Miami University

Multicultural awareness efforts recognized by the White House

10/12/1998

OXFORD, Ohio -- An interactive CD-ROM developed at Miami University has

been chosen as a Promising Practice by the advisory board of the President's

Initiative On Race.

The Interactive Multicultural Awareness Program on Race is included in the

board's report One America in the 21st Century: Forging a New Future

and is listed on the White House Web site at www.whitehouse.gov. The

CD-ROM, introduced in 1994, allows users to choose different responses to

actual incidents of harassment and discrimination.

"The CD-ROM was one part of our ongoing efforts to raise the level of

multicultural awareness," said Susan Mosley-Howard, associate professor of

educational psychology. "Our hope is that this recognition will enable us to

show other schools and organizations how to develop similar projects."

The Interactive Multicultural Awareness Program on Race is one part of

extensive efforts to increase diversity-- efforts that have doubled minority

enrollment at Miami over the past 10 years.

Among the highlights of the university's recently released diversity plan is

a mandate that all university departments institute a plan for increasing

faculty, staff and student diversity.

The McBride Hall program brings first year students together to live in one

dorm and tackle numerous tough issues: race, class, sexual orientation,

religion and concerns of the disabled. Among their numerous activities, the

students meet once a week in intimate groups for frank, open discussions.

Miami's admission office has beefed up its staff in recent years with

personnel devoted solely to minority recruitment.

Every school year, the university chooses a theme that runs throughout

classroom, cultural and social events. The theme for the 1998-99 school year

is Native American culture. The theme for 1997-98: AIDS awareness. The theme

for 1996-97: Latin American culture.

The Minority Professional Leadership Program brings more than 100 minority

high school seniors to campus each summer. The goal of the program is to link

schools, corporations and professional organizations in an effort to

familiarize minority students with various career options and university life.

For students who choose to attend Miami after taking part, the program offers

scholarships, internships and leadership training.

Robert Vogel, professor of communication; Mosley-Howard; Raymond White,

professor emeritus of psychology; and Ronald Scott, associate professor of

communication, developed Interactive Multicultural Awareness Program on Race

for the university. The project was instituted by the Ohio Department of

Transportation.

ODOT representatives nominated the project to be a Promising Practice. It was

funded by Miami, the Ohio Commission For Dispute and Conflict Resolution, the

Mead Foundation and the Apple Corporation.

For additional information, contact Miami's news and public information office

at 513-529-7592.