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Governance Minutes ArchiveFebruary 15, 1989
UNIVERSITY COMMITTEE ON EQUAL OPPORTUNITY/AFFIRMATIVE ACTION February 15, 1989 Lon Savage called the meeting to order and announced that Judith Jones had been called away on a university matter and could not be present. The min- utes were approved as distributed. ANNOUNCEMENTS 1. The idea of a meeting house for minority students is alive and is still under consideration by Dr. Tom Goodale. Unfortunately, no progress has been made on locating a suitable facility. 2. The March EO/AA meeting is scheduled for Wednesday during spring break. Members voted to reschedule the meeting. The meeting will be held March 22, 1-3 p.m., Board Room. 3. Lon Savage reviewed the announcements made at the President's EO/AA breakfast on February 14. The position of Director of Affirmative Action/Assistant to the President has been nationally advertised and a screening committee has been formed. Larry Harris distributed copies of the position announcement. Judith Jones has accepted a new position in the Extension Division effective March 1. Wayne Speer will move to Student Affairs as Director of Disabled Student Services, and Michele Holmes will remain with the EO/AA Office as Minority Concerns Counse- lor. A compliance position with Title IX responsibilities will be ad- vertised in the near future. OLD BUSINESS 1. Lon Savage announced that the Provost has responded to the Committee's recommendation to clarify "maternity leave" in the FACULTY HANDBOOK. 2. Larry Harris provided a brief update on the Provost search. The Com- mittee will be conducting off-campus interviews with 10 semifinalists during the next two weekends. On-campus interviews for finalists will take place in March and possibly early April. Of the 10 semifinalists, two are women. 3. The Committee agreed to discuss the Year 2000 priorities during the Subcommittee reports. NEW BUSINESS 1. Information concerning attitude surveys will be presented at a future meeting. SUBCOMMITTEE ON MINORITIES After considerable discussion, the Committee approved all the recommen- dations of the Subcommittee. Recommendation #10 was amended. The prior- itized recommendations, including the amendment to #10, are as follows: 18. The University should undergo a thorough study of the status of Blacks at Virginia Tech and through that process provide an educational per- spective on the environment for Blacks at Virginia Tech. 21. The University should improve its efforts to provide a more comforta- ble social environment for Black faculty, staff, and students. The lack of a substantial Black community suggests that the University should strive to assure that there is a supportive environment for personal and professional growth. 9. The University must aggressively hire more Black faculty, staff, ad- ministrators, and coaches who will serve as role models with broad- based decision making responsibilities. The present representation should be increased from 2% to at least 8%. The University should also appoint Blacks to high-level administrative positions with decision-making responsibilities, and hire and promote additional staff. 10. The University must develop a comprehensive system of accountability for administrators for the recruitment and development of Black and women faculty and staff. This should be included as part of an admin- istrator's job description. 19. Colleges and administrative departments should undergo a thorough self-evaluation of their affirmative action efforts and produce an an- nual progress report with suggested recommendations for improvement. SUBCOMMITTEE ON HANDICAPPED Larry Lawrence reported that Virginia Tech did not receive the $500,000 re- quested in the governor's budget to cover the cost of upgrading elevators. The amended budget request will include $250,000 to improve campus accessi- bility. Wayne Speer's budget to cover improvements for handicap accessi- bility has been depleted but he may be able to borrow against an encumbered account. The Committee presented priority recommendations from the "Toward the Year 2000" report: 1. Virginia Tech, through the budgetary process, should focus on obtaining additional funding to achieve program accessibility for all students, staff, and faculty. 2. Comprehensive support services at Virginia Tech should be maintained through the hiring of a learning disabilities specialist. A budget should be established for tutoring, note-taking, copying and providing software and other equipment used in academic support. SUBCOMMITTEE ON WOMEN The Committee unanimously approved the following recommendation which was acted upon at the Subcommittee meeting of February 1: "A Task Force on Women should be established to coordinate and communicate women's issues to the Administration of the University. This task force should be composed of at least one member of each group concerned with wom- en's issues on campus: the women's subcommittee of EO/AA, the Women's Net- work, Women's Studies, Women's Research Institute, Student Affairs, and various classified associations. Larry Harris suggested that recommendations be forwarded to the President for disposition. The meeting adjourned at 4:00 p.m. Submitted by Sue Bowen (Note: Attendance was not recorded at the February 15 meeting.)
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