to Special SPECTRUM, March 30, 2001
Virginia Tech Conductor
A GUIDE FOR OUR JOURNEY TOWARD EXCELLENCE, EQUITY AND EFFECTIVENESS
Also in this issue
Safety Zones: Feel free to be yourself -- page 2 Ancella Livers shares the challenges and benefits of being an African-American or woman leader -- page 4
What do you think?
Faculty member recruiting revisited
by Richard Conners, professor of electrical and computer engineering and a Multicultural Fellow In this article, I would like to revisit the topic of creating new faculty recruiting and hiring policies in order to increase the diversity of our faculty. I am doing this for one very good reason. The provost has asked each Conners college within the university to develop and submit such new procedures by April 1 of this year. I applaud this step as being a good beginning point from which we can proceed. Because of the above, it seems advisable to consider what has been learned from the implementation of the new faculty search and hiring procedures in the College of Arts and Science during the last academic year. To do so I (RC) decided to ask Associate Dean Myra Gordon (MG) about her experiences with this effort. Gordon was heavily involved in both the formulation and the implementation of new procedures in arts and sciences. However, first I would like to thank the two respondents to my first article on this topic (The Conductor, Feb. 2, 2001) for their thoughtful comments. Both basically supported the need for new procedures to increase the representation of underrepresented groups and both thought that the dialogue taking place on this campus about this matter is a step in the right direction. Both are relatively new to Virginia Tech and they indicated the places they just left had similar problems. Gordon I asked three questions. RC: "Myra, thank you very much for meeting with me. My first question is: What do you think are the essential components of the College of Arts and Science's new recruiting and hiring procedures for faculty members?"
Diversity plan wins media award
by Benjamin Dixon, vice president for multicultural affairs ([e-mail]) In late 2000, "The Faces of Change," the diversity strategic plan for Virginia Tech, was entered in the CASE Region III Advancement Awards Competition in the category "Institutional Publications." The plan took the Grand Dixon Award for its category and was displayed at the CASE Region II Conference in Atlanta in February 2001. The plan was also entered in the Virginia Press Women (VPW) Communications Contest and in the national Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) Circle of Excellence Awards Program. Notification of awards in the VPW competition will be made in late March and in the national CASE competition, in the spring. The University Diversity Strategic Plan was distributed to all faculty and staff members last fall. Since then, a wide variety of activities have been initiated in response to the goals and tasks outlined. Projects, started before the plan, have taken on a new or expanded significance because of their contribution to particular goals. The strategic plan took about 18 months to complete. The time spent by the Advisory Council for Diversity and Multicultural Affairs to carefully craft a document that addressed the diversity needs of Virginia Tech was well worth it. In addition to the overwhelming positive responses from the university community, affirmation of the quality of the plans' content and presentation have come from several external organizations and groups. The Office of Multicultural Affairs has received requests for copies of the document from individuals in business, education, and community organizations. Particularly gratifying is the growing number of Tech alumni who have expressed an interest in receiving their own copy. Even though publication and initial distribution of the diversity plan has gone well, all involved in its development fully understand the importance of the plan's implementation. There is a time for planning and a time for execution. Virginia Tech is committed to doing its best to carry out the tasks of the plan in a manner that meets the performance standards or measures built into the plan. Members of the university community are encouraged to keep track of how the plan is being implemented. The success of this project will depend largely on our ability as a community to be both mutually responsible and mutually accountable for what happens. In addition to reviewing periodic updates of the plan, attention should be See Diversity plan on page 2
Visible, articulate leadership
MG: "There are probably four or five things that are absolutely critical in this process. The first thing is (Dean Robert Bate's) very visible and articulate leadership on this issue. The dean has been very front and center in this process. He has articulated both the vision and the expectations associated with our approach to hiring. He Please see Faculty recruiting on page 3
People who make a difference
McConnell spoke up for the staff
by Susan Trulove, PR manager, research, and a Multicultural Fellow ([e-mail]) "Twenty years ago, staff had no input," recalls Sherilyn McConnell, a charter member of the Classified Branch of the Womens Network, its first president in 1981, and, a decade later, the first president Trulove of the Staff Senate. "The reason given was that control of staff positions was through the state and the legislature, not the university, so why did the staff need input?" In 1981, faculty women were concerned with the development of affirmative action and sexual harassment policies. Sexual harassment was also a staff issue, resulting in a request that grievance procedures be improved, exit interviews be reviewed by the Equal Opportunity Office, and that there be training for existing supervisors, not just aspiring supervisors. But the Classified Branch of the Womens Network was most concerned with issues that were not exclusively womens issues, particularly representation within the governance structure and better communication. "We included librarians, administrators, writers, editors, audiovisual technicians, lab staff, and clerical staff, and we also represented physical plant staff, police and other jobs filled by men and women." McConnell met with university administrators in 1982 with specific suggestions put staff members on committees that make decisions that impact staff, offer supervisor training, hold a fall classified staff meeting, and introduce other staff-administration communication activities. McConnell and other staff members at the meeting were advised to work directly with committee heads and within departments and colleges. They were told that supervisor training was voluntary, and that it was so expensive that it couldnt be McConnell required, nor could the university afford a broad program. There was a statewide budget crisis at the time. The Faculty/Administrative Branch of the Womens Network was more successful in educating the university community about issues. A sexual harassment policy was adopted, for instance. "When staff and faculty members began to work together, such as on Womens Week after 1983, we discovered issues in common," McConnell recalls. "We also discovered a few areas where we needed to compromise. For instance, when the faculty women wanted to bring a radical feminist as the keynote speaker, the staff members on the planning committee were not ready for that and would not support that selection. So a less controversial keynote speaker was invited." The Womens Network set an example of facultystaff collegiality. "Staff members activities and contributions in the Colleges of Agriculture and Life Sciences and Veterinary Medicine began to be appreciated," McConnell says. Pam Orcutt, a lab manager in veterinary medicine, Please see McConnell on page 2
Safe Zones: Feel free to be yourself
by David R. Winston, Extension dairy scientist and a Multicultural Fellow ([e-mail]) A large U.S. automaker uses the slogan "Different" to market its vehicles. Different is portrayed as the "in" thing. Why be like all the rest? Why settle for average or commonality when you can have something different, presumably Winston better? While this marketing approach is effective with cars and other products, human beings have a tendency to be wary of other people and groups who are different. Those who are different are often excluded, treated as outcasts. Student success in the academic community is more likely to be achieved if students feel accepted and nurtured regardless of their differences. Fortunately, our campus has numerous programs and events to celebrate and nurture our multiculturalism and diversity. The Safe Zone program is a prime example. A Safe Zone is an officially recognized individual, place, or merchant that provides a supportive environment as well as information to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) students and their allies. Safe Zone programs have been in existence at several peer institutions for a number of years. Virginia Tech's Safe Zone program was established in 1998. The Dean of Students Office; Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Alliance (LGBTA); Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Caucus; and Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action are sponsors. The objectives of the Safe Zone program are: 1. To identify a network of allies who are concerned, empathetic, and knowledgeable about lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender issues. 2. To provide evidence of the support of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered people and their allies within the Virginia Tech community by displaying a sign as tangible evidence of their support. 3. To reduce the fear of reprisal and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered people and their allies within the Virginia Tech community. 4. To assist lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, and allied students in achieving their educational goals by creating an environment in which they can be themselves. (Source: Safe Zones of Virginia Tech Resource Manual) A special ceremony to recognize Safe Zone participants was held in the Multicultural Center on Feb. 23. Participants received a packet of information containing a resource manual and a Safe Zone sticker that identifies program participants. The 2001 sticker has a new logo and slogan. One can easily recognize the new Safe Zone stickers by the rainbow colored triangle that appears below the Safe Zone label. "Feel free to be yourself" is the new slogan. The resource manual was developed to enable participants to be of greater assistance to those who call upon them for help and support. The Safe Zones of Virginia Tech Resource Manual provides an overview, definitions, and information about LGBT people as well as information about myths and stereotypes, coming out, See Safety Zones on page 4
McConnell...
Continued from page 1 resulted in layoffs and salary freezes. There was talk of was active with the Classified Branch of the Womens decreasing salaries, and there was controversy about Network. Her husband, Dave Orcutt, a professor in plant reducing only staff salaries. The budget and planning pathology, physiology, and weed sciences (PPWS), also committee talked about ways to distribute any reduction, sought an increased voice for staff in university decision but, in the end, salaries were not cut," McConnell says. making. "Thanks to Dave and others, appreciation for the Staff participation in the governance system was diversity of skills and importance of what staff know and controversial, but President McComas supported the can do expanded from respect for individual colleagues to effort. He also introduced awards for outstanding staff a broader awareness of a group of people who can members, and McConnell was one of the first recipients. contribute a great deal more, if allowed," says Larry As the university became more accepting, staff were Moore, former PPWS department head. called upon for more operating committees, as the In the meantime, the College of Arts and Sciences Womens Network had requested a decade earlier. And initiated an annual two-day staff workshop and an staff members provided needed diversity on faculty outstanding secretary award. McConnell coordinated both member and administrator search committees. activities. After the first year, as long as she worked in the "Governance participation also gave staff members college, she made contributions to the Virginia Tech associations outside of their units," McConnell says. "The Foundation to cover the cost of the workshop. senate was diverse and staff members broadened their Then, in circle of acquain1987, national tances across As the university became more accepting, staff were accreditation cultures. There called upon for more operating committees, as the required a self Womens Network had requested a decade earlier. And were many women study. The in leadership staff members provided needed diversity on faculty committee positions, our member and administrator search committees. organizing the parliamentarian effort, headed by was from India, Moore, identified the need for improved communication and there were people of color representing their units. We on policies and issues and for a vehicle for staff representaall had broader cultural experiences as a result." tion equal to the Faculty Senate in voice and responsibility. "The staff senate opened doors for some staff An ad hoc committee, made up of clerical, parapromembers," McConnell says. "There were officers who fessional, and technical employees, worked with Moore, went on to become administrative faculty, for instance. Bob Madigan, Lud Eng, Leon Geyer, and David DeWolf The Staff Senate showed the university that there are areas to develop a governance model with staff participation. that impact the well being of employees where the Because of her activity with the Womens Network and in university does have more control than it realized." her college, McConnell was asked to serve on the committee. Governance experiences have also provided "The Classified Staff Affairs Committee was formed opportunities for staff members to gain experience "to to set up the workings of a staff senate and a way to speak publicly, to write for the general public, to learn how represent staff. It was decided that the number of represento run a meeting, keep it under control, and get the job tatives would be based upon the number of employees per done. These were opportunities many staff members unit," McConnell recalls. Thus, university-wide staff wouldnt have had," McConnell says. "I, for one, disliked representation began as a university committee on Sept. public speaking. Then the Student Government Associa26, 1989. tion had a rally and asked me to speak to 10,000 students "Throughout the second year, we met with all the about budgeting issues and class scheduling cuts. I did it." staff in all the departments. We suggested that each college She shakes her head. "Delegate Shuler and Andy Swiger and area have an organization to deal with college and departtold me it was the best speech given that day." ment issues and hold elections for senators and commission "Become involved in the university," she advises. members. By the third year, we were ready to start." "Service is the rent we pay for living. Staff members The newly created Staff Senate held its first meeting certainly help the university through their jobs. And I on Sept. 19, 1991. A constitution and by-laws were know that isnt always appreciated. But those who serve established, officers elected, and staff named to all beyond their jobs are taking advantage of an opportunity councils, commissions, and committees. McConnell, as to grow personally and are exercising a right to help the Staff Senate president, served on the university presidents university be of greater service itself," such as by directbudget and planning committee. ing the university to see even more ways it can help "It was an intense experience from the beginning," individuals realize more of their own potential. she says. "We were having another state budget crisis that
Diversity plan...
Continued from page 1 given to the specific projects, programs, and activities now being implemented. Some examples are: Administrative Support Diversity becomes one of the "key factors" in the current strategic planning for the university overall. The president and senior administration authorize establishment of a revolving fund to support scholarships for underrepresented students. The provost requires colleges to submit plans for increasing faculty diversity through the application of search committee practices piloted in the College of Arts and Sciences. Each of the 16 administrative units, including the colleges, is working on a local diversity plan that will be aligned with the university diversity strategic plan. Diversity Programs The Residential Leadership Program offers the first international learning experience with a trip to Kenya; the program increases diversity recruitment efforts. The Dean of Students Office increases services and support for Hispanic/Latino students. Multicultural Affairs, Alumni Affairs, and Cooperative Extension collaborate to reconnect Black alumni to the university, increase outreach to community, and increase diversity of Cooperative Extension staffing. Diversity Conversations/Dialogues University leadership programs come together under the auspices of the Pamplin College to discuss diversity principles and competencies in leadership training and behavior. A National Issues Forum dialogue model is used by Center for Public Administration and Policy to explore race relations issues. Diversity Tools The Office of Multicultural Affairs revises and reissues the survey form for the Diversity Inventory to the university's 16 administrative units. The EOAA Committee is developing an awarenesstraining module whose centerpiece will be a diversity video created by Media Relations. The Admissions Office, working with Media Relations, has produced a recruitment video that targets African American high school students.
Faculty recruiting...
Continued from page 1 has been intimately involved in the charging of search committees. He has had to step in to intervene in some very sensitive matters. So I would say that his very visible and very articulate leadership and his consistent involvement in the process throughout has been very important. We always know that leadership at the top is very important. But I think on this matter, it is extremely important because the issues involved in faculty hiring, to begin with, are complex and when you add in another factor to be considered, it makes a complex proposition even more so. So, I think his leadership has been critical in this whole process. Also, I think it has been the signal to people that this is a very serious effort -- that this is not a flash in the pan. This isn't anything faddish. This isn't anything that is going to go away. I think that the dean's involvement is the only way to clearly signify that to a unit like a college. offers will be made to the department head and the dean." Other essential elements are "insuring that position announcements are written with much attention given to the required and desired qualifications and being sure the recruiting and advertising plan is broad enough to reach all the potential candidates. The recruiting and advertising plans require an awful lot of proactivity on the part of committee members, lots of phone calling, lots of personal contacts, and lots of follow up. This is critically important because, of course, you cannot get out of a search what is not in the pool applicant to begin with. One important way to increase the probability of a diverse hiring outcome is to be sure that you have a number of qualified applicants in the pool. This isn't new. We have always been talking this kind of language under the rubric of affirmative action. But I think we have been paying more attention to it in the process of our searches more recently.
Question 2: Faculty concerns
RC: "You talked about the good will of the faculty and about quality. What were the faculty's primary areas of concerns about the new procedures?" MG: "Traditionally, faculty hiring has been a privilege of the faculty in a department. As such, it is an activity that has gone on in the academy with little to no outside influence. It has been, in many respects, a very private and closed activity. The outcome typically has been that people will come forward after having done whatever they did and say, 'These are the three people that we would find acceptable ranked in this order.' And what happened at the level of the dean's office would be pretty much pro forma. We may have gotten involved in some salary negotiations, or issues related to spousal hiring or something else. But in terms of the actual selection of the candidates, that was pretty much the sole purview of the search committee. That is a search committee that operates as a selection committee. That is pretty much what the tradition in academia has been -- not just at Virginia Tech. "So, there was a negative reaction among some faculty to what was perceived as unwelcome interference by the dean's office in a privileged activity. There was a resistance to just the mere fact that the dean's office wanted to enter into this partnership related to faculty hiring, a partnership where the department and the search committee perform certain functions, the dean's office and the dean perform certain functions, and all those functions together result in someone being hired. Some faculty, especially the ones who believe administration exists to serve them, said in effect, 'Well, how dare they ' "I think the second problem was based on a fear that departments would be forced to admit to the faculty, people that the department didn't want. The perception was that this partnering with the dean's office was going to result in 'us' having no say about who joins 'us'. Now, after people have actually gone through the process, they see that nothing could be further from the truth. The third issue was moving the responsibility for diverse hiring outcomes into our mainstream searches rather than saying, okay, if you can find some women or people of color to hire, we will give you (Equal Opportunity program) money or we will find some other resources to do this. Prior to our hiring cycle of last year, we were hiring white males on our regular (budget) lines and then finding other ways to hire women and people of color. I think when we said that we would only selectively support these alternative ways of hiring, some people started thinking 'Wait a minute. We have to hire 'them' through our regular searches?' This definitely upped the ante."
More accountability
Quality and diversity
"Finally, it is the good will of the many people in "The second essential element has to do with our college, stepping up to the plate around these proceintroducing more accountability for diverse hiring dures, which ultimately has accounted for the procedures outcomes. There has been a lot of rhetoric associated with working. You can have all the procedures in the whole the diversification of the faculty. That is not new. But I world, but if people do not invest themselves in what you think what is new is the emphasis now being placed on the are trying to accomplish then the effort is doomed to outcomes. That is, it isn't so much the procedures themfailure. I think it is really important to have people selves; they are only important in so far as they are able to increase the probability that our hiring outcomes will be understand what it is we are trying to do, why we are more diverse. If trying to do it, and there were other that we can ... it is really important to have people understand ways that people accomplish this ... that we can accomplish this objective of divercould get to the same objective of sifying the faculty without hurting quality. outcomes, that diversifying the would be just fine, faculty without because what we are looking for are results. hurting quality. I think that a major hurdle that we must "Despite the espoused commitments, the previous work through in a lot of peoples' minds is the attitude that, procedures and work that has taken place have not been somehow, merit and equal opportunity cannot exist in the successful at diversifying this faculty. We know this based same place at the same time. Very often, you see discuson institutional data coming out of the Office of the sions in the literature that place merit and equal opportuProvost. When we compare ourselves to our 50 nity in conflict with one another. But what we have been benchmark institutions, we are languishing around the saying is that it is possible to have excellence and diversity bottom. Other people have been able to do this better than in the same place at the same time. In fact, during the last have we. Clearly, we need to be held accountable for the hiring cycle, one of the most important things we accomoutcomes associated with any hiring cycle. plished was to prove to people that this was possible. "Empowering someone in the dean's office to work "Still and all, I think that many people who may closely on all aspects of faculty searches has been critical have had their questions about the procedures were willing to this process. The creation of the review team representto give us the benefit of the doubt because they could ing the dean's office has put in place an engine to drive this understand what the goal was, and why we as a college, in effort. You have the leadership provided by the dean, but a particular, needed to be pursuing this goal. Many, many dean, is not going to oversee every step in every search in people did. So, what people did out there in the departthe college. So, you have to have somebody positioned ments was crucial to making the process work. There was close enough to the searches to really know what is going no way the dean's office could do it by itself." on in these searches to be able to introduce the accountability factor. Having that team is extremely important.
Diversify search committees
"Another factor has been the diversification of our search committees. This is an area where, again, institutional data indicated that we were not doing a very good job. We know from the literature that search committees basically will reproduce themselves. If they are homogeneous, they will have homogeneous outcomes. If they are diverse, they will have diverse outcomes. However you structure that search committee, you can be pretty sure, when you look at the collection of hires you make in any given year that they are going to reflect, in many ways, what your search committees looked like. We wanted diverse outcomes, so it was necessary for us to structure diversity into our search committees.
Question 3: If you had it to do over...
RC: "If you had it all to do over again is there and hope behavior changes or you can change behavior anything that you would do differently?" and hope attitudes change. ... Most of the time we try to MG: "Well, I guess I would have to say that I would change peoples' attitudes and hope their behaviors will not do anything differently. There were some points last change. But the truth of the matter is that we seldom get to year when I wondered if more time should have been address the real attitudes that stand in the way of hiring spent trying to diverse faculty. promote this whole The kinds of The kinds of attitudes that were unearthed by the activity; that is, attitudes that were behaviors required in the search procedures are should we spend unearthed by the not the same attitudes that you can address ahead behaviors required more time trying to of time when things are staying squeaky clean. bring people on in the search board -- changing procedures are not their attitudes, you might say -- before the work was the same attitudes that you can address ahead of time implemented? But, you know what? As time wore on, it when things are staying squeaky clean. became very clear to me that we accomplished more by "With all the politically correct rhetoric that goes on forging ahead and changing people's behavior before we out there and the way people want to be seen versus the changed their attitudes because their attitudes have come a way they really behave and think, it is very difficult to very long way in the course of one year. access some of these attitudes that lie at a very deep level. "What we were doing was affecting massive If this process did nothing more, it brought all those things institutional change in a very short period of time. There straight up to the top so that they were laying right out are two ways to do this. You can either change attitudes See Question 3 on page 4
Search, not select
"I think another important aspect has been recasting the nature and function of the search committee so that it really is a search committee and not a selection committee. This was something that the dean -- all of us, and the literature, felt was a very important thing to do. That focuses the effort of the search committee in a certain way and leaves the final decision about the order in which the
Unpack your assumptions
Question 3...
Continued from page 3 there for us to deal with. And I mean the attitudes were of all types. Like, 'No outside person can contribute anything to our search committee deliberations.' 'Nobody can understand what we need in our department.' 'Nobody in industry can inform this effort.' 'Women and minorities really aren't capable of doing science.' 'We can't do this because it will cost us twice as much to hire a talented black person as it will to hire somebody else and there are going to be problems because of that among the faculty.' " Gordon said she has accumulated lists of such comments "that have just come out. I mean, these are the things that had to be talked about and worked through so that people really could arrive at a different place in their thinking. Because, really, once people arrived at a different way of thinking, their behavior just fell into line and their outcomes pretty much fell into line. So there were some times when I thought that maybe, if we went around and talked to more people, we wouldn't have had some of the resistance that we had. But now, having gone through it, I see that spending more time talking would only have wasted another year. We've been talking for decades. We would have missed one whole hiring cycle. No, we did the right thing: to lead boldly on a critically important issue. We are in a better place right now because we addressed some deep-seated issues. People, now, have had an opportunity to work closely with other people and have heard what they have to say about a lot of things. Most importantly, they have experienced success in this hiring process and proven to themselves that excellence and diversity can exist in the same place at the same time." RC: Thank you, MG, for your candor. I hope the responses will be equally so. Some things need to be said even though many may not want to hear them. While the above addresses a number of issues, the one that I want to pick up on is one that should really be obvious to us all. While institutions must make policies to reach goals, the administrators who implement these policies are the keys to success. Consequently, I think that Virginia Tech should implement a rewards system for administrators who do a good job implementing these new policies. In...