The AAAED | News & Commentary

Trump’s Executive Order which Limited Diversity Training Has Not Been Forgotten

noreply@blogger.com (AAAED) — Tue, 25 May 2021 22:07:00 +0000

When President Biden took office, he eliminated the Trump-era executive order banning “divisive concepts” in federally funded diversity training. Now Republican-controlled state legislatures across the country are seeking to implement their own bans against teaching concepts surrounding diversity and anti-racism, which is being defined as critical race theory. States are introducing bills modeled after Trump’s reversed Executive Order (EO) 13950 in which teaching that “one race or sex is inherently superior to one another,” and that “an individual, by virtue of his or her race or sex, is inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously” should not be conducted in schools and training in state and local government entities. Some of these bills are pending approval, while others are moving swiftly through the legislature.

In Oklahoma and Idaho, bills banning colleges and universities from mandating diversity training and forbidding critical race theory from being taught in K-12 schools have been signed into law. Alongside, Arkansas passed SB 627,which prohibits agencies from teaching employees, contractors, or any other group, “divisive concepts” during racial and cultural sensitivity trainings. Other legislatures, like Iowa, Tennessee, Louisiana, and more recently, Texas, are aiming to pass similar bills.

On May 12, 2021, a group of House Republicans took a step further to limit the conversation surrounding diversity by announcing a pair of federal bills, the Combatting Racist Training in the Military Act and the Stop CRT Act, to prohibit diversity training in the military and federal agencies. The trend for conservative leaders to criticize critical race theory came after Trump ordered the Office Management and Budget to stop funding diversity training in September of 2020 and in the wake of educators using the Pulitzer Prize-winning 2019 New York Times “1619 Project” to teach a more comprehensive history of inequality in the United States.

When Executive Order (EO) 13950 came into effect, AAAED quickly called out its damaging effects to stall the nation’s movement towards diversity and inclusion and joined the lawsuit to fight against the order in National Urban League, et al. v. Trump. Although the order has since been rescinded, it’s left behind a blueprint for states to follow. Their rampant effort to reinforce the order is alarming as these conversations are expanding to a federal level. If more bills modeled after Trump’s order are introduced and passed, it will threaten all the progress the country has made towards advancing the conversation surrounding diversity and inclusion.

noreply@blogger.com (AAAED) — Fri, 19 Feb 2021 03:47:00 +0000

American Association for Access, Equity, and Diversity Commends President Biden on Revoking EO 13950 and Advancing a Comprehensive Equity Agenda

Organization of Equal Opportunity Professionals Sought an End to This Unconstitutional Order on Race and Gender Stereotyping

Washington, DC, January 21, 2021 – The American Association for Access, Equity and Diversity (AAAED), an association of equal opportunity, affirmative action and diversity professionals, commended the swift action taken by President Joe Biden on January 20th, the day of his inauguration, to revoke Executive Order 13950 (EO) on Combating Race and Gender Stereotyping. The revocation was part of Biden’s new Order “On Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government.”

Order 13950, signed by President Trump on September 22, 2020, required contractors, subcontractors, vendors, and, arguably, grantees to censor any use of language that falls within its highly vague definitions of “divisive concepts,” “race or sex stereotyping,” and “race or sex scapegoating.” AAAED issued a statement in opposition to EO 13950 on September 29, 2020 after the President's Order was issued. The Association wrote, "This Order flies in the face of the First Amendment and burdens Federal agencies with the role of a content review board." AAAED also joined the National Urban League and the National Fair Housing Alliance in contesting the constitutionality of the Trump order in federal court.

In meetings with the Biden Transition teams, AAAED called on the incoming Administration to immediately rescind the Order.

President Biden’s order not only revokes EO 13950, it mandates actions to actively promote diversity. In Section 1 of the Order, it reads: “Our country faces converging economic, health, and climate crises that have exposed and exacerbated inequities, while a historic movement for justice has highlighted the unbearable human costs of systemic racism.” The Order calls for a government-wide equity agenda to address the challenges that the nation faces. It further calls on federal agencies to identify and address the barriers to equal opportunity that their programs may present.

Dr. Richard Baker, president of AAAED, stated, "We applaud the Biden Administration for articulating unequivocally the need for our government to embrace its role in identifying the roadblocks to equity and inclusion, including systemic racism and the more subtle obstacles that have a disparate impact on disadvantaged minorities and other groups. We commend the President for seeking a holistic strategy to remove these barriers to equal opportunity in federal programs.”

"In our collective fight for equal justice and against systems of discrimination, we all must do what we can to make sure that we are able to learn and work in environments that are free from bigotry and bias," added Dr. Baker. "We look forward to working with President Biden, Vice President Harris and members of the administration to implement this important order,” he stated.

For a copy of AAAED's Statement on EO 13950, click here:

https://files.constantcontact.com/ebf58109001/964ac7dd-8922-437f-b138-ee9f4db3ddbf.pdf

For more information about AAAED, go to: www.aaaed.org

To join AAAED, click here:

https://www.aaaed.org/aaaed/Join_Us.asp

Founded in 1974 as the American Association for Affirmative Action (AAAA), AAAED is a national not-for-profit association of professionals working in the areas of equal opportunity, compliance and diversity. The longest-serving representative of individuals in the equal opportunity and diversity professions, AAAED has 46 years of leadership providing quality professional training to practitioners and promoting understanding and advocacy of affirmative action and other equal opportunity laws. Nearly one-half of its membership is composed of EEO professionals working for academic institutions.

1701 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW • Suite 200 • Washington, DC 20006 • Phone: 866-562-2233 202-349-9855, • Fax: 202-355-1399 • execdir@aaaed.org • www.aaaed.org

noreply@blogger.com (AAAED) — Thu, 30 May 2019 15:20:00 +0000

THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR ACCESS, EQUITY AND DIVERSITY SUPPORTS THE PASSAGE OF

H.R. 5, the EQUALITY ACT TO END LGBTQ DISCRIMINATION
Organization of equal opportunity and diversity professionals supports legislation that promotes equal opportunity for all regardless of sex, sexual orientation and gender identity.

For Immediate Release: March 8, 2019

Contact: Shirley J. Wilcher

240-893-9475

execdir@aaaed.org

www.aaaed.org

Washington, DC, May 8, 2019 - The American Association for Access, Equity and Diversity (AAAED), an organization of equal opportunity, diversity and affirmative action professionals, has announced that it supports the passage of H.R. 5, the Equality Act. This legislation prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, gender identity, sexual orientation and for other purposes.[1]

Founded in 1974 as the American Association for Affirmative Action (AAAA), AAAED is a national not-for-profit association of professionals working in the areas of equal opportunity, compliance and diversity. The longest-serving organization of individuals in the equal opportunity and diversity professions, AAAED has 45 years of leadership providing quality professional training to practitioners and promoting understanding and advocacy of affirmative action and other equal opportunity laws.

The Equality Act protects Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ) Americans from discrimination due to their sexual orientation and gender identity by amending current civil rights laws that protect against discrimination based on race, sex, religion, and national origin. Further, it strengthens protections for women, children, and families. The Equality Act would specifically add gender identity and sexual orientation to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act.

H.R. 5, Section 2 specifically recounts the discrimination that members of the LGBTQ community routinely face that others do not:

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people commonly experience discrimination in securing access to public accommodations—including restaurants, senior centers, stores, places of or establishments that provide entertainment, health care facilities, shelters, government offices, youth service providers including adoption and foster care providers, and transportation. Forms of discrimination include the exclusion and denial of entry, unequal or unfair treatment, harassment, and violence. This discrimination prevents the full participation of LGBT people in society and disrupts the free flow of commerce.

Shirley J. Wilcher, Executive Director of the Association, stated, “No person deserves to be discriminated against due to their sexual orientation or gender identity and AAED fully supports any law to ensure that this does not happen” . This law would protect Americans at work, in housing, education, credit, and in jury service.” The law would also cover places of public accommodations such as retail stores or taxi services.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and several courts have determined that sexual orientation and gender identity are protected as a form of sex discrimination. The Equality Act would include the LGBTQ community in this protected class. Only 22 states have laws prohibiting discrimination against LGBTQ status in employment, making this law critical to providing ample and equal opportunities to members of the LGBTQ community.[2] “Polling shows that an overwhelming amount of the public supports preventing discrimination against LGBTQ people in employment,” said Wilcher. [3] “Further, over 160 major businesses in America have signed on in support of passing the Equality Act,” she added”.[4]

The House Committee on the Judiciary voted 22-10 in favor of the Equality Act on May 1, 2019.

[1] For a copy of H.R. 5, click here: https://judiciary.house.gov/sites/democrats.judiciary.house.gov/files/documents/BILLS-116hr5ih.pdf

[2] “LGBTQ Americans Aren’t Fully Protected From Discrimination in 30 States,” (2018). Freedom For All Americans. Available At: https://www.freedomforallamericans.org/states/.

[3] Greenberg, D., Beyer, E., Najle, M., Bola, O, and Jones, R. (2019). Americans Show Broad Support for the LGBT Nondiscrimination Protections. PRRI. Public Religion Research Institute. Available At: https://www.prri.org/research/americans-support-protections-lgbt-people/.

[4] Peters, S, (2019). The Historic, Bipartisan Equality Act Reintroduced in Congress With Unprecedented Support. Human Rights Campaign. Available At: https://www.hrc.org/blog/bipartisan-equality-act-to-be-reintroduced-in-congress-unprecedented-suppor.

noreply@blogger.com (AAAED) — Thu, 30 May 2019 15:16:00 +0000

American Association for Access, Equity and Diversity Announces

The 2019 Honorees for its Annual Awards Ceremony

Icons of equal opportunity, affirmative action and diversity in higher education, disability rights, government and private industry are among the award recipients at the Association’s 45th National Conference and Annual Meeting in Indianapolis on June 12th

For Immediate Release: April 15, 2019

Contact: Shirley J. Wilcher 240-893-9475

execdir@aaaed.org

https://www.aaaed.org/aaaed/Conference.asp

Washington, DC, April 15, 2019 - The American Association for Access, Equity and Diversity (AAAED), an organization of equal opportunity, diversity and affirmative action professionals, announced its ten award honorees for 2019. The awards celebration will be held on Wednesday, June 12, 2019, during the AAAED’s 45^th National Conference and Annual Meeting. Themed Moving Beyond Diversity Towards Equity and Inclusion, the meeting will be held at the Hyatt Regency Indianapolis. The Hyatt is located at One South Capitol Avenue, Indianapolis, IN 46204. The awards program is open to the press. “We are delighted to honor such outstanding icons of social justice, diversity and equal opportunity,” said Dr. Richard Anthony Baker, president of AAAED.

Drum Major for Justice Award

The Drum Major for Justice is the highest award the association confers. The Award is a special acknowledgement of the extraordinary contributions that an organization or individual, including a public servant or one who has held an elective office or appointment to public service, has made to the cause of access, equity and diversity. Previous recipients include Rev. Dr. CT Vivian (2018), Dr. Shirley A Jackson (2017) Rep. G. K. Butterfield (2016), and Representatives August F. Hawkins and Parren Mitchell (deceased) (2008).

The 2019 AAAED Drum Major for Justice Award Honoree is The Honorable Gregory W. Porter, State Representative, State of Indiana. Gregory W. Porter is a member of the 120th Indiana General Assembly. He is now serving his 13th term for the 96th House District in Indianapolis, Indiana. He is currently ranking minority member of the Indiana House Ways and Means Committee, and president of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators (NBCSL). Mr. Porter also holds the position of Sr. Vice President of External Affairs for the Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County. As Sr. Vice-President of External Affairs, Porter advises the president on strategies from communicating to and involving the community at large within the corporation’s goals, facilitates relationships between the corporation and external stakeholders, and acts in the capacity of a community liaison. Mr. Porter has received numerous awards not limited to but including the 2018 Dr. Mozel Sanders Drum Major for Political and Social Justice, NAACP 2015 Pathfinder Award, Martin Center Distinguished Sickle Cell Champion Award, Indianapolis Urban League – 2015 Servant Leadership Legacy Award, Prevent Child Abuse of Indiana Leadership Award, and the Indiana Early Care Education Legislative Award. He also received the Black Caucus of State Legislators Award, plus an Eagle Award from the National Black Caucus of State Legislators.

Arthur A. Fletcher Lifetime Achievement Award

Named for the “Father of Affirmative Action,” former Assistant Secretary of Labor Arthur A. Fletcher, who established the Revised Philadelphia Plan requiring goals and timetables in the construction industry - the precursor for what became “Affirmative Action,” the Arthur A. Fletcher Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes a career devoted to promoting and advocating for affirmative action, EEO and diversity.

The 2019 AAAED Arthur A. Fletcher Lifetime Achievement Award Honoree is Marshall Rose, M.S.W. Marshall Rose has been a member of the American Association for Affirmative Action, re-named the American Association for Access, Equity and Diversity (AAAED), since the early 2000’s. He served as President of the association from 2014-2016, and previously, was a member of the AAAED board as Region V Director. Marshall also served on the board of United for Equality and Affirmative Action Legal Defense Fund (UEAA-LDF). Marshall Rose has been an untiring advocate of affirmative action and equal opportunity throughout his entire career. Marshall held senior responsibility for monitoring diversity and AA/EEO compliance at Bowling Green State University and Central Michigan University. He retired from BGSU in January 2011. Marshall has done numerous presentations and speeches on diversity, affirmative action, EEO and associated topics. He has also done training for educational, nonprofit and private industry organizations. Marshall has received a number of honors in recognition of his community and professional contributions. They include: Volunteer of the Year from the Toledo Chapter of the Association of Fund Raising Professionals, Impact Newsmaker Award from the Northwest Ohio Black Media Association, 2010 Rev. Fred L. Shuttlesworth Humanitarian Award from the State-of-the-State Conference, and the 2012 President's Award from the American Association for Access, Equity and Diversity.

Cesar Estrada Chavez Award

The award is named for Cesar Estrada Chavez, an American labor leader and civil rights activist who, along with Dolores Huerta, co-founded the National Farm Workers Association (later the United Farm Workers union, UFW) in 1962. The Cesar Estrada Chavez Award recognizes an individual who has demonstrated leadership in support of workers' rights and humanitarian issues.

The 2019 AAAED Cesar Estrada Chavez Award Honoree is Dr. Tomás D. Morales, President, California State University, San Bernardino. Dr. Tomás D. Morales was selected as the president of California State University, San Bernardino in May 2012. He is the university's fourth president since it opened in 1965. His commitment to student success has led to various innovatory summer bridge and orientation programs for area students. In addition, he has spearheaded the first truly bi-county initiative to address education and career preparedness beginning with K-12 through baccalaureate degree attainment. This effort resulted in a successful $5 million California Governor’s Innovation Award. Previously, Dr. Morales was president of the College of Staten Island, The City University of New York (CUNY), since 2007.

Rosa Parks Award

Named for the civil rights icon who refused to surrender her seat to a white passenger on a segregated bus and sparked not only the Montgomery Bus Boycott but the ultimate end of racial segregation of public facilities, the Rosa Parks Award recognizes an individual who serves as a role model and leader for others through his or her personal achievements, excellence in a chosen field; commitment to human, civil rights and social issues and contributions to the betterment of society.

The 2019 AAAED Rosa Parks Award Honoree is Dr. Johnnetta Betsch Cole.

Johnnetta Betsch Cole is a Principal Consultant with Cook Ross, Inc., a consulting firm located in Silver Spring, Maryland, USA. Before assuming her current position, she served for eight years as the Director of the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art. When she retired from the museum on March 31, 2017, Dr. Cole was given the title of Director Emerita. After holding teaching and administrative positions at several colleges and universities, Dr. Cole served as the president of both historically Black colleges for women in the United States--Spelman and Bennett Colleges-- a distinction she alone holds. She has authored or edited several books and numerous articles for scholarly and general audiences. Dr. Cole was the first African American to serve as the chair of the board of United Way of America. She formerly served on several corporate boards. She currently serves on the board of Martha’s Table in Washington, DC. From 2015 to 2016, Dr. Cole was the president of the Association of Art Museum Directors. Dr. Cole has received numerous awards and is the recipient of 68 honorary degrees.

Edward M. Kennedy Community Service Award

Named for the former Senator from the State of Massachusetts who was a lifetime champion of civil rights, disability rights and other issues on behalf of disadvantaged persons, the award is presented to an individual or organization demonstrating outstanding community service.

The 2019 AAAED Edward M. Kennedy Community Service Award Honorees are:

Deb Dagit, President, Deb Dagit Diversity, LLC, Washington, NJ – National Award Honoree: Deb Dagit started her own business in 2013 to deliver the consulting services and products she wished were available when she was a Chief Diversity Officer. She focuses on offering practical, just-in-time resources, tools and support for diversity practitioners. As Merck’s CDO for 11 years, Deb was responsible for global equal opportunity, employee relations, recruiting and staffing, and diversity and inclusion. Under her leadership, the company was recognized for its exemplary work in diversity and inclusion by DiversityInc and Working Mother magazines, the Families and Work Institute, and the Human Rights Campaign. Merck also received the Department of Defense Freedom Award (veterans) and the Department of Labor New Freedom Award (people with disabilities) during her tenure. She played a key role in the passage of the American with Disabilities Act through her lobbying efforts in both California and Washington, D.C. She also testified in July 2011 before the U.S. Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions committee regarding best practices for improving employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

BOSMA Enterprises, Navigating Blindness, Indianapolis, IN – Local Award Honoree

With roots that reach back to 1915, Bosma Enterprises has decades of experience in helping Hoosiers with vision loss achieve independence. Bosma’s rehabilitation program helps nearly 800 people each year. “As we plan for the future, we’re looking forward to assisting even more of Indiana’s almost 160,000 people who are blind or visually impaired.” Through its rehabilitation services and its job training and employment programs, Bosma teaches people experiencing vision loss how to successfully navigate their lives and jobs. In doing so, it is helping its clients grow their abilities and confidence — a journey that its trainers call “progressing from tears to cheers.

Roosevelt Thomas Champion of Diversity Award

This award was named after the late R. Roosevelt Thomas Jr., known for developing and implementing innovative concepts and strategies for maximizing organizational and individual potential through Diversity Management. The award is therefore given to an organization or corporation for outstanding achievements in promoting diversity in the workforce.

The 2019 AAAED Honorees of the Roosevelt Thomas Champion of Diversity Award are: Cummins Inc., Columbus, IN;

Cummins Inc., a global power leader, is a corporation of complementary business units that design, manufacture, distribute and service a broad portfolio of power solutions. Cummins ranked 12th on the DiversityInc. List of the top 50 Companies for Diversity. This is out of 1800 companies that competed for the honor. Every company that participates receives a free report card, assessing its performance versus all competitors overall and in four key areas of diversity management:

• Talent Pipeline: workforce breakdown, recruitment, diameter of existing talent, structures

• Talent Development: employee resource groups, mentoring, philanthropy, movement, fairness

• Leadership Accountability: responsible for results, personal communications, and visibility

• Supplier Diversity: spend with companies owned by people from underrepresented groups,
accountability, support

Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis, IN: Eli Lilly & Company ranked #6 on the DiversityInc list in 2018. According to DiversityInc: “Eli Lilly moved up 10 spots last year and continues the strong momentum this year, moving into the Top 10. The company has twice as many Blacks in the top two levels of management than the national average for U.S. companies.” It also ranks highly on other DiversityInc specialty lists including: (No. 4) Employee Resource Groups; (No. 5) People with Disabilities and (No. 8) Supplier Diversity.

Emerging Leader Award

This award is given to an individual who is becoming a leader on the national stage and who has demonstrated excellence in his/her workplace and/or community. This is the first year that the award will be conferred.

The 2019 AAAED Emerging Leader Award Honorees are:

Taylor Dumpson, candidate for Juris Doctor and Public Service Scholar -National Award Honoree: Taylor Dumpson is a candidate for the Juris Doctor and is a Public Service Scholar. In spring 2017, while pursuing her Bachelor of Arts degree in Law and Society at American University in the Nation’s Capital, Ms. Dumpson became the first black woman to serve as president of the Student Government in the University’s 124-year history. In the wake of her ground-breaking election, she was the target of a racially-motivated hate crime on her first day in office, followed by cyber-harassment by members of white supremacist groups. Since then, and in an effort to raise awareness about the physical, emotional and mental health impacts of hate crimes, Ms. Dumpson has given a TEDx Talk, testified before Congress, and been featured in interviews with various print, television and radio broadcast media such as CNN, NBC, The Washington Post, The New York Times, WTOP, and WAMU. Ms. Dumpson’s personal story is featured along with the narratives of other survivors of hate crimes in a newly released book, “American Hate: Survivors Speak Out,” edited by Arjun Singh Sethi. Ms. Dumpson is a 2018 recipient of the Lawyers’ Committee’s Frank R. Parker Client Award, for her “unwavering courage and commitment to standing up against racial and gender-based hatred and promoting diversity and inclusion for all.”

Karina Garduno, Indiana University Purdue University of Indiana – Local Award Honoree: Karina Garduno joined the IUPUI (Indiana University Purdue University of Indiana) Multicultural Center in June 2015. As the Assistant Director for Multicultural Programming, Karina works in several areas within the Multicultural Center including: multicultural programmatic efforts, developing retention efforts and outreach for diverse student populations, administration of the JAGversity Peer Educators program, accountability for affiliated student organizations, and support and advising in the MC. Karina also works with University College to promote the success of first-year students at IUPUI.

The AAAED 45th National Conference and Annual Meeting is open to the press. For more information or to register for the Conference, go to: https://www.aaaed.org/aaaed/Conference_Agenda1.asp

Founded in 1974 as the American Association for Affirmative Action (AAAA), AAAED is a national not-for-profit association of professionals working in the areas of equal opportunity, compliance and diversity. AAAED has 44 years of leadership in providing professional training to members, enabling them to be more successful and productive in their careers. It also promotes understanding and advocacy of affirmative action and other equal opportunity laws to enhance the tenets of access, inclusion and equality in employment, economic and educational opportunities.

###

American Association for Access, Equity and Diversity

1701 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite 200 * Washington, D.C. 20006

202-349-9855 * 866-562-2233 * Fax: 202-355-1399 *

www.aaaed.org

New Documents Released As Part Of Discrimination Lawsuit Against Harvard

noreply@blogger.com (AAAED) — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 14:35:00 +0000

NPR. July 30, 20185:24 PM ET

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

A treasure trove of documents about Harvard University's admission process is revealing secrets about how America's oldest university selects its students. A federal court has unsealed hundreds of admissions applications and documents in recent weeks as part of a lawsuit alleging the university discriminates against Asian-American applicants. The court papers shed light on how the university considers an applicant's socioeconomic status, race or personality to give preference on who gets in. The lawsuit could have important implications for affirmative action.

And joining us now to discuss what we're learning from these new documents is Anemona Hartocollis from The New York Times. Welcome.

ANEMONA HARTOCOLLIS: Thank you, Ailsa.

CHANG: So you've been poring through all of these documents produced by Harvard University about its admissions process. I'm curious. What struck you as particularly damning for the university's case? Was there anything?

HARTOCOLLIS: Yes. I and two of my colleagues have read hundreds of documents. And one of the things that has stood out for me is something that Harvard calls lopping, which according to the court papers takes place at the end of the admissions process when the admissions office looks at the racial balance of the class and adjusts it.

CHANG: So race is the determinative factor for who gets lopped from the list at the very end?

HARTOCOLLIS: Well, that's a good question. I think that that's what the plaintiffs want to find out.

CHANG: There was this other phrase that came up, and that was tipping or to tip. What does that mean?

HARTOCOLLIS: A tip, as I discovered through a document in the files - a Department of Education investigation in the late '80s - is a preference. And it is given to certain categories of applicants according to the plaintiffs. And those would include racial and ethnic minorities and kids whose parents graduated from Harvard and recruited athletes among others.

CHANG: Though at the end of the day, Harvard admits some around 2,000 students per year. And if you look at the academic records of the students applying, it's pretty overwhelming. There are way more than 2,000 applicants year after year who have perfect SAT scores and straight A's. So Harvard can't let them all in either. They - it does need to have other criteria to select students. I guess - does this fight come down to whether Harvard is using the correct criteria?

HARTOCOLLIS: I think it comes down to whether Harvard is misusing its criteria. I think Harvard probably has a large degree of discretion. The Supreme Court has ruled that universities have a large degree of discretion in deciding whom to admit but that they cannot treat different groups in a disparate way. And the charge here is that Asians are being treated differently because of their race from everybody else.

CHANG: And what is Harvard's best argument to that?

HARTOCOLLIS: First of all, Harvard strenuously denies any discrimination and says that its admissions system is a carefully calibrated way of curating an ideal class that will help shape the future of a pluralistic society in America.

CHANG: Anemona Hartocollis covers higher education for The New York Times. Thanks very much for joining us.

HARTOCOLLIS: You're welcome, Ailsa.

Source: https://www.npr.org/2018/07/30/634087380/new-documents-released-as-part-of-discrimination-lawsuit-against-harvard

See also: "Top U.S. Universities Back Harvard in Affirmative-Action Case"

https://www.wsj.com/articles/top-u-s-universities-back-harvard-in-affirmative-action-case-1532977076

Report: College Ended Affirmative Action and Didn't Tell Anyone

noreply@blogger.com (AAAED) — Tue, 31 Jul 2018 12:54:00 +0000

"The College of Charleston stopped considering race in admissions in 2016 but didn't tell anyone about the shift, The Post and Courier reported Sunday.

While affirmative action policies are debated intensely at many colleges and in some states, it is unclear how the shift at Charleston remained under the radar. But it comes at a time of renewed national debate about whether colleges should consider race in admissions, as most colleges with competitive admissions do.

According to The Post and Courier, the college shifted from a policy to consider race to one in which it would consider whether students are the first in their families to go to college.

“The Admissions Committee recognized that our student-of-color enrollments were increasing substantially while we were infrequently using race as a factor in the admissions process. So we decided at that point that that holistic review process and all the other many diversity initiatives that we were using were already having a strong impact,” Jimmie Foster, vice president of enrollment planning, said in an interview with the newspaper. The college also started offering automatic admission to students in several nearby counties.

While nonwhite enrollment has gone up, that is not true of black enrollment. Black enrollment hit a high of 8 percent in 2002, the newspaper said. The most recent data from the U.S. Education Department say that 7 percent of undergraduates at the college are black, and 80 percent are white. Data from the U.S. Census Bureau indicate that the state's population is 27.3 percent black and 68.5 percent white.

The shift in admissions policy took place during the presidency of Glenn McConnell, a politician selected by the board in 2014, over the objections of faculty members and civil rights leaders. Many critics noted his support for flying the Confederate flag, his ownership of a store that sold Confederate memorabilia and his posing in Confederate military uniforms. McConnell, who recently stepped down, citing health reasons, said at the time he was appointed that his association with the Confederacy was based on his devotion to history and states' rights.

The Post and Courier asked Foster if the shift had been due to an order from McConnell, and he said, "Absolutely not." Foster and a college spokesman did not respond to requests for comment on Sunday."

Read the full article on Inside Higher Ed here: https://www.insidehighered.com/admissions/article/2018/07/30/college-charleston-reportedly-ended-race-based-affirmative-action

Harvard Answers Back on Affirmative Action

noreply@blogger.com (AAAED) — Tue, 31 Jul 2018 12:52:00 +0000

"New briefs from university provide an inside look at terms like "standard strong" and examples of Asian applicants whose ethnicity was viewed favorably and dispute statistical analysis provided by those claiming anti-Asian bias.

In June, the group suing Harvard University over alleged anti-Asian bias in admissions released a slew of documents to back its case. The documents suggested that it is much more difficult for Asian-American applicants than for comparably qualified others to get into Harvard (where it's difficult for anyone to get in). Some of this related to Harvard's preferences for alumni children and athletes, preferences that the university has long acknowledged but to which it has not drawn attention.

There were also documents suggesting that low-income Asian applicants don't get the same help in admissions as do low-income applicants of other groups. While a single set of briefs doesn't determine the legal outcome in court cases, the June filings were a public relations win for Students for Fair Admissions, the group suing Harvard. Much of the coverage was critical of the university, with even some supporters of affirmative action saying that Harvard didn't look good.

Harvard disputed the filings at the time, but Friday was the university's turn to file its lengthy legal arguments. Technically, the briefs are about whether the federal court considering the case should award summary judgment (deciding the case without a full trial). But the Harvard documents also provide insight into how the university is mounting its defense, which by proxy may be a defense for other colleges to consider race in admissions.

With the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy from the Supreme Court and subsequent uncertainty over support for affirmative action on the high court, the Harvard case has arguably become more important than it was to start with -- and is increasingly seen as the next case likely to work its way to the Supreme Court. And advocates are not wasting any time. While critics of affirmative action (including the Trump administration) are backing the lawsuit, a coalition of civil rights organization plans to file briefs backing Harvard today.

Harvard's brief characterizes the Students for Fair Admissions arguments as "misleading" and lacking "a shred of documentary or testimonial evidence of the alleged scheme" to discriminate against Asian applicants. The Harvard documents quoted by the plaintiffs "are cherry-picked and misleadingly presented," the brief says. Along with contesting the lawsuit's claims, the Harvard brief also provides some inside information on how applicants are considered (and typically rejected).

Edward Blum, who is leading the Students for Fair Admissions effort, said via email that his group would soon be releasing yet more Harvard documents to bolster its case, and he said that his group's lawsuit would prevail. He did not withdraw any of the statements the group has made to date."

Read the full article on Inside Higher Ed here: https://www.insidehighered.com/admissions/article/2018/07/30/new-harvard-briefs-defend-its-consideration-race-admissions

NAPE Statement on Rescinding Guidance on the Use of Race for College Admissions

noreply@blogger.com (AAAED) — Mon, 09 Jul 2018 15:47:00 +0000

"The National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity Contests the Actions of the Trump Administration in Rescinding Guidance on the Use of Race for College Admissions.

On July 3, 2018, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that he is “rescinding 24 guidance documents that were unnecessary, outdated, inconsistent with existing law, or otherwise improper.” Following this announcement, the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Justice, in a joint action, rescinded Obama Administration guidance that promotes diversity while providing protections against racial exclusion in college admissions and K-12 education. The Obama Administration guidelines specified legal recommendations for schools to utilize race as an admissions factor to increase diversity at their institutions.

A Wall Street Journal article released on the same day states that “Trump administration officials plan to argue that the documents, published in 2011 and 2016, go beyond Supreme Court precedent on the issue and mislead schools to believe that legal forms of affirmative action are simpler to achieve than what the law allows.”

Mimi Lufkin, NAPE Chief Executive Officer issued the following statement:

“July 2nd marked the 54th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Administration’s untimely actions set a precedent that moves us as a nation toward a reversal of the spirit of that Act. The Justice Department’s attacks on Affirmative Action in colleges and universities over the past year have become a relentless battle that those of us in the educational equity community cannot afford to lose. Educators recognize that equity and diversity in learning environments vastly improves both educational achievement and the human experience for EVERY student. This recent action by Sessions and Kenneth Marcus, the newly confirmed Assistant Secretary of the Office for Civil Rights at the Department of Education, to rescind guidance documents from the previous Administration is an affront to our values of inclusion. The rescinding of this guidance threatens the civil rights protections that help ensure equal access and opportunity for every student to become high-skilled, high-wage workforce contributors and in the long-term, jeopardizes the future of our nation’s ability to remain globally competitive.”

The Administration’s decision does not change federal law under Title IV and Title VI with regard to protecting students of color in public schools and universities; and the Supreme Court has twice ruled reaffirming the importance of diversity. However, rescinding the guidance fosters an ambiguous environment of fear and concern for students, families and communities while causing confusion for school administrators and state governments by eliminating effective guidance that aids in complying with current law. To add to the confusion, the Trump administration has not offered any direction to schools on how they should move forward.

NAPE joins its education and civil rights colleagues in denouncing the Administration’s actions in rescinding of this guidance. Equity, diversity and racial inclusion are, have been and will continue to be the fiber of strength and resilience that grounds the bedrock our democracy, a foundation we must preserve."

Link: https://www.napequity.org/blog/nape-statement-rescinding-guidance-race-college-admissions/

MEMO: Information Concerning Harvard Lawsuit

noreply@blogger.com (AAAED) — Thu, 05 Jul 2018 18:29:00 +0000

Memorandum

July 5th, 2018

To: Shirley Wilcher, Executive Director AAAED

From: Alicia Quiñones, Intern AAAED

RE: Information Concerning Harvard Asian-American Student Lawsuit

The following is the statement posted on the Students for Fair Admissions website concerning the lawsuits filed against Harvard University and University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

URL: https://studentsforfairadmissions.org/project-on-fair-representation-announces-lawsuits-challenging-admissions-policies-at-harvard-univ-and-univ-of-north-carolina-chapel-hill/

“PROJECT ON FAIR REPRESENTATION ANNOUNCES LAWSUITS CHALLENGING ADMISSIONS POLICIES AT HARVARD UNIV. AND UNIV. OF NORTH CAROLINA-CHAPEL HILL

Seeks additional students recently rejected from competitive universities

(Washington, DC) Today, the Project on Fair Representation announces the filing of two lawsuits challenging the racial preference admissions policies of Harvard and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

Read the complaint against Harvard

Read the complaint against UNC-Chapel Hill

The plaintiff in both lawsuits—Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA)— is a newly-formed, nonprofit, membership organization whose members include highly qualified students recently denied admission to both schools, highly qualified students who plan to apply to both schools, and their parents.

The Harvard lawsuit alleges the university is engaging in a campaign of invidious discrimination by strictly limiting the number of Asian Americans it will admit each year and by engaging in racial balancing year after year. These discriminatory policies in college admissions are expressly forbidden by the Fourteenth Amendment and federal civil rights laws.

Students for Fair Admission’s complaint highlights data and analysis that strongly suggests that white, African-American, and Hispanic applicants are given racial preferences over better-qualified Asian-Americans applying for admission to Harvard.

Additionally, the complaint demonstrates that Harvard is not in compliance with the new “strict scrutiny” standards articulated in 2013 by the U.S. Supreme Court in Fisher v. The University of Texas at Austin. The Fisher opinion unambiguously requires schools to implement race-neutral means to achieve student body diversity before turning to racial classifications and preferences.

The UNC-Chapel Hill lawsuit alleges that, like Harvard, the University is not in compliance with the new Fisher strict scrutiny requirements. Students for Fair Admissions explains in its complaint that UNC has admitted in an amicus brief it submitted to the Supreme Court in the Fisher case that the school can maintain, and actually increase, racial diversity through race-neutral means if it ends its race-based affirmative action policies. Students for Fair Admissions argues that this compels the university to end its racial classifications and preferences and adopt some combination of race-neutral policies instead.

The discrimination against Asian-Americans at Harvard and both schools’ blatant failure to comply with recent Supreme Court directives with regard to race preferences are emblematic of the behavior of the vast majority of competitive colleges throughout the country. Because of this, Students for Fair Admissions asserts in its complaints that racial classifications and preferences in college admissions are (no longer) administrable; a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment and federal civil rights laws; and must be ended as a matter of policy and law.

Edward Blum, the director of the Project on Fair Representation, said, “These two lawsuits are the first of what are expected to be several similar challenges to other competitive colleges that continue to unconstitutionally use racial preferences in admission decisions. Students for Fair Admissions encourages any student who was recently rejected from a competitive university to contact us at www.StudentsForFairAdmission.org.”

The Harvard complaint documents the school’s long, irrefutable, history of instituting admissions policies to limit the number of Jewish students beginning in the 1920’s. The “Harvard Plan” itself—and the concept of an admissions system based on a “holistic” review of applicants instead of admission based on academic accomplishment—was formulated for the specific purpose of discriminating against Jews. Harvard’s “holistic review” today is primarily a similar tool to limit the number of Asian Americans it admits each year.

Blum continued, “It is especially disconcerting that public data shows that Harvard has purposefully limited the percentage of Asian-American freshman it admits. In fact, the number of Asian-Americans Harvard admits today is lower than it was 20-years ago, even though the number of highly qualified Asian-American applicants to Harvard has nearly doubled. Harvard’s discrimination against Asian-Americans is as deeply troubling today as was the discrimination against Jewish applicants that Harvard perpetrated in the name of ‘holistic’ admissions years ago.”

Blum concluded, “The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has no need to continue to use racial and ethnic preferences and should end them now instead of facing years of expensive and polarizing litigation.”

Counsel for SFFA is Mr. William Consovoy and Mr. Thomas McCarthy of Consovoy McCarthy PLLC based in Arlington, Virginia.

The Project on Fair Representation (POFR) is a not-for-profit legal defense fund program that is designed to support litigation that challenges racial and ethnic classifications and preferences in state and federal courts. POFR provided counsel in a number of recent Supreme Court cases including, Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District No. One v. Holder; Abigail Fisher v. Univ. of Texas at Austin; and Shelby Co., Alabama v. Holder.”

RESPONSE FROM HARVARD

Harvard has responded to the court filings in saying that their admissions process is legal and does not participate in the “racial balancing” mentioned. The school stated that the students are misinterpreting the data shared to the public in the 2013 and that the school “does not discriminate against applicants from any group, including Asian-Americans, whose rate of admission has grown 29 percent over the last decade."^{^[1]}

Harvard stated that the study cited by the student group was, “incomplete, preliminary and based on limited inputs,” and “was not designed to evaluate whether Harvard was intentionally discriminating and reached no such conclusion.”^{^[2]}

The school also wrote that “the documentary and testimonial evidence about Harvard’s admissions process demonstrates that Harvard carefully considers every applicant individually, using the same thorough reading and committee procedures for all applicants.”^{^[3]}

Based on the court filing from 2013, “the Harvard Office of Institutional Research created four models that included different racial categories to see what hypothetical percentage of students would be admitted based on various criteria.

When only academics were considered, Asians made up 43 percent of the admitted class, the document said. After accounting for recruited athletes and legacies, that figure dropped to 31 percent, and for extracurricular and personal ratings, 26 percent.

The actual share of admitted Asian Americans cited in the report was 19 percent, the Students for Fair Admissions court filing said.”^{^[4]}
See below admission rates based on differing criteria models at Harvard University:

^{^[5]}

See also the Harvard FAQ concerning this issue: https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/diverse-education/files/faq_june_15_final.pdf

If the court filings submitted by the student organization go to court, the trial could be expected to take place in October of this year. Additionally, the Justice Department is looking into the admissions process used by Harvard as it regards to race.

**UPDATE:

The Trump administration on Tuesday, July 3rd rescinded Obama-era guidance on how colleges can legally consider race and ethnicity in admissions decisions. In addition, the Department of Justice has stated that it will be backing the plaintiffs in the suit concerning Harvard admissions policies arguing that Harvard discriminates against Asian-American applicants.

Harvard released a statement that indicated that the university had no plans to change any policy as a result of what happened Tuesday. "Harvard will continue to vigorously defend its right, and that of all colleges and universities, to consider race as one factor among many in college admissions, which has been upheld by the Supreme Court for more than 40 years," the statement said. "Harvard is deeply committed to bringing together a diverse campus community where students from all walks of life have the opportunity to learn with and from each other."^{^[6]}

The following is a conversation with Anurima Bhargava, who led civil rights enforcement in school at the Justice Department under Obama and the publication Mother Jones about the implications of the rescission of Obama-era affirmative action guidance:

Mother Jones: What was the original intent of the guidances that the Trump administration rescinded today?

Anurima Bhargava: They were put together to explain how schools, colleges, and universities could promote diversity and address segregation and racial isolation in ways that were consistent with the existing law. They were meant to be a tool and resource. They were not making up new law and were more of a resource for schools to use as they established student assignment plans and admissions policies. The second part of the guidances was to signal something that’s been consistent with the Supreme Court for many, many years, which is that promoting diversity and addressing segregation are important to the country, to the education of our children, and that we have a situation where kids can come together and feel like they are welcomed and comfortable and not in such few numbers that they are tokens in our schools.

MJ: Could you explain what the Trump administration’s decision today accomplishes?

AB: The law has not changed. The Trump administration decided to take down these guidances at this moment when there haven’t been any changes in the law. We’ve seen again and again the Supreme Court come out and say that there are permissible ways for schools to be able to promote diversity and prevent racial isolations. To remove the guidances now can only be described as a political attack on efforts to bring communities together and as a policy of separation and division.

MJ: What does the administration’s decision mean for colleges and universities following the Obama-era guidance?

AB: I don’t know what the impact will be. What I hope is that colleges and universities and schools realize that the law hasn’t changed and that this doesn’t serve as a deterrent or discouragement from taking steps that they have wanted to take. These guidances were not talking about court-ordered desegregation or something like that. They were talking about when schools and colleges and universities want to try and promote diversity amongst their student body and how they are able to do that. I hope they continue to want to pursue those important and necessary goals. For them to take down this guidance right now, at a time when we see far too many incidents of racial violence and deepening tensions, is not the way that the federal government should support colleges and universities that are trying to do this kind of work.”^{^[7]}

Point of Reference

The following is a letter from the Department of Education and Justice about the what documents were to be rescinded.

“The purpose of this letter is to inform you that the Department of Justice and the Department of Education are withdrawing the following documents:

● December 2, 2011 Dear Colleague Letter Regarding the Use of Race by Educational Institutions;

● 2011 Guidance on the Voluntary Use of Race to Achieve Diversity in Postsecondary Education dated December 2, 2011;

● 2011 Guidance on the Voluntary Use of Race to Achieve Diversity and Avoid Racial Isolation in Elementary and Secondary Schools dated December 2, 2011;

● September 27, 2013 Dear Colleague Letter on the Voluntary Use of Race to Achieve Diversity in Higher Education After Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin [Fisher I];

● September 27, 2013 Questions and Answers About Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin [Fisher I];

● May 6, 2014 Dear Colleague Letter on the Supreme Court Ruling in Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action; and

● September 30, 2016 Questions and Answers About Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin [Fisher II].

These documents purport to explain the legal framework that governs the use of race by elementary, secondary, and postsecondary schools under the Constitution, Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title IV), 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000c et seq., and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI), 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000d et seq. The documents advocate specific policies and procedures for educational institutions to adopt, analyze a number of hypotheticals, and draw conclusions about whether the actions in those hypotheticals would violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution or Title IV or Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The Departments have reviewed the documents and have concluded that they advocate policy preferences and positions beyond the requirements of the Constitution, Title IV, and Title VI. Moreover, the documents prematurely decide, or appear to decide, whether particular actions violate the Constitution or federal law. By suggesting to public schools, as well as recipients of federal funding, that they take action or refrain from taking action beyond plain legal requirements, the documents are inconsistent with governing principles for agency guidance documents.

Accordingly, the Department of Education and the Department of Justice have decided to withdraw the documents. The protections from discrimination on the basis of race guaranteed by the Constitution, Title IV, and Title VI remain in place. The Departments are firmly committed to vigorously enforcing these protections on behalf of all students.

This guidance does not add requirements to applicable law. If you have questions or are interested in commenting on this letter, please contact the Department of Education atocr@ed.gov or 800-421-3481 (TDD: 800-877-8339); or the Department of Justice ateducation@usdoj.gov or 877-292-3804 (TTY: 800-514-0383).

Sincerely,

/s/ /s/

Kenneth L. Marcus John M. Gore

Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Acting Assistant Attorney General

U.S. Department of Education U.S. Department of Justice”

SCHOLAR AND GROUP OPINIONS

Jeannie Suk Gersen, a professor at Harvard Law School wrote a piece for the New Yorker titled, “The Uncomfortable Truth About Affirmative Action and Asian Americans” address the recent Harvard lawsuit. “This lawsuit, and much of the discussion of affirmative action that surrounds it makes a serious error in assuming that, in order to stop discrimination against Asian applicants, race-conscious affirmative action must end.”^{^[8]}

Suk Gersen states that affirmative action is “perfectly compatible with tackling the discrimination at issue. The problem is not a race-conscious holistic review; rather, it is added, sub-rosa deployment of racial balancing in a manner that keeps the number of Asians so artificially low relative to whites who are less strong on academic measures.”

Suk Gersen closes by mentioning that for the first time, racial minorities are a majority of this year’s entering class at Harvard and the Asian enrollment is the highest ever at over 22 percent with their increased share cutting into the white student population a Harvard and not the Black or Latino population.

18MillionRising.org is an Asian American based organization whose purpose is to unify online and offline the Asian American community and identity. They released a statement titled, “Edward Blum, We Won’t Be Used For Your Racist Agenda,” explaining that Edward Blum’s agenda to dismantle affirmative action is using the Asian-American student population at Harvard as a “political wedge against affirmative action” by “cherry-picking data” for the court filings.

18MR stated that Blum is “intentionally exploiting the Model Minority myth by suggesting that the challenges of race can be overcome merely by hard work, but he also claims race-conscious considerations are actually hurting Asians by passing us up in favor of Blacks and Latinos. Blum claims to be protecting the interests of Asian Americans by fighting to end affirmative action – despite the fact that 76% of Asian Americans say they support the policy (affirmative action policies).”^{^[9]}

Michele S. Moses, University of Colorado; Christina Paguyo, Colorado State University, and Daryl Maeda, University of Colorado released an article discussing Harvard student lawsuit. They are among other academic scholars who agree that Asian-Americans largely benefit from affirmative action policies and their claims against such are greatly inaccurate.^{^[10]}

See link below for full article:

https://wtop.com/supreme-court/2017/08/the-missing-elements-in-the-debate-about-affirmative-action-and-asian-american-students/

See also for further opinions:

“Bias against Asian-American students is real. Affirmative action isn’t the problem,” by Stacey J. Lee and Kevin K. Kumashiro. June 27, 2018.

https://www.vox.com/the-big-idea/2018/6/27/17509140/admissions-bias-personalities-harvard-affirmative-action

-->

^{^[1]}Chappell, Bill. NPR News. “Harvard Accused Of 'Racial Balancing': Lawsuit Says Asian-Americans Treated Unfairly,” June 15, 2018.

https://www.npr.org/2018/06/15/620368377/harvard-accused-of-racial-balancing-lawsuit-says-asian-americans-treated-unfairl

^{^[2]}Fuchs, Chris. NBC News.“Lawsuit accuses Harvard of discriminating against Asian-American applicants in 'personal ratings,” June 18, 2018. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/lawsuit-accuses-harvard-discriminating-against-asian-american-applicants-personal-ratings-n884476

^{^[3]}Fuchs.

^{^[4]}Fuchs

^{^[5]}Scott Jaschik. Inside Higher Ed. Smoking Gun on Anti-Asian Bias at Harvard? June 18, 2018. https://www.insidehighered.com/admissions/article/2018/06/18/harvard-faces-new-scrutiny-o v er-how-it-evaluates-asian-american

^{^[6]}Jaschik, Scott. Inside Higher Ed. “Trump Administration Rescinds Guidance on Affirmative Action,” July 5, 2018. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/07/05/trump-administration-rescinds-obama-guidance-race-and-admissions

^{^[7]}Rios, Edwin. Mother Jones. “What Trump’s Plan to Ignore Race in School Admissions Actually Means for Students,” July 3, 2018. https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/07/what-trumps-plan-to-ignore-race-in-school-admissions-actually-means-for-students/

^{^[8]}Suk Gersen, Jeannie. The New Yorker.“The Uncomfortable Truth About Affirmative Action and Asian Americans,” August 10, 2017. https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-uncomfortable-truth-about-affirmative-action-and-asian-americans

^{^[9]}18MR. “EDWARD BLUM: WE WON’T BE USED FOR YOUR RACIST AGENDA!” https://action.18mr.org/blockblum/

^{^[10]}Moses, Michele S., Paguyo, Christina. Maeda, Daryl. “The missing elements in the debate about affirmative action and Asian-American students,” July 16, 2018.

https://wtop.com/supreme-court/2017/08/the-missing-elements-in-the-debate-about-affirmative-action-and-asian-american-students/

Trump’s EEOC Takeover Stalled by Senate Republicans

noreply@blogger.com (AAAED) — Thu, 05 Jul 2018 17:36:00 +0000

"Four Senate Republicans are effectively blocking their own party from seizing majority control of the federal agency charged with combating workplace discrimination and harassment, trade association lobbyists tell Bloomberg Law.

Time is running out in a busy election year for the Senate to approve President Donald Trump’s three picks to serve on the five-member Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and business groups are now increasing the pressure on Capitol Hill in the hopes of eliminating the logjam and delivering a more employer-friendly EEOC.

But an intra-party divide between faith-based social conservatives and traditional business-minded Republicans threatens to preserve a Senate stalemate on the EEOC selections for at least the rest of 2018…

The business community’s mission is to make the case to the four Senate Republicans that their reservations about Feldblum should be outweighed by the necessity for a five-member commission to offer clarity on employer wellness plans, workplace harassment guidance, salary reporting rules, and new enforcement priorities...

Sexual harassment guidance developed by the agency in 2017 has been pending at the White House Office of Management and Budget, apparently on hold until the Republican nominees are confirmed. The EEOC announced recently that it’s reconvening a task force on harassment in the workplace. The agency also has to decide what to do about a regulation limiting employee wellness plan incentives that has been put on hold by a federal judge.

Another factor is driving the EEOC advocacy of late: The religious right wants to replace Feldblum with a more mainstream Democrat, but employer representatives have built a rapport with her that they’re not ready to abandon. Several business sources said they appreciate Feldblum’s willingness to listen to their positions, even if they sometimes disagree with her interpretations of equal employment laws and policy priorities."

Read the full article HERE

Labor Dept.'s Contractor Watchdog Eyes Apprenticeships

noreply@blogger.com (AAAED) — Tue, 03 Jul 2018 17:59:00 +0000

Posted July 3, 2018, 9:21 AM

· On-the-job training touted as pipeline to diverse workforce by Labor Department contractor auditor

· Contractor groups, attorneys tentatively optimistic but flag food for thought

The Labor Department’s plan to rev up its apprenticeship program platform as a way for federal contractors to increase their workforce diversity may be easier said than done.

Promoting apprenticeships as an affordable pathway to sustainable jobs and to close the skills gap in the U.S. workforce is a central policy of the White House and Labor Department. The Apprenticeship Expansion Task Force disseminated a final report to President Donald Trump on the topic and the Labor Department rolled out a new apprenticeship website in the spring.

And given Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta ’s commitment to apprenticeship programs, it isn’t surprising that Ondray Harris, Acosta’s choice to lead the DOL’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, is on board with that vision, Alissa Horvitz of Roffman Horvitz in McLean, Va., said. Harris was with the Labor Department’s Employment and Training Administration prior to becoming the OFCCP’s director.

But the OFCCP’s central mission is that of a law enforcement agency. The office annually audits about 1,000 federal contractor facilities to ensure compliance with certain federal laws prohibiting discrimination in employment practices, such as hiring, firing, promotions, and unequal pay. Promoting the voluntary use of apprenticeship programs seems like an odd fit for the OFCCP’s enforcement wheelhouse.

And yet, “it seems as though any time the national office gets a chance to talk with us, they ask if apprenticeship programs are something our clients are interested in,” Horvitz told Bloomberg Law. She advises contractors on their equal employment opportunity obligations for the OFCCP.

The office also encourages affirmative action compliance in addition to its anti-discrimination enforcement. Apprenticeships could support that portion of its mission—helping federal contractors employ veterans, disabled persons, and minority workers who may not have the exact skills needed to hit the ground running.

Contractors are open to the idea of apprenticeship programs, and intrigued with how they could lead to a more congenial relationship with the OFCCP, but will need some convincing before sinking resources into launching programs worthy of certification by the federal government.

Harris and senior adviser Craig Leen have spoken at an array of conferences coast to coast extolling the OFCCP’s faith in apprenticeships, but the agency declined to comment for this story.

Piecing Together the Program Puzzle

Harris’ and Leen’s official schedules—obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests—indeed show that the office is devoting time and energy to the development of an apprenticeship program. The schedules also show a particular interest in Microsoft’s recruitment programs.

Microsoft has engaged in discussions with OFCCP leadership about the company’s “broad workforce development efforts, including apprenticeships,” as well as the agency’s “ambition to expand the company’s apprenticeship efforts in the U.S.,” a Microsoft spokesperson confirmed to Bloomberg Law in a July 2 email. Two of Microsoft’s apprenticeship and recruiting programs are DOL-accredited, the spokesperson said.

The OFCCP is seeking to build out a pilot apprenticeship program of about a dozen companies, according to Leen’s remarks at the Institute for Workplace Equality Annual Summit in May. A panel discussion at the time implied that those companies that developed apprenticeship programs would be free from compliance audits for a number of years while they work out the kinks in getting the programs off the ground.

Apprenticeships were also included in Leen’s remarks at the American Association for Access, Equity and Diversity’s June conference, Horvitz said. Based on the Town Hall Action Plan and conversations with agency officials and her colleagues, Horvitz said the office is looking at giving some sort of audit reprieve for contractors that certify their voluntary compliance with the OFCCP’s requirements, but not necessarily for those that set up apprenticeship programs.

The office seems to be in the midst of evaluating which regulations could impede the increased use of apprenticeship programs and how they can create incentives for contractors to build them, Michael Eastman said. He’s the senior vice president for policy and assistant general counsel at the Center for Workplace Compliance in Washington.

If the OFCCP finds itself able to incentivize contractors to create apprenticeship programs, contractors could use those programs to address their placement goals and create availability for candidates they seek, Candee Chambers, executive director of DirectEmployers in Indianapolis, told Bloomberg Law.

“How can you meet your placement goals if you’re not hiring the right candidates? And through apprenticeships, you’re training those candidates in the exact way you want things done,” Chambers said.

CWC and DirectEmployers are employer organizations that inform and assist their respective contractor members in meeting their equal employment opportunity obligations.

Considerations and Concerns

There are five core components to apprenticeship programs under Labor Department standards: “direct business involvement, on-the-job training, related instruction, rewards for skill gains, and completion resulting in a national occupation credential.”

Expecting contractors to implement those standards will take money, time, and trust.

“My clients have a budget, and that budget is set in advance. There aren’t a lot of discretionary dollars lying around. A good apprenticeship program takes time to get off the ground, and I think corporations move more slowly than policy makers would like,” Horvitz said.

There had been a whisper that establishing apprenticeship programs could be rolled into contractor conciliation agreements—the legal contracts the OFCCP and contractors reach to settle allegations of discrimination or other compliance violations stemming from an audit—but some stakeholders don’t think that’s practical.

Chambers points out that there are a lot of specifics that go into setting up one of these programs that make them less than ideal for terms in a conciliation agreement: where a program should be housed, whether it should be run through a community college, who should set the learning goals, and what types of internal training should be conducted.

However they come about, this may be a particularly good time for apprenticeship programs. Chambers thinks the aging workforce is ripe for mentor status, leveraging older workers’ insight and past experiences not yet fully maximized in the current workforce training scheme.

Apprenticeship programs would be easier to implement in some industries than others. Construction, manufacturing, and production job sites could be ripe for training programs. But the office also audits health-care and higher education facilities, which may be less conducive to on-the-job training.

The final hurdle would be earning contractors’ confidence in rolling out a nationwide apprenticeship incentive program, according to Eastman. Contractors and the OFCCP have had a contentious relationship for years.

That relationship is mending under the new administration, which is more business-friendly across the Labor Department as a whole.

“Contractors like the creativity coming out of the OFCCP. They’re open to new ideas,” Eastman said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Porter Wells in Washington at pwells@bloomberglaw.com

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Terence Hyland at thyland@bloomberglaw.com

Trump Administration to Rescind Obama Guidelines on Race in College Admissions

noreply@blogger.com (AAAED) — Tue, 03 Jul 2018 15:03:00 +0000

Legal opinions from the former administration sought to help colleges consider race to promote diversity

By: Michelle Hackman

Updated July 3, 2018 8:40 a.m. ET

"WASHINGTON—The Trump administration is planning to rescind Tuesday a set of Obama-era policies that encourage the use of race in college admissions to promote diverse educational settings, according to two people familiar with the plans.

The move comes as the Justice Department is investigating whether Harvard University is illegally discriminating against Asian-American students by holding them to a higher standard in its admissions process. The administration revived the probe last year after Obama civil rights officials dismissed a similar complaint.

The guidelines, issued jointly by the Obama Justice and Education departments, laid out legal recommendations for schools looking to use race as an admissions factor to boost diversity at their schools.

Trump administration officials plan to argue that the documents, published in 2011 and 2016, go beyond Supreme Court precedent on the issue and mislead schools to believe that legal forms of affirmative action are simpler to achieve than what the law allows.

Anurima Bargava, who headed civil rights enforcement in schools under Mr. Obama’s Justice Department, disagreed with that assessment, saying the documents simply offered guidelines to schools and colleges looking to continue using affirmative action legally. She said the current administration’s action signals that it doesn’t favor racial diversity."

Read the full article HERE

Dr. Richard Anthony Baker Named President of National Diversity Association

noreply@blogger.com (AAAED) — Tue, 03 Jul 2018 14:18:00 +0000

News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Richard Zagrzecki
Communications Coordinator
832-842-4722
rzagrzec@central.uh.edu

Dr. Richard Anthony Baker Named President of National Diversity Association

Houston, June 28, 2018 - The American Association for Access, Equity and Diversity will be led for the next two years by Dr. Richard Anthony Baker, assistant vice chancellor/vice president for Equal Opportunity Services for the University of Houston System and the University of Houston.

Baker was elected president of the national not-for-profit organization this spring. His term starts July 1.

AAAED is an association that provides support, guidance and professional development for individuals serving in equal opportunity and diversity positions. As president, Baker will provide guidance and leadership for the association's nine regions, including developing training opportunities for its thousands of individual members.

"The core mission of AAAED is to support equal opportunity professionals with training and development in all initiatives that impact equal opportunity, from compliance to hiring," he said. "We want them to have the competencies that are necessary to be successful throughout their careers."

Baker has been a member of the association since 2011 and has previously served as a board member and director for Region VI, which comprises Texas, New Mexico, Louisiana, Arkansas and Oklahoma. He was the chair of the association's 2015 national conference in New Orleans, and also served as chair of its awards committee for two years. In 2015, he was honored with AAAED's President's Award for Leadership and Service.

In his role in the UH System, he oversees the Equal Opportunity Services offices that enforce the anti-discrimination policies at the four component universities, which includes responding to complaints and reports of discrimination and sexual misconduct for the more than 85,000 students, faculty and staff in the UH System. Last semester, he spearheaded the sexual misconduct reporting training that every UH employee was required to attend.

Baker holds a doctorate of jurisprudence from Texas Tech University, as well as a master's degree in public administration and a doctorate in higher education.

About the University of Houston

The University of Houston is a Carnegie-designated Tier One public research university recognized by The Princeton Review as one of the nation's best colleges for undergraduate education. UH serves the globally competitive Houston and Gulf Coast Region by providing world-class faculty, experiential learning and strategic industry partnerships. Located in the nation's fourth-largest city, UH serves nearly 45,300 students in the most ethnically and culturally diverse region in the country.

Potential Contenders for Justice Kennedy's Replacement

noreply@blogger.com (AAAED) — Thu, 28 Jun 2018 15:16:00 +0000

The following is a list of potential Supreme Court Justice nominees released by the White House in November:
________________________________________________________________________________

STATEMENTS & RELEASES

President Donald J. Trump’s Supreme Court List

Issued on: November 17, 2017

______________________________________

Amy Coney Barrett of Indiana, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit

Keith Blackwell of Georgia, Supreme Court of Georgia

Charles Canady of Florida, Supreme Court of Florida

Steven Colloton of Iowa, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit

Allison Eid of Colorado, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit

Britt Grant of Georgia, Supreme Court of Georgia

Raymond Gruender of Missouri, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit

Thomas Hardiman of Pennsylvania, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

Brett Kavanaugh of Maryland, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

Raymond Kethledge of Michigan, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

Joan Larsen of Michigan, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

Mike Lee of Utah, United States Senator

Thomas Lee of Utah, Supreme Court of Utah

Edward Mansfield of Iowa, Supreme Court of Iowa

Federico Moreno of Florida, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida

Kevin Newsom of Alabama, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

William Pryor of Alabama, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

Margaret Ryan of Virginia, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces

David Stras of Minnesota, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit

Diane Sykes of Wisconsin, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit

Amul Thapar of Kentucky, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

Timothy Tymkovich of Colorado, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit

Robert Young of Michigan, Supreme Court of Michigan (Ret.)

Don Willett of Texas, Supreme Court of Texas

Patrick Wyrick of Oklahoma, Supreme Court of Oklahoma

Source: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/president-donald-j-trumps-supreme-court-list/

__________________________________________________

From the above list, CNN wrote an article about possible contenders.

Supreme Court upholds Trump’s travel ban

noreply@blogger.com (AAAED) — Tue, 26 Jun 2018 15:49:00 +0000

"The Supreme Court on Tuesday (6-26) ruled in favor of President Donald Trump's travel ban, a major victory in the administration's quest to restrict the flow of immigrants and visitors into the United States.

In 5-4 decision, the justices affirmed the president's vast powers over matter of national security -- even as they grappled with Trump's anti-Muslim statements and the intent behind the controversial policy.

The latest version of the ban levels a range of travel restrictions against five majority-Muslim countries -- Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen -- as well as North Korea and Venezuela. Chad, another majority Muslim nation, was removed from the list in April."

Source: Politico.

Read more Here.

Other articles concerning the court decision:

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/26/supreme-court-rules-in-trump-muslim-travel-ban-case.html

https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/26/politics/travel-ban-supreme-court/index.html

Update:

What does the ban do?

Source: https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/supreme-court-travel-ban/index.html

Congrats to AAAED Executive Director, Shirley Wilcher for Receiving Doctorate of Humane Letters at Mount Holyoke

noreply@blogger.com (AAAED) — Tue, 22 May 2018 15:25:00 +0000

AAAED Executive Director, Shirley Wilcher, with Mount Holyoke Commencement Keynote Leader Pelosi.

This is what Shirley Wilcher said to the newly minted alumane

Address to the Graduates of Mount Holyoke College, Class of 2018

To the trustees, President Stephens, Leader Pelosi, faculty, fellow honorees and dear graduates: thank you for inviting me back to this wonderful campus. I am humbly and deeply honored to be among such outstanding and accomplished individuals. I can’t believe I am here.

In the fall of 1969, I began my college career at Mount Holyoke, choosing to come here instead of other outstanding women’s colleges because the students and administrators were genuinely welcoming and the campus was beautiful. Being a student here also enabled me to pursue my love of language and philosophy as well as to participate in the Chamber Singers, where we spent the summer of 1972 on a European tour! What an opportunity!

The late 1960s was a time of explosive turmoil after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It was a time of student unrest and takeovers. At that time African American students across the nation called for black studies and a house where we could support each other. In the spring of 1970 there was even more unrest against the Vietnam War and colleges and universities nationwide observed a moratorium to reflect on the implications of this war.

At Mount Holyoke my class boasted one of the largest numbers of African American students. We came from Roxbury/Dorchester, Southside Chicago, Washington, DC; Brooklyn, Memphis and Los Angeles. We were bright and capable and intellectually curious and we were good. And as I told Senator Nancy Kassebaum years later, many of us are now physicians and lawyers. In the audience today are three of my “sisters”: Deborah Northcross ’73; Mindy Lewis ’75 (MHC Trustee); and Judge Rhynette Northcross ’71 (MHC Trustee). That is what giving a group of young people, many of whom were unfamiliar with the bucolic landscape and more privileged community in South Hadley an invitation. I knew nothing about demitasse and milk and cookies was not part of my evening routine. I am after all, the daughter of jazz musicians and was raised until the age of 12 by a grandmother whose life choices were limited by being black, female and having only a second-grade education. She had to leave school to take care of her 13 brothers and sisters. But she was brilliant in her own unique way and she supported my love of school – an opportunity she was denied.

It was during my first semester senior year in Paris that I made the decision to pursue a career in civil rights. France has many political parties. We learned literature and philosophy from a French perspective and we were shaken from our complacency about life in the USA. We learned that the American world view was not universally held. We also learned that there was much work to be done at home to make our nation what it could be.

So, while my parents were jazz musicians, I chose to be an activist and follow the footsteps of my Uncle who changed his name to Marcus Garvey Wilcher. Civil rights was my passion, my mission and my career. After attending graduate school and law school, I went to Washington, DC to work for the National Women’s Law Center, which was on the cutting edge of Title IX litigation. In my career in Washington, I have worked in the executive branch, the legislative branch and the fifth estate: the advocacy organizations.

One of the highlights of my career was receiving the key to the city of Birmingham, Alabama, at the Civil Rights Museum when I worked for the Department of Labor. My grandmother migrated to Akron, Ohio from Alabama, and I often think if she was watching when her little girl was receiving the key to the city. I hope she is here now.

You need more than youthful enthusiasm to succeed in this world. You need to understand power, not only political power, i.e., the power of coalitions and the power of the vote, but also the power of relationships, both in the workplace and beyond. Most importantly, you need to understand the power within yourself.

You need to have a vision and the strength to achieve that vision through hard work. You must also have an unshakable faith in yourself.

You need to know that you share with the Creator an ability to create your reality. Where there are obstacles, just say no, as Nancy Reagan once said. Be undeterred. Fight against personal oppression as well as systemic, societal oppression. To a great extent, remember that you control your life and you control your future. Believe that.

We have entered an era where standards of decency have been upended and the rights we fought so hard to establish are being dismantled. We are at a crossroads; we will be either destroyed by the fear of change and of “the other” or we will rise stronger together as a society and a civilization because of our diversity.

I believe that you were born at this time to challenge us to take the latter path. You are shaking the culture of sexism and racism, the tolerance of sexual assault and homophobia, and the hate and bias that is infecting our college campuses and our workplaces. You are standing for a future that rejects tribalism and oppression, religious intolerance and the freedom to simply be your beautiful selves. When I look out at you I am assured that one day we will be a human race.

In addressing a group of students in the Youth March to Integrate the Schools, Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. said:

As June approaches, with its graduation ceremonies and speeches, a thought suggests itself. You will hear much about careers, security, and prosperity. I will leave the discussion of such matters to your deans, your principals, and your valedictorians. But I do have a graduation thought to pass along to you. Whatever career you may choose for yourself—doctor, lawyer, teacher—let me propose an avocation to be pursued along with it. Become a dedicated fighter for civil rights. Make it a central part of your life.

It will make you a better doctor, a better lawyer, a better teacher. It will enrich your spirit as nothing else possibly can.... Make a career of humanity. Commit yourself to the noble struggle for equal rights. You will make a greater person of yourself, a greater Nation of your country, and a finer world to live in[1]

I believe in you. I salute you. I wish you all the best.

I thank you.

[1] Address at the Youth March for Integrated Schools on 18 April 1959. https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-papers/documents/address-youth-march-integrated-schools-18-april-1959

After another 'noose' incident in Anne Arundel County, lawmakers finalize hate crime bill

noreply@blogger.com (AAAED) — Tue, 10 Apr 2018 19:57:00 +0000

A few days after another noose was found an Anne Arundel County school campus, the Maryland House of Delegates cast a deciding vote on legislation that strengthens Maryland’s hate crime laws.

State Sen. John Astle’s hate crime legislation — Senate Bill 528 — passed with a 133-4 vote Saturday. Since the House of Delegates did not amend the bill, it will go before the governor for signature.

The bill broadens Maryland’s hate crime law to specifically include groups of people. Anne Arundel County Circuit Court Judge Paul F. Harris Jr. asked legislators to take a closer look at the law after Harris interpreted the law to require named, specific individuals as targets of hate crimes. Because of this interpretation, Harris declined to punish a man who hung a noose at Crofton Middle School in May.

Read More Here

Civil Rights Groups to Congress: Betsy DeVos is Approving Plans That Violate ESSA

noreply@blogger.com (AAAED) — Tue, 10 Apr 2018 19:52:00 +0000

U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos is approving plans that fly in the face of the Every Student Succeeds Act's protections for vulnerable children, according to more than a dozen civil rights groups, including the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.

The groups sent a letter Tuesday to Democratic and Republican leaders on the House and Senate education committees asking them to tell DeVos to stop approving "unlawful" plans.

"We call on you to fulfill your role in ESSA's implementation and to correct the Department of Education's flawed approval of state plans that do not comply core equity provisions of the law," the groups wrote to Sens. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and Patty Murray, D-Wash., as well as Reps. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., and Bobby Scott, D-Va.

Read More Here

How Six Cities Promote Diversity and Inclusion for Residents

noreply@blogger.com (AAAED) — Tue, 10 Apr 2018 19:50:00 +0000

Around the country, cities large and small are finding innovative ways to weave together every strand of their community, so that every resident has a fair shot at opportunity and prosperity.

Every year at the Congressional City Conference, the Diversity Awards Breakfast celebrates cities who have demonstrated dedicated and fresh approaches to inclusive policies. This year, six cities received recognition for the 2018 City Cultural Diversity Awards.

“Cities across America are celebrating and supporting diversity and inclusion in innovative ways,” said National League of Cities (NLC) President Mark Stodola, mayor of Little Rock, Arkansas. “NLC is proud to honor six communities as pioneers that have demonstrated initiative, resourcefulness and inclusive values in their approach to governing.”

Submissions for the awards program were grouped by size and evaluated on how the program increased citizen participation in government and community activities, as well as the overall scope and impact of the program.

The six communities honored for their policies are:

Read More Here

At Simmons forum, Michelle Obama talks affirmative action, student loans — and 2020

noreply@blogger.com (AAAED) — Tue, 10 Apr 2018 19:48:00 +0000

Speaking at Simmons College’s annual women’s leadership conference in Boston on Thursday, Michelle Obama discussed her personal experience with affirmative action and student loan debt — and also addressed speculation about a possible presidential run in 2020.

The former First Lady was the featured speaker at the all-day women’s empowerment event, which drew thousands of attendees to the Seaport Hotel and World Trade Center. In a question-and-answer session moderated by Simmons president Helen Drinan, Obama said that she sometimes “felt like an affirmative action kid” as a freshman at Princeton University, contrasting her upbringing on the South Side of Chicago with those of her Ivy League classmates.

“In our society, somehow, when affirmative action means color, it’s deemed to be problematic,” she said. “I have a problem with that, because affirmative action exists everywhere throughout society. It’s called privilege.”

Read More Here

Diversity and inclusion education can serve as ‘business insurance’

noreply@blogger.com (AAAED) — Tue, 10 Apr 2018 19:46:00 +0000

Organizations, large and small, increasingly understand that diversity and inclusion education are good in and of themselves, but they also are good legal protection about perceptions of differences in gender, race, age, sexual orientation and many other cultural considerations.

Recent sexual harassment accusations that started in Hollywood, spread like wildfire through numerous other organizations across the country, even reaching politicians at the highest levels. The U.S. Congress, confronted with its own troubling history of sexual harassment, voted Nov. 29, 2017, on legislation requiring all of its 535 members and their staff to undergo mandatory anti-sexual harassment training.

Critics suggest that Congress’ vote came a little too late given that in June 1999 the U.S. Supreme Court Supreme Court decided that “preventive training can be part of a legal defense against punitive damages in diversity cases such as discrimination and harassment.”

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/community/lsjournal/opinion/article206387259.html#storylink=cpy

Read More Here

The White House needs to push for more diversity and inclusion

noreply@blogger.com (AAAED) — Tue, 10 Apr 2018 19:44:00 +0000

In a time of divisive and abrasive politics in America, and as we face very real and very concerning but equally divisive issues like police brutality and mass shootings, it is crucial for us to seek a platform for unity, as well as for diversity and inclusion. The White House, especially since President Trump’s groundbreaking and controversial campaign, has made calls for “unity” and has attempted to foster it in its approaches. Following events like the Unite the Right Rally and the Parkland Shooting, President Trump has made calls for “unity.” Shortly after the congressional baseball practice shooting in Virginia in June of 2017, Trump said, "We are strongest when we are unified and when we work together for the common good" in the wake of an event that threatened to raise existing political tensions.

Read More Here

OFCCP Lowers Hiring Benchmark for Veteran Affirmative Action Plans

noreply@blogger.com (AAAED) — Tue, 03 Apr 2018 20:06:00 +0000

On March 30, 2018, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) announced that it was lowering the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA) hiring benchmark to 6.4 percent from 6.7 percent. The change applies to affirmative action plan (AAP) years starting on or after March 31, 2018.

The VEVRAA benchmark is a figure federal contractors must use to evaluate their hiring of protected veterans. Under VEVRAA regulations, contractors may either use OFCCP’s annual benchmark, which is based on annually updated data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, or establish their own benchmark by following the five-factor method outlined in OFCCP’s regulations. Relatively few contractors elect to calculate a customized benchmark; most choosing to accept the national number published by OFCCP.

Read More Here

Classroom Clash: Professor’s Words in Hate-Speech Course Stir Student Walkout, Campus Controversy

noreply@blogger.com (AAAED) — Tue, 03 Apr 2018 20:01:00 +0000

A campus debate erupted over the limits of acceptable classroom speech when a veteran professor’s use of a racial slur in a class on hate speech prompted some students to walk out and the course to subsequently be canceled by the professor.

During the first meeting of the anthropology course “Cultural Freedoms — Hate Speech, Blasphemy, and Pornography,” taught by professor emeritus Lawrence Rosen, a small number of students walked out of the classroom following Rosen’s use of the N-word in a question about cultural taboos: “What is worse, a white man punching a black man, or a white man calling a black man a n****r?” Among the class of 65, about eight were black students, according to Destiny Salter ’20, one of the students.

Read More Here

Making moves to increase diversity in radiology — “It’s a must”

noreply@blogger.com (AAAED) — Tue, 03 Apr 2018 18:46:00 +0000

Radiology is a bit less diverse than other fields of medicine, Stanford pediatric radiologist Heike Daldrup-Link, MD, admits, but she's spearheading an effort to change that.

Daldrup-Link, with support of a diversity committee in Stanford's Department of Radiology, is pursuing a long-term approach to improve diversity and inclusion in radiology and science more broadly. Currently, the department is focusing on recruitment efforts, mentorship and educating colleagues at Stanford and in the broader scientific community. The first step is to increase the number of underrepresented individuals, including people of color, religious minorities, sexual and gender minorities, women and others, in the department by educating colleagues and hiring committees and providing them with resources to support diversity and inclusion, Daldrup-Link said.

Click here for More.