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Education

Experiences Working with Diverse Faculty

As described in Table 4.6 below, the college-wide faculty at CSC during the 2002-2004 academic years was comprised of over 66 percent male faculty and slightly less than 33 percent female faculty members. Racial/ethnic make up of the faculty over that same period was self-reported to be over 94 percent white/non-hispanic, 1 percent Native American, 2 percent Hispanic and 3 percent Asian. Comparatively, the 2000 U.S. Census Bureau reported an average of 97 percent for White, Non-Hispanic or Latinos in the general population of CSC’s service region counties. Figure 4.1 further illustrates these percentages. Table 4.6: CSC Faculty Race/Ethnicity & Gender

Figure 4.1: Race/Ethnicity of CSC Faculty

Data source: Figure 29, Factbook 2004, Office of Institutional Research

Although seeking to engage faculty with diverse backgrounds and experiences, recruitment of underrepresented faculty and staff remains a constant challenge in an area that may offer them little in the way of cultural or ethnic peers. CSC acknowledges this challenge as an opportunity to increase focus in finding creative avenues for success and improvement of results. Faculty come to Chadron State College from many regions, bringing with them varied life experiences. These experiences work to enrich and enhance the college community, with their contributions reflective in the preparation of candidates. Table 4.7 identifies CSC Education Unit "Self-Identified" Faculty Characteristics.

Table 4.7: CSC Education Unit Survey: Faculty Diversity (April, 2005) N = 8

Table 4.8 lists those personal diverse experiences and backgrounds of Unit faculty that contribute to preparing candidates

Table 4.9 lists those personal diverse experiences and backgrounds of CSC (college-wide) faculty that contribute to preparing candidates.

Faculty working with candidates both in professional education courses and in clinical practice settings are highly qualified and experienced in working with students from diverse backgrounds, varied environments and in meeting individual learning needs. The goal is to produce candidates with the requisite knowledge and skills to help all students learn, while underscoring appropriate dispositions that can foster teaching successes.

Opportunities on-campus for participation in multicultural events and interactions with diverse populations are made available through several venues, and are open to all faculty, staff and candidates. The International Club sponsors regular International Coffee Hour sessions, during which a specific culture is presented and explored through interactive question and answer sessions, often via a student or panel representative of that population. The annual Galaxy Series presents speakers and events on campus, often with a focus on celebrating a particular culture and its practices, or the awareness of related issues. Conferences and seminars, such as the Western Nebraska Excellence in Education Conference held each October, a collaborative effort between the Nebraska Department of Education and Chadron State College, bring together P-12 and CSC faculty, staff, and administrators, education candidates and other agency personnel-- to learn about the needs of special populations, and about the value of bringing cultural issues into the classroom experience. Also hosted by CSC is the annual Nebraska Department of Education Native American Symposium, also held every October. This conference brings area teachers and administrators together for keynote and breakout sessions on issues pertaining to Native American education. A more complete listing of examples is found by referencing Table 4.14 for a listing of campus events and activities that address diverse and/or multicultural issues.

Resources for faculty and candidates are available for research, classroom application and discussion through the campus Diversity Committee, clubs, and organizations, as well as on-line via the Professional and Graduate Studies web pages at http://www.csc.edu/pgs/diversity.htm

In addition, faculty are encouraged to maintain professional association memberships and affiliations (Table 5.8), and to travel in participation in national meetings and conferences, both for professional development purposes and to maintain a global perspective on our changing world.