OIED Welcomes Ian Stroud

Ian Stroud Ian T. Stroud is one of the newest members of Multicultural Student Affairs as the Assistant Director for Native American Student Affairs. His role is to provide NC State students with personal and leadership development opportunities, assist in creating a safe environment and build community amongst native students, and advance the ongoing development of services that support and enable Native American student success.

Prior to joining NC State, Ian worked in Student Leadership Development at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago. Prior to moving to Chicago, Ian worked in Residence Life at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro as a Coordinator for Residence Life. Ian earned his Master’s degree in Higher Education Student Affairs at the University of Vermont and his Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration at the University of Arkansas. His scholarly and professional interests include leadership development, social justice education, and exploring the experiences of underrepresented students in higher education.

Ian is originally from Tahlequah, Oklahoma and his tribal affiliations are Dine’ (Navajo), Cherokee, and Creek nations. He is an avid runner, training for his second marathon in October 2013, and is an enthusiast of the Hip-Hop culture and music genre.

OIED Bids Farewell to
Dr. Heidi Grappendorf

Dr. Heidi Grappendorf is departing to return to a faculty position at the University of Cincinnati. She is grateful for the opportunity to have worked with the Chancellor's First Year Student Leadership Program and the Women's Center. We wish Heidi well in this opportunity!

Diversity Digest Schedule

The Diversity Digest is published weekly during the academic year and monthly during summer. Look for our next issue in July. Thank you for reading the Digest!

Learn More about OIED

Summer is a great time to catch up on important topics! OIED offers an informative 30-minute presentation given by OIED unit leaders that can be scheduled for your upcoming staff meeting. The aim of this presentation is for the campus to know and understand how OIED can help units to fulfill NC State's Strategic Goals; create a diverse and welcoming environment for everyone; and best utilize OIED's services. To schedule an OIED presentation for your unit, please contact Elizabeth Snively.

Programs

12th Annual Social Equity Leadership Conference Draws Nearly 200 Attendees

This Year’s Conference Theme was Globally Engaged, Locally Responsible: New Challenges for Social Equity

Sponsored by NC State’s Office for Institutional Equity and Diversity and co-chaired by Dr. RaJade Berry-James, Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Programs in the Department of Public Administration, and Dr. Tracey Ray, Assistant Vice Provost for Student Diversity in the Office for Institutional Equity and Diversity, the Social Equity Leadership Conference took place June 5-7, 2013 at NC State.

Over 100 scholars presented in 27 panels on their research in the areas of At-Risk Communities and Immigrants, Education, Environmental Protection, Health, Higher Education, Housing, Inclusive Excellence, International, Leadership, LGBT, Local, Nonprofits, Policing and Corrections, providing depth as well as breadth. The opening address, “Networking as Both an Obstacle and an Opportunity for Building Social Capital,” was given by Dr. Marc Holzer, Dean and Board of Governors Professor in the School of Public Affairs and Administration at Rutgers University. The keynote address, “Thick Social Equity,” was given by Dr. H. George Frederickson, Distinguished Professor in the Department of Public Administration at the University of Kansas, Lawrence and President Emeritus of Eastern Washington University.

Conference highlights included a reading of “You Wouldn’t Expect,” a play by Marilynn Barner Anselmi about the experiences of four victims of the North Carolina Eugenics Program, which oversaw the forced sterilization of more than 7,600 individuals between the early 1930’s and the mid 1970’s; two sponsored panels featuring nonprofits and nonprofit foundations; and the closing awards luncheon, at which Virginia Commonwealth University’s Wilder School Award for Scholarship in Equity and Public Policy Analysis was presented. The Wilder Award is given annually for exemplary published scholarly articles that will advance the understanding and consequences of social equity. Presented by Dr. Blue Wooldridge, DPA, Chair of the National Academy of Public Administration Standing Panel on Social Equity and Governance, this year’s Wilder Award was given to Jason A. Grissom and Lael R. Keiser for their work titled, A Supervisor Like Me: Race, Representation, and the Satisfaction and Turnover Decisions of Public Sector Employees. Grissom, currently an assistant professor at the University of Missouri, Columbia, is an NC State alumnus.

For more information about the Social Equity Leadership Conference and KnowledgeBase, please see the Social Equity Leadership Conference website.

NC State's Women's Center Receives Grant

Phi Kappa Phi Awards Grant for Read to L.E.A.D.: Literacy and Social Justice Youth Development

Read to L.E.A.D. logo

In collaboration with Kathy Brown (NCSU Libraries) and Angela Wiseman (College of Education), Jennifer Castillo and the Women’s Center were awarded a $2500 grant to purchase 4 iPad Minis and diversity-relevant children’s literature for the Read to L.E.A.D. program. Read to L.E.A.D.'s pilot tests with borrowed iPads suggested that they will engage reluctant readers, provide a tactile technology experience for learners, and enable access to innovative diversity-related resources available online. This use of technology is aligned with best practices in literacy and is particularly important for low income children that may not have the same access due to the resources in their schools, communities, and homes.

Read to L.E.A.D., a program of the Women’s Center, provides an opportunity for NC State students, faculty and staff to mentor low-income children at least one grade-level behind in reading/writing. This academic year, Read to L.E.A.D. grew from 30 Wake County Public School mentees and 12 NC State volunteers in one site to 80 elementary students and 155 NC State student volunteers across four sites per semester. Undergraduate and graduate student, faculty, and staff volunteers representing various disciplines across campus, including Education, Social Work, Engineering, and Business, were trained by the NC State Women’s Center, National Coalition Building Institute (NCBI), and the College of Education on best practices in literacy as well how to facilitate intentional conversations with their mentees about social justice. Additions this year include new technology components, enhanced training for NC State mentors, and special “on campus” and “in the community” service projects for the mentors and mentees.

Read to L.E.A.D. campus and community partners include NC State’s College of Education, Students Advocating for Youth (SAY) Living and Learning Village, NCSU Libraries, Psychology Department, Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences, CHASS Multicultural Association for Students, Raleigh Boys and Girls Club, Neighbor to Neighbor, Wake County Read and Feed nonprofit, Youth for Hope, Raleigh Little Theatre, McDonalds, Pita Pit, Jason’s Deli, and Quail Ridge Books.