Daily Pioneer News

(From left to right) Carl Allsup, Carlos Wiley, Kate Kelley, David Zierath, Mittie Nimocks, Joe Lomax, Terri Burns, Marge Karsten and Rosalyn Broussard make up the nine-member group which received this year’s Liberal Arts and Education Excellence in Teamwork Award.

PLATTEVILLE - The core group of people involved in creation of the day-long workshop titled "Preparing for Positive Change in Race Relations at UWP" and the training for Diversity Advocates was recently awarded the first College of Liberal Arts and Education Excellence in Teamwork honor. The award recognizes excellence in any group at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville that has worked to enhance academic life at the college, department, committee or unit level.

The team originated when members of the Ethnic Studies Council met with Mittie Nimocks, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Education, throughout the 2005-06 academic year to discuss effective search and screen practices and the larger issue of improving the climate for people of color on campus. During the second semester, the group met with Chancellor David Markee and proposed conducting extended workshops on race relations for the faculty and staff of UWP. With the support of Markee, the team began presenting the workshop to groups of faculty and staff in the fall of 2006.

The team, including members from human resources, ethnic studies and the Multicultural Educational Resource Center, developed programming designed to explore issues of institutional racism and racial privilege, specifically white privilege, as well individual perceptions about race and racial sensitivities. The team also designed and implemented modifications to the search and screen procedures to expand the pool of candidates to fill faculty and staff positions and to provide for candidate advocacy during the screening process.

Based on his experiences with the group over the past year, Markee wrote a letter of support for the team's nomination.

"I truly believe that the work of this group of faculty and academic staff, with personnel from the College of LAE as well as the College of Business Industry, Life Science and Agriculture, the Multicultural Educational Resource Center and the Office of Human Resources, has made a significant impact on the climate at UWP and has enhanced the academic environment for all - faculty, staff and students," Markee wrote.

Laura Anderson, assistant dean for LAE and a member of the selection committee, said the collaborative nature of the group and their investment of time impressed committee members.

"The time that the members of this group have devoted to this project certainly demonstrates their high level of commitment to changing our campus climate," she said.

The members of the working group are Carl Allsup, professor of ethnic studies; Rosalyn Broussard, professor of political science; Terri Burns, professor of English; Marge Karsten, professor of business; Kate Kelley, director of human resources, Joe Lomax, professor of criminal justice; Carlos Wiley, assistant to the assistant chancellor for Student Affairs and director of the Multicultural Educational Resource Center; David Zierath, professor of sociology; and Nimocks.

Anyone interested in learning more about the work of this group or the workshops they have developed may contact Nimocks at (608) 342-1151.

Contact: Mittie Nimocks, dean, College of Liberal Arts and Education, (608) 342-1151,nimocksm@uwplatt.edu Prepared by: Evelyn Martens, UWP Public Relations, (608) 342-1194,martense@uwplatt.edu