Academic Affairs Accomplishments 2009-2010
Diversity
Diversifying the faculty and administrative staff at WIU continued to be a primary objective of the University in 2009-2010. The diversity initiatives undertaken by Academic Affairs support the University's goal to "provide opportunities, as demonstrated in annual Underrepresented Groups Reports, to increase the participation and achievement of faculty and staff from traditionally underrepresented groups in higher education and in academic disciplines."
- Academic Affairs sent two representatives to the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) Minority Recruitment Conference and recruited a second Underrepresented Dissertation Fellow.
- African American Studies' United Voices of Western Inspirational Singers performed in Peoria (IL) and the department continued its African American Lecture Series, "African American Liaisons."
- Art participated in the Chicago Public Schools' All-City Art Exhibition competition.
- Arts and Sciences hired two faculty utilizing the Dual Career Recruitment and Retention Program; offered A&S 210, Group Diversity, a course that has not been taught on a regular basis since 2005.
- Business and Technology continued underrepresented recruitment and diversity initiatives via the diversity officer graduate assistant; continued participation in the PhD Project; supported diversification among its faculty (20% are female and 23% are international).
- The Center for International Studies gave presentations and held workshops to recruit students who are traditionally underrepresented in study abroad.
- Chemistry offered summer research opportunities to students from Savannah State University, an HBCU, to increase diversity in STEM disciplines.
- Education and Human Services and its departments developed objectives relative to preferred diversity "profiles" of faculty and students; while considerations are not limited to the following, heightened focus will be placed on attracting African-Americans, Hispanics, Native-Americans, Asian-Americans, persons with disabilities, first-generation college students, military veterans, veterans of non-military voluntary service (e.g., Peace Corps, VISTA), and internationals.
- Educational Leadership's Diversity Partners program identified and recruited minority students into its master's degree program, with tuition waivers for the first four classes being awarded.
- English and Journalism hosted, with other Arts and Sciences departments and the dean's office, a lecture and panel discussions on the life of Emmett Till with guest speaker, Dr. Christopher Benson.
- Fine Arts and Communication participated in the Minority Student Recruitment Program at Tinley Park.
- Graduate Studies increased the minority graduate student population by 8.7 percent from Fall 2008 (148) to Fall 2009 (161).
- Horn Field Campus partnered with the community garden program that will serve marginalized populations.
- Law Enforcement and Justice Administration hired one African American male and one Asian male to fill Unit A faculty positions.
- Marketing and Finance's Supply Chain Management program continued to use a recruitment video (created by WIU University Television) to recruit women and minority students to the program; added two new minority adjunct faculty members for Spring 2010 to teach SCM 453 on the Macomb and Quad Cities campuses.
- Recreation, Park and Tourism Administration established a diversity recruitment group to assist in developing intentional strategies to attract more underrepresented groups to the major; provided leadership for the fall and spring Disability Awareness Days.
- Sociology and Anthropology and Arts and Sciences hosted the second Underrepresented Dissertation Fellow.
- University Libraries Sponsored two faculty lectures (Ben Fletcher: Iron Determination and the Power of Black Iron; Louisiana's Creoles of Color) and one exhibit (New Orleans: the Birth of Jazz) during Black History Month.
- Women's Studies, African American Studies, and the Liberal Arts and Sciences Program created a model to be used for A&S 210, Group Diversity, to be taught in summers in conjunction with the Dealing with Diversity Institute.
The annual Thomas E. Helm Undergraduate Research Day (URD) provides a public, university-wide forum for undergraduate research, scholarship and creative activity. Above: WIU junior mathematics major Franck Olivier Ndjakou Njeunje (R) presents his research poster entitled "Computational Design of Geometric Objects" to mathematics chair and professor Iraj Kalantari (L) at the 2010 URD.
Journalism students at WIU produced "Western Illinois Magazine," a new publication designed to showcase interesting people, places, and things in Western Illinois. The students' goal for the magazine is to spotlight intriguing subjects with regional appeal. Above: The premier issue of "Western Illinois Magazine" (Dec. 7, 2009).