Earlier this quarter, a series of focus groups gave students, faculty and staff the opportunity to discuss diversity and equality on campus. Now, members of the task force that developed the focus groups are interpreting the data collected from these groups and finding consistent themes throughout.
We don't have any major conclusions yet
said Kathy Krendl, dean of the College of Communication and co-chairman of the Task force on Inclusiveness and Equality. We're still in the process of receiving them.
She added that in the focus group summaries the task force has reviewed so far, they have found important commonalities among them; however, she declined to comment on what exactly those findings are, saying it is too premature to make an official statement.
Madeleine Scott, director of the School of Dance and member of the task force, is also reviewing the summaries.
We are going to put together after exams a report with recommendations to the Provost
she said. It will be drawing on material from the focus groups
the survey and working groups.
Working groups, she added, are sections of the committee who worked on various aspects of the project, such as creating the survey and finding benchmark institutions.
The focus groups are only one part of a larger project
Krendl said, mentioning the university-wide survey sent earlier this quarter. More than 2,000 people provided feedback, more than half of which were students.
Student Senate President Jamie Walter and Graduate Student Senate President Michael Willits ran many of the focus groups. They discussed everything from diversity on campus to women's issues to LGBT issues.
Turnout was OK
Walter said of the groups. Not huge
but those who came were very forthcoming with information.
Walter said she has finished reviewing the reports and has passed them to the task force as well as to Central Michigan's Phyllis Powell, who was hired earlier this year as a consultant for the task force.
This is a very large task force
said Scott, adding that because (Powell) has done this kind of thing at her own university
she will offer OU's task force an outsider's view of what needs to be done.
Once all summaries have been reviewed, they will be posted on the Provost's Web site at www.ohiou.edu/provost.
