Diversity SIG E-Newsletter Aug-Sept 2007
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Contents |
Diversity SIG E-Newsletter – August/September 2007
Contents
1. ACE Annual Meeting 2007 - SIG meeting report
2. Meet Our new Diversity SIG Officers
3. Latino Briefs
4. Welcome new member Amanda Erichsen
1. Wrap-up: ACE Annual Meeting/Business Meeting
Our Diversity SIG members made a great showing at this year’s ACE meeting, presenting four breakout sessions and sponsoring a luncheon with diversity as the theme.
Marley Shebala, a senior news reporter and photojournalist for the Navajo Times, was the speaker for the Gary Hermance Luncheon. She shared her experiences as a Native American and a communicator, and described her culture to those present, along with common misunderstandings people have of Native Americans.
The four breakout sessions ranged on topics from border town racism, to white privilege, to physical disability, to preparing for student diversity on campus. A big thank you to our members (and non-members) who presented at the ACE meeting!
- Building Resources for First-Generation and Culturally Identified Hispanic Students, Pamela Martinez, New Mexico State University
- Facing Racism in a Diverse Nation, Joanne Littlefield, University of Arizona, Marley Shebala, Navajo Times, Anna M. Rondon, Navajo Nation
- See it! Hear it! Feel it! Make it Accessible! Debby Newman and Pam Prokup, University of Minnesota
- Understanding White Privilege, LaRae Donnellan, Florida A&M University, Florita Montgomery, West Virginia University, Rebecca McGovney-Ingram, Texas
If you would like to present a session or poster at next year’s meeting in Traverse City, Michigan, please let us know!
Diversity SIG Business Meeting
Eleven members of the Diversity SIG met for the business meeting on Monday, June 18th during the ACE annual meeting.
As our first item of business we reviewed the results from our first ever C&A competition, handed our silver and bronze awards, and asked any winners present to describe their entries. Entries into the five classes were as follows:
| Class 41—Writing for targeted publics | 0 entries |
| Class 42—Targeted publications | 6 entries |
| Class 43—Electronic media, audio for targeted publics | 1 entry |
| Class 44—Electronic media, video for targeted publics | 2 entries |
| Class 45—Marketing and media relations program for targeted publics | 1 entry |
Great job again to all of our C&A winners, and keep those entries coming!
The second item of business was recognizing our Diversity SIG Award of Excellence Winner Marci Hilt. Marci works as a communications coordinator with the USDA, and has long been involved in diversity both in and outside of ACE. Congratulations Marci!
Third on the agenda was to elect a new Vice-Chair Elect. We had two candidates: Marusela Anders with Ohio State University and Ariel Ginsburg with Oregon State University. Members present voted to elect Marusela as Vice-Chair Elect and to hold Ariel in reserve as our Vice-Chair Elect two. Both will be involved in officer duties during the year, and will lead the SIG well in the future.
Finally, we opened the floor for discussion from the members on things they might want to see changed or done differently in the future. Suggestions included improving the website, more communication between SIG members, and more Diversity information provided to the SIG. An action plan has since been developed to address these issues. Vice-Chair Elect two Ariel Ginsburg is researching wiki as a new medium for our SIG website. Vice-Chair Elect Marusela Anders will ask members to contribute a column to the E-Newsletter providing diversity tips or research.
2. Meet Our New Diversity SIG Officers
Marusela Anders, Vice-Chair Elect
Marusela Anders was born in Querétaro, Mexico growing up in Mexico City since she was five years old. In 1990 she married a US Navy sailor and moved to Norfolk, VA. A year later the adventure began and traveled all over the world. After living in Iwakuni, Japan (4 years) to Sicily, Italy (3 years), and returning to the U.S. intermittently, they did their final tour in Bremerton, WA where they stayed for 4 years. After her husband’s retirement, they moved to Lancaster, Ohio in January of 2005 where he is originally from, to raise their two boys.
Once in central Ohio, she quickly gained a position at the Ohio State University in the department of Communications and Technology in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications from the Intercontinental University in Mexico City. Among many others responsibilities in the department, she has been working on a project for over a year translating agricultural safety modules for Extension as well as other publications. She is part to the Ohio Latino Work Force, a group of Extension faculty, staff and administrators with common interest in the knowledge, support, and education of the Latino labor force in Ohio. This group has sponsored two tours to Mexico to learn about the background of Ohio’s Latino communities to start developing programs.
Her background, as well as her passion to support and promote diversity, encouraged her to join the Diversity SIG, moreover, to become an officer. She hopes her knowledge and position in Extension can be of benefit and contribute to ACE and the Diversity SIG.
Ariel Ginsburg, Vice-Chair Elect
Ariel Ginsburg grew up in Los Angeles, California, and since her youth she has been attracted to and interested in connecting with people of different cultures. She studied and became fluent in Spanish and French, and spent a year traveling through Europe. In 1996, she married an Israeli man and lived for a year in his home kibbutz, learning to speak Hebrew as well. She and her husband returned to live in Eugene, Oregon, and adopted their daughter (who has African- and European-American heritage). (The marriage did not last, but Ariel’s daughter is the light of her heart!)
Ariel was an early and active member of the Eugene Middle East Peace Group, which formed in 2000 from the desire of Arab Muslims and Israeli (and American) Jews in Eugene to meet, listen to, and befriend each other during a time of grievous violence between our peoples.
Ariel’s first career was in the arts, collaborating and making close friendships with people from African American, Latino, Native American, and Asian backgrounds. In 1992, Ariel was introduced to the work of the Oregon State University Extension Service through her job with a desktop publishing company. When she won the position of 4-H Publishing Manager for the Extension and Experiment Station Communications department at OSU in 2005, her passion for cultural diversity and inclusivity connected with current efforts throughout the university to address needs in these areas. She researched and collaborated in writing an inclusiveness presentation for the Office of Community and Diversity, and currently is a member of the Diversity Catalyst Team of the Change Agent States for Diversity initiative at Oregon State.
Ariel attended her first ACE conference and first Diversity SIG meeting in June 2007. She says, “Running for officer of the ACE Diversity SIG was an act of spontaneous combustion. I liked the people I met, and felt that the best way to get to know them better was to work together. I am passionate about creating inclusive community and working to find ways to open the windows and doors of people’s minds. I thought I’d find lots of support for that through this SIG’s combined experience and expertise.”
3. Latino Briefs Digest
A bi-weekly digest written primarily for the staff of University of California Cooperative Extension. It is produced by the staff of ANR's News & Information Outreach in Spanish (NOS) based on news reported by mainstream news media and reputable research institutions. http://ucanr.org/latinodigest
August 2007
- Latino workers not always a good fit with Latino bosses <http://news.ucanr.org/latinobriefs/latinobriefs.cfm?story=273>
- Latino farmers may be undercounted by US census <http://news.ucanr.org/latinobriefs/latinobriefs.cfm?story=274>
- Hispanics’ long-term health at risk <http://news.ucanr.org/latinobriefs/latinobriefs.cfm?story=275>
- Hispanic immigration not a threat <http://news.ucanr.org/latinobriefs/latinobriefs.cfm?story=276>
- Hispanic women retire because they have to, not want to <http://news.ucanr.org/latinobriefs/latinobriefs.cfm?story=277>
- Marketing to Hispanics: A closer look <http://news.ucanr.org/latinobriefs/latinobriefs.cfm?story=278>
- Dicho del mes <http://news.ucanr.org/latinobriefs/latinobriefs.cfm?story=279>
- ¿Sabía usted que...? <http://news.ucanr.org/latinobriefs/latinobriefs.cfm?story=280>
July 2007
- Time with dad influences the racial identity of multi-racial children <http://news.ucanr.org/latinobriefs/latinobriefs.cfm?story=266>
- Diversity increases in American suburbs, metro areas and the South <http://news.ucanr.org/latinobriefs/latinobriefs.cfm?story=267>
- Literacy rates for Hispanics drop <http://news.ucanr.org/latinobriefs/latinobriefs.cfm?story=268>
- Frequent church attendance linked to pro-immigrant sentiment <http://news.ucanr.org/latinobriefs/latinobriefs.cfm?story=269>
- Mexican migrants increase civic participation in both the U.S. and Mexico <http://news.ucanr.org/latinobriefs/latinobriefs.cfm?story=270>
- Internet use by Hispanics grows faster than general market <http://news.ucanr.org/latinobriefs/latinobriefs.cfm?story=271>
- Dicho del mes <http://news.ucanr.org/latinobriefs/latinobriefs.cfm?story=272>
Resources
Honor differences! Appreciate who we are and where we come from. The Multicultural Calendar created by Dominion aims to promote greater knowledge of multicultural diversity. They have developed a monthly calendar of selected events and celebrations from different cultures. It is fascinating how many observances and events are going on nearly every day around the globe. http://www.dom.com/about/education/culture/index.jsp
4. Welcome Amanda Erichsen
Amanda grew up near Junction City, KS on a small farm. She grew up raising cattle and sheep, and participated in 4-H and FFA. She graduated from Kansas State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Communications and Journalism in 2004, and minors in Animal Sciences and Industry as well as Agronomy. From 2004 to 2006 she worked for Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity as the Communications Coordinator. Now she is working on her Master’s degree in Agricultural Communications at Oklahoma State University. Her primary interest is in marketing and communication planning for Extension programs. She joined ACE to expand her knowledge and connections in the agricultural communications industry.
If you have questions about this newsletter or would like to contribute to a future edition, please contact Vice Chair Elect Marusela Anders at anders.40@cfaes.osu.edu.
