico and United States to promote understanding among diverse groups and to research education in Mexico  Advisor for Lambda Sigma Upsilon, Latino Fraternity, Inc.  Supervisor for fraternity members who translated admissions page into Spanish for the university  Presented papers at 21 international, 10 national, 11 regional, 17 state, 7 local academic presentations about diversity issues: preparing teachers for diversity, service-learning in non-dominant communities, to name a few  Wrote opinion editorial in Roanoke Times regarding Latino immigration  Panelist for League of Women Voters Town Hall Meeting on immigration  Guest lecturer in campus courses dealing with immigration issues

Tripp, N. Wayne  Chairing three historical studies of African American education. Two are histories of African American schools in Virginia, one in Louisa County, the other in the former Princess Anne County. The third is a study of the experiences of African American educators in Alleghany County, Virginia, immediately prior and following the Brown v. Board decision of 1954.  Also chairing a doctoral study by Danielle Crossley: The Equal Access Act, Not the Access for All Students Except Gay Students Act: Federal Judicial Decisions and Their Implications for School Systems;’ Policies and Practices

Twiford, Travis  Classes at the Richmond and Hampton Roads Centers are composed of approximately ½ minority students.

Welfare, Laura  I am a part of a multidisciplinary, multi-racial, faculty-student research team that investigated the mentoring experiences of black female doctoral students (see related activities in conference presentations and research-in-progress).  I am the sole investigator of a new study of counselor cognitive complexity, self-efficacy, and multicultural competence.  I have incorporated multicultural considerations in each of my courses (e.g., in EDCO 6534 DSM Applications in Counseling students consider the implications of culture on mental health, mental illness, and diagnosis, in EDCO 5264 Appraisal in Counseling we explore assessment.

Wells, John  I have added a strong component to my classes stressing the rights and responsibilities of teachers when working with students with disabilities. For example, each class contains several case studies which illustrate the most common civil rights violations that students with disabilities face in the classroom and in college.

Wilkins, Jesse L. M.  Co-PI on Virginia Teach, an NSF grant (Noyce Scholarships) to award scholarships to students who will be trained to work in high-needs schools and potentially work in high- needs schools after graduation.