The College of Education has begun what Associate Dean David Chard calls “a series of difficult dialogues,” following last June’s diversity evaluation by Dr. Carlos Cortes of the University of California-Riverside.
The review, conducted over a one week period in early June, simultaneously lauded and criticized the COE, saying it is “a complex combination of extraordinary strengths and perplexing weaknesses.” Cortes noted that many COE programs “lack coherence in the way they address diversity,” and said that many professors are hesitant to discuss diversity for fear of offending students.
University President Dave Frohnmayer and COE officials have commended Cortes’ work and pledged to work hard to address the recommendations. Cortes will continue to work with the college throughout the year.
The external review followed last year’s rallies and protests denouncing what students considered a long-term lack of diversity sensitivity and awareness among the faculty and administration.
During those protests, students reported incidents of professors demeaning students of color, including one professor’s comments that a student’s personal experiences “had no bearing” on the subject matter at hand (ODE, May 5, 2005). The demonstrations were heavily attended by students and community members, including Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy and Ward 3 City Councilor David Kelly. Cortes made several recommendations, including an introductory course on diversity for all COE students, increasing efforts to recruit students and faculty of color and integrating themes of diversity – where appropriate – into more classes.
The report also criticized faculty relations.
Cortes wrote: “In my three decades of working with institutions on diversity-related matters, I have seldom encountered worse morale.”
He attributed this to poor communications between departments.
“A major effort must be made to create a greater sense of community and inclusivity,” he wrote.
In an e-mail dated June 13 from Frohnmayer to Martin Kaufman, former dean of the COE, Frohnmayer wrote that the report “accurately describe(s) the cumulative status of the college as related to ‘diversity’… his document provides a foundation of actions that are needed, feasible, and have the potential to significantly advance the recommendations forthcoming from the college’s Diversity Steering Committee.”
Frohnmayer then suggested that the COE “begin immediately to plan a faculty/student induction/orientation” by Sept. 15.
Cortes held a workshop in September for members of the COE, though it was not the type of orientation described by Frohnmayer.
Other administrators and faculty members said they mostly agreed with and appreciated the report, although some faculty members said they were hesitant to publicly criticize the COE.
Kaufman said the matter was a “complex issue” and that he felt Cortes’ input was necessary.
“I thought it was a timely and insightful review of the college – where we have had successes and where we still faced challenges – and we found the report so valuable that we’ve asked Dr. Cortes to serve as a lead consultant to the college this year regarding the implementation of the plan,” Kaufman said.
Associate Dean Chard said that considering the brevity of Cortes’ visit, he did a remarkable job of “capturing the perspectives” of different groups within the college.
Chard discussed the problems facing the COE.
“Probably the largest one is that we are a faculty that is very lean on resources,” Chard said. “Our tenure-line faculty is relatively small compared to most (similar) institutions, yet we are the number-one most productive research faculty in the country.”
Chard said the natural result of that situation is that faculty spends “a lot of time working and not much time talking to each other.”
Implementing Cortes’ suggestions would take time, he said, and Cortes was present at initial orientations and faculty meetings to facilitate dialogue.
Mary Ann Winter-Messiers, an instructor at the COE and project coordinator for Project PASS (Preparing Autism Specialists for Schools), said she felt the review was both timely and appropriate.
“I was very pleased and reassured that the college hired Dr. Cortes to do this initial review … I think he really put his finger on some of the issues, and in doing so, provided a structure for direction,” said Messiers. “It was very helpful.”
Messiers feels that Michael Bullis, the interim dean of the COE, will be “incredibly competent” at implementing Cortes’ outline of action.
Student reactions to the plan were generally positive, although most agreed that changes need to be made.
First-year COE student Bobbi Malos said she feels diversity is emphasized at the COE.
“They stated, in the beginning, to respect diversity … in orientation, they addressed all that going into it,” Malos said.
Steve “D” Cohen, a COE student, called the current diversity effort “really strong” but said the school had a long-term reputation for being culturally incompetent.
“For a long time, there’ve been problems with people graduating from the teaching program that aren’t culturally competent … for example, Jefferson Middle School for a while wouldn’t even take teachers from the College of Ed. because of the damage that was being done to the youth,” Cohen said.
In an ODE article dated June 7, 2004, Eugene 4-J School District’s Human Resources Director Wally Bryant said the school was hesitant to hire graduates of the COE because of the college’s “multicultural shortcomings.”
Cohen expressed hope for the future of the COE, provided that the college follows through on Cortes’ recommendations.
“There’s key points that have been made – that diversity needs to be infused into every aspect of the College of Ed,” Cohen said. “But if there’s just lip service and ‘oh, yeah, we’re gonna take care of that,’ then I don’t think a lot of changes are going to be made.”

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