A new book has been released that’s rooted in the at-times ground-breaking, personal revelations from UW-Parkside faculty that grew out of a series of in-service seminars on the subject of diversity.
The book, titled “Diversity in the College Classroom: Knowing Ourselves, Our Students, Our Disciplines,” is a collection of essays written by 15 faculty members who signed up for the institute.
Parkside Communications Professor Fay Akindes and retired Parkside staffer Roseanne Mason helped to edit the book, and spoke on the ‘Morning Show’ last week.
The two week-long institutes, held each summer over a four-year period, were launched in 2006 after a former Parkside chancellor noted at the time that only one of 30 African-American males graduated within five years of enrolling. The sessions turned the spotlight on hidden biases and questionable teaching methods. "A lot of the faculty that attended the summer institute started questioning assumptions that they had never considered before...questioning their implicit biases toward certain students," said Akindes.
Mason recalled a white business school professor who entered the class in denial but wound up undergoing an epiphany as he started to question his own fitness to teach," said Mason. "That was a real 'ah-ha' moment for him."
The institutes were discontinued after four years because of budget cuts. Akindes and Mason say the new book is an effort to extend the progress made by the institute.
The book is available for purchase through the web site of its publisher, Common Ground Publishing.
