San Jose State University
PA-4: Diversity and Equity Coordination

The university has a large number of first-generation students, with 27 percent of students identified as the first in their families to attend college, according to Institutional Effectiveness and Analytics’ Student Profiles (2010-2014). The university also serves a diverse population, with more than 37 percent of students identifying as an underrepresented minority. While incoming first-year students have completed the requirements to be accepted at a CSU, 36 percent of students who enroll at SJSU require college readiness support in math, English or both. SJSU is committed to improving access to high-quality degrees for all students, regardless of their background. One of the many ways the campus is striving to support under-represented minorities, is the Campus Climate Committee (CCC), a presidential advisory group composed of faculty, students, administrators, and staff. Their mission is to actively promote an inclusive campus climate in support of the diverse student population at SJSU. We have made strides in fostering a dialogue around diversity and inclusion, most recently in April 2016 when we held a discussion on the 2015 Campus Climate Survey. Students, staff and faculty members were invited to a presentation on the survey results and then provided with an opportunity to share their feedback in focus groups, while also expressing thoughts on moving toward a more inclusive community. In April 2016, the first-ever SJSU chief diversity officer, Dr. Kathleen Wong(Lau), was appointed. She will lead the Office of Diversity and Inclusive Excellence. In addition, the African American and Chican@/Latin@ Student Success task forces, which have been working hard since 2014 to build a sense of community for underrepresented minority students. The task force members have hosted a multitude of activities, such as the Adelante study breaks and the Essence of Blackness cultural celebration. These task forces began as part of Academic Affairs, but are now moving to Student Affairs where they will be managed by the new AVP for Retention and Transition Services.

In 2015, diversity awareness programming was added to new-student orientation, student leadership development and residence hall staff training, to increase every student’s sensitivity to others’ perspectives and differences. Several training programs are offered to university employees. Our general training series, HR 101, focuses on practical tools and techniques that have a positive impact on campus-wide systems and serves to enhance employee skills. Also offered, are target specific trainings such as Harassment Awareness, Workplace Violence, and Disability Awareness trainings. Skillport training and campus events are available to all faculty, staff and administrators. The Campus Climate, A.S. Personnel Committee, the Unity Council, the Faculty Diversity Committee, Veteran’s/Military Student Task Force, OEO Diversity Committee are among the various campus committees. HR partners with various organizations to coordinate campus-wide events such as the monthly Diversity Dialogs, New Student Welcome Receptions, Difficult Dialogs Trainings, and Intercultural Communication Workshops.

April 2016: I am very pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Kathleen Wong(Lau) as SJSU's chief diversity officer. Wong(Lau) will lead the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, providing vision and direction for university-wide efforts to ensure a welcoming, safe climate for every member of our community and serving as a liaison to community partners and constituents on a wide array of diversity initiatives. She was selected by and will report directly to President Papazian, and will serve on the president's cabinet. Wong(Lau) will join our community on July 25. Wong(Lau) joins SJSU from the University of Oklahoma where she has served since 2014 as director of the Southwest Center for Human Relations Studies and the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education (NCORE). Her noteworthy accomplishments at Oklahoma included launching faculty training institutes on inclusive teaching, and administrator training on management and leadership for diversity and innovation. In addition, she designed and led an inaugural, mandatory, five-hour Freshmen Diversity Experience training for more than 5,000 students. She also consulted with other academic institutions, with an emphasis on helping faculty and staff support underrepresented and first generation students.