SPOTLIGHTS
James
Luckman
J
ames Luckman is currently a junior at The State
University of New York College at Brockport
majoring in Sociology with a double minor
in African African American Studies and
Women and Gender Studies. After receiving his
undergraduate degree, James hopes to pursue a degree in
Higher Education and Student Affairs concentrating on
leadership and diversity. Currently, James is the intern
within RIT ’s Division of Diversity and Inclusion working
directly with Dr. Tomicka Wagstaff and Kate Torrey for
both the McNair Scholars and Louis Stokes Alliance
for Minority Participation (LSAMP) initiatives. James’
internship is a part of his practicum for the Leadership
Development Program as well as the Delta College
Program offered through SUNY Brockport.
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Throughout his internship James has explored different
diversity initiatives offered at RIT. The biggest takeaway
from his internship has been learning how to cultivate
and develop resiliency on a college campus. During his
internship James had the ability to interact with RIT ’s
student, faculty/staff members, to learn more about the
campus culture and unique dimensions of diversity. James
has felt a strong supportive and welcoming environment
with the various departments at RIT.
James plans to use his experiential learning at RIT
throughout his future professional career endeavors. In
particular James hopes to replicate the inclusive excellence
framework that RIT has installed on their campus as the
fundamental structure of his own unique leadership style.
Kijana Crawford
details results of research on challenges
for female faculty of color
Racial/ethnic status and gender only partially explains
the relatively small number of tenure track women within
the STEM disciplines, with institutional advancement
playing a crucial yet unintended role as well. To date, the
existing research does not give in-depth consideration to
the effects of striving behavior and mission drift on the
advancement of women of color who work as faculty in
STEM disciplines, providing the impetus for ADVANCE.
Each of these important topical areas are being
explored by Kijana Crawford, associate professor
of sociology and anthropology in RIT’s College of
Liberal Arts. She is also a member of AdvanceRIT, a
campus initiative to enhance recruitment, retention
and advancement opportunities for women faculty
in STEM disciplines supported by funding from the
National Science Foundation. Crawford leads a team
within the project that focuses on challenges faced by
female faculty of color and a complimenting NTID
research team is also researching Deaf and Hard of
Hearing women faculty as part of the overarching
Advance research initiative. On Feb. 11, Crawford
presented “Considerations for the Effective Mentoring
and Work-Life Balance of STEM Women of Color
Faculty” as part of ODI’s Diversity & Research Series.
Information and results came from focus group
sessions she held in Spring 2013 with a variety of
female faculty on campus. Some topics emerge as
part of the qualitative inquiry. The focus groups
included a lack of clarity toward guidelines for
tenure and promotion; limited understanding by peers
and administrators of their lived
experiences and the need for
better work-life balance; denial
of access to influential networks;
and limited knowledge of RIT’s
current faculty mentoring program.
The focus groups were a means to
hear this important information
about female faculty experiences,
but also provided Crawford an opportunity to impart
information, especially related to faculty mentoring.
“Some had little understanding of the role of a mentor
or how to navigate the tenure process,” she said. “And
they also need to understand that effective mentors
are not one-size-fits-all. Sometimes having a broader,
network-based mentoring model with not just one
but several mentors can be a benefit. And it can help
decrease feelings of isolation.”
Another factor that she is continuing to address is the
evaluation of faculty of color, and the challenges that
arise in the classroom from students toward female
faculty, with research showing that they are often
evaluated more harshly than their white counterparts.
Crawford acknowledged that the Advance RIT
Connectivity Series, yearlong workshops on varied
equity topics, have been helpful in providing a forum
for sharing experiences and solutions to these and
other challenges faced by the women.
“It provides support; it is more than a safe space,” she
said. “They are glad to see someone that looks like
them, someone who has similar experiences, and they
are not dismissed as paranoid or given rationalizations.”
Other outcomes of the work included: highlighting the
P & T Smarts, a promotion and tenure informational
initiative by the Office of Graduate Studies and RIT
Provost; developing two campus listserv outlets for
women of color and female faculty of color as a way to
discuss, critique and prepare scholarly work prior to
publication. Another avenue re-opened by Crawford’s
work is the Black Women’s Professional Forum, open
to female faculty from all area universities.
Her work is ongoing and more information about her
research can be found on the Advance RIT website
as well as through RIT’s Scholarworks site which
currently highlights her paper, “Tailor Made: Meeting
the unique needs of women of color STEM-SBS
faculty through mentoring”
http://scholarworks.rit.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1865&context=other
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