Humanities Faculty Spotlight:

Diversity Enhancement Program Kicks Off its Second Year

The 2007 Diversity Enhancement Program’s (DEP) kick-off reception was held on Thursday, September 27, and was a tremendous success. With excellent jazz from four members of OSU's School of Music, the sun setting over the rooftops of the university from the seventh floor of the Math Tower, and the buzz of conversation from 50-80 people celebrating the diversity of the junior faculty in the College of Humanities, it was an evening to remember.

The 27 junior faculty of color in the College (nearly 50 percent of the total juniors in the College!) met with their mentors in the Diversity Enhancement Program, and the year's work in the DEP, which will include the Ethnic Studies Research and Working Group, the Teaching for Diversity Group, and the Faculty of Color Caucus, got off to a roaring start.

The DEP was launched in the fall of 2006 to provide extensive mentoring and professional development resources for the College’s assistant professors of color. Administered by the College’s Diversity Committee, the DEP is designed to nurture a supportive climate of diversity within the College and to address some of the impediments to the successful advancement of humanities faculty of color through the tenure process and beyond.

For more information on the DEP, please visit the program’s Web site. You may also contact the chair of the College's Diversity Committee, Maurice Stevens.