Montclair State University
PCAffirmative Action 2004-05

Minutes
December 21 , 2005

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Present : M. Brown (African American Caucus), T. Carey (At-Large), M. Coleman-Carter (At-Large), D. Davis (AFT Local 1904), A. Gutierrez (Latino/a Caucus), J. Hain (Ex-Officio), J. Harris (ADA Representative), D. Keiser ((AFT Local 1904), AJ Kelton (At-Large), K. Key (African American Caucus), N. Kotadia (SGA), S. Lewis (Faculty), D. Lorenzo (At-Large), C. Meneghin (Professional Staff), B. Milton (Ex-Officio), R. Realubit (Asian Student Group), L. Reed (Physical Plant), L. Rodriguez (At-Large), T. Ronquillo (Asian Student Group), S. Skalsky (Managerial), J. Slagle (SPECTRUMS), N. Trivedi (APIC), & Q. Vega (At-Large).

Guest: J. Solomon (SGA)

Constituencies Not Represented: Communications Workers of America, Gay & Lesbian Faculty/Staff Association, Latin American Student Organization, Local 195 (IFPTE), Organization for African Unity, Secretarial/Clerical, University Police, University Senate and Women's Caucus.

The meeting was called to order at 12: 45 p.m.

Minutes of the November 16, 2005 Meeting

Guiterrez motioned to approve the minutes; Davis seconded.   Kelton recommended to change the section of the Mentoring Committee report to note that the Mentoring Committee plans to gather feedback from all groups, not just faculty.   Guiterrez motioned to approve the minutes with the change.   Davis seconded.   The minutes were approved with the change.  

Committee Reports

Recruitment and Retention Committee : The Recruitment and Retention Committee had asked the caucuses to respond to President Cole's reply to the Recruitment and Retention Committee report.   Vega reported that the Committee has not received any responses from caucuses to President Cole's reply.   Vega also reported that the Committee is continuing to communicate with the caucuses to determine if there are any issues identified in the report - or any other issues that may have arisen since the report - to pursue further.   In the spring, the Committee will meet with the caucuses to talk to them about the report.

Meneghin asked what the Committee would report as their accomplishment from these meetings with the caucuses.   Vega reported that the Committee would try to identify issues that merit further investigation so next year's Recruitment and Retention Committee can follow up on this issue.

Brown said that the Committee is waiting for the latest Affirmative Action Report.    He said that sharing the report (especially beyond the PCAA) will insure that we have informed discussions about recruitment of faculty and staff.   Milton said the report has been sent to the Board of Trustees and should be available for dissemination to the campus soon.

Accessibility and Safety Issues (discussion)

Before the next committee could report, the issue of what to do when a person is stuck on a malfunctioning elevator arose and this led to a discussion of accessibility, emergency and safety procedures, as well as other related issues.   Based on this discussion, Meneghin suggested inviting the University Safety Committee to a PCAA meeting to ask the committee about their charge and about University procedures.   Coleman-Carter noted that there were two safety committees - one that looked into safety issues that affected staff and one that looked into safety issues that affected students.  

Hain said she will talk to the appropriate vice president/s to get information on procedures and policies in place to deal with some of the issues raised in this discussion.   She asked that PCAA members provide Meneghin with a list of specific issues or questions and this will be shared with the vice president.

Harris said he is the student ombudsperson and that he is willing to call the appropriate person to resolve such problems.   He will look into staff issues as well, since these also affect students.

Mentoring Committee : Coleman-Carter reported that the Committee is working on narrowing the questions to put into the questionnaire (to determine what MSU is doing in terms of mentoring).   Upon completion, a draft of the questionnaire will be shared with the Executive Committee .

She also said that "Thank Your Mentor" Day will be on January 25.  

Education Committee : Harris reported that the Committee is focused on getting things ready for Affirmative Action Day (February 15).   They are reaching out to student groups to get them to be a co-sponsor.  

Harris said that the Committee is continuing to work with the Graduate Studies Office on suggestions to increase the enrollment of students of color and gathering information to assess the effect of the change in the way in which graduate assistantships are allocated on the enrollment of students of color.  

Affirmative Action Day

Affirmative Action Day will be on February 15.   The keynote speaker will be Ellis Cose (who has a web site at: www.elliscose.com ).   The theme of the day's programs is: "Affirmative Action" From the Classroom to the Boardroom - Building on National Diversity."

Some details on the day's events are:

12 Noon - Flag Raising

Diversity Fair (12 noon - 1:30 p.m. in the Student Center Ballrooms):   there will be food and exhibits at the Fair.   There was discussion of giving participating organizations a few minutes to speak to attendees.   A member suggested that each group be given two to three minutes to address the audience.   Another member expressed concern that this would affect the interaction at the organization's table.   After discussion, the PCAA agreed to using a projector to allow organizations participating in the Fair to project information about their group.   When there is a lull, the moderator will invite a group to the podium to talk about their organization.   Information/blurbs about the participating organizations will be collected and distributed to attendees.   Harris was asked to let student organizations know that they needed to provide information about their group no later than February 8.  

The Ellis Cose keynote presentation will begin at 2:30 p.m.

Cose will be signing books from 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.   There will be light snacks at the book signing.

There was some discussion on ways to publicize the Cose presentation.   A member suggested culling theses from his books.

A member noted that Hillel will be involved in a diversity day event - they want to have an event that focuses on the different kinds of Judaism.

Meneghin has sent out letters to various University administrators asking for financial and other kinds of support for the Day's program, particularly the Ellis Cose keynote presentation.   Members of groups represented on the PCAA were encouraged to let Meneghin know about their ability to support the event.

Meneghin said that the Executive Committee decided not to charge a fee to non-MSU attendees of the Cose program.   The event will be publicized to off-campus organizations and on local events calendars.   However, we will not be collecting tickets at the door, but we will be asking attendees to register online.

Meneghin said that there will not be a PCAA meeting on February 22 so that members can attend the Affirmative Action Day programs on February 15.  

For the Good of the Order

Milton noted that Harris was elected president of the New Jersey chapter of the NAACP.   Congratulations, James!

The meeting adjourned at 2:05 .m.

Respectfully submitted,

Luis Rodriguez

PCAA Recording Secretary