About Our Office
Committee for Community & Diversity (CCD)
What is the Committee for Community & Diversity?
As a matter of introduction, CCD is a non-policy making group that:
- Was developed post Diversity Task Force Report (issued September 1999) by the president;
- Engages in diversity, community and civility issues that affect the TC community;
- Does not handle individual "ombudsperson", or budgetary matters;
- Provides TC's only cross-constituency committee (19 members), (unlike the College Policy Council which excluded union members, had 46 members and was involved in budgetary matters).
- The membership of the Committee for Community and Diversity shall be constituted as follows:
1. Four Faculty representatives – two to be elected for a term of one year from the Faculty Executive Committee, one Departmental Chairs, one At-large respectively.
2. Three Professional Staff representatives shall be appointed for one year from the Professional Staff Association, Management Network and At-large respectively.
3. Three Union representatives shall be appointed for a term of one year.
4. Five student representatives shall be appointed for a term of one year from the Student Senate.
5. Three administration representatives including the President, the Vice President of Academic Affairs.
6. One representative shall be appointed from the Office of Access & Services for Individuals with Disabilities (OASID).
7. One representative shall be appointed from the Office of International Student Services.
8. Two at-large representatives shall be appointed by the Chair of the Committee for Community and Diversity as deemed necessary with notice to the Committee
- Each of the above constituents shall develop their own mechanism to select their members for appointment to the Committee for Community and Diversity. Reappointment shall be determined by the constituent group.
- The purpose of the Committee for Community and Diversity shall be generally to:
1. Advise the President on and promote and engage all constituents in college-wide diversity, community-building and civility projects and concerns.
2. The Committee shall not act as ombudsperson for individual concerns.
- The Committee shall consult widely, inviting and receiving comments and suggestions from all sectors of the College on diversity, community and civility concerns and initiatives.
CCD Membership 2012-13
Committee for Community and Diversity
Alpha
Monisha Bajaj
Faculty
Deanne DeCrescenzo
Professional Staff – Executive Committee PSEC
Regina Cortina
Faculty
Yvonne Destin
Representative at Large – Office of Student Activities and Programming
destin@tc.columbia.edu
Isaac Freeman
2110 Union Representative
Susan Fuhrman
Administration - President of the College
fuhrman@tc.columbia.edu
Tom James
Administration – Provost & Dean of College
Richard Keller
OASID
Jolene Lane
Administration – Director DCA
Samantha Lu
International Student Services
Marie Miville
Faculty – Department Chair
Angel Pagan
707 Union Representative
Vikash Reddy
Student Senate, Proxy for President
Janice Robinson
Administration – CCD Chair, Vice President for DCA
John Saxman
Faculty at Large
Nicole Siniscalchi
Professional Staff – Executive Committee PSEC
Melanie Williams
Management Network
32bJ Union – TBA
Student Senate Representatives – (4 ) To be elected in September
Rev. 8.7.2012
CCD Initial Recommendations to President Fuhrman -October 26, 2007
I am writing to provide information about the work of the President’s Committee for Community & Diversity (CCD). As many are aware the CCD was established in 2001 as a result of the 1999 Diversity Task Force Report. CCD is a college-wide cross constituency committee that includes four faculty, five student senators, three professional staff, three union members, representatives from the Office of Student Activities and Programs, Office of Access and Services for Individuals with Disabilities, and International Services along with the Provost, President and me. The CCD’s purpose through the years has been and remains to advise the President, to engage TC’s college-wide diversity and community building and civility projects, and to address broad concerns raised in the report.
The CCD has worked on these ongoing climate and communication issues through original and collaborative programming, activities and actions. Grants were provided for student research in diversity and to encourage the creation of activities to educate and create community opportunities involving race, gender, class, disabilities, homophobia, religion and intellectual concerns.
Our sense of collective urgency about connecting this work to the mainstream of TC life has been revived in response to the racist and anti-Semitic incidents that have occurred not only within our own community, but across the University and in the larger society.
On October 16th CCD called a special meeting in advance of our regularly scheduled October 24th meeting. The CCD has recommended to the President that we adopt the theme “What Kind of Community are We? What Kind of Community Do We Want to Be?” This overarching theme is grounded in a framework that encompasses the following eight area of focus:
I. Recruitment/Hiring/Retention - The goal is to hire and retain more faculty of color. Creative ways must be used and resources applied. This is not just about “recruitment” and “we can’t find any.” A hiring and retention plan will be provided to the President. Academic programs must reflect on how they can better create a day-to-day work environment for their colleagues and eliminate the incivility and fear that junior and senior faculty have at TC. The President has called upon Dr. Clement A. Price, noted historian from Rutgers University to assist with faculty in providing guidance and opportunities to discuss relevant concerns safely. Dr. Price is the Board of Governors Distinguished Service Professor of History and directs the Institute on Ethnicity, Culture and the Modern Experience.
II. Lift Every Voice – The goal is to continue difficult dialogues on the TC climate involving academics, employment and TC culture. CCD will host and support others who will provide these opportunities to break bread together and safely listen, learn and identify hurts and problems.
III. Celebrations – The goal is to recognize the goodness in each of us and all of us while we do this institutional difficult work. Celebrate all the greatness we do have among us.
IV. Climate Institute – The goal is to support the work of faculty and staff to improve the TC climate in the classroom and in the workplace. Part of this includes increasing and retaining students of color, and reviewing our curriculum to ensure that students in all programs are regularly exposed to multicultural courses.
V. Historical Education Project – The goal is to deepen the historical and political understandings of hate symbols such as the noose, swastika and other symbols – provide seminars, teach-ins, forum, about the extermination of people through lynching and concentration camps and the interrelationship of U.S history.
VI. Research – The goal is to research and provide data to support the long continuous work involving TC’s climate.
VII. Communication – Lack of communication continues to be identified as a significant problem at all levels and it is systemic. By communication we mean everything from informing the community when an incident occurs, to being transparent about policies, procedures and expectations. The goal is to examine the components and do what it takes to make our communications regular, timely and inclusive. It is fundamental to rebuilding trust throughout the college.
VIII. Build Alliances Across Columbia University – The goal is build connections and support concerning Columbia-wide climate issues.
We invite the many offices, organizations and departments to organize actions around this theme. We want conversations, events, plans and actions to be happening in as many different places and in as many different forms with as many different voices as possible.
If you are currently planning activities we encourage you to coordinate with CCD: Please send your efforts, events, actions to long standing CCD member Mark Noizumi noizumi@tc.edu who will collect the information for CCD and share it with us.
CCD and the Office for Diversity and Community cannot and should not do this work alone. We can identify problems, give voice to them, lead, guide, collaborate, and provide resources. The urgency we have today must be sustained over the coming years until we meet our goals.
While we do not expect all the issues to be resolved immediately, open dialogue among the TC’s constituencies is an important and painful step towards making your voices heard, healing and becoming the type of community we want to be.
Lastly, you will see various programs, initiatives and activities from students, staff and faculty that squarely fit into the above eight areas. Please do not see them as isolated or siloed. They are all part of the ongoing institutional effort.
Janice S. Robinson, Chair, Committee for Community and Diversity
Committee members: Jasmine Alvarez, Marion Boultbee, Ed.D., Michelle Cammarata, Orlando Cartagena, Jr., Madhabi Chatterji, Ph.D., Yvonne Destin, Sam Fugazzotto, Susan Fuhrman, Ph.D., Joseph Gilchrist, Ena Haines, Tom James, Ph.D, Richard Keller, Ph.D., Naaz Khan, Joe King, Xiaodong Lin, Ph.D., Mark Noizumi, Marcia Ruiz, John Saxman, Ph.D.