ALC-Higher Education Subcommittee and Joint Performance Review (JPR)

Here today this is a joint meeting of JPR and hire it. Again we appreciate everyone being here there's another meeting at one thirty today so we're going to make this meeting very quick short questions and I hope short answers were primarily interested in hearing from the staff members administration who are responsible for the DEI programs we appreciate others that are here but again please primarily were interested in what the directors are the the lead people with the e IR for. I have a list of questions that I will be asking the members of the the people of the table. We're going to limit each group to about twenty minutes twenty five minutes we will allow for questions are from the assembly but again please keep your question short and if you would we can get a lot of questions in if you would limit your your question as members to just one or two questions. Senator hammer do you have any comments. Not sure light for the opportunity for us joined together for staff being able to help make this happen so we can um cases has taken open another committee in no time we appreciate your training. Okay we could move to item. But we're more more thing up on the viewer appear folks we have this is all available for you. Also to see you can look that up on your phone if you like through the agenda on today's agenda you can see all of this the the blue length reverend you to the exact spot in university policy. Uh that would be covering today. Senator jeff to pay are you planning on sharing your list of questions with the committee will just find out as you go along. Say it again now you search you have a specific list of questions yes for the bodies for the entities that are here are you planning on sharing those questions with us or will just hear as you go along with amber as everyone I remember the committee and I have some questions i'm going to ask your welcome to the chair you have a prerogative so obviously you don't wish to share those with us ahead of term is it is that what you're saying. I'll share them as I ask thank you that's all I ask thank you so much. Okay item see on our agenda. Is the discussion diversity equity with the universe university of arkansas medical science um if you would please come to the table. Thank you for being here and if you would please introduce yourself thank you. The. And. Could you try a different mark please. Is there someone that can help us get the my extreme. Think this was working. Remaining do we need to turn off the over here it may be the monitors yeah let's turn off the overhead if we can place and see if that helps. No. Is the temporary to get started i'm sorry I apologize. The. Test. Never got. Good morning i'm stephanie gardner and the university of arkansas medical sciences colleagues to introduce themselves. You're trying you're going to have to pull the mac up real close for about here and get it recorded i'll try once more i'm stephanie gardener i'm the problem at the university of arkansas medical sciences and now i'll ask my colleagues to introduce themselves thank you good morning and brian getting some vice chance of a diversity economy inclusion in university of arkansas and medical sciences. Good morning i'm christian starburg associate provised for students and administration at the university of arkansas for medical science. Thank you all. I'm just going to shoot through a few questions I hope they're short answer and at the end you'll have a chance to add whatever you want but i'm gonna dress my questions to your director of die if somebody else wants to wait and on those I understand what these are primarily for for them if de I required by your crediting agencies in all the programs where dei is implemented. The. There are several programs that wouldn't say all programs require an expect of DEI but we have several. C t s a which is error translates on research brand as well as our you know working towards inside designating the cancer center like so they'll other fellow refunded programs that do require it some effort are towards the diversity equity inclusion. The. And I realize there's not necessarily to defend a to answer to this because you have a lot of programs now all of a mar but essentially we we here and this suggested discussion you know we're trying to gain information what's the value of the eye in our higher institutions a win and house and implemented and there's a lot of us just aren't familiar with the expansion where it's implemented so again this is just for a discussion purposes and help us learn what's going on so when you look at your programs overall you have places where DEI is required. In those places where it's required you all have any freedom and how you meet the standard my experience with a creditation standards is that they're generally very general and nature and you have options on how you respond to those and I am what you have you implement those do you have much latitude and how you meet the standard. I think there is lately to how you need to stand but there's also tried and true principles on how you do there as well i've been in this space for almost thirty years now and so I learned a lot about you know how we implement things was the fact it was not effective and in the like so those with the standards that we tried to hear to and by the way just what is your background in the eye where you did you take every degree in that you have course work how do you get to be the ditty again. That's a great question I am mostly through experience so my background is noticing human resources a marine corps veteran and have done that while over twenty two years and higher education as well as some point a transition to die work probably two or three jazz go part twelve or thirteen years ago where I was swearhead hr in diversity I could include reasonably in a very serious virginia already university wisconsin madison and before coming here becoming advice chanced my background and training is an organization development change management and I doubt all degrees from george wise anniversity where that's what I study looking at academic leadership and high education they change management and I should talk in those spaces as well so I think about the I really is just changing a particular direction and when I look at. Organizations. That aren't as diverse local organizations there the headless gaps in achievement and things like that the question as the organization is how do we get there and so I applied or saying principles to meeting those issues. Okay as far there's no standard course work one takes and gets a certificate in dei there are actually there several with them taken well where the done is actually my certified through the mc's heating program which is okay so I am adding out certifications as well we talk a lot and dei about underserved. So if there's an underserved population who qualifies as overserved. I know you have a list of you have a list pretty primarily of underserver people right so what I didn't see a list of overserved well I think I don't I don't frame it is overserved and understand as serious served and underserved so when I think about them. Gaps will return in in health care disparities but I think about gaps with regard to achieving it things like that there's a artist as a baseline in my work is focus on closing those gaps between those who are underserved there was. Communist they don't have access to certain things and closing their gaps and there's parenty is what i'm looking for. Yeah there is pretty definitive list on underserved and you I think you guys had a list on your policy that these populations qualify as understand but I didn't see a similar lift for overserved. If if you don't have a very precise list of as you do an underserved but you don't have one and overserved. Ah it seems that you wouldn't have that lives also yeah I think it's just how you choose a frame it from me at least there is served as a baseline and they know people who below that baseline so I don't have a death of the line you're overserved if you are at the line your served in the entry below the line you're underserved. If I can get send to how it's one assigned to category you have based lines on things in your under or over there. You know it appears that and you have a twenty twenty nine plan and people that are listening all this is available on the overhead that we pulled down but you can look on the agenda and see those instances you have a twenty twenty nine plan that talks a lot about policy projections we ever go for our stair we have a goal for students to meet these criteria far populations to be involved and other involved when you hit it seems a lot like a quota system but graduate when you say we're going to have eighty percent of this and twenty percent of that forty percent of that how do you what's the difference between your numbers and what is a quota system because the supreme court essentially said no more quotas. So the way we've rammed our metrics with regard to success because again you can't have stras and things like that without having some sort of target so the target that we looked at is where a students are not staff in our vacuuty to mirror or line with the demographics of the state of arkansas so those are our goals so how does the. If you're going to have those. Uhm targets and that out where the policy calls and with target numbers I understand that he was one a line I didn't see targets on on your quality of yours faculty and the merit of your faculty or students how do you have reach those numbers but guarantee the public that you maintain high quality within that year your priority is having those i'm going to call him quotas targeting quotas how do you insure that you have quality there. Something well i'm going to call targets is that what we said were in the plane okay but. Sometimes there's a smith conception that you have to lower their standard that you have to change the standards to reach for those targets we've done nothing to change to standing in terms of qualifications where bagly staff or students to meet those targets and i'll alert my cheese trashy offer so dark gardeners were to speak a little bit too she's when the architects of the plan. And try the microphone again we do as dr getting indicated we do have targets to mirror the population but we don't do anything to give any group and unfair advantage over another group initiatives are really focused on trying to make sure that we. We expose students in all areas of the state and all sub groups two health professions education so that they will learn about it whether they're in a rural area of the state or there and that they'll be exposed to help professions education so those are the types of things we do to hopefully recharge target but we don't do anything that would give one group and unfair advantage over another group and I admissions or hiring when you talk about unfair advantage who gets to make that left. When are inmissions committees make the the decisions on who who is admitted into our academic program okay so somebody is making a decision that these people have an unfair advantage. No we are not we are not making decisions that anyone has an unfair advantage of missions make admissions decisions and they they admit students who are highly qualified into those academic programs regardless of any other factors maybe I misunderstood I thought you made the comment there we tried to allow no one to have an unfair advantage. So if you somebody have making definition over what constitutes a fair are not very advantage what I was referring back to your comment about quotas we don't have quotas we accept those students that are most qualified and rehire people that we fill our boss came there and that merit quality qualification is is static. Okay um. You know i'm interested in you are constitution says that all people are created equal and down by their creator where certain inhale inatiable rights. For life liberty in the pursuit of happiness that seems like it's a pretty good deal statement in and of itself. If there are created equal and they are all to have an equal shot at happiness which would be i'm sure admission in ums. What are we needed de I statement if our constitutionality states pretty much the same is there a difference. Yeah sellers are the oagree their cideal stay. Unfortunately we don't live in an ideal world okay with regard to everyone having equal access to you know having equal starting points and things like that. So what I was saying today. Why do we idea because I think about that a lot because I do this every day. Um when I got here some four years ago and I looked at some of the achievement gaps across the state regard to students and low social economic standing students for different at racial groups are in the like I noticed there was a gap with go to achievement in math rescribed to graduation rates and things like that and so I saw two bill some programming some access. Throughout pathways account in the live to try to close their gap working closely with the school districts and we closely with our parents across the state in order to do that figure out how we can so their problem because your ideal situation everybody you know we had that the means to be the same across these achievement areas retention rates will be the same but in and so why do we have a diofers I would say for the same reasons we have a cancer has to do. Because there's a problem then we're trying this off so i'll be willing to get really die officers when we solve cancer in which is just and there so you require dei statements of your staff or students. With we didn't add okay and due is that are your dei priorities across all divisions every part of campus live from housing to purchasing to procurement do you reply though the same criteria are are you applying to standard selectively to certain committees or certain departments. Yeah. We have the policies on antidashdiscrimination that applied to our programs but with regard to our academic programs are a creditors require us to address certain standards so there are academic program standards around diversity. Okay so you don't you don't apply the policy. If it's not required by your crediting agency we don't have a diversity policy okay alright. Members i'm gonna go to some questions representative crawford you're recognized. Thank you mister chair thank you for being here and when I was looking through stuff last night one of the things you asked you I am else had that. Her really right questions to me was that transgender guide to transitioning and gender affirmation in the workplace. That's got to be less than one percent. So my question is how much many are we spending on this how much time is included in what has been done with this. I can't answer your question without going back and looking specifically at that we will do that that we will follow up but I don't know the answer to your question about how much money or what percent time. Okay well yes I would like to know because our tax dollar money says you know. Our spread thinly and some of the areas that we are focusing on about that we can pull back which is part of it today so if you would get that to the staff and let us know what's actually going on with that I would appreciate it thank you. And by the way do you know what you're total budget is for diams. We have that no note so take just one second you knew that question is coming down we do have that. It may take a minute I can tell you that it's somewhere between one and a half and two million dollars but approximately half of the dollars there being spent by are office or funded by federal grants many of the staff that we have are working on programs related to pathways which is preparing young people across the state rural areas to as I mentioned earlier learn more about health preferentials and some of our dollars are again and start your gettings mentioned tied to our efforts around national cancer institute designation some of them are charged at our efforts to have translational research as part of our clinical and translational science reward how many staff file under that the eight. Ah. Title so within the division for direction across inclusion we have a twenty two people occur of which night and have or is tootily supported in the other eleven point seven or so I find it to external grants and okay thank you senator chesterfield you're recognized thank you so thank you so much having. Grown up in the sales where. Everything was segregated. Schools were segregated. Aggrel my twelve black schools ballot. Ballot. And growing up in those institutions the checks books that I received balance had to be at least five years old. Because they had to go to the white school for five years and then they came to us. And inspired of their we were able to go to college get an education now we're living in a time where we aren't doing that much better. Then we did when I was going up because the opportunities thing to be going away let me ask you this point like as any way still ever been turned down at the university of arkansas school for medical sciences in order to. Admit a black person. The. No may I am not to my knowledge he hispanic person no ma'am asian pacific island a person. American indian alaska neighborhood person disabled veteran. So you did our program is put there to say we are aware. Then in this stage deal we're making a ground. Would you have not turned down a single white person in order to admit a black person to your institution. That's correct thank you so much. Dental hammer you recognized thank you and thank you for being here to help us understand what better about the situation i'm just curious back when it was started where you approach to add the I or was it initiated by the institution was it required by law or could you just as far as the beginning of when die was instituted at your um. I've been at your mess for over thirty two years and I can tell you that as long as I have been there since before I was there we have had people that were doing efforts around diversity of equity and inclusion from the standpoint of working as recruiters in our colleges to try to ensure that students particularly students from rural and underserved areas were aware of opportunities and help professions thank you and I think this question was asked while ago but I want to revisit the answer to make sure it was answered that you reference to line go about setting the line could you on that particular topic was that like is the line established by the national standard state creditation institutions or who you who are credit you or was it established by. The institution itself. Who phones a conversation in regard to services underserved or is it john understand the question a while ago I heard talking about established the line of their current camera which would be i'll use that phrase and what is that line and how did that line get established or what is that line you referred. They're at your large allies are so suited line with regard to you know we talk about education gaps and things like that achievement scores with the type of standards testing whether you talk about graduation rates or college going rates and things like that and when I try to do the look at that the second is an average as a mean across you know various students in in arkansas but then I look at certain demographics and look at a student is from a lower social you can average a bringing things like everybody rural areas and things like that they are below the median below the arrange of that in so the line i'm talking about is having level of parity in between is it you know only been an arkansas about four years about when I came and started looking at the actual data there was an ex provider or beside department of education I saw that they were issues I saw their problems owned they need to be addressed and so identical of our efforts in a grand funding and things like that to try to work with the school districts to work with the families across the stain of raw areas of arkansas to close that achievement again to partner with schools that had never been part of it before to introduce students would never the people haven't sell an interest and then before with regard to exposure to stem education with the idea that it actually would raise the economic of standing across the stay and so will you think about these programs in the lake the idea is to. Provide everyone regardless of the express and diversity and opportunity to succeed recognized with it once the wild arises are the ships will rise. Okay and I noticed him when you responses in the question which provided to as such you're an eliminate the terms and receive diversity. Equity and inclusion you're gonna eliminate those terms from your. Looks like from your material. That doesn't mean you're going to eliminate the intent of the I or anything affiliate with direct so why would why would you remove the terminology. The question that I remember was specific to our college of medicine when we asked the administration what plans do you have with regard to diversity equity and inclusion the response back from the administrators that responded was we're going to remove the terms and I think or we're gonna remove diversity equity and inclusion from our nominature we have we are a responsible for doing certain efforts around ensuring that are students fill the sense of belonging and inclusion and we're responsible for responding to a predication guidelines so we will be continuing to do work to ensure those things but we're not going to have individuals with titles within that college of madison assigned to diversity equity and inclusion work okay so in one of the. C one exhibits if i'm looking at the right one it has list of uams division of diversity equity and inclusion. And if i'm looking at right or not you straighten out but it's got a long list of people that find that category with salary ranges from fifty two thousand up to the vice chancellor diversity equity inclusion two hundred and seventy two thousand seven hundred am I interpreting it right that all these folks that are listed in this exhibit are under the dei program that you amount. Yes sir. Okay and i'd I didn't do the quick math but all that is supposed to add up to how much did you say in response to the representative's questions while go it costs the fund to die it's the I believe it somewhere around one and a half. To two million dollars but again the majority of that responded by federal grants in case i'm looking at like seventy eight fifty five thirty nine hundred and sixteen twelve thousand all a hundred percent institutional eighty three of the vice chancellors is two hundred seventy two institutional if it says institutional that's what the institution is picking up was that yesterday that's nine point four fts okay and in my last question would be this. For what I was originally established for going back to the previous question that was years ago do you think that over time that die and the original intent for what it was a established to do has been hijacked over the years away from the original intent. To work now it has been expanded two to maybe have. Certain things attached to it that that really weren't part of the original purpose. There at least they have only been here a few years but I know that it has wrong over the last few years two enhance the work that has been done originally I recognize that they will be talking about engaging students is complex work that we need to get in some areas that we did who are end before for instance when I got here i'll just use our educational problem as a k twelve programs mostly search for eyes i'm around here in little rock and go without during now is I have nine sites across the state in overcome a line with our regional program campuses mostly that we're down in jones barrel spring down came down helena roll over the state when the first guy here we serve at about two hundred students a year now I set out last year we serve eight hundred and sixty students across the state not just in summer programs but corams throughout the year we actually keep these students too serious of a month for high schoolers and once early a month for our k to eight students we actually provide a professional development for the teachers and we actually every month we have of training for the parents of these students talking about things that range from eating well working that clono aren't telling you cook healthy meals and things like that to have you pick insurance companies we have programs with when we talk about financial literacy. The credit and things like that the idea the whole premise are the key twelve programming is not just to introduce students to stand education and possibilities that they never were before because you live in a local community is what they saw was with the c rate low paying jars factory work agriculture work which are great in itself though will we do was introduced into other possibilities as well right to stand and help careers the whole premise behind the uk to all programming and it was funded out too tanner is to break the cycle of poverty. Go because otherwise students will continue to see what they saw. And repeat those cycles who want to break their cycle and know there's other possibilities so. Yes I think it is some point in time they're predates me there was parliament nearly focus on emissions and things like thinking people the medical school and the lane but recognize that if you don't have college graduates if you don't have high school graduates you never have a medical school applicants then so yet it's an extended to include further upstream they were sure. Members were a lot at about thirty minutes but there's an important issue uams is an important part of our our state important to our states we're going to have got four people on the q and five people have to kick we're going to cut it also please do not ask any more nobody else push your low button there senator dismay in europe recognized for a question thing was chairman and in just real quick and I came in this little bit late and I want to make sure i've picked up on everything or understand things that I think what we're trying to do is have discussion discussion about three letters that don't necessarily mean maybe what is men you know brought out to be you know an in in current time you guys have had a and I think rightfully so had ADE program of some sorts recognizing and i'm i'm not trying to hook words in your mouth which you recognize there's various parts of this state that may be minimum minority majority areas or you know in poverty or whatever it may be just from me on the outside looking in you know a community can't not function or be highly successful if they do not have health care available to them. And so in recognizing that in just looking directly at your mission statement you have to recruit from those areas in it are you should attempt to recruit from those areas or encourage people to apply to ums and be a part because i'm assuming. The most likely outcome were the way to get people to go back into those areas is to recruit individuals to come to school go to school and will rock and then go back and take care of their community. In a hole is that not in a sense really what your der program is in. We can get be upset about the the letters but if i'm hearing everything you're saying that's what i'm hearing and I would be upset with you if you weren't doing that because it would be a disservice to rule arkansas minority majority areas in this date again will not be successful if you're not. Sending in a recruiting kids in sydney back in those areas to take care of their citizens absolutely have so good you probably need to see it up here with us when I appreciate their it will happen if we are certain listen I don't I don't understand what else you could possibly hear from our are a standpoint of setting and listening of what you've been saying what you're doing again we can be upset with three letters and that's fine but we shouldn't be upset because at the end of the day and just make sure i'm right even with all the recruiting and all the want that you have to make sure that we're getting kids out of those areas to get into the system to be able to send back if they don't qualify they don't get up in the line ahead of someone else regardless of rants or whatever we're not giving anything away okay we're just giving with providing approaching these very exposure to get to those students in those areas that you know that you just haven't had that and we think of our mission in terms providing health it's a longer room way but. You know I caused there been the space along time and at recognized that you had to be strategic about it and you can't get medical students to reflect a demographic of the state if you don't have undergraduates who reflect that you know if appreciation of the state if you don't have high school so he had to all the way back up with the hope go with the plan rather. Having those students so much a positions all I help officials and things like that to go back and work and support those communities because our mention is to provide you know healthy outcomes for all of our locations and the other ways we do that for all our kansas. Is by focusing on all our cancers. Thank you. Yeah I think that falls into the all people are created statement and again i'm just curious how I got there is the center where you finished i'm sorry are you admission scores far minorities and majorities similar. We no longer on our application. Collect race as a demographic fact i'm not just asking ratio you just describe underserved then overseas so are they underserved and evidently you keep those numbers because you're going to report on them in your twenty twenty nine so are the admission scores by the underserved. Comparable to the overserved as majority we have we have a lot of scores for almost seventy academic program so it would all depend on which program in which score were referring to. So that would be that would be a yes there are similar there are some there are some programs for sure where if if the. The. There are some programs where the entrance since I am score for the standardized test are different in terms of demographic groups if you look at all applicants that is accurate and again those students when they're accepted or are accepted based on all the criteria for admissions for that program with test scores being one factor okay with senator dismantling as a very valid point we want or created from all demographic areas of our state what we're concerned about is whether the standard is lower or some demographic centers for others that's where i'm trying to get and I guess the answer would be the standards are not lowered for any particular under representative of it. The standards are not lowered for admissions for any group okay alright senator flowers you reckon are representative flowers you recognized the argument start trying to create. Conflicts with me and my family so as we have heard so eloquently stated I think from senator disman exactly. Why you do what you do. And as we have just heard that there are no different standards between students who are recruited or exposed from different areas of the state and different groups. Why eliminate and you may have gone over this and so I apologize if I didn't hear it if you stated this earlier. Given how important exposure is and and I think we you you know I know how important exposure is to students on a campus to access resources. To so that they can be successful why eliminate. Dei and what are the issues with those letters and i'm clueless I said what that is. Thank you so much so i'll just be clear in this in the answer to the survey that was a responding for only college of medicine that run a new division for the routine equity inclusion so I think you're looking at changes and nomically during things like that within that particular college. Not across the institution but thank you and I would just follow up mister. I think the what i'm what i've heard over time and even in this meeting. Is that there is some sort of problem in different standard and out even i've heard. Uhm discrimination against one student over another. By defining this programs. To reach out to underserve students and we actually have programs that are specific to rural students and rural practice. Um which is very successful. We also and so i'm gonna say if you think then you can let me know if i'm on track so we can make sure everybody in the room understands some of these dynamics but. Um we also have in the law. That dictates that we would demonstrate preference. For instance students for arkansas students over. Students who might be applying to different programs particularly medicine. From outside of the state who might have better test scores so there would actually be some different standards right there could be let's say a veteran student or an african american student from california who might have a much stronger imcat score may be a higher CPA. But we demonstrate preference. For arkansas students is that correct. That that that is correct and it goes back to senator dismank statement that ultimately we are trying to be provide though health care work force for the state of arkansas so and we know that students that are from here are more likely to stay here in practice and as an as such we also through the rural practice program provide actual state phones. To dedicate to students who make a promise in exchange for scholarship dollars to stay in the state. Whether whenever group there might be from. Don't we make a distinction and say hey you're an arkansas student and you're going to stay in the state and we're going to give you. Scholarship finds those students might have lower test scores than other students as that correct. That's correct thank you those accepted those correct thank you so much. You know our society is evalving quite a bit and we have more groups showing up every week we people identify the different group. Again i'm going back how do you. Determine whether those are new groups that are forming and new identity center forming how do you determine whether they're part of the understand. How long that would fit with you so do you have is there a difference in the about zoom the m cat score is a primary factor in getting admission that true. One of several factors that are important okay so if you were to practice prioritising him cat score where with that far is as important I can't answer that question what are the other ones that are important. There are gpa from their undergraduate years there interview school or united states right there because now you have tremendous great inflation and you know that great inflation is happening across state of arkansas administratives that say an a and one schools completely different than another school so you're going to say that that grades are equivalent to him cat scores. I didn't say that I said the admissions committee makes decisions based on a composite and those include those factors yesterday okay then I asked what which were more important than it's all grades are equally important as the m cat score. I can't answer that question okay anybody answer the. I don't know I mean as to the emissions committee but you have a comment on the imcat score though they may we've got we talk about gpa's being inflated when you take about mcat scores which I can stand as tesses you in general this problem I agree sometimes depends on as suits ability to go down to hinting in account times and spend three thousand dollars apart right now into get the high m casco or so. Again I think that's one of the reasons which I use a a brother approach to our nations recognize and in all these magics where we don't mcascorate standard assessors when talk about the gpa's and things like that and that's why we talked as soon as in any voice and use that as a. As a metric as well as or recognize the no one metric is perfect do you know what percent of your. In a students who are in rolled have a lower m cat scored than those who are. Denied my message that reversed I want to know if what's a different students that are scoring high on the m care. But then you have students on these other four five issues. Are they admitted ahead of kids students that have a higher. In m care based upon those other factor of it again we look at composite scores we do know that students that score well on standard us test scores as an undergrad store score typically well on standard test scores as a graduate student and so forth but it is a composite. Senator it's not one one factor that we look at comparison would be similar to subject. There are some subjectivity I suppose but there's a big we try to be as objective as possible we're looking again at multiple factors as all the questions we have this time will probably do this again in the near future you have a closing statement on someone and you could please keep it to have two or three minutes. Yes. I just wanted and described at the fact that. Right where I took on this role here some four and a half years ago the chance of the advertising and a drama research and things like about the state my family grew up in virginia and the lake so I had some of the merit with the southboat. It was to try to for all occasions really to solve these gaps to solve these issues and has some good ideas we have beginning very successful and against traction on some of those ideas and that's why you see any or a staff and extra more funding and things like that because they're the founders and things like agree with some of those good ideas and we were able to expand a scope from just a handful of programs here a little bit too serving in the tire state I have pretty much with nine different size looking forward to next year serving twelve hundred students and families and things like that so the breath is has changed in the like so i'm looking forward to continuing that work and contain their positive activity as serving of all our kansas in ensuring they all have access to quality education with the ultimate goal I have increasing the health care work force having a healthcare work forced to reflect the demographics of the state and improving the health of all our cances thank you thank you very much ums it's important to the state of arkansas we appreciate the job that you do and educating our doctors and healthcare professions many of them and we again we're just trying to learn more about what the eight does if you could could you get us a list you said they're multiple factors in making that admissions. Process decision am cap being one could you get me a list of the other factors and maybe a waited list this is this is easier than top points in either of the lower ones or if they're all equally important this let me know there okay thank you sir right thank you thank you very much. An item two i'm sorry d is you alr those folks here and if your present could you please come to the table. And now the microphones are working if you at all introduce yourself we appreciate it. Yeah. To like come on all right my name is melbourne beavers I am the university equipment and inclusion fellow at the university of arkansas i'm also an assistant professor in the department of rhetoric and writing. I am erin fenzer i'm an associate advice chancellor for academic affairs and also the accreditation on officer for you a little rock. And i'm johnny lee and i'm the vast chancer for university affairs. Maybe I guess the first question would be so what training did you go through to be the get the esteem position that ualr. So when you say what training did I go through are you referring to degree okay so I have a degree yes I have several degrees actually in the eye the well we don't offer a degree in the but my doctor degrees and higher ed administration my research as an assistant professor and my department has been in a diversity equity in the commission okay this looking for the credential you get plenty of credentials to be there and doing what you're doing thank you. Just kind of run through some of those questions you have your crediting agent so if if this were do you a crediting agencies required. And do you have any part two do you have any leeway and how you achieve that standard that would eliminate de. You a little rockers are credited installation only under the higher learning commission and in addition to our institutional crediting body hlc high running commission we have thirty three program level of crediting bodies that we answer to it is common for a crediting bodies to include core components or standards the touch on dei and as as an individual crass self study when it's time for a evaluation from there are crediting body they will speak to it because it is a self study it's a narration of of where the institution is where the program is that we certainly have flexibility in terms of how we go about answering that and freeming it and so there's not a prescribed there's generally not a prescribed framework for how they question there's not a clear prescription you have some leeway definitely yeah okay and. You speak to thee particularly in your social work program you have a quite a number of policies and references to dei that we don't see in other areas of your pro other programs. So why does the dei component so heavy and social work but it's not heavy and other teaching teaching engineering other programs you just don't see the language there I don't know about the implementation but you don't see the language in other programs like you see in social work why is that. Oh I want to qualify that I have night. Read up on the social work standards because they are they go in depth however I will say that the last time that you a little rock was rear credited. Under the council on social work education it was in twenty twenty um in that was under the twenty fifteen standards these were recently changed in twenty twenty two and so we have not gone up for reaffirmation under the new standards as was discussed with uams with needing to provide health care and and and social work kind of following under that rubric as a helping profession social work professionals need to be able to serve. Any kind of human beings and so I am going to surmise i'm not a social worker by training but it would be with that same ethos of care that social workers as professionals need to be able to serve any kind of person and so that's why you would see that more than perhaps in in an engineering framework. Yeah I heard what you said I don't know that any profession has a responsibility to the public to be more empathetic or sympathetic in any other profession here what you're saying but I don't add it to think through that a bit more any other comments on that i'm not qualified to speak to that okay neither of the if I could add certain solution on the social work issue I think that if I remember wrote there is like ten statements that come out of the accrediting bodies information they had a all social work programs that are credited under that are asked to respond to it incorporate and a lot of those concepts and I think from the two fifteenth standards and a lot of those are going to be in the same bc and every social work program in across the state and cross the country and a lot of those have not changed or in the last there were some that appeared the slast go around that had specific you know request about diversity um but that goes back along the way I think if he would trace back the social work and objectives the the fact that they need to be able to sit in a room you know what they need one and not bring their own you know sort of backgrounds or whatever into the situation is is a key component of the social work design yeah I understand that you have an in your plan you talk a lot of the plan talks about the policy talks about social just as far you're well demonstrated so I shall just how do you evaluate that. I'm not sure which plan you're referring to server who are your policy I think in social work refers and maybe the journal the deis it's kind of embedded in the programs a lot of your standards require and look on the thing to find exact question but they. They imply that. The in order to be if the class will and people will demonstrate that they are completing social justice are they are we'll be able to express social justice how does one do that. Well it's probably it's my understanding that there's probably some leeway with what the students are allowed to do what what kinds of projects they take on is as part of the social work submission as a part of their goals and they're learning not come through their students the is embedded in that but again as a smart colleagues here have just stated. We would certainly want folks from social work here to better represent what those goals and outcomes are of their programs I have to look up some of those questions because it seems like or your programs are asking people to achieve certain goals. But I don't know how you quatify when one has achieved that call when other people are asking questions look at the specific example. Out of the same question so in our constitution seems like our rear would want to promote what our constitution declarations say. And we talk about all people are created equal and and down by their creator and life liberty in pursuit of happiness which going to would why do we have a dei policy when we already have a constitution that. Then really focuses on that priority of being created equal in a right to happen as why do we need it. I'm not familiar with the new specific policies that you already require. Okay. When you say required to do I would what he mean requires it. I may have misheard you but I think I was using your words. You probably were so. The maybe I rephrase the question in our constitution it says all people are created equal and and down by their creator and life liberty pursuit of happiness that's what it says dei seems to. Compare itself equally to their parallel to that. That believe or framework. Do you have. My I am not following you sir okay i'll come back with a better question I couldn't respond to that just shortly I mean I believe that that if you read our mission statements as institution and look at the units as it's doctor friends are said I don't think you a little rick has a specific depolicy but we certainly work to provide access to all and that you know come does we have a very diverse student body we are a very diverse institution and that is something that we seek to try to create more ever to create your space for across everything that we do that's part of our mission to serve that any anyone as you as you're saying anyone that comes to that so you know you have a again the social work program is pretty well infused with the eight language if that count of language if it's that important in social work is it equally important in other degrees that you offer and if so why isn't that same type of language incorporated there. I i'm i'm not tremendously familiar with the social work curriculum but I think maybe mister beebers can answer that disease over d I across the curriculum I do want to point out that the state of arkansas requires that social work programs via credited by the council and social work education in order for its students to separate license or so it seems like the state of organs are also values this accreditation. One at that different. Point the point I make a surely value of the accreditation we absolutely couldn't work in other states or be work in the state of arkansas will be certainly value the accreditation but you credit people in many fields but you don't see the same language in other fields and other course work. Could you so I think part of part of what I need to explain here is the weather word that we do the little rock i'm the chancers diversity equity inclusion fellow so part of my responsibility is helping to coordinate activities overseas certain programs and essentially basically trying to get a better understanding of what the looks like on our campus generally different departments are going to decide whether or not they have a responsibility or if it's in their interest to i'll use your words use the language but that's not a requirement that's not something that we're state that's that's been. Sort of imposed on departments and so while we can answer what we can in reference to the social work program i'll just reinerate that the social work folks probably need to see that this table. Okay. Sent to hammer you recognized for a question that miss chair. Maybe this is a tag on to some of the previous ones but if die is to have the same objective regardless of whatever course. Why is there allowances for deviation from there. Maybe even a creditation requirements from the crediting body it would seem like there would be consistency across line whether you're in the engineering program social work program nursing program or whatever and and yet what I hear you seen is maybe and maybe a not is different crediting agencies are planned different requirements under the dei umbrella and and help me understand why because that would seem like we could get the same all over the place away from what de was originally established for. So each a crediting body for a discipline is an independent body and it's composed of a board of directors who were subject matter experts and they create the quality frameworks for their fields based on professional standards that they agree and then as dei comes in it is going to be valued differently and different disciplines and different professions and so I think you see that reflected in the in the frameworks as as we kind of saw with with the UAMS panel that was up here for over thirty years there's been an evolving cultural conversation about what I culturalism global citizenship and then di diversity equity inclusion becoming the buzzword in recent years and and we see a reflection of that discourse I think because it is part of a larger cultural conversation disciplines professions wanting to be responsive to what's going on in society what's going to make economic impact what are considered the best educational practices and standards of the day so I think that that's where you see this coming in like you need discourse and I study discourse or professor you know it follows trends it follows what what's basionable it also follows data science so all of these things are are are figuring in does that answer your question what it does i'm not sure I like the answer but I don't understand and the reason I might not like to answer. So we are being held. Two standards of an accrediting body. That is not. Where does arkansas get a seat at the table in that accrediting process because those terms fashion trans all that kind of stuff I mean that's kind of like you know which are way the wind belows that so where the accreditation body can go and i'm not sure I like the idea being tossed to infro by every wind that blows along so where where do we have a seat as far as their crediting bodies and us has stayed saying no we don't want that that that's not what the I was originally standard for it's been hijacked it's been taken away we want to get back to what it was originally intended for i'll speak more to a creditation here than to dei and I think d I could be used as any right now we have i've been working a lot with senator english on work for education and looking at economic development and and higher it's role and now in the state that's also something that's very to use the word trendy or fashionable right now but also the impact is measurable and I think it's very important so we have all of these different things they are going that shape what quality frameworks are going to be with a creditation i'll try not to go down a rabbit hole here but with the creditation it's it's an interesting sometimes there's a decision involved in whether or not to work with a certain crediting body and sometimes there is not you a little rock for example has four or five programs who the profession require response with license that a program be a credited buy a certain body for its students to sip or license your exams and be eligible for license there are other programs for example music and theater we've recently let her accreditations go in those areas because. It it we can ended a cost benefit analysis it didn't make sense to continue paying in writing towards in a crediting body when we could do an eighty adhe program review which is just as robust in terms of continuous improvement and looking at the the program II don't know a whole lot about I know the higher learning commission has its own quality frameworks for how it has equal representation and I think we're seeing again speaking to trans and fashion across the country where states are coming in florida north carolina and saying let's look at a creditation so I think II guess that's what you're doing today right so each discipline each profession it's unique institutional accreditation is required by the US department of education so that we can as a the institutional bodies are seen as proxies so that we can receive federal financial aids that are students actually can receive federal financial aid i'm so that's coming under a federal jurisdiction but the the a creditation landscape as we know is is changing very quickly across the country as it's it's part of this larger again i'm gonna use the work cultural conversation because i'm a nerdy academic you can see the what we're doing right here right having a dialogue about the value of a creditation with higher education cape last question meteor state while while go the the choice of ulr and who and and within that you have to based on the program you have to be affiliate with different crediting agencies like the social workers mentioned. Your choice as to who you choose to as long as it doesn't threaten the federal funding you have choices out there as far as who you're going to go to four year crediting body. My understanding is that we do not have a choice with social work and the license seen bewards and i'm not familiar enough with the law but it is state regulation that we have to be a credited with this body in order for our students to be licensed as social workers in the state of arkansas so not to be a credited under this party would mean that our social work program would be worthless because students of that program bradwards of that program couldn't be licensed to practice in this date there's no other crediting body that takes care of the social work program one I mean they got the monopoly on the market in the state of arkansas and does that body would be something that varies from state to state it varies from discipline to discipline. Okay thank you thank you. Okay so i'm jamming kind of back here as in your hand student handbook it says oh and I would ask why the goals of the program it says that you will engage in culturally affirming practices with diverse populations how do you measure that mister beebers. Are you speaking to the social work programming. The. I'm not aware of how social work is measuring their outcome through their students as a release to the I know that you have said you're the over the I am developed for the chance of office and part of a part of what I do for the institution is again coordinates different kinds of functions that we've had on campus provided those opportunities for example we celebrate you we've invited several speakers asking very specific question or I don't I don't know that it is well it's it's a specific question about social work and no one here is representing social work okay a fair enough okay we need to call them in a there's not not trying to put young spot i'm just you're not looking on the spot I am answering your question to the best of my ability but what you're asking me II can't give you that information I can tell you what we do for the whole campus right to have those kinds of cultural celebrations or so that students can get access to those kinds of things but when you delve into a disciplines. Outcomes in their measures or how they're measuring those outcomes. Our office is in keeping track of that okay fair enough okay so when you have questions like that the social work department will advocate on on behalf of policy change you wouldn't know what policy change their advocating on then would you ever I could come it to him we were we asked about them the need for social work to be responsive based on the one of the exhibits that you've had in we weren't told that any much more social work department needed to be here today so we're we're very were very limited and what we can add and and speak to specifically I think answer correct clearance because I would think is if you're the overseeing these programs. They say they're going to advance human rights social economic and environmental justice they say they're going to look for policy change they're going to support inform professional development plans found in the handbook so there are number things specific to that program that are asking. A question is that I don't know how one measures interviewer oversight if you have oversat responsibility I would hope that you would in the future ask how they're going to major thanksgiving students are going to get a grade I get rated on how they're achieving these standards I don't know how they do that. Senator chesterfield you're recognized thank you so much and good morning welcome to paradise last let me just ask you the same question I ask the previous body has any wide student ben turned out. For it mission because you wish to. Um. To admit a black student hispanic student. An indigenous person. An asian specific islander. Dias become a majority of in this committee for some reason and or we continue to confuse the declaration of independence. With the constitution. Because nowhere in the constitution does it refer to all men being created equal it is in the declaration of independence constitution stairs we the people of the united states in order to form a more perfect union. Established justice. Insure domestic transquality provide for the common defense promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves in our plasterity we ain't high. In the cost of the preamble to the constitution and get in that same constitution when it was first promiliated it allow for salary then speak to it specifically but is there and now here we are in twenty twenty three asking that you. Eliminate perhaps and a crediting body that says if you were in social work you need to understand the differences among people. Because equality does not exist. This. None of us in this wrong are the same. We are all unique we come from unique backgrounds and so therefore the world of social work would require. That you appreciate those differences that are so very much a part of the society would you agree. If someone were trying to former more perfect union not a perfect one we need to understand that all of us while we are created equally i'm not the same. It's only look at the eei programs are you going into college again are you going in the high schools explaining to them what they need to do in order to be able to meet the the objectives of this time which should be there everybody was it looks like this state. That the individuals who were in this day and in these professions cannot look like the state of arkansas. And so wow dei has brought on so much anchored among individuals at the same time I responsibility is this. Their arkansas will look like arkansas it's education for its children. In this economic development. In this social welfare in its healthcare it shouldn't look like arkansas but there is never existed in arkansas. Never. It I appreciate you being here and no email and hear that no white shall has ever been turned down because a less qualified black child. Are his manical. Or indigenous child or asian pacific island a child got a leg up can you speak to that. Thank you very much. I can say that in twenty twenty when the higher learning commission did our reaffirmation visit these were not in the written comments but one of the things that were right to our attention and are closing interview with the fact that our demographics add you a little rock did not match those of the state of arkansas either and student population or in terms of faculty in staff. I don't know. Thank you thank you. I can agree with most of what the senator said my question to them asking or how one evaluate stores for example it says in your policy it says that social work education is grounded in the liberal arts and a commitment to anti racism diversity equity and inclusion which together provided intellectual basis but the professional curriculum and information design those are all lightable things I wonder how you were so it's not whether or not there's value to those items there is how one value stores but will be calling on your social work program to come in and talk to us about that and hope you'd look at some of the curriculum items they have here in a big land share them with you on how those are evaluated again that placing a value on the item but just how one evaluation. A. Senator jansen you recognized thank you mr chairman and I might remind a doctor finisher that we are i'm over here on your left hum might remind you that the historical mission of your large man urban university and you can't be. Until recently and certainly am everyone there were no dormatories and I don't think you can compare the state wide institution that reaches into the south east and the delta with the urban university that's not a criticism is just a statement of fact that would affect any demographic view of of your your student body at any given tire. You mentioned the requirements are for de from your crediting bodies and I believe even the the ms people mention from their grant funders. And have they modify their electric to both bodies have they modified their requirements since the supreme court decision on june twenty ninth. Twenty twenty three and if they have not have your son any guidance from them of how they're going to do it because let's be honest with ourselves here this is not a debate or something that the general assembly is going to do to change the law the supreme court tell us the summer what the law ears and it was not welcomed in some quarters when they said this is what the lawyers but have you done anything to turn back to these crediting bodies or your funders to say what it was as decision how does this affect the gardens that you gave us prior to that date. Senator johnson and I think I get answer that relatively quickly that we have not a issue really I got it's ourselves to the campus for their implementation are the response to the supreme court case are they say to say we're still sort of going to waiting period of getting that gardens from some other federal agencies as to how it might impact other areas that weren't addressed in the supreme court case and are also general counsel's offices providing going to be providing more gonna store so we don't know yet exactly what that full impact would be and we have been indicated from several agencies that that would be forthcoming so in essence it's in process and let's find that that's a good answer thank you mislead now on this issue and it we can came down on social work and i'm not going to pick on social workers at school social work but I do want it to say that you lose it to the state regulations on licensing of social workers and requiring a creditation from certain agencies that's when the arkansas statute is at night. I don't know where that is found I should have to do some home worst that sense it's a stayed against either that giving that licensing i'm sure that my point simply being that general assembly could change their if it was a policy the state to make sure that no crediting or not a crediting a licensing board or or entity in the state I was discriminating based on the decision on june twenty ninth set correct that's corrected and I mean it may not be written in a state law but it certainly probably is then regulations or rules procedures that the state agencies might have promotated credit so i'd respond I appreciate your coming appreciate to cancel your answers johnny you know I have some problems with turning over the policy the state of arkansas to outer state a crediting agencies especially if we're trying to find efficiencies in higher education which let's all be frank with each other here it's too expensive applaud uca and a issue for some reason things they're doing to try to keep it affordable for our eighteen year olds to actually go college if they want to but when I see the can of things that you know twenty two people at eight. An institution just involved in der and one of them making over three hundred thousand dollars here I keep thinking we need to be able to come up with some efficiencies and to have a threat of a agency somewhere else telling us all if you do that that's going to put your creditation in jeopardy I recognize that's the real world and we have to live with it but that doesn't mean that we can't push back and end require these are crediting agencies to also follow the list of supreme court just tell the same way so thank you for coming appreciate your beer thank you mister chairman for laminates question you know how many staff you have who work fall under the dei on the payroll. I think there's only three or four that have some part of their responsibility that is dermined those or go across our promo stereo or academic area to the position that doctor be hers falls into which I mean it's a small part of his his are actual position and then we have an hour student experience center we have a person there who's proper predominantly her time is devoted to activities across the campus dellow for multiculturalism to be explored you know with a total salary for all those folks I mean the whole I think expense we have is probably less than two hundred thousand across those positions it's built into the people's position not a full time okay representative makes you reconnect for a question thank you I use it fine right here from so i've got term to questions and I think you've already answered part of the second one but the first one I know we've kind of been poking on social workers here but are there other acanemic fields that are kind of the focus of these types of programs or is it broadbased across the entire spectrum of degrees or there are certain ones that you guys kind of focus on it and then the second one is how do you determine success and these programs the other programs are you are tracking student retention rates student grades what are those outcome showing you and if not why you're not doing it. Representative mixed can you please clarify on your first question. Can you restate that question please yeah so like i'm under the eye programs are they focused on certain academic areas like we we've been picking out social workers is it just strictly for social workers or are we you know at mathematicians and engineering and you know education studies is that it is do these programs apply across the board or there are certain focus areas that you tender focus in on with these programs person makes I think that it barries of course and there are obviously some disciplines that I doctor fringe or spoken to where that may be more prominent because of the skills that the students are having to gain to be able to work with various populations obviously and you know a lab technician so there is probably not going to have that same so those displays maybe less so effective by the ers but maybe less of an emphasis in the accreditation standards for those I think that one important point of sort of make about a creditation across some of those disciplines is there is a lot of attention to making sure of that students that haven't historically been presented in those builds maybe still related where you know women have been less prominent so some of the der you know elements there are written to try to help make sure that that accesses is I looked at more fully so I think that may be the aim and some of those areas that you would see across the disciplines as making sure that the the yam the employment in the the skills that they're going to be getting and the jobs that they're going to be able to go into I think of construction management for example on our campus where your lights better predominantly mail oriented industry and you know there's a real focus they're on trying to you know have more women coming out of this build in minorities. Of our car and so I think that that's part of the dr principles and knows a creditation areas is to make sure that that's happening and then there are the second question is is do you track the success of the programs and what you define a success how do you determine the outcomes because as you know we've mentioned a lot of money is going into these programs how to the taxpayers know that they're getting their bang for the buck if you will. Are you a little rock we keep my tricks that are publicly available on all kinds of student success measures and everything from grades to completion different ways to measure attention. You name it we can track it in our system interestingly the question of success is being engaged right now by the higher learning commission they have a working group on what is student success and how do we measure it cause I think that that it is an abstract term what does that mean or does that mean in twenty twenty three when we have the metrics that we do what are the ways that we can use our data to see that so I think that's an ongoing. Discussion that we are certainly keeping track of we can splice and disorder however so and it can get an add on necessarily expect you to have these numbers in front of you now but is that something you can get to the committee you were you can say students there participated in these programs versus want to have not where were we see you know you know have point higher great point average the chances of them staying the full four years is ten percent greater do you have any of those numbers that we can quantify the impact that you were making through these programs. Oh measuring the impact on the programs when you say these programs speaking specifically to do our programs we'd have to have a way to isolate the dei programs kind of as it's as a unique variable but we are able to track for example we can take a student who has participated in a certain program a certain intervention and then in our system twin them with a fake student if you will who has not and see what the probabilities are so their ways with predictive analytics that we can address that if you wanted us to call that kind of data we'd want to work with you to get a really specific business definitions on how to go about pulling that data so that we would know exactly what you're after I will basically that I mean the students who participate in these programs do they tend to be more you know. Brazilian as far as finishing four years again the retention peace do they actually complete their programs do we see higher grade point averages so that that's why i'm after about is is what is the impact of these programs on actual students I would be happy to get back with you and work with you all on looking at which programs and how we can how we can pull that date in our system okay cannot add to that representative cause I think that we would want to clarify and look at and I think it is complex but the academic success through you know their degree programs but also student success and retention and staying at the institution a lot of that comes about some of the activities that doctor beavers works on is making sure that you know students that are that are a non traditional students our students that are first generation we we have a real attention to that at your to make sure that those students do stay and they retain and they ever able to complete their degrees support a lot of what we're doing on the descale at their activity level is to make sure that all students feel like they belong and have a place and that they are able to achieve what it is that they're wanting to do from their hurried and johnny right but which is all i'll go in right and i'll just add to the as well so when you're talking about the programs and what putting social work aside you're not necessarily going to go for example to my department and say oh there's your death program but what you will find is that. We're diversifying the curriculum right so we get to see where bringing in different authors who have been who haven't been historically represented as much and so when students get opportunity to read each folks that look like them that have had similar experiences to them that helps and stay that helps them retain and that helps them feel like they belong at the institution so it's representative since you so I just want to make sure that we're not confusing labelling things de programs and then asking for measures of those programs when that's not really what. Is in a discipline or a what we're calling a program it's it's a broader spectrum of different things that have been a large impact in the impact is that students are stayed the institution okay alright thank you that we were talking about measurements of student success I think right now across the state little rock and colleagues in this room. We're all bringing in a lot of robust holistic ways of supporting students for example from here team to emergency funds for students who need them one of the initiative that arkansas leading in the country is on math interventions and so really want evidence based interventions with using multiple measures placement with correct was it models and interest with these were seeing huge jumps in retention and our numbers in those are not. Dei programs in the sense that we're not doing like we're not doing multiple programming here but the outcomes are real we're really seeing big results in terms of student progression and retention so again when we when we look at these things we want to see if we can isolate or you know are we just doing our jobs going back to serving all students and making sure that all of our learners have. Have reasonable equitable opportunity. I think I have programs are really good I mean you're trying to make sure everybody's comfortable in your environment in their student but it looks very diverse and you're trying to make sure everyone is comfortable have heard talk with asu folks several times about what belonging met and you know I have a better understanding of what they're trying to achieve and I appreciate your car met about you know what you're doing with the program is being diverted in trying to get our students to stay yeah a fee in your this kind of speaks to it just a little bit promoting a culture of respect are you having the of a diversity council. And you will improve diversity inclusion equality and global understanding in the campus community. And that's so you have a diversity how do you determine who gets to be in that group and what is the who are the people that are not diverse. So anyone can apply to to be a part of the diversity council that's just it's not a set sort of cap on this cap on the amount of members that they're on the cancel but it doesn't necessarily mean that it's we're keeping people out so if if you wait employee at you a little rock and you want it to be on the diverse the council you were submit an application and say here the reasons why I want to build a diversity council and then the folks that are there would evaluate that and then we that that we determine who who's going to be on the council then who's not and it could be any number of reasons that could be in part based on someone's research it could be impart based on someone's what they you know what they're saying about what what diversity looks like to them and so it's not a it's not about excluding anyone it's about if you want to participate in this kind of service when there is opportunity you apply to do that the america so you should all guys would qualify pretty well the cheap. Represent I have got two people on the agenda. Representative flowers you recognize thank you mister chair doctor beavers I think that based on your education and experience you might be are sme here are subject matter expert. In some when it closed this question to you because we've heard a lot about what dei was originally established for and then and we've also heard references to the supreme court decision. And my understanding i'm sure it's limited about the supreme court decision was essentially. Umm overturning affirmative action as it relates to admissions now my experience is that dei diversity equity and inclusion. Um programs and resources at academic institutions and i'm saying academic institutions because my experience was steeped in my role at ua but I worked with. College is universities high schools all over the state. So di efforts might include. Before a student is admitted or goes through an emission's process and after a student um comes to a college recruitment academic exposure academic and rip in richmond exposure programs private scholarships and then some of the cultural awareness programs that you talked about. Can you give us some clarity on what di was originally established for understanding that it might have. Covered different terminologies and then sort of what it is now cause i'm really clueless as to how this is more into something than it was originally intended for and I think in order for us. All of us as legislators to understand sort of what we're hearing from you what the committee might be trying to find out we need to be clear and on the same page as it relates to these terminologies. Yeah so I would I will view that through the winds of you literate that's where I work that's my institution and I think that. For all of us we can only think locally about how we be how we're responsible to to our student body through our faculty to use there so when I think about what the original intent of diversity equipment inclusion was compared to what it is today the only thing that from me that comes to mind is and that's this is a consistent thing and it's a term that there is first flowed flowed it throughout this chamber today and that's understanding so diversity to me is making understanding more visible it's understanding your lived experience versus mile lived experience senator chesterfield said that we're all different in this chamber we all all different in this chamber and that's not a bad thing that's a good thing and so for me diversity is about awareness it's about increasing it's about action if you go to any university website and look at the definitions of diversity equity and inclusion it would probably be really different that there's probably a through line that that's similar and for me for our institution I think we all can attest to try to create a space that is more understanding for our student body and for our faculty in the way that we do that is by the activities that i've mentioned programs that we've talked about here today trying to make sure that our student stay graduate fine jobs so for me die is about that understanding peace and I can't speak to its original intent necessarily but I can talk about what we're doing at our institution currently and again as I said from me it's about creating that space where understanding is scene and is visible. So earlier you all talked about. How. You made some changes with regard to a creditation and your arts programs and how you don't have to apply for it same level of accreditation as you might for engineering or as you might for social work. And. Are you would you agree that. Um diversity equity and inclusion programs and activities might look different. As an urban institution that accepts students from all over the state and has a very large minority population of african americans as well as a large population of people who are urban twelve. Versus um sau magnolia. You know and then also i'm am I understanding that dei programs edit at an institution might look different. As it recruits students and works with the different academic programs. Because your focus for example in helping with. Your math department might be hey do you have a diverse fabulousy are you are we engaging are making fabulously feel like they belong in this whole institution same thing with students. Vs the actual subject matter in social work. Which and i'll just share this really quickly I think a lot of people. Don't understand the distinction between the psychology sociology and social work but. I'd like to clarify that and make sure I am correct I just looked it up. Social work is work carried out by trained professionals with the aim of helping people who have social disadvantages or personal problems. So. How do either affect in the language preparing them to be licensed for that work which might mean someone who is a professional at dhs dealing with foster families are dealing with people who are impoverished or what have you that might be a little different than. What someone who doesn't have to be licensed they might become a mathematician and work at a university so all of those activities might look very different. In the way of programs academic enrichment. Exposure recruitment versus affirmative action and admissions do amount understanding that correctly plan internet I think so representatives melbourne l now I mean I really do think that for us we really come at a lot of theirs from the nature of the students that were serving and were very conscious of the fact that you know students may be coming down that haven't had the support network not no matter where they're from if they're coming from a you know predominantly you know agriculture you know place in the state or place that's more urban closer to us that they may not have had that background that experience before coming to us that they need to be successful and so you know it we are looking at students that are are version their family there are non traditional are coming back into the work force and all of those things I think I think the way we do the ear is very diverse um and it's sort of speaks to who we are and I think in a melbourne would tell you that you know what he does is gonna be different from white individual staff person might be at another campus and a lot of that is because of the nature of how we are how we look in you know how we have other brag on our faculty that I mean student caring and you know being able to work with each individual state and to help them be successful I was speaking to one of our social work back on the last week and you know she was kind of describing to me how she would sit down with a student and help them they might not be being successful in an internship because they've discovered I may not want to work in that environment or I may not want to work you know with individuals that are having those sorts of situations and the the factory members job is to help them find the place where they will be able to be back successful and live within what their values and there. You know they're sort of a experiences that that's the faculty members job to help that student figure that out and so yeah we want them all to be able to go back into their community or into organizations in feel like that there you feel passionate about what they're doing interrupted for a second year folks we got several people that drove along way today and we're going to try to be how to hear about twelve thirty and we get several to go so please attempt. Short questions short answers sort of possible we haven't started any bad and speaking I don't want to do that but again let's try to be as concise and specific to the agenda the day as we can thank so I would agree with your your statements segments represent florida thank you. There to have and you're recommended thank you senator solomon mister chair hi so just a little bit of a different direction here are you familiar with act for seventy that was passed as passed session arkansas didn't do process and protection act. This. Okay. Yes I am a okay well I want to think there's a few of attorneys in the crowd that helped me craft this legislation so thank you so if you're not familiar with that I think you need to make sure you're familiar with it because the dei officers traditionally what we have found are the ones that are in charge of the student disciplinary actions and the hearings that are conducted you may have a different part of your campers or a different group that does that but for me and this is just a question that I would ask everybody that comes up so if you're in the audience you want to take notes sometimes this is done through the dei officers and our title nine because title nine is the grant funding that I think that you are probably are relying on for your officers and sale and the reason why these land and dei offices is because of that grant funding from title nine and total nine is where this policy was found at the federal level and that has caused some consternation across campuses across the country and so sometimes it's lands in in those offices but so just I II would just like to know these are the questions that I would like to know if you don't have the answers today i'd love for you to get them to me but how many cases per year are you at judicating through on your campuses and then percentage of expulsions or display display actions and then just give me some stats on like the length of these hearings and then if you've revamped your student policy based on this act and then if you've given that to your students because that's part of the the act and then any training that you've done with your people on your campuses as it relates to this new state law. At a interested in. In that are in so you may not be able to speak to all those questions but it's something that's that's very important to me and does involve the di officers yes center urban weight waited at place that with nrde of what dutch beavers works on again we don't have a office of der so at our campus the dana students office is the is the area that that's usually an interest you're all going to be held through and I know that they are going through right now rework in the policies and looking at the procedures and you see and how we keep files because the the reporting mechanisms are going to change so I know that we've been working really closely with the general counsel's office to do all the ad in it we can get you those numbers do you have an number of years you're wanting to see that over are just like last year I mean just like the last two or three years would be fine I mean II just I kind of just want to see you know II think. Depending on what's happening sometimes in society this is kind of raged I would just say I mean we we sign up tick all across the country during different types of times of our culture society but so just I would just like to know that from my perspective I know that we'll have those files but just yeah real brief information would be great for me just so I can you know II just want to bring people's attention to it cause it's so critically important to these these cares I mean are paramount officer is in a different area but they work with this process and that's you know we we have a total nan folks that are trained across campus to work wasters like there's a one in our athlete apartment and others where they're trying to work in help when there are cases to be here to be looked at someone we can get you know yeah just thank you I appreciate it thank you for let me ask the questions. This. Therefore the questions we have if you'd like to have a closing statement or take a few moment almost close out had fine appreciate you being here. I think we cover most everything yep thank you thank you next on the agenda is balanced a law if you are here and you'd like to come forward please do. Or when I need to pull up another chair senator solvent. Thank you for being here if you would please introduce yourselves. Make sure the red light come here you go. The. Good morning i'm calling crawford i'm the team of the bow in school of law. The. My name is jenningrow john i'm the deep as sustainable dean for soon affairs and diversity initiatives. Good morning andrea comings associated for faculty air distinguished professor of law at the board last week also the codirector of the center for racial justice and criminal justice reform. And i'm still johnny. Thank you just get hit get a pretty quick idea how many positions do you have the deal directly or indirectly with de policy as it mentioned in your policy manual senator we only have one that deals partially with dei that would be in growth chance position it's a credited to about twelve percent of her time although she informs me that she actually spends less than that okay and you know how many did do require classes are training for staff or students in the ear. We do not the american bar association are professional creditor does require an as you may know because of their recent dea rule that we have some curricular matter and I mean by that it doesn't have to be a course but there has to be something that addresses disuse broadly understood in the curriculum but it doesn't have to be a course the understand their you have a. Law creditation to be an attorney has quite a bit to do with your creditation. Is that correct so they require you to have certain dei components then in order for a student to graduate and finish all their course work they have to take those courses as demanded by your professional association that's that well again it doesn't the standard does not which is a relatively new standard and per question us the msports earlier it's not it's very very general but it doesn't require a course it requires that over the course of the curriculum there be some dei related experience early on in the first year and then over the course of the degree it doesn't indicate the quantity and it doesn't require a course but that some material be included so how do you decide that it's dequalified when the di seems to be pretty ah nebular and there is no straight lines to draw around it so maybe have you ever had an experience where they said no that doesn't qualify I personally have not i've been in arkansas in this position since july third so but I have been in similar positions and I watched this rule of and your question is an excellent one and frankly i'm on deans list serves nationally and there's a lot of frustration with the rule because for exactly the reason you noted a previously at bowing in the first year of the rules applicability uh the d e material for first year students was included in a course handled out of the career services office that has been taken away from them this year and our curriculum committee is currently in order to comply with the rule trying to figure out where to put that material so it's very much your still in action don't seem like the reason. Supreme court decision on admissions I was. Narrow in one respect but it could have brought in because implications for other areas well that supreme court how will that supreme court impact how. Bowing are. Does what they do I will at all impact you what what you do well as your question suggest were when I say we hear I mean all of us in the country are watching how the the the opinion might extend to other areas but for the moment I can tell you how it's affected what we've done the and I don't want to get I have to get a little bit into the weeks here but the way that almost all last scores get their applications is through the last school admissions council that is students and materials to the lsc and they then distribute them out to the scores that the students want to receive them previous to this year applications typically as students to identify their race ethnicity and so on there is no an option by virtue of the supreme court opinion to suppress that information when it goes to school submissions committees in order to comply with the opinion we have suppressed that information now I should emphasize it still because of the aba and the record reporting requirements at schools are required to give of the result and ethnic and gender breakdown of their classes it still gets collected but it is not coming to the school at the time of admissions and so it's not being considered. So got a text message from one of your students as he wanted me to ask about the program and soiled. A program that first year last students are required to participate in could you tell me about that what's it called. And SOS I l o e d I think i'm soiled. You can. Well if you turn your michael is he's not expected to know everything about what the details of it he's already mentioned the program that he just mentioned that went through the current services office that were no longer using. It was called and say load and I think that that's the operator and towards the goal of the program. I was not. Well were you I wasn't involved in it but I know a little bit about it so the again this was the schools response immediately after the aba roll came down on dei and as I understand that the school hired a professional organization a national organization I don't recall where they're based but that does dei corporate trainings and they came in and conducted some exercises or did it virtually both for reasons of cost and because we've rooted it out of course services were not doing that program anymore. Okay so again that this to you have quite a bit of latitude and how you respond to standards like that yes that's correct okay representative makes you recognized thank you and thank you all for for being here and and i'm sorry i'm horrible with names that the gentleman on the left when we need introduced yourself you'd mention something about so fall justice there could you kind of expand upon that and how that kind of fits into this whole conversation what that is what you do and so on a two years ago professor and a state of balls and I found it a century pull that close up to a compulsory two years ago professor answerables and I found it a center for racial justice and criminal justice reform the purpose of that program of the center that we created at the law school was to provide academic research for historically discriminated against an underserved populations in the state of arkansas since founding the program we've received grant funding from walmart. From the arkansas community foundation from facebook and from with her broccolor and what we've done without funding is we've instituted a state wide court observation project and enhanced community policing project need judicial listening series and a pathway program so with that ground funding we've provided opportunities for our students to engage in a court observation and enhanced community policing projects we have a pathway program that provides opportunities for communities that have been historically discriminated against including all communities the rural poor communities of color to come to the law school and take else out preparation courses and up in up up through today we've had seventy five bones to actually paid by walmart to a gauge in these programs that are meant to ensure equality and fairness throughout the state in what turn this is kind of a little track ramic trail here I appreciate what what kind of results are you receiving from you research curious yeah they are great work data collecting currently and so I hate the same but but june twenty twenty four is when i'll be able to answer that question okay as far as our date of being released our pathway program has found great success more than eighty percent of the students that go through our pathway program improve their else at score and through the day we have had about fifteen students admitted to law schools throughout the country including bowing and fair bill that have increased their else outscores to the point where they have been admitted to law school and are currently matriculating all right thank you thank you. You have interstatements by the way folks we are going to finish today we're going to take a break as soon as bowling is down and will come back about forty five minutes later and finish out and know a lot of you have traveled I don't want you to have taken another day and come down here so we will finish today. Are back to born it says uh how does boring squirrel large demonstrate by concrete actions a commitment to diversity in inclusion by having a facility in staff that are diverse with respect to gender rates and at this ethnicity and accordance with your credit standard two of six so I don't expect you to know every accreditation standard but in general you have one judge though it's things that you achieve a certain stand that it sounds like quotas. I would respect senator I don't think it's a quota and I don't have bin involved in aba accreditation visits on the creditor side I don't think anyone separate looking for a quota what they're looking for is a good faith effort to show that the institution is making an effort to recruit a diverse faculty and staff as for staff we follow the same rules that you a alarm or any university of arkansas system entity follows and with faculty we just make a concerted effort to try and cast the net very broadly frankly are recruiting challenges pretty extreme for financial reasons but we make the best effort we can your fair answered thank you and several places in your policy it talks about racial and social justice and it mentions it's pervasive in the state of arkansas. Can you give me a few examples of. Racial and social justice efforts at the law school is that the question is if it's pervasive it would be the law school also but it talks about how racial justice and social justice is a huge problem in the state of arkansas give me examples of that as the as the newcomer here and my different to deem coming so i've only been here a little over ten weeks if you don't have any offer and you need to get that I understand but it's it's pretty it's in your policy and quite a few places. One of the things that that is true across the country and certainly in arkansas that is it students of color are unrepresented in law school and unrepresent under sorry under representative in law schools and under representative in the profession so the population in the united states is approximately fourteen or fifteen percent african american and yet lawyers nationally are only four percent represented so that's a racial justice where we feel like agreed with their I mean it's pretty obvious with the makeup of the student body is but it says that. There's rate your policy talk about racial justice are in the state that there's racial injustice in the state and social justice in this day so outside of born law school can use that examples specific examples if it's in your policy then I assume you that would you believe. That racial and social justice are big problems in this day can you sit examples where that occurs yeah I was just trying to insane that in the state of arkansas the pathway program is meant to address the the racial in equity and the number of law students that become lawyers of both rural poor both communities of color and so one of our efforts to eradicate social injustice or racial injustices to bring more students of color to the law school and more individuals from the delta and from rural regions so one of the efforts that we make is. We have we cast a very wide net and trying to recruit students to become a part of the pathway program so that they can ultimately overcome the obstacles of the else that and poor undergraduate educations to get to a point where they can come to law school and become lawyer so that's an example in the state of arkansas trying to bring equity and social justice or racial justice to the number of lawyers that are unable to enter last fair enough but yeah that's not what the policy says the party to ask about how the bonus call alarm will address those issues state wide but doesn't uv implements are you be included because your part of stay but it's time with where the policy says is your. Treat teach your last students how to adjust this out of addresses state wide center I think I am understanding your quest a little better now so I think I can give an example of something we're doing something i've been address addressing in my time here in lots of meetings i've had and that is the rural justice gap as you know there are many counties in arkansas where people don't have a lawyer to provide basic services to prepare a will to prepare divorce to prefer a guardian ship so we have efforts that are aimed to serve and this I think fits the definition of social justice it's trying to give the access to justice are delivered to voice clinic for example as it's named suggest provides that basic services to people in an underserved area of the state we have a rural incumbent or a project that frankly sell rather dormant during the covered pandemic but there were now trying to revive and in fact I just finished an application the arkansas bar foundation last week requesting money to help us with that and the aim is to provide lawyers with seed funding in a network to help get them in underserved areas of the state so good information part of what we're doing here is trying to be informed and learn what we're doing when I see those words that I have no concrete way of knowing what that means but you provided that they're appreciated senator chesterfield you recognize for a question yes thank you and thank you for being here today i'm going to ask you the same question that i've ask each of the institutions has any way student bended night access to the born school so that an african american hispanic indigenous or asian pacific I understood and could attend that institution senator chesterfield the answer is no and I might add that even for a pathway program switch don't serve bowing specifically the answer is off so no. Thank you. Is it true that individuals was more money get more tutoring to pass a largest. No but students don't get money from us no no i'm saying that in your experience. When people are preparing to take l sat or m card if you have money you can get the tutoring that helps you pass the test it is a barrier from any students and so it is a barrier because an economic socioeconomic justice deals with economy yes the economy is much as anything so if i'm as poor as joe's jerking and am and I don't have the world to pay somebody to me. I have a good chance of not doing as well on that else said if somebody who has the money to have the tutoring which you agree all right I appreciate everything that you are doing and I appreciate yourself very very much for being here it is unfortunate that die has become a prejudice. But we have a commit we hopefully have a commitment in the state that we will lift. All of our citizens so that they are able to achieve as much as they can regardless of the race to create or their social economic status which you agree. That that is our mission yes thank you thank you so much thank you mister. I have no more questions here on the board you don't have a closing statement or comment you'd like to make senator I would just say in closing third I think it's very important for two understand that at least at the bow in score diversity is interpreted very broadly we have an initiatives that sort of veterans a large number of our students black white brown or first and found me to go to college or graduate school last school and in addition we have a large number of older students parents are demographic is not typical of most law schools and for us diversity certainly addresses the historically underserved categories of recent ethnicity but it is also much broader thank you I guess the question that uh continue to struggle with its how to if you have an underserved population and you can define that clearly which I assume you can. Then how do you define an overserved community well I would echo what the people from you on a set I believe it was that it's not overserved but some are served and then others and again we have you know I would go back to the excess to just as challenge that arkansas in most rural states have there a lot of areas of the state that are not served by lawyers and so that's how we begin to identify who who has access who doesn't okay fair and I think you know a lot of what we're discussing today have to just be some addicts you know how to you define the words that you use and and what is that translate into an activity and it's really helpful to day to hear what some of those actual activities are in the situation that you face within the school we appreciate what boenda's and appreciate you being here thank you very much thank you. No I think next in our lives and folks we're going to travel. I thought we'd wind it up after this when we'll go one more and I think next on the left is a. University of central arkansas if you're here you'd like to come forward. The. We will save asu. Till after large year process of. You can make it. Thank you if you would introduce yourself please. Certainly thank you senator houston neighbours president university central arkansas. Jeremy gillen director of government affairs for university of central arkansas for your all heard you get the advantage of going towards the end you've heard a lot of what we're talking about you have statements where people have the sign of statement that they'll be true to de in your loyalty os of any sore no sir any trainings that you do with staff or students that would have to do with. What one may classify as the broad spectrum of dei. No trainings that are required for enrollment no trainings that are required for. Initial war continuous employment okay and. Uhm you have any admissions criteria. Haven't this is a more confused on their centre less into some of the statements that. We have. One would think that admission testings would be a priority in getting in school so you haven't tested you take a couple of tests that you take and that is the primary reason you get admitted now I hear that there are whole host of the admissions criteria that one can prioritize as they want with test scores being one of those so how do you had as one qualify to get into uca what was most important do you guys will use primarily standard as to a score of acts et and or gpa dancer questions ask earlier the supreme court decision had no impact whatsoever on our operations. You probably were the only ones that may be able to say that way to go. There. Yeah well if you I mean if you're admitting on on merit. Ah I need you got a long way to achieving that goal and it sounds like that's what you're what you're saying you do you you look at what they're merit is and what their needs are and admit based on those criteria. Um. Just looking at the and bring this up again at the risk of uh starting another conversation but. You are constitution in principle. Talks about and the declaration which is a basis for our constitution. Putting it in words and law. So it talks about all people are created equal and you know the rest of it and we've kind of gone down this dei roo. How do we get there from teaching what our constitution it seems like we moved away from the principles into the er how do we get there. Why is it true. Neat respond I may allow the steel under spine as well I think that much conversation about underserved I think under representative is under representative is a better phrase to use I think certainly i'm historically on there have been groups that have been under representative on college campuses and they're being efforts of recent those under representative groups have been mail them very difficult to find mails on the college campuses veterans low income but we call the murky metal middle income non traditional students so by all means I think that what are we doing to be able to reach those under representative populations and to me that's how hard education is living out those ideals that are in const. I would just say that as for as we're concerned I think we view it and in my discussions with those on campus that we view having a statement or any kind of. Yes effort to have this on paper throughout the campus is sterling is merely a matter of just reinforcing the principles that you discussed earlier that are stated in our founding documents. He seems like under represented and I think that's a good point representative or under there's primarily over representative to population but you know that seems to be very selectively applied. Do we do it in like we heard about in social work it's very prevalent in other academic areas it's not in special activities in your sports programs and band and all those it didn't seem like the eei and the overrepresented and under rip are the representative and under representative are considered at all. You mean you look at your are at elected teams and they they seem to be a. More rep some of the under represented or the majority so that the definition of who is represented in under represented. Is kind of moves it's a kind of a moving target you understand what i'm saying. I want I don't know how we dexide what. It's represented and under represented in the various aspects of activities on campus how do you decide when it applies and when it doesn't. Well I think in some ways the state government of federal government certainly require a lot of reporting are from us on that and not just in recent years that's certainly an entirety of my professional career that's been a standard thing at all fifty states i'm after report on and certainly from an athletic standpoint for for title nine. Sort of balancing distribution I mean that's a very common practice I think that. I would say. When I look at our uca student body whether we undergradually graduate fact I had senator chesterfield and senator hammer enrolled on our campus i'd be interested in making certain understand what their goals or what they were interested in getting from the experience and they count as two of almost ten thousand different perspectives and I think that's having a mindset that were not just monolithic in the way we approach our student body is very important to build make certain that those two students are served okay then you have to feel you're recognized for a question yes thank you mister chairman. Don't davis former speaker gill good to have you here i'm gonna ask you the same question i've asked everyone has any way to been tonight access so that you could so that you could enroll a black hispanic indigenous or asian pacific I understood at the university of central arkansas no way. Would you agree i'm an old sort of studies teacher so I am as I hear us continue to refer to our founding documents which are among some of the most outstanding documents I think in the world but they were created by imperfect people which you agree or knows i'm in perfect i'm not going to understand because as we look at the declaration of independence and the greatness of the rating of thomas jefferson we still realize that at the same time he was talking about all me and being created equal he was a slaybonger. When we look at. The constitution of the united states we recognize then when we restablishing how we were going to deal with taxation and representation we count it black box s three fifths of a white person for that reason so. We can learn from what we've done in the past. We can learn if we study it that's why civics are so important and is so lacking in society today. But as we look at the denour it still it's become a majority one we're actually saying years we don't try. We may not make it. But we're going to try not at the expense of anybody else. But we're gonna try. Is there how you define it or is my definition incorrect. I think that well how about that turn your question into what my response when we talk about the campus what is that mean. It really is it's it's diversity is or late to student success meeting our students where they are it's couldn't we doing to be able to retain that student to be able to help them make that bridge between the opportunity to enrollment to getting that degree it is about community it is about engagement it's about making certain every single student knows that they matter whatever their background is and that we appreciate. Story they bring the table and their stores gone part the narrative you ca as they leave with the degree so I think it's that it's the involvement in its support that's necessary to make certain that our community looks out for each other as we are trying to change students lives by getting him that coin in the realm to get that degree that we know can change their family it is not in our best interest to have students who are not on a career payer. Going to the military. Or tending an institution of higher education and we are pockets of this state that a so poor. And that could be turned around a great deal with education. Which you are great and are you are you recording in those areas. Oh the state. Yes may I am in a promise I didn't tea this we have a big part of what we're doing with our you see a commitment programs trying to change the entire narrative that's happening in all seventy five counties it doesn't matter rural urban suburban we only make certain families know that you see as place of opportunity and that we're going to work with those families if they can meet our nation standards we're going to work with them to be able to get that again that coin is around we know that degree can make a huge difference for those standards we're having taken course work there it is made a difference for me even though I gradually from the school across town but it has made a difference and I thank you so much for working with the young man who was the first in his. In its family to go to school. You have made a tremendous difference in his life. And you didn't break the rules. S these people seem to be thinking it didn't break any rules you let it mean because he had the wear with all to do it but he needed that extra hill. Because he had never filled out paperwork before. That would allow him to get into the institutions sometimes it's as much as they add and so just want to say thank you for thank you very much thank you missed you. Senator hammer you're recognized they was shared too quick questions you've never ever denied anybody entrance regardless of race green color anything else other than on the basis of questionable academic successes at is out of first statement. So drama but near the small seventy or not that I know of okay so for us to begin to pick and choose color racist creek coach all that kind of stuff that's not even relevant because you've never done that term to anybody either by choice of by lower anything else so I guess the second question is this. When it comes to a population on your campus that would receive the benefit of the I support. Because they have been determined to have had fallen into a die status or classification. Educate me on the process of that determination that now this group or whoever you are going after in any of the safety five counties just help me understand. How you was an institution make that determination sure I think that's that's about meat and a student where they are i've waited family is on for barefax days of the day that. Their faith was very important to them so what were we gonna do to make certain to connect them up with our faith based communities we got students that come to asked it they've got a maybe they've got the. The way we traditionally measure academic achievement they meet the admission standards but they know that they've got some level of disability that needs to be able to be served in me met it's that to our student affairs student life soon development staff in the distant for a park of that work to make certain to meet students where they are to get them connected up with the necessary supports that they need get students to come to us that they want to have a greek experience I got students that don't care about that they just want to be involved in living learning community so we get students that come to us that want to be a part of a pyramid tour program of some sort to be able to be connected to a junior singer you know upper classman is there starting their experience with us so how are we connecting up each of those individuals with what they need we just reached the six week mark in our fall semester and when I talked to the student on our campus I always as in the exact same thing in my freshman house or fall going and if all they tell me is what they're getting out of class that usually is a red flag for me because i'm hoping they're talking about some group that they found i'm hoping they found i'm something to be involved in if we don't have some way to be able to point to that sort of extra curricular cocoretor but extra curricular activity then that's a their risk for retention in in stopping out there so. All of our it's active fair to student affairs at seeing tire operation uca it's on us to know that soon body and be able to make certain their student doesn't get lost whether they're a first time freshman or there are transfer steam coming in we need to make sort of get now to all the various programs and services that are campus hands it's not always maybe as you traditionally might think of die with the reality is the diversity of our student body just like if I took the two of you as our students you got different needs different activity needs different student life needs how can we get you connected up to what you need in your life to make certain that you filled home so we changed to like a business you know depending on what their model is some in some educational institutions are are downsized in their die some seems to be holding flat some seemed to be going up. Just your your comment about it you know based on questionnaire you've got quite a bit invested in die. How does that advantage you are disadvantage you you think over institutions that are our downsizing their platform or officers and thank mr. I think that. I don't know that I would characterize the institutions commitments towards student agent student involvement based on what they included in the survey but I know that the things that we are are able to to put on the the doorstep of our team that's involved in the hour gets a mix on some of it is related to certainly that the diversity engagement are working with under representative communities but it's also about stoon like student affairs and working across with academic affairs to get those students involved in everything I would personally say all. Eight thousand roughly undergraduates and almost two thousand graduate students they are all involved with something that's about inclusion involvement community and if you want to put all of that under the banner of diversity then we got a whole lot of people in our campus that are doing a network I don't want to diminish the role that any of our faculty and staff point. So couple of very specific questions when you have the properly. Arkansas racial equity and social justice challenge. Can you explain that. Yes sir so that I remember correctly that was that was a state level initiative the the role out of the partnershire in the state that is we were celebrating ml k day and thinking about what will we do it about community and inclusion I think that was a commitment during the month of february worry that there was going to be programming although out the state and I think that we were a certainly for any of our faculty staffer students that wanted to take advantage of those opportunities who want to make sure they were aware of their great and again this is a trend the learn worth yesterday's right now to both hope i'm speaking about the great yeah and then you also have the center part equity to learn the equity to learning series. You talked by the guess it's a department of education. About the centering centering equity learning series. If you're not familiar with it okay that's not better be careful speaking that because I think I was directly involved as far as outreach and that's a conference that they will again it's it's individuals choosing to participate okay and you've got a the part of it warning with the purpose of the education equity page at the college of education can you explain the I would have to i'd have to take a look at not probably would ask is the same thing with education of private flesh development or conference opportunities that backhaully can choose just by their or not the only thing you have the inclusive teaching and learning. Can you ever word to say about that and we can visit off line about it it's just interested in that probably as there are ten I think so and and I think one thing to know about some of these programs is is that they're not ongoing programs it would perpetuity as the challenge you mentioned some of those were one time tap occurrences because of partnerships with outside entities and things that came about so not all those are okay enough I have no more questions on the calendar here up on the page they'll have a closing statement or comment. Just appreciate your time and attention because it will i've been educated and I appreciate it and that you're excuse thank you. In folks we're going to keep on rolling here and they would get done rather than leave and come back. Who's next. The. Yeah university of arkansas you're next on the agenda if you could come forward please. The. And if you would please introduce yourselves. My name is jim jigantino on the vice provis for academic affairs and a professor of history. My name is randymaster leon the vice chance over government university relations and i'd I give you an opportunity you guys have made some big changes in your DEI program so survivor to say you've. I wouldn't want to say I guess eliminated it correct. Well I could be fair center I would call the central office yes some colleges that still have a diversity president but centrally yeah you no longer have a dean of diversity assistant date of diversity no longer have programs that are specifically labeled diversity you don't have a budget that includes staff who are um represent diversity. You don't have a student groups that are about diversity that are being if you used our are essentially done away with could you speak to their which we actually did well yes certain they're probably our student group southern we don't direct student groups what they can cannot do naturally they they are their own governments we do our central dal office where we advise chance for government for for diversity equity inclusion. Uh we eliminate that office and we have we also have organization card the ideals institute which will cease operations in december thirty first of this could you pull the market will be a certain story and it's I think it's my length of my body but to wherever an organization called the ideals institute which will cease operations on december thirty first of this year it's solely because they're finishing out a grant that they have legal requirements went to the grant. But what chance around some dead was I guess to all the morning i've heard this. Of the route nothing there. First of all I think everybody defines diversity differently thinking behind this for a week salem separately we would have to find a separately or differently for sure. But what what we did know what he did was to put those assets to reason those assets into two majorities student success and employer of choice. The big problem worse since it was so hard to define it was being defined so many different ways. I think that carried over on the campus as well so if you have an office where a lot of students think that office wants served me. Then then office paid and exist where do you put those assets where people know it's students now that they serve the entire campus community and that one group two groups for six groups or average you do that and that confusion was real on the campus so that that was basis of his. Decision on that and he had previously served as a diversity officer which her but I think it's been wildly reported. And when he did it I think it was he and one I say here the staff assistant and dark rams and so. I guess his mission in that at that point was what do I do when he had that job and so he went after a student success and we created what we called the act academy decree. Um better outcomes on act and senator chesterfield alluded. Uh to the question she asked. Act academy and people do well normally don't have the fines to train to do it. And that doesn't know race it doesn't know agenda meeting is a social economic status they just can't. They just don't have the ability or the financial building to take that taste or get tutoring in our and that's where he focused it and he felt when he became chancer that's where the focus should go back to basically meeting where and we've heard just several times about meeting students where they are in in arkansas for us where the land grant we're supposed to serve every student in this state in poverty in access go hand in hand. And we thought we were better structure that moving those assets had of what we called version I could inclusion into those two areas and specifically i'll give you some examples of the student success jobs one would be to purely monitor commuter students we have a ton of commuter students in northwest arguments all we down to to subashed in county as well who don't have a lot of means can't live on campers. And when you have a baby campus like that they tend to get lost in the mix because they're getting in the car and driving home we found out they weren't retaining as well. Be looked at their social economic services it matched up right with it. We had a major difference we have a major difference in our in our graduation rate for non pill students in our pill students. And it is over twenty percentage points in that there is a language institution that's embarrassing and so what do we do how do we move asserts to help those kids and again several people have said it tell economic status does not no agenda does not know a race so that's where we we decided to put those assets in the same thing with employees we became employer chores are turnover rate is close to like twenty five percent there is a lot of money. When you figure out you're trying to bring someone in trainer often. In some of those jobs also went to help manage someone's career so it's easy when your advice chancer like me I say easy but you kind of know what you're doing but when you start off in several jobs on the campus there is no procedure progression plan for you. And you tend to get frustrated in your job right and we had desperate he's even on our own campus what we're doing a study of okay how do we put people in job families how do we do better than because if you're an admin assistant most say in the walton college you could get more money than the admin assistant in the fall right college or in central and trying to not download those barriers they are in create pathways for people who they know a few stay with the university of arkansas here's what your careers gone look like we don't want to lose you to industry and we do I mean it's a good problem to have a norwist arkansas and from southeast arkansas and. Hear about them I think about mass section of state. They not have that they not have that problem you know that's there's there's no jarming you touched on. Social economic and social justice and all that i'm just kind of pre answered if I can it really is putting training people to go back to their communities and try to get those communities off their own their feet because they are hurting we all know that people in this room represent several rule counties that are dark doing near like northwest arkansas oh maybe our overworded all that but that's the basis of what the decision was about to meet students where they are his doctor davis said chance to davisor president davis. Will get let me ask you a question again we want to all go have lunch later on so I can occur to the chase some of what we're doing just seems to be some addicts that you have. Nat necessarily change the function you didn't change the function you're doing the same things you were doing under the eight but you've reappointed and maybe realigned your priorities but we just don't use the same language as a dei and i'm asking a question i'm not the answer but is that how much of this is semantics and how much of it is function. Well I guess it's both certain because it would go back to our first statement I think involves and hope how do you define the what is university there were inclusion but we didn't. Wouldn't move people in name only they moved in job to serve all the students so if you were doing training and if you were doing trying just on gender you're not doing that training just on general you're going to crane everyone right. Now i'm not saying that always happening but yes semantics but operationally I would say we move those to what my earlier comments were about better serving the student body in i'll give you a good example take the university of arkansas. The students over the years have gotten more a flut. And more white quite honestly. In that's not representative of arkansas we have a four percent african american population our campus when our state is fifteen percent. The would the langrade were supposed to look like the state and we we want we aren't right so do east target and so okay we're just going to come train you because you're in african americans no you're in african american student in several these school districts were training all of you and there were reaching out of all of you so it's there's thanks that I think center hammer to ask how do you recognize you know how do you track these things if you look at the graduation rate for certain students that we would say under representative in there or social economic and lot of them fall into race categories to their graduation rates lower the retention rates lower. And. Drums and fell he couldn't spend the amount of money he was or did campus was in one office which we felt was more specialized we'd rather put that out to serve all the students in the slave so yeah that's a good point you've mentioned several times. The idea of serving all students d I seems to to home. Characterized students are put him in a box then there's higher defined and you know whatever that is gender race whatever those categories are and instead of that you're saying we're going to base that just on need regardless of what you're your qualities are an identities are we're just going to do that on need and that's that will be the determiner so how does that affect a student to have our student and I want to be taken out I feel like i'm under representative are represented and I see in order to be a part of this I have to fit into this category and I as a student don't know if I fit there or not so how does it affect students when you openly. Say an advertised a program is available to all versus only available to students who meet these categorical qualifications how does that affect the kids. And I would say that's up to the individual kid but fear asking me and probably all of us in this room probably let's see in some way that looks like them would be a a big way like I can say that all day long but if we don't if or not recruiting our students are poverty and when you do that naturally under representative whether it's a minority those were expensive those numbers go up but also training that student to let him know where resource for you we don't use the act for admission standards we use great point in of course you've got to take the act to get a lot of financial. But we felt the great point was a better indicator however. Many of those students come in and a got. Prop promises in math and all because they didn't have the best teachers in the world so we deploy out what we can change our consultant teacher cords of thing that we were kind of like teach for america but it's our version of it all over the state to try to help train students in these poor poor school districts he and we I guess you have to walk your talk the best way to i'd say it's sooner in where we're behind on there and the way we see it when you look at our campus in so you know we we committed to keep in tuition low and we all talk about texans and on top of several year and here about it in we use their money and all set arkansas tuition we've kept arkansas tuition flat for two of the last three years. I mean that's that's not easy to do in this dropped us down into very competitive right in a state in super competitive and ac so I think a lot of these things are how how what are you doing right to a track students to date do they really believe what you're saying and they believe that you're going to made him where they are a student and comes on a campus like a pearl student and they have a job does not get the same campus experience if they're working thirty hours a week. Then an affluent student who's in greek life. So what are we doing to help with their and part of the thing I think uca in article state should be applauded for what they are doing it's in and we're working to the same thank or langrant scholarship but not where they are now but those are the tight programs that I think speak to all of arkansas would they understand that your serious but what you're saying. President of jeff appeal to your recognized is your speaker on center. Who haven't called under second we're trying to get it. Can you. Close it out okay hit your button again there we go okay you're right I think raining you are really know my question. I've said it enough. Has any way to do and been denied admission so that a minority student could come to the university of arkansas is the three point OK we go down two point eight we don't care speaking of over representative you hear that area where you have a great deal of overrepresentation of minorities as cow sports. And. It's amazing to me that we phoned students when we want to. And we've managed to find a number of athletes. Who are machine agreement we want to some wondering what the commitment really is because we know and certain parts of this state we have teachers where not certified and help that waiver is in place they all have to be certified. Yet they're teaching our keys and we expect the case to have the same outcome as a person who has studied in that particular area that's an area but how is it that we manage to recruit all of these fantastic air fleets. Who are over representative over representatives for his racist concern and we do there. Money. I mean you know that's its full ride scholarships and last week we're trying to get and I think that's commitment and I can't speak for their school using uca and a issue that we're we're working towards as well because we are committed to making sure that we have the best athletes possible. Yes may I told me you wouldn't bring it up after this weekend well it's it's it's been disheartening certainly but not for lack of fighting. And so i'm proud of the boys were continuing to fight to try to be better and I look forward to having will talk about offensive coordinators and other another time but I thank you and I thank you for being here is just a great concern to me. Uh that the landgrade institution that is the oldest in the state of arkansas as a four percent minority population a source during population is concerned easily ideal it is embarrassing to me it may not beat anybody else because as we talk about mirror together mirror type receives not based on necessarily merit little can afford to have the most married. Thank you thank you mister center I can just add one thing you talked about at least we talked about the money that the athletes back in two thousand and fifteen we built a jerry jones student athletes success center for tutoring for them and all and dot robertson was in student affairs he then became provosing was committed to doing something like that for the rest of campus in and now we have a student success and are in of course to scale it's not you know you could it would be massive but in in that program itself it it allow students all the students that come in there and several members here have been in that facility. We have student workers in there because if somewhere looks like me sitting at the day of santa but age maybe it's bayout too but if they if they're walking and they don't they're not going to ask for help so we have student workers which we pay in east student walking in that door it's tutoring for free there is no charge for that. And in that building also we have a program which were expanding that moving our diasets and two called three sixty of buyers in three sixty of basing was for poor at say poor students in those poor students that are what we call at risk students you can look at their attention right you can look at the grades are starting to slip. He had over the summer if you walk in the state success center you hear these advisors and by the way i'd say this now dart robinson was probosed he basically fired or faculty advisors and hard professional buyers wouldn't hire new people. As a faculty member he felt that back on the member and i'm not ripped my fact the member states are quite watching torch right now but the point is. They don't have the time you know to get I know I had one he probably signed up on anything I did but you know you're going to go on you still semester somebody's got to come after you ran it but I appreciate it but I don't need to cut you off because the cheer is going to present i'm sorry I just appreciated it and i'm a fan of drama since when he's when he's doing great stuff i'm on a plan he needs to do a better jar we all need to do a better job at the university of arkansas will dispose of recruitment and retention of students who are not necessarily of the majority rate but until we do that we all have a lot of work to do and I appreciate it. The. Senator jamie are the questions. Represent a fight you're recognized thank you mister chair. This may not be so much dei but as a former public school teacher for hundred years it troubles me to move away from nationally standardized test straightly to grade point averages because I have seen great point averages over inflated in certain schools. Why it is the justification for that because standardized test can be seen a crisis not on the aristide by their the states as well I don't get this a shattered representative but now probably got turned over to her academic. Vice promos here two things wine one we had data that showed the grade point for us was better indicator than act just he's mounting daughter for example was a four point student she could not take that actually freak out over it every time and that do well in we fail and doctor susan mccrayers are admissions day came to us early on the forecovered instead. That this was the case the second part of that is excesses the way institution we weren't saying people coming from small schools they weren't making it and then when they did get there when we took that the requirement of them they were actually succeeding if we invested some time in and went back to some resource and it so I don't know if doctor giantino was to add. I would agree with randy's characterization that are data show that specially during covered when we were test option or we were admitting students that did perform well that we would not have otherwise seen on our cambers and so this kind of a line men and linking to gpa and creating a multiple looking at it from multiplicity of angles encourageous encouraged us to move to just gpa I would say for the out of seed students we do adjust their gpa's to the arkansas standard where we remove any waiting that the. Put on those at those students and so that their equivalent to what arkansas school. Follow up how do you address the issue of. Some schools over inflating their gpa. So when we think about admission especially for an arkansas student that two point eight gpa is the is the standard so for an emissions decision when you're admitted when you present with at least that is an arkansas student you're going to be you're going to be admitted and so in terms of the administration decision whether you have a a three point three nine is is largely relevant from a from a a admission standpo. Representative lunch to me or recognize for a question thank you I took a tour of the tutoring center it was quite impressive that that's available I have how many kids take advantage of that. I don't have the exact numbers in front of me but it's become very popular we we situate most of our advising within two of the larger colleges college of education and health professions and origin sciences within that building to kind of create this one start environment for students that could go there for advising tutoring in a variety of other services just to follow but how do you track incoming freshman from where they're from an arkansas and how much tutoring that they need. I would have to investigate that all further depending on if we track on what county their residency is not sure on that okay thank you I appreciate the fact that you mister msneller you made the comment once when I was touring the tutoring system center even at your you take arkansas students over other state students first so it's a zip code issue not where they're from in arkansas correct that's correct manufacturing in the fall of twenty two. In november of twenty two for the twenty three this four season we started weightless to narrow state students yet three six if you had a three six or below you got put on a white list because we did not want and we were encouraging arkansas students to to enroll and to. I guess and roll to particular premium metricular sure but we have never ever turned down their organs all student for out of state service can't say that for at a status in so last year we did that before we did dock robson created we can enrollment task force I was on it for some reason not no obvious several smart people like doctor giantino and dr mccray were on it. And we discuss right sizing classes because our freshman glass for the previous year was over seven thousand students. And that's not sustainable you know for a lot of reasons whether you've whether it's simple. Personnel structure just. A facility structure itself so we went about how do we do that we probably overcorrected the little bit by white listing so far down the end so we're looking there's an extra where do we want that class to fall into but we don't we never wait list an arkansas student but we have certainly white listed a lot of out of state students and I would say it without saying things usually if I get a call from a member it's from a matter states for a friend that scattered our state students and hey why are you denying admission. To the student so if you put the aberration you've got a chance to go to school the doors are swinging wide open. If you have a two point eight. Great point you can use walker now. If you need money we need to help you and that's what we're working on as well okay thank you. The. Down with that kind of eliminates all the questions on the board up here I want to commend the university of taking a lot of heat. Far. Basing your your admissions I need. What opening the doors wide open for all of the students not just far the school but for all the programs if based on need and merit are you we had blegislation this past session talking about the state of arkansas basing a all their services on need and mirror yallow done that in real time and it's been successful and the students regardless of what box other people try to put a man if they have a need you're going to make the need and then if they have a if they have the merit two point eight whatever that is come on and if you have a financial need will help to again I want to commend you for having the courage and the university of talk with the chancellor and the president we're having the courage to step out like there and hope or other universities will policy and move that direction thank you very much. In next laughed I guess a issue. Do need to bring a bunch of more chairs up guys. The. You know collect a miles dark or you shame members that appreciate everybody hanging out with its all this time it's been a long day I have learned a lot and a will try to move through this one pretty quickly. And members just don't yeah we did a survey were where DEI was mentioned in in the uh their policy and a issue came up laughed which is a good place to be last time you had the mentioned fewer times in your policy then anybody else and i'm not bragging on you for that but i'm also your graduate rebate issue and proud of that so german is first of all do you have statements of our own center one mistake in order to come to the university. Artache at the university i'm sorry introduce yourself first shame roadway vice president of university relations the issue system. Tadshield's chancellor organizate university. Language vice chance for diversely inclusion community engage. And unbrad felt some general council for the issue did you think you need cancelled there were not swear in anybody and always need council well out through this tribute so do you have a classes that are required of students to initiate them in the death process no we do not about the hiring process no we do not seems like I read in it one of the policy notes that it said if you hired. That you have an interview process for staff. And what you have a committee and if one. Gets to the place you're going to make an offer and you make an offer to someone of the representative class. Versus the under representative glass you have to go back to the committee to have that approved. So I believe that policy so sender I believe it that is the the dead page on our web page that we really need to be removed because it's from a two thousand and four document I actually hadn't seen it before and it we've recently put out an rfp to update our web page because we unfortunately have too many of those but that's from two thousand and four i've been there a year and three months and haven't seen that document that you show up thirty speaks to the quality of our guy doing the research they said the decade on their yeah I appreciate you just want to get that on the record that's no longer a part correct so the the process would be then you're basing your hires on merit. Correct. Appreciate the short answer. And members do have a century just a feeling you had a question blish consistency may be the half garden of little minds but and when I asked the same question is any white student when the night mission. So that you could facilitate the admission of a black hispanic asian pacific isle under indigenous person to a issue no senator when this want to say it's good to meet you chance there this is the first time I paid an opportunity to visit with you lane is better around for a while and wearing on talking about how long shanes meant around that and I don't know council well enough to just talk about him he is a wonderful person II think you are so very much what is the current minority population that the assume approximately twenty three percent. Twenty three percent of the could you break it down for me black indigenous asian pacific island or american any alaska african american will be the largest asked me fifteen percent run around the line of two thousand his banning would be around four hundred students and made him a american american indian school being less than twenty representative scott since a regret as an asugar but a mother needed her to day for some help the reasons thank you very much all of the institutions for what you do being a poor girl from southern arkansas I know the value of education. And I know the value of people like me being a part of the institutions of education and so I think you every day for what you'd do ever being a part of this conversation thank you mister chair thank you speaking of the double while will call any issue graduated but you she is thank you also very much I appreciate you thank you mister. The. Send to hammer your recognition for a question thank you in the information that provided to us you have your non discrimination statement it applies to every aspect of a issue including missions crossed the board so no one's ever been turned down for any employment recognition on the things listed in that correct correct and so do you have an attractive to here were quite do you have a dea officer staffed it is dedicated to providing services under the dei title yes we do okay and they specifically then are charged with what responsibility I want actually right for himself but I want the loney in my cab net reminding me to value and make sure that every student succeeds we are saying that every redwalf counts and that's women in stem it's veterans as people disabilities it's african americans it's rural students it's it's everyone that comes in and we have admission standard that is gpa act sat applied to everyone and then want someone meets those recommendations I want them to succeed and feel like they're valued. Okay. Insured as we try to be wooden which need to do to make sure it was to have their opportunity to successful. I test throughout the house we have obviously the report in adopting the multicar to serve our excess in accommodations office which is out this bill to services to grand officers and been worked with the begs in a formally and in the one in these assistance to. Removing a tight barrier that may be the way. Okay sure help me understand something because you're the last one here and tried to listen to conversation seems like some schools do it differently than others. But if if the goal and objective that i've heard is a student retention. Addressing their needs trying to incorporate them into participation on the campus may be other than just in the classroom. Why. Why does it still have to bear the title. DEI because I heard I think one institution talk about that they've actually transitioned to where it's more and I can't exactly remember how it was said but it was it was like a division that was actually assigned to just he'll help me their needs and i'm trying to get around them. Rationale the reasoning so I like to use the work under represented so if I look at women that are going into engineering and i've gone through a creditation for social work and i've gone through creditation for a better credition for engineering as well because I was part of the economic program at university of arkansas before I came to argos are state and I would argue that the a better credit in place even more emphasis on the diversity and diversifying the engineering curriculum and admissions more so than even the social work program because we're desperately in need of women in stem and desperately need a more engineers so if if a woman or anyone comes into an engineering program and they're under represented there and they don't feel like that they belong or they don't have the tools to succeed that we want to make sure that we're there and we know what office they can go to where they can get that help when we do everything we can't to make them just help them succeed. Okay heart thank you. Yeah does some extent message here one of the things that i've found in in just doing this for some twenty years is there. The lack of information about financial assistance is a huge barrier to young people who own a school. And i've talked to commissioner warden about it. In many of our places don't know about the our future is going. If they don't be well on the act the for first year they are aware that that second year they can apply as a non traditional student all of those are wrong blocks. To success and we know my colleague in the house is talking about talks a great deal about the hunger on campus in when I want to see what I wasn't aware the kids didn't have a meal. Three meals a day every day that was not a part of my reality when I was going to school. It is a part of the reality for our kids today speaking me about those barriers briefly because that to me also as a part of diversity and inclusion because pockets are hungry absolutely right one of the things that we're doing in starting at new student orientation when students first come to campus and then also right before students register for the next semester we're asking them all of the needs that are being met and the needs that are not being met we're asking about the mental health and we're asking them about whether or not they have found a niche that they feel like they belong that their valued and wherever we find a need we put together a team that can help that person in your right food isn't is a serious issue for a lot of rural students that come in and we're doing everything we can meet that thank you thank you mister chair I appreciate I will add to the center so hammer to your question about. Why it's called the yan there is a discussion earlier about that so we we were just sitting out there and I started going back and doing some research and it really. The normal classroom the term really came from the corporate world from the nineteen sixty because of recent events and because of federal discrimination laws and those candidates. Diverse the equity inclusion can agree out of the corporate world based on what I was finding sitting out there doing some research and I think that's probably what how the term got correlated in and and brought into the higher ed world through the accrediting bodies that we all. Did do the degrees for three bad and nursing and in those kinds of things so I think that's kind of worth it came from and has now entered its name into the institutional setting. So help me understand I use the example you escape about a female entering the engineering so would you prioritise a female going into engineering no they still have to meet the same exact standard where did you use that as an example you mentioned that if someone so female want to go in engineering in their quote under representative I guess the based on their gender why what they have priority over male who wanted it i'm not priority at all I differentiate the admission which is standard everyone meets the same standard and then when you get there to meet the need we have to differentiate students so i'll woman that is feels like they're the only person in a cal three glass and she never gets called on that's a problem if the someone's a rural background and they did not get the preparations somebody else did and they need to help to get to that level but I have the ability to do it that's a problem to and so I differentiated mission from doing what's right to help the student succeed. Okay fair enough centre hammer you recognized. They can make reef you know I haven't set through all the solution to it today here's. Here's one of my fears maybe you help me to spell my fear. For what die. Was established and intended to do. But yeah it seems like it also might be the door away for things to be inserted. Outside of what it was originally established for that it has become a mechanism that may be a crediting agencies are inserting into the requirements on use institutions to have to include. In your you know in your course assignments. And and so help me just give me a low relief in that area or give me some explanation. To that sure I do think the credit were going through healthy credition right now hlc does ask us to show that we are committed to DEI which we define like I said as we vap people feel valued and that we're helping them to succeed so let me flip my example of women in engineering let's say that we're helping a male and nursing there may be that type of six student success initiative that needs to be helping there as well we provide different types of help to our veterans in the back center as long as mentioned earlier there basically i'm looking at it is saying hey this is something we want to be doing to make sure that all of the students who have the ability have everything they need to succeed which is different senator solvent then admission which everyone has to be the same criteria together. But if they're crediting agency says. We want you to do this under your dei policy and see use an institution or any of the institutions that about before it's the day say you know what that that that doesn't represent our consult standards with that doesn't represent architects of values or we're going to get trouble with alleged slater if we do that or we're gonna have a stood in uprising if we do that how much later turned at the risk of jeopardizing your accreditation to you to have as an institution say we're not putting that in there well i've had i've had i've gone through three accreditations including the one i'm currently going through and I haven't had any experience where they wanted me to include something or mandated we include something that we weren't already wanting to do because again I view it as you are students feel valued and do we give them the tools to be successful and if we if they feel valued and we're giving them reduce the tools to be successful we will fulfil all of the requirements that they want. So it does become. The opportunity of some institutions to have some determination as far as what they would like to see wrapped into their certainly I think that II don't know of other institutions that are measuring mental health as much as we are I don't know institutions that are measuring students that are rural areas I hear students come from rural areas and they come to jones borrow and it's a big town for them and their home sick and that student needs a different level of support than a student who's coming from little rock and thinks it's a really rural area looking for something to do right but in both of those cases we want to meet that student where they are and that's how I see it is as we want to find out what the student's background is what the student needs are and make sure they feel valued and given the tools I need to succeed that thanks for the answer. The. Not that assessed quotes to without getting into some moment want to get into I want to get you into. It seems like the philosophy you stand behind is very similar to what. You have a fellow therefore lastly we're going to meet the need and based on our merit. But it seems in your language and where you describe the programs you're. More focused on dear high or if they got rid of it although you seem to be doing the same things or pretty much the same things or am I missing so I believe that what. To paraphrase my call the grand math early they moved it from central administration but they still have the student success initiatives so that students are able to succeed but they've put it in different areas and I think that there's a logic to that my logic is that if a ceo think something is very important than the ceo would want that someone paid to tell them and remind them of that goal every single day and that's what long he does with us to make sure you unreminded that veterans women and stem rural students students from conservative backgrounds whatever students there they feel valued and are we providing what they need to be successful I want him at that table I want him in my cabinet because I want him remind me that every single day so your chart is not just a a language difference but there is an actual. A process difference in the way you operate the way they operate although you're trying to reach the same you're pretty much have the same goals in mind yes. I can appreciate your brief answers. Memory thing but I have any questions twenty four hundred. Representatives got you recognized. They get you. Okay okay thank you mr chairman thank you for allowing me to speak today I just want to commend the work that a issue does younger on a big average it for a issue but it's because of the support that I received as a student and undergraduate students and a graduate student when I was a graduate student I work for doctor lane from a rice menu was at my breast miniature and until I graduated in. I came from lot around covers a post generation graduate so it was different I need a different support I never felt like when I went to the divorce of the office that I was getting a hand up I felt like I was in point it in the resources then a direction to be successful and I felt like everybody when they came the doctor or a doctor extra points office felt like we were getting the support no matter if we were coming from a rule coming from a family who who had all the resources to make sure we were okay or somebody who when I called home they didn't understand the issues that I was space and when I was trying to figure out how to sign a primacy renote so I could stay in college and figure out a bill schedule and my family so I saw the value that they're officers brought to our students and I appreciate it that I felt like they were advocates for our students now at the minority woman I did feel like a issue really helped me be successful in huawei am today because of everything that was dare as a graduate student I was able to work in with the office and put together programs in court nate minorities mean help make sure that we had mentors cos the college was so big so we could connect to people who look like us who can actually help us when other people didn't have that time to make sure we could be successful so I never I just want to share that because i've never thought they were doing anything that other kids weren't doing I felt like I was connecting people I was convening people to make sure that hey we're on campus were small number and there is a small number of minorities at our representative but hey how can you make sure that i'm successful here that I don't go back home like other people in my family that I can be this first due to that graduates and go on and change to narrative in my community and so I appreciate the work the children and I will always be a advocate and I thank you because I know you'll do that for everybody and so that's why I always try to since do this there because I think it's regardless of race you'll care about every student this there. And I appreciate that thank you for their supporting. Memory don't see any additional questions about it you have a closing statement anyone would like to make. Appreciate that be with you today but and any information that we can provide is community I would like to do appreciate our waiting to be the last ones on board has been long leaded I thought you said there's thank you for showing up and staying throughout and with that we are journal. The.