DIVERSITY LEADERSHIP GROUP FORMS

Four members of the Bryn Mawr faculty and staff have been named to positions on a newly formed Diversity Leadership Group, President Nancy J. Vickers announced Tuesday. The appointees are Associate Chief Information Officer Florence Goff, who will serve as the College's equal-opportunity officer; Professor of Sociology Mary Osirim, who will serve as the faculty diversity liaison; co-Dean of the School of Social Work and Social Research Raymond Albert, who will serve as the staff issues liaison; and incoming Assistant Dean and Director of Intercultural Affairs Christopher MacDonald-Dennis.

"The group's charge is to provide strategic advice directly to me with the goal of making the campus community inclusive and supportive of all students, faculty and staff," Vickers said in an e-mail announcement to the community. Plans for the group were first outlined last spring, after Vickers sought advice and ideas from the community about administrative approaches to fulfilling the College's diversity goals. The president plans to "review the effectiveness of this new model at the end of the year."

The Diversity Leadership Group will meet with the president regularly. It will convene, along with the president, the President's Diversity Council, a representative body of faculty, students and staff whose responsibility, Vickers says, is "to advise me about encouraging a supportive climate for diversity on campus, and to monitor the effectiveness of the College's diversity initiatives in four areas: recruitment and retention of faculty, staff, and students of color; attention to diversity in the curriculum; campus climate; and College programs that foster diversity." Each member of the group will have individual responsibilities that focus on particular aspects of the College's policy and practice.

Director of Intercultural Affairs Christopher MacDonald-Dennis will spearhead efforts to foster intergroup relations on campus and to develop programs addressing issues of diversity including but not limited to race, ethnicity, country of origin, class, gender, sexual orientation, religious affiliation and physical ability. He will advise student cultural organizations; he and his staff will advise and advocate for all students who are interested in issues of diversity [see related story].

Mary Osirim

Faculty Diversity Liaison Mary Osirim will assist academic departments and search committees in the effort to diversify the faculty, with particular attention to broadening applicant pools so as to recruit and retain members of underrepresented groups. Osirim will also organize conversations among faculty members about issues facing faculty of color and issues of diversity in the classroom. She will be supported in this role by Allison Taite-Tarver, a student in the Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research.

"I'm enthusiastic about this task," Osirim said in a recent interview. "I think that our directors of institutional diversity in the past have done a phenomenal job, but they had a lot on their plate. They served a broad range of constituencies. I see Nancy Vickers' creation of a position specifically devoted to faculty diversity issues as a very positive development."

Osirim, a professor of sociology who has developed and taught numerous courses on race and gender relations, is a former co-director of the College's Center for Ethnicities, Communities and Social Policy; she has served as the coordinator of the College's Africana Studies Program, of which she is a founding member. She coordinates the Mellon Minority Undergraduate Fellows' Program at Bryn Mawr and is an elected member of the faculty committee on appointments. She has served on the President's Diversity Council and numerous Bryn Mawr search committees.

Florence Goff

Equal Opportunity Officer Florence Goff will monitor the College's compliance with state and federal equal-opportunity policies and work with supervisors to increase understanding of how to apply policies in ways that "encourage actions, behaviors and decisions that support equal access, diversity, inclusiveness and equitable treatment," the president’s announcement said.

"I interpret 'employment opportunities' in the broadest possible sense," Goff said last week. "It is more than complying with legal requirements in hiring. It means paying attention to how we treat people during the hiring process, on the first day they show up to work and throughout their employment at Bryn Mawr. It means ensuring that everyone has access to opportunities for professional development and growth. It means going beyond compliance."

Goff, a librarian by training, is the College's Associate Chief Information Officer, in the Information Services Department. A veteran of numerous search committees, she currently coordinates hiring and shares budget responsibilities for the Information Services Department. She also coordinates the Staff Development and Training Task Force, and is a member of Bryn Mawr's peer mediation program. She has long been active in programs sponsored by the Office of Institutional Diversity, including pluralism workshops for incoming students.

Raymond Albert

Staff Issues Liaison Raymond Albert will act as a sounding board for staff members who would like to discuss workplace diversity issues in a confidential, "off-the-record" environment, Vickers' announcement said. He will assist Human Resources in the interpretation and application of policy and help staff members find the appropriate resources and forums for resolving their concerns.

"I am delighted to serve in this capacity," Albert said of his new appointment. "I think it's important that staff members have a place where they can feel safe discussing issues that are sometimes volatile and know that confidences will be kept. This is often a crucial first step in resolving a problem or misunderstanding."

Albert is co-Dean of the Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research and the director of the graduate school's Law and Social Policy Program; he was instrumental in developing the school's certificate-granting conflict-resolution program. He has served on numerous Bryn Mawr committees whose aim was to increase diversity in both faculty and curriculum. Since 1982 he has worked as a consultant in the development of mediation and dispute-resolution programs for a variety of organizations, including Bryn Mawr's peer mediation program.

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