The Director’s Advisory Committee on Diversity

Our Charge | Upcoming Activities | Subcommittees | Activities | Membership | Resources

diversity logoOur Charge

The Director’s Advisory Committee on Diversity (DACD) is made up of staff members and researchers from each of the five ISR centers plus ISR Central Administration. The committee meets monthly. Our charge:

  • To recommend policies and activities to the Director’s Office that will raise the consciousness of all employees about the value of diversity in everyday work settings
  • To change practices in work settings, research programs, centers, and the Institute that detract from the positive gains from a diverse workforce and the valuing of diverse experience
  • To set practical timetables for achieving short-term and longer-term goals via policies and activities
  • To work collaboratively and in a complementary fashion with center-level initiatives that address diversity

Back to top

Upcoming Activities

This year’s “State of the I” address will take place on Thursday, December 13 from 2:00 – 3:00pm in the Kuenzel Room at the Michigan Union, which is located at 530 South State Street. The Winter Celebration will immediately follow from 3:00 – 4:30pm in the Ballroom.
Back to top

Subcommittees

Much of the work of the DACD is accomplished in subcommittees. Members select subcommittees they wish to work on based on their areas of knowledge and interest and the needs of the group. Current DACD subcommittees are listed below.
Back to top

Perspectives

The Perspectives subcommittee of DACD plans and executes programs and events designed to build a spirit of community at ISR, to raise awareness about important social issues, and to foster respect for one another’s diverse backgrounds and viewpoints.

The Perspectives subcommittee can be contacted at perspectives@isr.umich.edu.

Committee members:

  • Mary Cheatham
  • John Paul DeWitt (chair)
  • Joyce French
  • Katie Huang
  • Amanda Nephew
  • Matt Toaz

Membership

This subcommittee assists in determining the schedule for rotating members on and off the DACD and helps assure that membership is balanced with regard to:

  • Representation from all ISR centers
  • Diverse representation in terms of race, ethnicity, gender, age, disability status, religion, sexual orientation, and family status
  • Representation from various job families

Committee members:

  • Gwen Fisher
  • Jennifer Puckett
  • Sumitra Rajendran

Communication

This subcommittee develops and maintains a web site and bulletin boards to keep ISR staff informed about events and activities of the DACD and to raise general awareness of issues of diversity.

Committee members:

  • Janet Keller
  • Shonda Kruger-Ndiaye
  • Jennifer Puckett

Events

Committee members:

  • Becky Bahlibi
  • Minuet Henderson
  • Janet Keller
  • Jennifer Puckett

Events (ad-hoc committee): Winter Celebration

This subcommittee is formed each year in October or November and helps with the annual December Winter Celebration.

Committee members:

  • Anna Massey (chair)
  • Janet Keller

DACD Themes: Building Community

This subcommittee will work on furthering the theme of Building Community.

Committee members:

  • Sumitra Rajendran

DACD Themes: Social Justice

This subcommittee will work on furthering the theme of Social Justice.

Committee members:

Web Survey

This subcommittee develops a periodic web survey of ISR employees to gather data on job satisfaction and climate.

Committee members:

  • Shonda Kruger-Ndiaye (survey programming)
  • Leslie Krauz Stambaugh (overall chair)
  • Gwen Fisher (survey redesign)
  • Janet Keller (survey redesign)
  • Maggie Levenstein (survey redesign)
  • Emily Merchant (survey redesign)
  • Annmarie Thomas (survey redesign)

Back to top

Activities

DACD and its subcommittees sponsor several kinds of events and programs to highlight diversity issues and to build community at ISR. DACD-sponsored activities have included:

  • Movies on social justice issues, including Crash, North Country, and Milk, held at the Michigan Theater
  • Book discussions (ISR Reads) on social justice topics
  • “Getting to Know You” events over lunch with a facilitator to build connections among staff
  • Women’s issues events, including a presentation by the director of the University’s Center for Education of Women
  • Poverty awareness events, including a panel discussion and a display of what people eat around the world
  • Common interest groups in which staff come together around themes and hobbies
  • Celebrations such as the winter parties for information sharing and building community
  • Bulletin boards and posters for raising awareness

In addition, together with others at ISR, DACD supports a periodic Climate Survey to gauge attitudes and the overall workplace climate at ISR. Such surveys have been carried out in 1999, 2006, and 2008. The latest one was released in March 2012.

Building Community

Perspectives, a subcommittee of the Director’s Advisory Committee on Diversity (DACD), plans and executes programs and events designed to build a spirit of community at ISR, to raise awareness about important social issues, and to foster respect for one another’s diverse backgrounds and viewpoints. One of the ongoing programs that many of you may already be familiar with is the Common Interest Groups, which are open to all members of the ISR community and includes groups such as ISR Reads, ISR Vegetarians, a photo club, and many more.

This Fall and Winter, Perspectives will be sponsoring or co-sponsoring several new initiatives aimed at building community here within ISR.

Getting to Know ISR provides an opportunity to learn more about the many programs, projects, and centers at the Institute. It kicked off its first event on Thursday, November 8, from 11 AM to 12 PM in room 6050 ISR-Thompson, These events will pair information sessions on some of the other activities around ISR with time to meet fellow members of the Institute community. Light refreshments will be provided, and while all members of the community are invited, those staff, faculty, post-docs, and graduate students who have joined in the last few years are especially encouraged.

Know Your Floor addresses the issue that with construction commencing earlier this fall, many of us may be sharing tighter quarters from time to time during the next 18 months. This has highlighted the fact that some of us may have yet to meet our colleagues in the wings or even bays nearby, even if we exchange pleasantries in the halls. Throughout the next few months, Perspectives will be co-sponsoring floor coffee breaks with the Director’s Office as part of the Know Your Floor initiative. While many of us are inclined to take coffee and pastries and then return to our work, we encourage you to use this as an opportunity to meet some of your neighbors. Take a few moments to learn several new names and something interesting about your colleagues.

We look forward to our continued mission to build a spirit of community at ISR. If you have questions or suggestions, you can reach Perspectives at ISR-perspectives@umich.edu.

Future Know Your Floor Schedule

  • November 13 — ISR-Thompson Basement and 1st Floor
  • November 27 — ISR-Perry Basement, Ground and 1st Floors (New Addition Side)
  • December 4 — ISR-Thompson 2nd Floor
  • December 11 — ISR-Perry 1st (Original Side) and 2nd (New Addition Side) Floors
  • January 8 — ISR-Thompson 3rd Floor
  • January 15 — ISR-Perry 2nd (Original Side) and 3rd (New Addition Side) Floors
  • February 14 — ISR-Thompson 4th Floor

Back to top

Membership

How Members Are Selected

Members of the Director’s Advisory Committee on Diversity are appointed by the ISR Director, with the advice and guidance of the committee. Some of the factors considered in membership composition are:

  • Representation from all ISR centers
  • Diverse representation in terms of race, ethnicity, gender, age, disability status, religion, sexual orientation, and family status
  • Representation from various job families

If you are an ISR staff member or researcher, have an active interest in issues of diversity, and would like to be considered for membership in the DACD, email the DACD Membership Committee.

Current DACD Members

  • Becky Bahlibi, SRC
  • Li Chen, RCGD,
  • John Paul DeWitt, PSC
  • Jessica Faul, SRC
  • Gwen Fisher, SRC
  • Joyce French, ICPSR
  • Lloyd Hemingway, SRC
  • Minuet Henderson, RCGD
  • Jacqui Hinchey, SRC
  • James Jackson, ISR Director
  • Janet Keller, SRC
  • Sara Lazaroff, ICPSR
  • Maggie Levenstein, SRC
  • Lindsay Marciniec, ICPSR
  • Anna Massey, CIS
  • Maureen McGinley, CIS
  • George Myers, SRC
  • Jennifer Puckett, CIS
  • Sumitra Rajendran, SRC
  • Jas Sokhal, SRC
  • Rujuta Umarji, ICPSR
  • Pete Westhead, SRC
  • Jill Wittrock, CPS
  • Winnie Wong, ICPSR

DACD members

Friends of DACD

Friends of DACD assist the DACD with special projects or areas in which they have particular expertise.

  • Jamie Abelson
  • NE Barr
  • Carolyn Batts
  • Anna Beattie-Massey
  • Grant Benson
  • Cheryl Brackenridge
  • Amanda Brodish
  • Cathy Doherty
  • Jill Esau
  • Wendi Fornoff
  • Cindy Glovinsky
  • Chris Greene
  • Sarah Harrison
  • Anita Johnson
  • Shokoufeh Khalatbari
  • Erik Kreps
  • Laura Krinock
  • Shonda Kruger-Ndiaye
  • Felicia LeClere
  • James Lee
  • Helen Levy
  • Leticia Marteleto
  • Emily Merchant
  • Sela Panapasa
  • Angela Pok
  • Jeff Smith
  • Amanda Sonnega
  • Jessica Torrentz
  • Mary Vardigan
  • David O. Williams

Back to top

Resources

Included in this section are links to articles, essays, and papers that express a variety of opinions on aspects of diversity. The views expressed in these pieces do not necessarily reflect the views, values, or policies of the DACD or the ISR community at large. They are meant to be informative or thought-provoking.

Contributions are encouraged from across the ISR community. If you know of a resource that you would like to see added to this list, email the Diversity Committee.

The links on this page take you off the ISR web site. Select the browser “back” button to return.

Other Diversity-related Projects at ISR

  • Diversity Kiosk Initiative (internal link)
  • Mentoring Program (internal link)
  • ISR Reads
  • ISR Common Interest Groups (internal link)In response to data from the Work Climate Survey, DACD’s Perspectives Subcommittee developed the idea for these groups and held ISR’s first Common Interests Fair in 2008. The intent was to give staff an opportunity to meet others through shared hobbies and thereby strengthen the feeling of community in our workplace. The response has been very positive, and several groups are currently active.
  • Survey Research Center PAC (internal link)As an elected committee chosen to represent the Professional, Administrative and Clerical (PAC) employees at the Survey Research Center, SRC PAC is committed to facilitating information exchange and communication throughout the SRC and, when appropriate, to the Institute for Social Research. SRC PAC connects with others in the organization by sponsoring educational and/or informational presentations, staff development workshops, and opportunities for the staff to learn, socialize, and participate in community service. As an advisory group, SRC PAC seeks to communicate to SRC Administration the concerns and suggestions of PAC employees regarding work place issues. SRC PAC hopes to play a significant role in reducing misunderstandings between staff and Administration by serving as a vehicle of communication and offering advice to the Administration on staff-related issues.

Diversity-related U of M Offices and Departments

Articles

Other Diversity Resources

Back to top

Comments are closed.