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April 8, 2004

MSU to recognize individuals, units for promoting, enhancing diversity

Contact: Paulette Granberry Russell, Office of Affirmative Action, Compliance and Monitoring, (517) 353-3922; or Kristin K. Anderson, University Relations, (517) 353-8819, ander284@msu.edu

4/8/2004

EAST LANSING, Mich. � Individuals, teams, and units and organizations at Michigan State University are being honored for their innovation and outstanding efforts to promote and achieve diversity.

Awards will be presented during MSU�s annual Excellence in Diversity Recognition and Awards Program at 4 p.m. Thursday, April 15, in the Kellogg Center Auditorium, with a reception following in Big Ten Room C.

Individual and team recipients of �Excellence in Diversity� awards receive a $2,500 cash award.

Awardees in the individual category are: Clay Braggs of Southfield, a senior majoring in mathematics, College of Natural Science; Rodney Whitaker, associate professor and director of jazz studies in the School of Music, College of Arts and Letters; Marquita Chamblee, director of the Office of Diversity and Pluralism in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources; and Wanda Lipscomb, assistant dean for student affairs and services, director of the Center of Excellence and associate professor of psychiatry in the College of Human Medicine.

Team award recipients who have demonstrated �Excellence Within Community� are the Audiology and Speech Sciences team in the College of Communications Arts and Sciences; and Percy A. Pierre, professor, and Barbara O�Kelly, research specialist, both in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, College of Engineering.

MSU Libraries, Computing and Technology and the MSU Extension office in Genesee County will receive plaques for �Excellent Progress Toward Achieving Diversity and Pluralism.�

Winners of the �Students Making a Difference Through Artistic Expression� contest, each of whom receive a $500 award, are Andrew Hillesheim of Grand Rapids, a sophomore majoring in chemical engineering; and the team of Dana Steffe of East Lansing, a freshman studio art major, and Jason Grunlond of Clarkston, a senior studio art major. Chelsey Clugston of East Lansing, a junior majoring in apparel and textile design in the College of Human Ecology, will be recognized with an honorable mention award at the program.

�Within any organization it is important to recognize those whose contributions exceed what is normally expected of them. MSU is no exception,� said Paulette Granberry Russell, director of the Office of Affirmative Action, Compliance and Monitoring and senior adviser to the president for diversity. �The individuals and teams who are being recognized for their outstanding achievements in support of diversity are exemplars of our Guiding Principle, �Advancing Diversity within Community.� They are to be commended for their contributions to the university and beyond.�

Winners� names will be added to the diversity wall plaque located in the Main Library. Including the 2004 winners, 95 individuals, units and teams have been honored for diversity efforts since the award was initiated in 1990.

Individual awards winners are:

CLAY BRAGGSClay Braggs

Clay Braggs has worked in the Office of Racial Ethnic Student Affairs as a racial ethnic student aide, serving as a peer mentor for African American students. He is a leader among his peers, reaching out to classmates and hall mates, offering support, encouragement and guidance, always emphasizing academics as a top priority. He has worked on numerous formal events and projects such as organizing the inaugural scholarship drive for MSU�s first endowed Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. scholarship award. One of his most successful programs was a retention retreat for African American males; he and the Black Male Initiative coordinated the event, raising more than $5,000 to pay for the retreat. Braggs has been involved in supporting a disabled student with daily tasks for the past three years, and has taken part in an Alternative Spring Break experience to work with and teach Mexican children.

RODNEY WHITAKERRodney Whitaker

Rodney Whitaker has helped move the jazz program at MSU forward through the development of a curriculum that supports a major, and through the recruitment of a high-quality and diverse faculty and student body. He has increased the representation of under-represented groups with the university and has established a significant number of individuals who serve as role models for a growing number of minority students. He has developed an innovative curricular program based on the African American tradition of teaching aural skills and having a foundation of blues as the basis of teaching improvisation. Whitaker also has developed a number of important outreach initiatives which include faculty and students, establishing a close relationship with Detroit Public Schools, the Detroit Symphony Education Department and the Arts League of Michigan. Whitaker also has started annual programs at MSU that address issues of discrimination, race relations, hope and promise, including the jazz concert which is a part of the annual MLK Jr. celebration.

MARQUITA CHAMBLEEMarquita Chamblee

Marquita Chamblee has been instrumental in creating, sustaining and moving forward diversity efforts in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Her associations with numerous campus and other organizations include serving as a mentor and advocate for minority students, faculty and staff within the college, and as a resource for high school students considering attending college and majoring in the sciences. She also has assisted with the development of and serves as a mentor to students in Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences, providing students with numerous opportunities for professional development through conferences and other campus events. She has organized brown bag lunches on race and identity, led reflections on MLK Jr. Day, and shared her personal journey as a way of opening up discussions on diversity in the Liberty Hyde Bailey Scholars Program. She has served on the Dean�s Committee on Diversity and Pluralism and helped to craft a vision for the college.

WANDA D. LIPSCOMBWanda Lipscomb

Wanda D. Lipscomb has set standards and an expectation around respect for diversity that has become a part of the culture of the College of Human Medicine. She is the principal investigator for two major federal grants: the Health Career Opportunities Program, which has provided a steady stream of talented young people who did not have the benefit of traditional preparation for medical school, and the Center of Excellence grant, which has supported the career development of faculty often entering at junior level. She has organized numerous programs for recruiting under-represented minority students, and has organized the student body to sponsor a minority recruitment weekend. Lipscomb fosters student activism and creates an atmosphere of strong ethnic identity amidst diversity, and was instrumental in the growth of the Latino Midwest Medical Student Association. She also works with the Advanced Baccalaureate Learning Experience, which brings students from disadvantaged backgrounds and underserved populations to readiness for academic success in medical school.

Team award winners are:

DEPARTMENT OF AUDIOLOGY AND SPEECH SCIENCES

Current and former faculty members Marti Bolt, Heather Drayton, Jill Effenbein, Peter LaPine and Kate Runyan in the Department of Audiology and Speech Sciences designed, developed and sought funding for the �Creating Opportunities for Students to Explore Diversity from Michigan to Mexico� program. Their collaborative efforts included providing clinical services to individuals served by the Cristo Rey Community Center in Lansing, migrant workers and their families at campus and in the mid-Michigan area, and indigenous populations in central Mexico and the Yucatan peninsula. A total of 54 students from MSU and other universities also were involved in one or more of three projects. The program also provided the foundation for development of Spanish resources for professionals in communication disorders Web site and opportunities to present the outreach campaign at other universities and institutions.

PERCY A. PIERRE and BARBARA O�KELLY

Percy A. Pierre, professor of electrical and computer engineering, and Barbara O�Kelly, research specialist in electrical and computer engineering, have worked for the past seven years to increase the number of under-represented minorities in engineering graduate programs while maintaining a high rate of retention and graduation. They have established programs for student recruitment and retention, secured grants to support their programs and students. Each works individually with each of the minority graduate students; assists each student in identifying and developing a productive working relationship with a faculty research mentor, and holds weekly meetings of his or her entire group. Their initiatives have fostered a 36 percent increase in the enrollment of African American and Hispanic doctoral students in the College of Engineering.

Unit and organization award recipients are:

MSU LIBRARIES, COMPUTING AND TECHNOLOGY

MSU Libraries provides the university with diverse, multicultural programs, collections and activities as part of its approach to the MSU IDEA and Guiding Principles. Among the programs are the �Friday Night Film Series,� �Michigan Writers Series,� �Colloquia Series,� and various displays and exhibits for celebrations and festivals, including Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Black History Month, Hispanic History Month, Day of the Dead, Puerto Ricans in sports, women�s history, ethnic art and music, Asian Studies exhibits and other university-sponsored international programs. MSU Libraries employs an ethnic studies bibliographer, who works with patrons on building collections with respect to diversity. Students have benefited from the vast array of materials in Special Collections in conducting classroom research activities

MSU EXTENSION, GENESEE COUNTY

MSU Extension-Genesee County staff members continuously explore, celebrate and promote matters of diversity and multiculturalism. Genesee County Extension Team members have been involved in planning and implementing on-going �Commitment to Diversity Programs� to sharpen diversity skills and adopting best practices in serving their communities. On a rotating basis each team member delivers a program focusing on persons of color, gender, class, and assists with a variety of community service projects. The team works to create an organizational culture that respects diversity and pluralism, establishes and maintains an employment or recruitment process for increasing under-represented groups and collaborates with campus and community groups to sponsor multicultural programs and activities.