This is a very exciting time for the faculty and staff of Ethnic Studies! This fall we are busy writing our self-assessment report, a part of the overall program review process that we hope will help us identify important objectives and goals in planning for the future. We like to think, however, that our preparation in planning for the future was set in motion with certain transformation that has occurred in the recent past.
First, the Ethnic Studies department experienced growth by one faculty line thanks to the commitment and support from the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences to help cover our need for faculty and to strengthen our curriculum. This new position and two replacements led the department to welcome three outstanding faculty scholars who already are contributing to our course offering in areas of Chicano(a)/ Hispanic studies, African American studies and Native American studies. There is no doubt that the direct beneficiaries of this change will be our students who will have more choices in the selection of their courses in all our programs.
Second, in the past year the Ethnic Studies department proposed and was approved a Graduate Diversity Certificate Program to enhance the opportunities for students who may not want a full commitment to undertake studies in our Master's program. This program is based on a selected core of highly specialized courses that offer students the opportunity to acquire basic knowledge, values, and skills related to ethnic and culturally diverse groups and prepare our students for effective functioning across the culturally diverse and global community. A marketing campaign will be launched in the near future to promote this program among the personnel of many social service agencies in our southern Minnesota region.
Third, we have strengthened our programs in ways that are structurally sound and easy to follow. Based upon these curricular concerns we have determined areas of interest for the opening of new courses and the implementation of different modes of intervention like experiential learning, projects, symposia, and others. Our current courses are also under a process of improvement based on the content or specific strategies such as the implementation of portfolios, field trips, and others.
These are only some of the elements of the process we have initiated to improve all aspects of our department. Ethnic Studies hopes to leap forward into the future through the implementation of a strategic plan that will strengthen its lead in the southern Minnesota region, the state and the country.
Luis Posas, Ph. D
