|
 |
Latest News | Division of Diversity and Community Engagement
Vice President Vincent responds to MIC management email
April 24, 2008
Dear Students, Colleagues, and Alumni,
You may have recently received an e-mail or news regarding the management of the Multicultural Information Center (MIC). While I appreciate the messages of understanding and concern I have received over the last three days from members of the university community, the sentiments expressed in the e-mail are distressing, and I believe it necessary to dispel any misunderstandings created by this message and clarify the facts regarding the future of the MIC.
One frequently-voiced concern has been about the job status of MIC Director, Ms. Brenda Burt. A treasured university and community leader, Ms. Burt has led the center for 14 years with passion and distinction. Her outstanding contributions to the university for more than two decades—in particular her abilities to organize and inspire alumni—have not gone unnoticed. Ms. Burt’s long list of accolades includes the UT Austin President’s Excellence Award, an Outstanding Faculty Award and the Parents’ Association Staff Merit Award, and she currently serves as advisor for the Big XII Council on Black Student Government. In order to build on the momentum of alumni events held over the last year and showcase her organizational talents, I recently offered Ms. Burt the position of director of outreach and alumni relations for the DDCE, a job she has enthusiastically accepted. She will continue to work closely with both students and alumni in her new role as well as stay connected to the MIC. A national search for her replacement will be conducted by a diverse and varied search committee of professionals, students and alums.
The MIC is not under attack, nor are its programs in danger. On the contrary, it is my intention to expand and strengthen the center using the resources of the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement (DDCE). Our commitments—financial and otherwise—to MIC student training, programming and events are meant to fortify the center as it develops in new directions. I continue to pledge my support to the MIC in its growth as a vital hub for student diversity on The University of Texas at Austin campus.
The letter writer(s) allege that DDCE has not provided financial support to the MIC and has reneged on promises made regarding the center’s budget. This is simply not true. Over the past year and upon the recommendations of MIC students and its director, I made several permanent, recurring financial commitments to the center. These commitments include shielding the center from a permanent, university-wide two-percent budget cut; upgrading Ms. Burt’s position to that of a university director with a permanent salary increase; upgrading two student affairs administrator positions to program coordinators; and committing funds to permanently increase the salary of one of those positions by 33 percent. This was in addition to providing funding for MIC events. The center was never asked to reduce its welcome events—three were held this year and the same number are planned this fall—and these events remain at the top of the MIC budget. As well, I have committed to making MIC funding a DDCE budget priority for the coming year. In all respects, the DDCE has not reduced MIC funding and programming, but has sought to expand it through more consistent and permanent financial support. This is in order to reduce the burden on students to fundraise and to ensure that MIC budget practices are consistent with DDCE and university guidelines.
The writer(s) also allege that students are not permitted to be involved in staff hires since the MIC was moved under my administration. This is also inaccurate. Student involvement has been the key to the MIC’s success, and its future relies on its continued operation by and for students. Three students currently sit on each of the two search committees for MIC program coordinators. Working alongside administrators and staff, these students play an integral role in determining the outcome of those searches. Their contribution to the hiring process is evidence that as the MIC continues to break new ground, so will the collaborations between students and professionals at the university.
At the same time, administrative staff play an important role in the MIC’s growth and stability.
I appointed Dr. Wanda Nelson and Dr. Michele Guzmàn, the associate and assistant vice presidents in charge of diversity initiatives, in order to provide an added level of support for students and better connect the MIC to DDCE resources. Both are leading figures in diversity education and student development, and both are recognized nationally in their fields.
Associate Vice President Nelson has worked in the field of education for 35 years. She joined the university in 1989 and has served with distinction in the positions of assistant dean of students for retention services, associate dean of students, and assistant vice president and executive director of the University Outreach Centers. Dr. Nelson has established many successful programs during her tenure that have substantially increased the number of underrepresented students seeking a post-secondary education, and she continues to be a national leader in college preparatory programs for underrepresented youth, such as the highly successful Preview Program. Additionally, she has developed several retention programs at the university that have increased student success rates and has received awards from student and civic groups in recognition of her work. A model of service and student advocacy, Dr. Nelson is founder of the university’s Black Faculty and Staff Association, and she was honored in 2007 with that organization’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
Assistant Vice President Guzmàn has worked as a diversity educator at the university level for nearly a decade. Prior to earning her Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology at the State University of New York at Albany, one of the top programs of its kind in the country and which emphasizes multiculturalism, Dr. Guzmàn advised underrepresented students for three years through projects such as Upward Bound and the New York State Educational Opportunity Program. During her seven-year career as a faculty member in the Department of Educational Psychology, she has taught a required course on multicultural counseling numerous times while advising students at both undergraduate and graduate levels. Dr. Guzmàn is a regular presenter at national conferences and workshops focusing on social justice and diversity training in her field. Co-President Elect of the Hispanic Faculty/Staff Association, Dr. Guzmàn serves on the executive committee of the counseling psychology program as well as the Gender and Women’s Studies steering committee. Because of her extensive experience with diversity issues and her innovative work with students both inside and outside of the classroom, I recruited Dr. Guzmàn to oversee the university’s diversity education initiatives, which include the MIC, the Diversity Education Institute, and the Gender and Sexuality Center.
In 2011, the MIC will move to a different location at the new student activities center, securing the MIC’s place at the heart of student life. Student input regarding this move has been nothing but positive. No other changes to the center’s programming, scope or budget are currently in the works, and no plan exists to reassign the MIC’s present space. Clearly, the university and the DDCE are committed to the MIC’s extended health and success.
Finally, let me say that I am always open to feedback about the division’s programs and administration. If a process involving one of our units is proving inefficient, I will work with students, staff, and alums to swiftly address it. All of us at the DDCE want to move positively forward, creating change where necessary to ensure the MIC is a national model for diversity programming and student leadership.
I invite you to discuss with me how the DDCE can further support the MIC and its students
in an open meeting to be held April 30 at 5:30 p.m. in Main Building 212. I also encourage
you to speak to me individually by scheduling a meeting during my office hours. Finally,
I invite you to read the DDCE’s 2008 Impact Report, which outlines the innovative
partnerships our division has made with the MIC and other units on campus, available
online at www.utexas.edu/diversity/.
Together, we will guarantee the prosperity of the MIC now and in the years to come.
Sincerely,
Dr. Gregory J. Vincent
Vice President for Diversity and Community Engagement
W.K. Kellogg Professor in Community College Leadership
Professor of Law
Sid W. Richardson Regents Chair in Community College Leadership
