FROM: Catherine Manton, AAC Diversity Subcommittee Chair

DATE: June 3,1998

RE: Final Report of the AAC Diversity Subcommittee

Michael - first let me apologize for the late date you are receiving this committee report. As you know, the subcommittee met well after the deadline for annual reports; furthermore it has taken me a few days after arriving back in Boston to make sense of the subcommittee's business before I became chair in February, 1998.

The subcommittee acknowledges its somewhat faltering performance this past academic year. Members are optimistic that continued membership on the part of all but one member next academic year, plus participation by new members who can actively contribute to the successful completion of committee business will facilitate a more smoothly running subcommittee. The subcommittee also is committed to improving communication with both the AAC and the CAS Senate (especially its Executive Council).

This academic year, only one new diversity course proposal was approved by the subcommittee. At its May 6th meeting, the subcommittee approved German 230 Crisis & Continuity: German Culture and Society in the Twentieth Century, and reported the course out to the AAC for fall, 1998 consideration. The subcommittee returned two diversity course proposals to their originators for further work on proposal materials: PolSci 220 (previously approved last academic year) and PolSci 387 (new proposal first deliberated at 5/6 meeting). Because of technical and personal errors, PolSci 220 was "lost" in the governance process for the bulk of this academic year. As of this date, the subcommittee chair has not received any feedback from originators of these course proposals; therefore it is assumed there will be no further action necessary on the proposals until the fall of 1998.

PolSci 340 was another course proposed for diversity status last academic year and approved by the subcommittee for same at that time. It also bounced around the governance bodies for the major part of this academic year, not arriving onto the Senate agenda until its May 11th meeting. At this time, the subcommittee chair does not know the outcome regarding Senate deliberation of this course proposal.

Because of confusion and miscommunication among the AAC Diversity Subcommittee, the AAC, and the CAS Senate this past year, Catherine Manton and Jeremiah Cotton attended a SEC meeting on May 6th to discuss ways to improve communication specifically between the subcommittee and the SEC. Several possibilities became apparent during this discussion; the subcommittee chair intends to follow-up on them early in the fall term. Proactive efforts considered by the subcommittee during discussion at their May 6th meeting (prior to the SEC meeting later the same day) include: 1) further clarification of guidelines for prospective course proposal originators to facilitate the proposal submission process; 2) new format and possible revision of forms used by the subcommittee; 3) clarification of the meaning of "diversity in the original charge to the diversity committee through discussion with original committee members; 4) establishing deadlines both for faculty diversity course proposals and also for student petitions for diversity course waivers so that the subcommittee can do its work in a deliberate, timely fashion: 5) written clarification of past criteria utilized in consideration of student waiver petitions by subcommittee and Academic Support personnel since Loretta Slover (archivist-in-residence for these matters until the present) is retiring at the end of the summer.

I have not included a summary of the subcommittee's action on the many student waiver petitions that were submitted to the subcommittee since February, 1998. I assume that aspect of the subcommittee's business has more relevance for the Dean of Academic Support that the CAS Senate. Please inform the chair if this material should be included in future subcommittee reports.

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