Office of Minority Recruitment & Retention (OMRR)
Respectfully submitted by Cynthia del Rosario
Recruitment
Prospective Student Days: Many thanks for helping us welcome our newly admitted students! Prospective Student Days was extremely successful, serving over 75 admitted COE students at 14 various events over the course of two days. Deepest thanks from OMRR and OSS to all of the Education Diversity Recruiters (EDRs), current COE students, faculty and staff who assisted with the many events, including: the student lunch, area information sessions, Coffee Lounge, no-host Happy Hour, Student and Faculty of Color Breakfast Panel, and the COE Reception. It was a great series of events, and the visiting students felt very welcomed and well taken care of. Kudos to us all!
So, are you wondering how it all turned out? The brilliant Karen Matheson, from the COE Office of Institutional Data, has crunched the numbers for us, and below is a chart that compares last year’s numbers to this year SO FAR! We are not done yet, so if you know of any students who are still not decided, please let us know or contact them directly to help them choose the UW.
Click Table to Enlarge
Indian Ed/Teacher Ed: In October 2009, Ginger Berninger initiated a meeting with Denny Hurtado and several COE faculty and staff, as well as UW Native American students, faculty and staff and local Native community members, which has grown into a group/listserve of over 50 people who have indicated an interest or participated in at least one of four subsequent meetings at which the focus is Indian Education/Teacher Education. Denny Hurtado, Exec. Director, OSPI Indian Education and Ken Zeichner, Director UW COE TEP currently co-facilitate the group, which is discussing how the UW COE Teacher Education Program (TEP) can be more responsive to issues related to Indian education in Washington State. We would like to develop a meaningful set of next steps regarding what and how the UW TEP can work with various Native community constituents to recruit more Indian teachers and educate our TEP students around Indian/Native/Indigenous related issues, history, values and perspectives to benefit Indian/Native/Indigenous students and educators, as well as non-Native people/educators.
At the Tribal Leadership Summit on May 14 on the UW campus, the COE Indian Ed/Teacher Ed group received a positive mention from several local and national Indian leaders/elders who had attended a COE Indian Ed/Teacher Ed meeting earlier in the day.
Denny, Ken and I will present about the group’s work at the OSPI & Muckleshoot Tribal School Conference on June 9, 2010. Our next meeting is scheduled for August 24.
Black Issues in Teacher Ed: With the intent to begin similar conversations with local Black communities, Ken, Geneva Gay and I are meeting with Dr. Jim Smith, Breakfast Group, Education Committee Chair, on June 14. Please contact me at: cyn@uw.edu for more information about either of these groups.
UW COE Posse Award: The COE has a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Graduate School and the Posse Foundation in which Posse Scholars and alumni who are accepted into a COE M.Ed program are eligible for the UW COE Posse Award. The Grad School sponsors the first year of the Posse Award, and OMRR sponsors the second year. This year, Dr. Joe Lott accepted TWO Posse Scholars, Shellana Henderson and Dudney Sylla – the COE’s first Posse Scholars – many thanks, Joe! We look forward to welcoming Shellana and Dudney to the COE in the fall!
Retention
Coffee Tuesdays- every Tuesday (except breaks)! 3:30-5pm, 206 Conference Room
Coffee Tuesdays have been a tremendous success! We have loved our new location in the Student Service Conference Room and think this has been instrumental in building a welcoming community and connections for students of color in the COE. This is a very informal environment in which students can relax and connect; run in and grab coffee and a quick snack before or after class; discuss issues facing students of color; build social and professional connections and networks; and find “safe space.” If you did not have the opportunity to attend, please join us next year – ALL are welcome! We hope to see you all next year!
International Student Group – did you know that the COE now has a registered International Student Group? Yes, we do! Many congratulations and thanks to Sharon Chang and Shu-Fei Tsai for their leadership and initiative in organizing the student group. For more information, please contact: sc84@u.washington.edu or sftsai@u.washington.edu. The ISCE (International Students of the College of Education) student group co-sponsored the International Student Lunch on May 12, which was catered by Araya’s Vegetarian Thai Restaurant and drew over 30 COE students and staff. ISCE is organizing an end of the year event: June 4, 2010, 6pm, Eastlake Bar & Grill, RSVP to: takanori@uw.edu.
Students of Color Potluck: Despite a last minute change in location, we had over 50 people at the SOC Potluck on May 14. We recognized our graduating students, as well as students’ honors, awards, and other accomplishments. There was plenty of food, friends and families – just as it should be. These are quarterly events, and all are welcome! We hope to see you next year.
What is HB 1079? HB 1079 is Washington state legislation that relates to the rights of students who have grown up in the U.S., but do not have legal status. To find out more, please refer to a paper written by COE student, Eligio Martinez Jr at: http://tiny.cc/aq4zu. If you are working on issues related to HB 1079 students, please contact me at: cyn@uw.edu.
Race and Ethnicity in Educational Research and Practice: In an attempt to have key COE folks “at the table” for discussions such as Indian Ed/Teacher Ed, Black Issues in Teacher Ed, and 1079 students, OMRR is asking that if you or someone you know in the COE is working on issues focusing on race or ethnicity in education, please let us know. We are working to centralize and make accessible this information. If you have any ideas about how to make this a reality and/or are or know COE students or faculty working on race and/or ethnicity in education, please drop us an email at: recruit@uw.edu.
OMAD Celebration Dinner – the College of Education sponsored at table at the OMAD Celebration Dinner on May 19, at which 8 COE students, faculty and staff were treated to an evening of inspirational UW students and alumni. This is an event that really touches the heart.
THANK YOU! I would be remiss not to give a huge shout out THANK YOU to Liz Peterson and Cristina Gaeta, OMRR GSAs, for all of their dedication and innovation in connecting with prospective and current students all year long! So much of our success is due to the long hours and the personal commitment of Liz and Cristina. Liz and Cristina – Marty and I thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Another huge shout out to Jenee Myers Twitchell, ELS Adviser, and Third Andreson, Martinez Scholars Adviser, also part of the OMRR team, who have helped guide UW undergrads as they work towards becoming highly prepared and competitive COE graduate school applicants and ultimately, educators extraordinaire.
Special thanks to the EDRs, OMRR’s ad hoc team members, especially Eligio Martinez, Keoke Silvano and Irene Sanchez, who continue to recruit on our behalf, and Jose Hernandez and Nikum Pon, who show up for every event and help with the glamorous jobs of moving heavy objects, setup and cleanup, as well as connecting with prospective and current students – many thanks from OMRR to all of the EDRs and other COE SOC who participated in our events this year, helping us build a welcoming community for all!
CONGRATULATIONS to our Grads! Lastly, but most certainly not least of all, many MANY congratulations to the amazing students who will be graduating on June 12. OMRR will see you at the COE Commencement. Please watch your email for an invitation to the UW Alumni Remix created to connect and reconnect UW alumni of color and friends of diversity with one another, their academic units and the UW.
SAVE THE DATE!
UW Alumni Remix
Friday, July 16, 2010
7-11pm
Rainier Chapter House (800 East Roy St.)
All COE Alumni – for more information and to stay connected to OMRR and COE please contact: 206-543-1821 or recruit@uw.edu.
OMRR would like to thank you for helping make this a fantastic year!
Have a wonderful summer!!
