Frostburg State University
PAE-6: Diversity and Equity Coordination

Mission Statement The mission of the President’s Advisory Council for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is to promote harmonious human interaction that results in a campus community where we value and embrace our genders, our races/ethnicities, our languages, our sexual orientations, our ages, our faiths, our cultural and social class contexts, and our intellectual and physical abilities. Goals The goals of the PACDEI are to: 1. Assist in efforts to create a welcoming and safe campus climate for students, faculty and staff. 2. Assist in efforts to recruit and retain a culturally rich population of students, faculty and staff. 3. Assist in efforts to promote mutual respect through the voicing of concerns in civil discourse. 4. Encourage and support collaborative initiatives and activities. 5. Assist in efforts to assure that university policies and procedures are congruent with the above goals. 6. Utilize the principles and skill sets of NCBI in fulfilling our mission.

Recommended Membership The membership of the PACDEI will represent specific components of the university community. 1. Student representative for racial/ethnic organizations (BSA, ASA, LASO, CCC) 2. Student representative for faith organizations (Hillel, Muslim, Christian) 3. Student representative for sexual orientation organization (Breaking Through Glass) 4. Representative for non-traditional and commuter students 5. Representative for Office of Disability Support Services 6. Representative for Diversity Center 7. Representative for Physical Plant 8. Representative for University Police 9. Representative for Women’s Studies program 10. Representative for African American Studies program 11. Representative for International Studies program 12. Representative for Department of Foreign Languages 13. Representative for Center for International Education/International Education Council 14. Representative for ADA/EEO Compliance 15. Representative for Admissions Office 16. Representative for Provost’s Office/Office of Student Success and Retention 17. Representative for Office of Student and Community Involvement Members will be selected through an application and interview process.

Diversity Center The University’s Diversity Center works specifically to foster a sense of community among students of all races, genders, and national origins. These goals are accomplished through activities, workshops, retreats, and programs that help students develop an understanding of cultural differences. Additionally, the center assists in developing students’ multicultural competencies within the first year of college by requiring all incoming freshmen to participate in cultural diversity activities, programs or workshops. We offer workshops for faculty and staff to prepare them to address issues of diversity both in and out of the classroom. The Diversity Center also joins the FSU’s Office of Student Volunteerism and Civic Engagement in providing campus-community programs that serve to promote multiculturalism and create a pluralistic environment between FSU students and the local community. The office is currently staffed with a director, an administrative assistant and student office assistants. We are in the process of hiring an assistant director. http://www.frostburg.edu/cultural-diversity/ Frostburg State University fulfills these credit criteria in several different ways. First of all, we have a Diversity Coordinator and a Diversity Center under the leadership of Robyn Wynder who coordinates all diversity efforts. This includes having a Diversity Retreat for many FSU freshmen at the beginning of each year. FSU also has a President’s Council on Diversity that is Chaired by a member of our faculty and represented by diverse members of our faculty, staff and student body. We also have a President’s Advisory Council on Gender Based Violence that is also a diverse committee Chaired by a faculty member and comprised of faculty, staff and students. The student body at Frostburg State University is almost 30% from underrepresented groups and, of these, 23% are African American. We make every effort to assure this is campus that values and appreciates diversity. In addition, we have a broad based diversity plan within Human Resources that ensures that all faculty and staff searches have as diverse a pool of applicants as possible. This is coordinated by our Director of Compliance and Equal Opportunity Coordinator who is located within the Office of Human Resources. Frostburg State University’s Cultural Diversity website is: http://www.frostburg.edu/cultural-diversity/ Frostburg State University is a diverse campus and we make every effort to ensure that we educate our students, faculty and staff to be certain that our university community values and accepts diversity in every way. We do on going programming throughout the academic year that provides resources to students regarding diversity issues and even incorporate this into our required freshman orientation program and Learning Community program.

For more than 20 years, Wynder has offered support to FSU students and served numerous community organizations in Western Maryland. She started her FSU career in 1986 as advisor/counselor for Student Support Services. After taking time to care for her family, Wynder returned in 1999 as assistant director for the Diversity Center; she is now the director. As a consultant in diversity and cultural competency, she has conducted workshops for schools, colleges, businesses and civic groups. Wynder is a trained facilitator of the National Coalition Building Institute and serves on the leadership team for the National Black African Heritage Constituency of NCBI. She founded “Sister to Sister,” a program mentoring females of color from elementary to college age, and co-founded the M.A.P. (Motivation and Academic Preparation) Summer Camp Program after learning that few local African-American children had prepared for or taken the PSAT or SAT exams.