Diversity in education conference set Nov. 11

1:16 p.m., Nov. 3, 2005--The Dean’s Office of the College of Arts and Sciences is sponsoring a conference, “Transformations: Promoting Graduate Education and the Professoriate,” from 8 a.m.-1:30 p.m., Friday, Nov. 11, at Clayton Hall.

The free conference, which includes continental breakfast and lunch, is designed for women-in-science and underrepresented college juniors, seniors, graduate students, post-docs, limited-term researchers (LTRs), newly selected assistant professors--including those who are African American, Hispanic, American Indian and Asian American--as well as underrepresented faculty interested in networking and mentoring with newly selected faculty.

The conference goals are to provide a forum for discussion of key issues that affect diversity in higher education; encourage underrepresented student populations to attend graduate school and meet the challenges of higher education; support underrepresented faculty, thereby retaining them through the promotion and tenure process; and offer an opportunity for underrepresented students and faculty to network and establish mentoring relationships.

The conference will begin with registration/networking from 8-8:30 a.m. for everyone except undergraduates. After a welcome and overview of the conference by Helen Easterling Williams, senior assistant dean, Dean Tom Apple will speak on “Reaching the Goal--Survival Strategies for New Faculty.” He will cover such topics as promotion and tenure, legal issues in higher education, resume building/development, start-up costs, grant writing, first-year experiences and other relevant topics.

At 10 a.m., there will be a break, and undergraduates may register, followed by a 10:15 a.m. networking session.

At 10:30, the group will break up into four sessions. They are:

“Women-in-Science: The Lonely Lab Experience,” facilitated by Patricia A. DeLeon, professor of biological sciences;
“Assistant Professors: A Diverse Perspective,” facilitated by Wunyabari O. Maloba, associate professor of history;
“Grad Students, Post-docs and LTRs: How to Survive the Search Process,” featuring a panel of faculty and graduate students; and
“Undergrad Juniors and Seniors: Why Go to Graduate School,” presented by Apple.

The featured luncheon speaker is Calvin Mackie, associate professor of mechanical engineering at Tulane University. Specializing in heat transfer and fluid dynamics, Mackie received his master’s and doctoral degrees from Georgia Tech. He is cofounder of Channel ZerO, an education and motivational consulting company and has given presentations to numerous educational, civic and corporate institutions. In 2003, President George W. Bush honored Mackie with the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring. He is the author of the book, A View from the Roof: Lessons for Life and Business.

The conference will conclude with remarks by Apple.

For more information, visit [www.art-sci.udel.edu/conference]. To attend the conference, call Laura Pawlowski at (302) 831-2793 or e-mail [ljp@udel.edu] by 5 p.m., Monday, Nov. 7.

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