The Office of the Vice President for Diversity and Community Affairs

The Vice President's Grant for Diversity & Community Initiatives (DCI)

DCI: 2010-2011 Awards

The Vice President’s Grant for Diversity and Community Initiatives

2010-2011 Grant Recipients

The Committee for Community and Diversity is pleased to announce the award recipients from The Vice President’s Diversity and Community Initiatives Grant Fund. The grant fund provides financial support for projects that foster interactive, inter-group communication, collaboration and educational programming with an emphasis on diversity and/or community. Thirty proposals were submitted and the following eighteen projects were selected for funding.

Thank you very much to the DCI Grant Selection Committee:  Yvonne Destin, Peter DiCaprio, Isaac Freeman, Jolene Lane (Chair), Samantha Lu, Janice Robinson, and Professor John Saxman.  Thank you also to Adrianna Maldonado, Graduate Assistant, for her administration of the details of the grants.

I.    9^th Annual Education Across the Americas Conference

Rita Kamani and Enery Lopez

Sponsor: Association of Latin American Students (ALAS)

The 9^th Annual Education Across the Americas Conference will bring together scholars working on educational issues in Latin America and the Caribbean to share research, build collaborative relationships, and develop new critical conversations about questions concerning education in and across Latin America and the Caribbean.

II.   Bi- and Multi-Lingualism in Young Children: Supporting Families, Cultivating Linguistic Diversity

Professor Susan Recchia and Patrice Nichols

Sponsor: Rita Gold Early Childhood Center (RGC)

The RGC is committed to supporting families by cultivating children’s language development and respect for cultural and linguistic diversity. The initiative includes an interactive symposium open to the TC community, consisting of a panel with expertise and scholarly interest in emergent bilingualism.

III.  Black Student Network 2011 Diversity in Research Conference

Nathan N. Alexander

Co-Sponsor: Black Student Union (BSN) and Teachers College Student Senate

The primary goal of this inaugural Diversity in Research Conference is to provide a local space for TC and other graduate students to present their ongoing research. The conference will primarily focus on issues surrounding diversity in education, presenters will also speak to broader issues in educational policy, teaching and learning, race and ethnicity, urban youth studies, higher education, and justice initiatives.

IV.  Brown Bag Meditation Series

Sarah Sherman

Sponsor: Active Minds and Peace Education Network

Co-Sponsors: Dr. Catalina Crespo-Sanchez, International and Comparative Education Programs, Mili Thomas, Clinical & Counseling Psychology, Joe Levitan, Peace Education Network, Samantha Snowden, Columbia University, Buddhist Association, Franziska Stutz, Developmental Psychology, and Nathan Baptiste, Student Senate

The aim of the Brown Bag Meditation Series is to take a break from academic work, grades, publishing, and work productivity to refocus and invigorate students, faculty, and staff to return to their tasks refreshed and renewed. Members of the TC community will be invited to participate in 20-30 minutes of guided meditation sessions twice each week. They will sit, relax and focus on their breathing. At the end of the sessions all attendees will have the opportunity to debrief and share their experiences with the group.

V.   China Scope

Susan Mays and Yao Zhang

Sponsor: Teachers College Chinese Students and Scholars Association (TCCSSA)

China Scope seeks to provide students, teachers, and others with a broad-based understanding of contemporary China so that they can be more effective and engaged in their 21^st century communities. The conference will offer a solid introduction and analysis of today’s Chinese economy and society and special emphasis will be given to how TC as an institution and community can truly have an impact as “global educators” to address this challenge.

VI.  “Discovering Your Leadership Strengths” Summit

Martin Gonzalez and Marissa Magno

Co-Sponsors: Organization & Human Development Consulting Club (OHDCC) and Organization and Leadership Association (OLA)

The “Discovering Your Leadership Strengths” Summit is a series of workshops aimed at helping TC students learn how to lead effectively across their varying roles and contexts. It will focus on building leadership capacity in a multifaceted manner by utilizing several methods: lecture and discussion with leadership experts, leadership assessment tools, reflective practice, group coaching, and networking opportunities. 

VII.Enfocándonos en Nuestro Futuro

Gabriela Alvarado, Nancy Mata, and Elena Vasquez

Sponsor: Coalition of Latino/a Scholars

Through Enfocándonos en Nuestro Futuro, The Coalition of Latino/a Scholars seeks to provide outreach to high school students who are traditionally underrepresented in higher education and may be marginalized, encouraging them to finish high school and pursue higher education. By bringing together local NYC high school students, Teachers College and other Columbia University students, as well as faculty and staff, this initiative seeks to open communication lines among students of different socioeconomic, geographic, educational, and cultural backgrounds.

VIII.  Envision Yourself

Gabriela Alvarado, Nancy Mata, and Elena Vasquez

Sponsor: Coalition of Latino/a Scholars

This annual event brings together college students, Teachers College and Columbia University students, as well as faculty and staff to create open lines of communication among students of different socioeconomic, geographic, educational, and cultural backgrounds specifically to create pathways to graduate school. Envision consists of a panel and workshop organized in conjunction with the Offices of Admission and Financial Aid and TC faculty and administrators.

IX.  Everyday Africa

Melissa Cushman, Thieny Vinh Nguyen, and Soo Park       

Co-Sponsor: Center for African Education (CAE), Professor George Bond, Department of International and Transcultural Studies, Program in Anthropology & Education, Society for Anthropological Studies (SAS), and African Studies Working Group (ASWG)

This four-part event seeks to provide participants with glimpses of every day life in different parts of Africa, with the intent of educating them about this often misconceived continent and its people. It endeavors to promote new knowledge, tolerance, and respect for the diversity of linguistic, cultural, racial, and ethnic difference that exist in Africa and communities of the African Diaspora around the world.

X.   Expanding Access to Learning: Possibilities and Challenges for Higher Education in Urban, 21^st Century America

Leslie Williams and Milagros Castillo

Sponsor: Higher and Postsecondary Education Program and Professor Anna Neumann

The Teachers College Higher and Postsecondary Education (HPSE) lecture series extends the conversations and activities that are currently alive in the HPSE program regarding concerns about diversity and access to learning to the entire TC and Columbia University communities.

XI.  Fostering Social Action Through Social Issue Media

Professor Lalitha Vasudevan & Ahram Park

Sponsor: Program in Communication, Computing, and Technology in Education

This four-part series, “The Social Issue Media Series,” seeks to explore the intersection of social issues, social action and media. The goal is to provide opportunities for the TC community to explore and engage in an open dialogue about issues that affect our daily lives, on a local and global scale.

XII.Friday Conversations

Jovany Suriel, Nii Ato Benti-Enchill, and Professor Laura Smith

Sponsor: Department of Counseling Psychology

Friday Conversations is a student led discussion group that is open to all TC students. The content of the group’s discussions are not preset, rather, they are driven by the thoughts, experiences, and emotions of the students who attend. Through the interactions of the diverse attendees, the group aims to create an enriching educational experience.

XIII.  Intercultural Bilingual Education

Catalina Crespo-Sancho

Sponsor: Latina/o and Latin American Faculty Working Group and Professor Regina Cortina    

This initiative seeks to bring together experts in the field of intercultural bilingual education, with scholars and students in the TC community to examine and learn more about this educational approach.  Intercultural Bilingual Education will focus on bilingual education, particularly within the context of Guatemala and Peru. It will feature a presentation on the history and political mobilization of indigenous organizations, and how initiative can lead to educational reforms and intercultural bilingual approaches.

XIV.  Intersections: A Learning Symposium on Immigration, Gender & Youth

Ramatu Bangura

Sponsor: Professor Michelle Knight-Diop and the Department of Curriculum and Teaching     

Intersections: A Learning Symposium on Immigration, Gender & Youth is an opportunity for scholars, community-based practitioners, students, and professors to share and learn from scholarship and community work at the intersection of immigration, gender, and youth. In addition to roundtable discussions, panels, and poster sessions, this initiative will include a post-symposium listserv and blog in order to ensure that the conversations initiated at the symposium will be on-going.

XV.Leadership through Service: KDP Foundation Day Conference

Alexander Pope

Sponsor: Kappa Chapter, Kappa Delta Pi (an International Honor Society in Education)

In keeping with the organization’s ideals of Service, Leadership, and Scholarship, the Kappa Chapter of Kappa Delta Pi will host two events – A one-day conference entitled “Leadership through Service” will have a special focus on the role of education and educational institutions in the larger New York City community, and the Kappa Chapter of KDP welcomes the TC community to participate in the restoration of the mural located at the KIPP/PS125/Columbia Secondary School facility on 123^rd Street.  March 8, 2011, is the 100^th Anniversary of the founding of Kappa Delta Pi, and TC’s chapter is one of the founding chapters.

XVI.  The New York City Department of Education’s Young Male Initiative

Travis J. Bristol and Professor Carolyn Riehl

Co-Sponsors: The Department of Organization & Leadership and the Black Student Network (BSN)            

Recently, the New York City Department of Education created a young male initiative in response to the low and decreasing numbers of male high school graduates. This first-time event seeks to bring together New York City’s Deputy Chancellor, Santiago Taveras, faculty members from the department of Organization and Leadership, Professors Carolyn Riehl and Luis Huerta, and members from the Black Student Network and Association of Latin American Students, to develop an action plan on practical solutions to address this crisis.

XVII.Racial Literacy Roundtables: Peer-to-Peer Conversations on Teaching in Urban Schools

Emily Carman, Lauren Gengo, James Kang, Prof. Yolanda Sealy-Ruiz

Co-Sponsor: Prof. Yolanda Sealy-Ruiz, English Education Program, Arts & Humanities Department

Racial Literacy Roundtables (RLR) seek to foster open dialogue about race, issues pertaining to race, language difference, and sexual orientation, primarily among pre-service and in-service teachers across the college. Conceptualized as a peer-to-peer forum, RLRs hope to bring together students and faculty across departments to discuss the different topics.

XVIII.        TC Allies Reading Group

Professor Laura Smith

Sponsor: Counseling and Clinical Psychology Department

The TC Allies Reading Group is designed to bring together staff, faculty, and students around common texts focused on privilege and/or whiteness. The initiative seeks to utilize a book club format as a springboard for discussion and critique of privilege, and as a means of bring together faculty, staff and students.