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March 7 , 2005
PCORE considers off-the-record request

BY katherine baust

Chair Chris Grey opened the President’s Commission on Race and Ethnicity (PCORE) meeting on Monday, Feb. 28, in 400 Administration by announcing that the scheduled presentation of results from the Campus Climate Survey would be postponed because those results had not yet been communicated to President Jim Wagner. Grey said Wagner intends to discuss the role PCORE will play in communicating the results to the community.

Grey said Wagner has addressed the issue of confidentiality with all the commission chairs, requesting time to meet and talk off-the-record. Grey proposed to keep all regular meetings open to the public and convene special meetings or use executive committee meetings for off-the-record discussion.

At the previous executive committee meeting, Grey said one topic of discussion was the hesitation previous chairs have toward continuing an active role on the commission because of the feeling that they have taken on a second job. Wagner responded that one role for the soon-to-be-hired senior vice provost for diversity, community and institutional development could be to handle administrative logistics for all the commissions, which could also foster increased collaboration among them.

In discussing membership, Grey said he would send nominations for new members to Wagner by March 29.
During committee reports, Grey said the PCORE bylaws will be sent to members via e-mail and requested that any changes be forwarded to historical records chair Sylvester Hopewell. For special projects, Grey said he will ask committee chair Jody Usher to look into minority students’ retention rates, and he reported that the professional development fund awarded a total of $4,500; a report is forthcoming about the award recipients.
Daryl Neill gave an update on the Transforming Community Project (TCP), which began in 2003 and is dedicated to increasing awareness of diversity issues and concerns in the classroom, specifically with faculty. Neill said the project has now morphed into a five-year plan funded by the provost that will involve faculty, staff, students and alumni. He said project members have been meeting regularly, and details will begin to surface soon.

Grey gave the report for student concerns and said the students who serve on the commission have been in communication with College Council and other organizations about using PCORE as a resource. Also, PCORE will co-sponsor a play staged by Hispanic students called “Platanos and Collard Greens,” to be held April 4 at 7 p.m., tentatively in White Hall 208. Grey added that he has invited some Hispanic faculty to lunch to talk about their particular concerns.

The next PCORE meeting will be Tuesday, March 29, from 3–5 p.m. in 400 Administration.

If you have a question or concern for PCORE, e-mail Grey at pcore@emory.edu.

 

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