School of Public Administration Florida Atlantic University DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION STRATEGIC PLAN

Transcription

1 School of Public Administration Florida Atlantic University DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION STRATEGIC PLAN February 10, 2014

2 CURRENT STATE OF DIVERSITY AND INCUSION IN THE MPA PROGRAM Faculty The School of Public Administration has enjoyed solid faculty diversity in gender, race/color and nationality over the last fifteen years. But SPA has experienced rapid growth in MPA enrollments since While the number of faculty and staff has not increased, the School hired one new Assistant Professor of Asian origin replacing a retired associate professor two years ago. Four faculty members are entering retirement phases, beginning in the next two-three years. Currently, SPA has thirteen (13) faculty members, including the Dean and two Associate Deans. The SPA faculty comprises five women, eight men, from diverse backgrounds, as shown in Table 1. Table 1 SPA/MPA Full Time Faculty Diversity at FAU Faculty Ethnicity Gender Dean, Full Professor African American Female Associate Dean, Assistant African American Female Professor Associate Dean, Full Professor, White Male Ph.D. Coordinator Full Professor, MPA Coordinator White/Middle Eastern-American Male Full Professor White/Middle Eastern-American Male SPA Director, Full Professor Asian American Male Associate Professor, MNM White Male Coordinator Associate Professor, BPM White Male Coordinator Associate Professor Asian American Female Associate Professor White Female Associate Professor White Female Associate Professor White Male Assistant Professor Asian Male Staff An Administrative staff supports the MPA program in the College for Design and Social Inquiry (CDSI), where both the School of Public Administration and MPA program are housed. Of these staff, one is the Executive Secretary of SPA, and another is the graduate advisor for the college, including the MPA. These staff members are white and Asian-American females respectively. Students Both the MPA program and SPA follow all policies and procedures of Florida Atlantic University regarding the admission and retention of a diverse student body. As the enrollment data in Tables 2 and 3 shows, our MPA program has experienced unprecedented growth. The MPA program has done well in the areas of gender and ethnic minority recruitment and enrollment. 1

3 Table 2 Student Enrollment by Gender Year Semester Male Female Total 2010 Spring/ % % 59 Summer / % % 38 Fall / % % Spring/ % % 73 Summer / % % 52 Fall/ % % Spring/ % % 135 Summer/ % % 149 Fall/ % % Spring/ % % 180 Summer/ % % 118 Fall/ % % Spring/ % % 152 Year Asian Black or African American Table 3 Enrollment by Ethnicity Hispanic or Latino Two or more races International White Unknown Total # % # % # % # % # % # % # % # % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % 242 Spring % % % % % % % 204 Tables 2 and 3 show the changing patterns of enrollment by different ethnic groups for the years Table 3 shows data that compares favorably to regional and national demographics see appendix 2. Curriculum Our MPA program at FAU is a comprehensive with courses and contents that meet all NASPAA Standards, as explained in our Self Study Report submitted in Our instructional exercises and curriculum provides ample evidence of diversity. We find our curriculum is enriched by following such approaches and practices. Examples include: 2

4 1. At least one chapter, plus additional articles and case studies, are used to cover diversity management and multiculturalism in the Seminar in Public Personnel Administration, Labor Relations in Government, Organization and Administrative Behavior, Administrative Ethics, Administrative Laws, Public Policy, Policy Implementation, Capstone, and Budgeting and Finance. Case studies and other exercises address specifically issues of gender, sexual orientations, racial divisions, cultural/ethnic difference, language as well as, age, and religious differences, etc. They are included in such courses as Organization Behavior, Public Personnel and Labor Relations, Democratic Values, Administrative Ethics, and some elective courses. Specific examples include: * Dr. Miller covers diversity and multiculturalism as a condition of democracy in his course on Democratic Values; Dr. Farazmand covers challenging scenarios and simulation cases on sexual multiculturalism, gender/ethnicity, and sexual orientations (gay, lesbian, transgender, etc.), equity, professionalism and cultural competency in his courses Organization and Administrative Behavior, Seminar in Publics Personnel Administration, Labor Relations and Collective Bargaining in Government, and Administrative Ethics; * Dr. Farazmand also uses various Supreme Court cases with a focus on equal treatment, race, national origin, citizenship, due process of law, employee and employer s rights and responsibilities, and with a span of over two hundred years from Dred Scott v. Sanford and Chief Justice Taney s rulings to Plessy v. Ferguson and Doctrine of Separate but Equal, UC v. Bakke, 1954 Brown V. Board of Education; * Dr. Leip uses different case studies in her Introduction to PA and Capstone courses to cover diverse materials and perspectives on public administration; * Dr. Ben-Zadok covers in his Public Policy course under Implementation and Ethics concepts of Utilitarian (Bentham) and Distributive (Rawls) ethics on Affirmative Action; he also covers official and unofficial actors in Public Policy through the 1954 landmark Supreme Court cases of Brown v. Board of Education, and the 1973 Roe v. Wade case from chapters of textbooks in his courses, with a focus on diversity and inclusion; * Dr. Sapat uses case studies, debates, and discussions in her Public Policy and Introduction to PA course on issues pertaining to diversity, social constructions and their impact on policy design and implementation, and policies addressing social vulnerability; * Dr. Sementelli covers diversity management and inclusion in modules of the courses he teaches: Organizational Change and Public Management, Org. and Administrative Behavior, and Democratic Values in Public Administration; * Dr. Patterson covers merit and qualification in the face of changing demographics and the need to be inter-culturally sophisticated, not just minimally tolerant ; * Dr. Cory-Scruggs covers chapter length materials on diversity and inclusion in her courses in Organizational Behavior and Communication. 2. We periodically invite guest speakers from different ethnic, gender, and sociopolitical perspectives who speak to our classes and help enlighten our students with practical, professional, political, and other insights, as the following examples show: Professor Farazmand s invitation of a young and aspiring/high achieving local African American high school student to speak in his Administrative Ethics class about an innovative idea the young man had developed on communication for transcending racial and ethnic barriers in 21 st century America. He also invited Hispanic, Asian, and African American speakers to his Personnel and Labor Relations, as well as Ethics, and Organization Behavior courses. These speakers reflect on minority membership in unions, and cultural barriers that minorities and underrepresented groups face in public service organizations. 3

5 Dr. Leip invites guest speakers to cover different perspectives on housing issues of homeless people, challenges of diverse but minority focused inmate populations, and local governance partnership arrangements with diversity-oriented groups. We also bring outside (domestic and international) visiting scholars to SPA from around the world, who spend semesters on campus, offer lectures, and participate in faculty-student engagements as well as research with colleagues. 3. We cultivate our Interns who are carefully selected and placed in different local government and nonprofit organizations throughout South Florida as well as at state and federal agencies. The interns are further exposed to different cultural and ethnic diversities in South Florida region. These experiences coupled with organizational contexts provide functional and cultural competencies among our MPA students. Examples include: Laura Karpavicute, a Lithuanian-American, was selected through a regional and national search and served as an exemplar Management Intern in the City of Tamarac, Broward County in 2012 her exceptional performance and outstanding professionalism character led to her receiving a one year full time paid position with the City of Tamarac and she is doing a superb job; Izadora Isadore, an African-American student, was selected through a competitive process as a fully paid intern for one year in the Office of the Director of Broward County she is doing a great job working directly with the County Director; Fransnor Alex, a Haitian-American student, was placed at the City of Sunrise, where he did a great job working with the City Manager on an assigned executive project, and his meritorious performance led to his receiving a full time paid position after the internship where he continues to do a great job; Antonio Edwardo, an African American student, was selectively chosen and placed with the United States Parole Office in Miami, where he is currently working as an intern in Spring 2013 and doing a great job; Andrew Merten, a White student was placed and spent one summer, in the U.S. State Department in 2012 he did a marvelous job; Patience Taylor, a White student, was placed and spent one semester of internship with a Georgia s Congressman s Office in Congress in 2013 she did a fantastic job. These different instructional experiences expose our students to broad perspectives, encouraging diverse cultural, democratic values and attitudes. DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION WORK PLAN The School of Public Administration and MPA Program has a diverse and inclusive environment, with a diverse body of faculty, staff, students and a curriculum that encourages a diverse and inclusive understanding. This strategic plan provides a blueprint/roadmap for the MPA program in the School of Public Administration to further develop, enhance, and sustain a diverse and welcoming inclusive climate for students, faculty, and staff. Four fundamental goals serve the purposes of diversity and inclusiveness in SPA at FAU: 1. Promote and maintain a culture and climate of inclusiveness, one in which the acceptance, respect, and appreciation of difference break down stereotypes and integrates all underrepresented groups; 2. Develop and maintain diversity and cultural competency in faculty and staff; 3. Develop and maintain diversity and cultural competency in students; and 4. Develop and maintain diversity and cultural competency in the curriculum. 4

6 Goal 1. Promote and maintain a culture and climate of inclusiveness, one in which the acceptance, respect, and appreciation of difference break down stereotypes and integrates all underrepresented groups Objectives Potential Strategy/Action Potential Indicators Potential Outcomes Objective 1: Offer opportunities for additional development to faculty and staff on topics related to diversity and inclusion in order to increase their cultural competency Offer opportunities for additional development to faculty and staff on topics related to diversity and inclusion. - Conferences and workshops announced. - Annual discussion at faculty meeting. - Attendance by staff at pre-search workshops (see Goal 2). Development activities attended &/or funded. Objective 2: Offer opportunities for additional training to students on topics related to diversity and inclusiveness in order to increase their cultural competency and sensitivity toward differences Objective 3: Continue to assess the organizational climate of the MPA and the School of Public Administration as it relates to diversity and inclusion; - Offer opportunities for additional training to students on topics related to diversity and inclusiveness. - Work with the Division of Student Affairs to identify such training opportunities & promote them. Conduct surveys assessing climate. - Workshops & events scheduled. - Actions by Division of Student Affairs. - Survey items. - Survey results. Goal 2. Develop and maintain diversity and cultural competency in faculty and staff Number of events, and participants. Faculty discussion of climate survey feedback. Objective 1: Continue to recruit and retain a diverse tenure and tenure track faculty; Objective 2: Encourage faculty to engage in research and service activities that support diversity and inclusion by ensuring that such activities and performances are valued, rewarded, and institutionalized. - Develop a pre-search diversity workshop among SPA faculty to be engaged in before searches. - Develop mentoring program for new tenure track faculty hires. - Continue advertising to increase the pool of applicants in underrepresented groups. - Add reference to SPA valuing diversity to offer letters. - SPA P&T committee Chair acts to support this objective. Encouragement offered. - Workshop developed. - Mentoring program established. - List of advertising venues. - Statement on letter of offer. - Minutes of faculty meetings. - See objective 1, under goal 1 above. - Number of applicants in diverse categories. - Offer letter statement crafted and included. See objective 1, under goal 1 above. 5

7 Goal 3. Develop and maintain diversity and cultural competency in students. Objective 1: Apply innovative approaches and improve recruitment efforts to continue to attract a highly diverse pool of students; Objective 2: Explore and utilize innovative and effective tools, strategies, and motivation incentives to reduce attrition and increase retention rates of MPA students; Objective 3: Explore and utilize different approaches to increase the number of inactive students converting to fully active and enrolled student status; Objective 4: Strengthen linkages to support services to assist and retain diverse students; - All students accepted to the MPA program will be highly qualified and diverse. - Use new brochures, online advertising, & regional newspapers to attract students. - Use alumni networks, open houses, and participation social and cultural events to promote recruitment. - Initiate collection of attrition and retention data by gender and ethnicity (Advising). - Maintain clear lines of communication for students in regard to diversity and inclusion issues. - Workshops and orientation discussion for students focused on retention. - Social events for MPA students. - Seek & develop scholarships and promote applications for University scholarships among underrepresented students. - Incoming student profile/data sheet - MPA survey items about source of information - Advertising efforts; participation in events - Scholarship for Haitian Students established & awarded - Attrition & retention rates by gender and ethnicity and underrepresented category. - Numbers attending & feedback on workshops, social events. - Scholarships funded & awarded. Data compiled & reported to faculty. - Improvement in attrition & retention rates. - Enhanced recognition of student achievement. See above. See above. See above. - Maintain clear lines of communication for students in regard to diversity and inclusion issues. - Develop and disseminate referral list of University and College support services (on MPA website & in orientation). MPA survey items. Goal 4. Develop and maintain diversity and cultural competency in the curriculum - Feedback from students. - Clear communication. - Access to resources. Objective 1: Examine the current MPA curriculum for opportunities to integrate topics related to diversity and climate of inclusiveness; Develop a formative and flexible voluntary checklist as an aid for SPA faculty to diversity and enhance the design of their courses, assignments, & syllabi. - Checklist drafted, amended & shared semesterly. - Checklist used by faculty voluntarily. - Percent of faculty finding the checklist useful & helpful in enhancing courses. - Enhancements to courses made. - Checklist amended as a result of continuing faculty feedback and discussion. 6

8 Objective 2: Consider a course (or courses) designed to increase cultural competency of students Conduct in-depth faculty discussion of such a course or courses. - Discussions held. - Minutes. Decision. Appendix A Florida Atlantic University, The College of Design and Social Inquiry, the School of Public Administration, and the Master of Public Administration program are guided by and in compliance with all inclusion policies and practices, including but not limited to the following: Anti-Discrimination and Anti-Harassment American's with Disabilities Act Bias-Free Communication Office for Students with Disabilities Equal Employment Opportunity Religious Freedom and Accommodations Veterans' Affairs LGBTQ International Students Domestic Partner Health Insurance Stipend Appendix B Comparative data referenced in this report are available at the following sites: NASPAA Diversity Report Percentages of students, from National Center for Education Statistics, via NASPAA, emphasis added: "NCES found that over the span of a decade, all master s programs in all fields increased from 20% minority students in 2000 to 27% in Concerning gender, the report found that master s programs had 60% female students in 2000 and 63% in 2010" (NASPAA Diversity Report, 2013, p. 1). Percentages of students, from NASPAA s programs: "The results of NASPAA' s own sample (2007 to 2013) 'found that after thirteen years, the number of Minority students had increased to 49%, with Whites at 51%'" (p. 4), and that "with minor fluctuations from year to year, the diversity Report 2013 found the overall population of students to be 41% Male with the majority being 59% Female" ((NASPAA Diversity Report, 2013, p. 5). Alternatively, Figure 2.4 (ibid., also on p. 5) shows NASPAA data for masters programs in public service, illustrating 39% male and 61% female students. Comparative data for faculty members are found on p. 6 of same. State and County Quick Facts. U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Department of the Census. Demographic data for Broward and Palm Beach counties in Florida: Broward County Palm Beach County Council of Graduate Schools. Graduate Enrollment and Degrees: 2002 to (See pages 41-43, 48, 100). 7