Montclair State University
PCAA Affirmative Action

Minutes
February 21, 2008

Commission
Constitution

List of members

Committees and
members

Meeting schedule

Upcoming agenda

Minutes

Policies and
Proclamations

MSU related links

Other related links

Attendance: Cindy Meneghin, B. Milton, D. Lorenzo, J. Tursi, A. Adarkar, D. Keiser, J. Harris, Larry Lemley, M. Colon, A. Gomez, S. Pasqiono, C. Onore, C. Matteis, E. Abreu, C. Jones, K. Pamiloza, O. Rodriguez- Skrednicki, L. Fryer, L. Smith, J. Velasco, L. Jenkins

I. Call to Order
a. Welcome
Chairperson C. Meneghin called the meeting to order at 1:10 pm
b. Minutes
J. Harris approved the January minutes, E. Abreu second the minutes. The minutes were approved as submitted.

II. Accessibility
a. L. Smith – discussed the update on the accessibility of the campus for people with disabilities. The number one issue is the door(s) at the parking deck. L. Smith conducted extensive research with the doors - the ADA does not make automatic doors mandatory, the guideline is how simple it is to use the lever – without twisting your wrist … interior doors are a 5 lb limit of force to open the door. MSU does not meet these requirements. April 4th is the scheduled date to speak with the committee regarding this issue. L. Smith asked of the PCAA committee to ask the constituents and the community, what are the accessibity issues here on campus? Please forward all responses to L. Smith and/or C. Meneghin.

III. Committees
a. Recruitment and Retention
i. O. Rodriguez, communicated with Quaseem Dent & Lourdes are working on the issues with Physical Plant.
b. Mentoring
i. Questionnaire being approved will be coming out of HR, an introduction will be developed to include for broad audience
ii. MSU Spirit baskets are coming along and will be quite big.
c. Education
i. J. Harris thanked everyone who participated in the Affirmative Action day forum. Great to see the diversity of student organizations involved. Still a need for Affirmative Action and how it has evolved.
d. Executive Committee
i. Met with Kim and Clair. Presented a profile of graduate assistantships and its changes. The data will be provided to the committee to develop a discussion about the process for the March meeting.

IV. Affirmative Action Day
a. C. Meneghin mentioned that the event had a great turn-out! There was much conflict with other scheduled programs/meetings. Recommendation is to not implement this day again on a Wednesday. Next year it will be an evening program and fundraiser for Sweet Honey and the Rock. Dr. Cole will be encouraged to promote this as a campus event and must get the VPs and Deans to attend – perhaps by co-sponsoring. C. Meneghin thanked J. Tursi who really pushed the SGA to sponsor.
Suggestions for next year:
• Panel discussion of what AA means
• Recognize individual(s) with an award for AA specifically in Higher Ed. With a “ceremony” presentation prior to the performance of SHR. These individuals should be notified ASAP to commit; community members, politicians, etc.
• Tim Wise’s presentation will be available in the library.
b. A discussion followed regarding people’s reaction to Tim Wise’s presentation.

V. C. Meneghin adjourned the meeting at 2:25 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Jhon H. Velasco