Students with Disabilities in the Honors Program
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SETTING THE TABLE FOR DIVERSITY Editors Lisa L. Coleman and Jonathan D. Kotinek Jeffrey A. Portnoy Georgia Perimeter College [email protected] General Editor, NCHC Monograph Series Published in 2010 by National Collegiate Honors Council 110 Neihardt Residence Center University of Nebraska-Lincoln 540 N. 16th Street Lincoln, NE 68588-0627 (402) 472-9150 FAX: (402) 472-9152 Email: [email protected] http://www.NCHChonors.org © Copyright 2010 by National Collegiate Honors Council International Standard Book Number 978-0-9825207-2-7 Managing Editor: Mitch Pruitt Production Editor: Cliff Jefferson Wake Up Graphics, Birmingham, AL Printed by EBSCO Media, Birmingham, AL TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements. 5 Foreword . 9 Jonathan D. Kotinek Introduction: Changing Our Selves, Changing the World: Setting the Table for Diversity . 11 Lisa L. Coleman Part I: Defining Diversity in Honors Setting the Table for Diversity . 21 Ellen Riek and Kathryn Sheridan African American Males and Honors Programs: Why Are Enrollments So Low? What Can Be Done? . 31 Bridal Pearson and Deborah Kohl Welcoming Einstein: Students with Disabilities in the Honors Program . 41 Doreen Arcus Mira al Espejo: A Reflection on Serving Latina/o Honors Students in Texas . 61 Michael R. DeLeon International Students and the Challenges of Honors. 77 Gergana Yaneva, John Zubizarreta, and Natalia Miteva Part II: Diversity Challenges and Opportunities African American Males in Honors Programs: Suggestions and Best Practices for Success . 91 Esther Materón-Arum How Honors Programs Can Assist in the Transition of Gifted First-Generation and African American College Students . 99 Lisa Brockenbrough Sanon-Jules The Dominican University Honors Program and Service Learning: Case Studies Focusing on Engaged Learning and Social Responsibility in Diverse Communities . 115 Jayati Ghosh, Julia van der Ryn, Rizza Alcaria, Asta Haman-Dicko, Alma Delia Martinez Torres, and Peter Hoang 3 A Place for Diversity: Experiential Projects in Honors Curricula. 135 Marcella L. McCoy A Scientific Perspective on Diversity: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Discussions of Race, Gender, Sexual Orientation, and Class . 151 Bridget M. Newell and Bonnie K. Baxter Nonviolent Ways to Win the War on Terror: A Student’s Reflection on Study Abroad Placed into the Institutional Context of the UNF Honors Program. 171 Kelly Heber, Ronald A. Lukens-Bull, and Charles R. Paulson Psyche as Text: Diversity Issues and First-Year Honors Composition . 201 Lisa L. Coleman Part III: The Call for Transformative Diversity Passing for Black: White Privilege and Black Identity Formation . 229 Jonathan D. Kotinek The Problem with Diversity: Moving Past the Numbers . 239 Finnie D. Coleman Part IV: Appendices Appendix A: Collected Statements on Diversity from NCHC Member Institutions . 253 Appendix B: Structural Diversity Survey of NCHC Member Institutions. 255 Part V: Contributors Contributor List . 265 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In the spirit of collaboration and community that results from diver- sity, equity, and inclusion, I would like to thank each author who con- tributed to this publication: Rizza Alcaria, Doreen Arcus, Bonnie K. Baxter, Finnie D. Coleman, Michael R. DeLeon, Jayati Ghosh, Asta Haman-Dicko, Kelly Heber, Peter Hoang, Deborah Kohl, Jonathan D. Kotinek, Ronald A. Lukens-Bull, Esther Materón-Arum, Marcella L. McCoy, Natalia Miteva, Bridget M. Newell, Charles R. Paulson, Bridal Pearson, Ellen Riek, Lisa Brockenbrough Sanon-Jules, Kathryn Sheridan, Alma Delia Martinez Torres, Julia van der Ryn, Gergana Yaneva, and John Zubizarreta. Their work made this monograph possi- ble. I extend special thanks to Jonathan Kotinek, who said yes without hesitation when I broached the subject of serving as co-editor. I am grateful for Jon’s energy, support, and insight. Special thanks also go to Ellen Riek and Katie Sheridan, whose essay cleared a path for Jon and me and set us on our way. I further thank Ellen for serving as reader and sounding board for my chapter. I also extend gratitude and sincere admiration to Finnie Coleman, whose inspirational speech in Denver offered the NCHC a goal to strive toward. Thank you, Jon, for bringing Finnie to our table. I would like to thank NCHC leaders who have guided me toward this project. Virginia McCombs, past NCHC President and former Chair of the Diversity Committee, nominated me to serve as Co-Chair in 2004, a post I have been proud to occupy even when it turned into a sometimes daunting position. I would also like to thank NCHC Past President Kate Bruce, who supported the Diversity Committee’s plans for a Diversity Forum in Philadelphia, which turned out to be the place where a num- ber of these chapters made their first appearance as panel presenta- tions. Sincere thanks and warm appreciation also go to Hallie Savage, past President of NCHC and past Chair of the Publications Board, who supported the request of the Committee on Diversity Issues to bring in Dr. Finnie Coleman as featured speaker to kick off the 2007 Diversity Forum in Denver. I thank all the members of the NCHC Publications Board, in particu- lar Linda Frost and Carolyn Haynes, Co-Chairs Jeff Portnoy and Joan Digby, and HIP and JNCHC Co-Editor Ada Long for their service to the honors community, their boundless sense of humor, and their unstinting support for this monograph. Thanks as well to Southeastern Oklahoma State University for the 2008 summer sabbatical that created some time to write my monograph chapter and think through this publication. 5 ACKNOWLEGEMENTS Final and heartfelt thanks to my husband, Ronnie, and daughter, Sarah, who are the reason for everything I do. —Lisa L. Coleman I am deeply indebted and grateful to Lisa Coleman for her mentor- ship in the process of developing this monograph. Although I brought no experience to the table, Lisa graciously accepted me as her co-edi- tor; she gave sound advice on my writing and was thoughtfully engaged; she encouraged the ideas that I brought to the discussion. Most of all, she was willing to support my suggestion to bring Dr. Finnie Coleman to the 2007 NCHC Conference in Denver. I have no doubt that NCHC will continue to reap the dividends of the tireless effort that Lisa has poured into the Diversity Issues Committee, the Diversity Forum, and this volume. My gratitude goes out for the guidance and support of the NCHC Publications Board. I am especially grateful to Bruce Carter, whose thoughtful criticism and pointed challenge helped crystallize my con- tribution to this monograph. My friend and colleague Dave Louis was also instrumental in helping me find a direction for my chapter. I would like to thank the many contributors to this monograph; Lisa has been kind enough to name them each in turn. I have truly relished the con- versations generated by their work at the Philadelphia, Denver, and San Antonio conferences, and I expect that their contributions in this monograph will help us, as an organization, continue to hold these con- versations as an integral part of what we do. Special thanks are due to Violetta Cook, Director for Sponsored Student Programs in the International Student Services office at Texas A&M, for providing back- ground information on the chapter evaluating international student achievement, “International Students and the Challenges of Honors.” Many thanks to Whitney Barringer for contributing to the process of developing this volume. I would be remiss if I neglected to thank also those who responded to our call for statements on diversity and struc- tural diversity data: Rita Barnes; Donna Birdwell; Bill Bogley; Valerie Burks; Lisa L. Coleman; Mark Farris; Jayati Ghosh; William Knox; Esther Materón-Arum; Richard Milo; John Newell, Jr.; Evelina Panayotova; Matthew Silliman; Michael Sloane; Christopher Swanson; Tanya Ulsted; Betsy Yarrison; and John Zubizarreta. These responses are gratefully acknowledged and truly important in fleshing out this monograph. I would very likely not be a part of these conversations were it not for the apprenticeship I am still serving under Dr. Finnie Coleman. I am who and what I am because of him. 6 ACKNOWLEGEMENTS Lastly, I would like to thank my wife, Ashley, and sons, Noah and Samuel for their patience, understanding, and steady support as I pil- fered time for this project. —Jonathan D. Kotinek 7 8 FOREWORD JONATHAN D. KOTINEK TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY Few issues in modern American culture engender as much debate as the push for diversity. For some, diversity is a watchword that symbolizes a progressive perspective and noble calling. Others cringe at the word “diversity,” understanding it as a placeholder for the term “politically correct,” a dystopian sanitization and repression of earnest thought and feeling. Higher education is particularly concerned with diversity, first because the academy is populated by people who have strong feel- ings on both ends of the spectrum and also because institutions of high- er learning, especially public schools, must answer to a number of stakeholders for whom diversity has become a buzzword: politicians, donors, and watchdog groups. As laboratories for process and learning in our colleges and univer- sities, honors programs and colleges are a good place to look at how the fraught topic of diversity is being addressed through policy and practice (NCHC). This monograph is an attempt to provide a cross section of policy and practice through the voices and experiences of honors fac- ulty, staff, and students from across the nation. While far from compre- hensive, this volume does pick up different strands of thinking on diversity to present a rich and complicated understanding of what diversity is, why it is important, and how it might be usefully engaged by various communities of learners. This monograph is limited in scope by a number of factors, not the least of which is the multifaceted nature of diversity. The editors have made a conscious effort to bring in as many definitions and perspec- tives on diversity as possible from within the membership of the National Collegiate Honors Council.