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Jun 1, 2023
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Office of the President
Progress made on President Davila’s seven-point agenda for diversity
President Davila announced a seven-point agenda for diversity at Gallaudet when he was a guest at the National Conference of Black Deaf Advocates in St. Louis, Mo., in the summer of 2007. Since that time he has worked diligently to see that as much of that agenda as possible is enacted during his tenure.
The following is Dr. Davila’s seven-point agenda and the progress that has been made to date toward fulfilling each initiative:
1. Make academic achievement for students of color, grades K – 12, a priority.
This point was expanded to include not only grades K through 12 but post-secondary students, as well. Two initiatives were started with the goal of improving retention and academic achievement among students of color:
2. Direct the Development Office to make scholarships for students of color a priority.
3. Appoint a person of color to the President’s Management Team.Mark Amissah was appointed to the President’s Management Team in November 2007 as the president’s leadership fellow for diversity initiatives and has served in that capacity until the present.
4. Establish a Diversity Team.The president hosted a Town Hall meeting in January 2008 to kick off “Living Team Gallaudet,” an initiative aimed at building a community of respect for all people and ideas. The chair, Dr. Ann Powell, and members of the Diversity Team were introduced to the campus community at a Town Hall meeting in May 2008. The team has made recommendations to the president and the recommendations have also been posted on the diversity website.
5. Establish measurable targets for the recruitment and retention of faculty and staff of color.
A working group was established to research the steps that need to be pursued to accomplish this goal. The past 10 years has resulted in a 40 percent gain in deaf professionals in our workforce. The current issue is how to diversify the workforce without diminishing our existing gains. The group recognizes the need to establish benchmarks on current faculty and staff at Gallaudet compared with our current student population and predictions for the diversity of future student populations.
6. Provide a University-wide training and education program to promote understanding, respect, and a commitment to diversity.
This effort has resulted in establishing an Intergroup Dialogue program. Intergroup dialogues are face-to-face meetings between members of two or more different groups that have a history of conflict. Based on the statistics collected from participant evaluations, this has been a successful initiative. Two formats for intergroup dialogues have been practiced on campus:
7. Seek an active partnership with each of the national, local, and campus deaf organizations.Community engagement has and is being addressed by the president and the president’s fellow on diversity initiatives.
Meetings have occurred with:
“As a community we are encouraged by the progress that has been made with the seven-point agenda and look forward to a continuation of Dr. Davila’s diversity initiatives,” said Powell. “It is the desire of the Diversity Team that this emphasis on diversity will continue under the leadership of our incoming president, Dr. Alan Hurwitz.