SS-S95-5

At its meeting of April 17, 1995, the Academic Senate approved the following Sense-of-the-Senate Resolution presented by Kenneth Peter for the Curriculum and Research Committee.

FOSTERING APPRECIATION AND UNDERSTANDING OF DIVERSITY

AT SAN JOSE STATE UNIVERSITY

Whereas, San José State University serves a student body and community that is extraordinarily diverse and becoming more so; and

Whereas, Diversity can be a great strength when institutions, such as the university, help educate society to unlock the creativity contained in cross-cultural interchange; but can be a grave weakness when ignorance, bigotry and structured inequalities serve to limit human potentials; and

Whereas, A variety of campus reports and studies suggest that San José State can do substantially better in turning diversity from a weakness to a strength; and

Whereas, The recent Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) accreditation report (November 1995) states that "SJSU is still at a very preliminary stage in addressing the challenges [diversity] poses" (p. 23) and "there is an attitude expressed consistently that at SJSU there is a lot of talk about diversity but nothing is being done" (p. 58); and

Whereas, The Senate's Task Force on Ethnic Studies and Cultural Pluralism has diligently worked to advise the University Curriculum and Research Committee on how the curriculum should address those aspects of diversity concerned with the issue of race relations; and

Whereas, Diversity is a comprehensive issue which defies traditional categories; consequently, it needs to be addressed in a comprehensive manner which utilizes all the diverse talents and resources of the University; now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the Academic Senate declares that it should be SJSU's highest aspiration to create and maintain a supportive learning environment that serves all our diverse students equally well, and that budgetary priorities should be arranged to help the University achieve that aspiration; be it further

Resolved, That in order to better address matters of diversity at SJSU, the Academic Senate accepts the attached report from the University Curriculum and Research Committee and endorses its recommendations, calling upon all members of the university community to work towards implementation of these recommendations and their associated timelines; be it further

Resolved, That the Academic Senate thanks the members of the Task Force on Ethnic Studies and Cultural Pluralism for their investment of time and energy to consideration of an especially difficult and long-standing controversy at SJSU.