Impact Report 2009
The 2009 Impact Report for the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement reflects the work of the 50 programs and projects in the division as well as scores of partners across campus and around the state. Reading through the report, you will meet staff members, people we serve, and our partners engaged in creating a culture of inclusive excellence here at the university and beyond.
Message from President Bill Powers, Jr. and Provost, Dr. Steven Leslie
Message from Dr. Gregory J. Vincent, Vice President for Diversity and Community Engagement
Introduction: Dynamic University-Community Partnerships
Creating an intellectually and culturally diverse environment is one of President Powers’ four strategic goals for the university. To meet this goal, the DDCE was created. It includes a robust portfolio of units and programs that work with scores of partners across campus and throughout the state to create a climate of intellectual and cultural diversity and ensure students in Texas have equal access to higher education.
Creating a More Diverse Campus Through Thematic Faculty Hires
DDCE partners with deans and department chairs to recruit and retain faculty members who enrich scholarship and bring new perspectives in teaching. The division has helped make a difference in most every college on campus—resulting in the most diverse faculty hires ever in the fall of 2009.
Richard L. Reddick: Determining the Role of the UT African American Faculty in the Community
Justin Driver: Leveraging the Diversity of Thought at the UT Law School
Lok Siu: Negotiating Sense of Self and Community through the Asian Diaspora
Maggie Rivas Rodríguez: Recording History of Latinos and Latinas
Service & Community: Integral Parts of UT’s Mission and of DDCE
With DDCE, the university began building on its foundation of community engagement in new ways, including establishment of a Community Engagement Center. Community engagement is an essential feature of many of the division’s initiatives and programs as we work to make the university more welcoming to all and carry out the university’s mission of service to the people of Texas.
Eric Tang: Professor, Researcher, Community Organizer
VSLC Strives to Help Create Meaningful Academic Service Learning Courses
Life changing experiences serve as the foundation for the university’s current 47 academic service learning courses.
Project 2009 Partnered with Clinton Global Initiative
Regional Foundation Library Expanding Community Connections
The library continues to connect grant-seekers with grant-makers and serves a new role as part of the DDCE’s Community Engagement Center.
Community Incubator in Action: Proyecto Defensa Laboral
UT students and faculty partnered with the Workers Defense Project on a collaborative research project that examined the construction industry’s working conditions in Austin.
The Excellent 11: DDCE GRAS for 2008-2009
These bright, passionate graduate students serve DDCE in many ways: conducting research, mentoring and tutoring, and working on special projects.
Spotlight on TCEP
The Texas Center for Education Policy cultivates innovative thinking around issues of education and promotes equity and excellence in public elementary, secondary, and higher education.
Diversity Education Institute and the University Police Department Tackle Diversity Training
The UTPD collaborated with DEI to get a fresh approach to diversity training.
University Resource Groups Help Cultivate Communication and Diversity
Four faculty and staff University Resource Groups (URGs) are vital threads in the social fabric of the university. They provide unique perspectives and cultural expression and give an organized voice to faculty and staff members who may feel underrepresented on campus.
UIL Celebrates 100 Years
The University Interscholastic League (UIL) has been working with schools across the state for 100 years, helping engage students in academic and athletic competitions and spurring them to reach high achievement levels.
A New Generation of Philanthropists Supports DDCE Work
UT alum Lee Bagan is part of a new generation of UT philanthropists—those who begin their philanthropy efforts while a student.
The Lola Wright Foundation
Supporting DDCE’s Community Engagement Center is just one of the many ways the Lola Wright Foundation meets the needs of the people of East Austin.
DDCE Advisory Council: Building Relationships to Achieve the Mission
The advisory council is a group of individuals committed to diversity and community engagement who serve in an advisory role to the vice president for diversity and community engagement and help spread the word about the division’s work.
The Hogg Foundation: Reaching Out to Improve Mental Health of All Texans
The Hogg Foundation for Mental Health addresses key issues such as consumer and family involvement in mental health care and policy, integrated health care, cultural competency of mental health care workers.
DDCE’s Hogg Foundation Grant helps Wrongfully Convicted Get Mental Health Care
A Hogg Foundation grant given to UT-Arlington assistant professor Jamie Page led to a study of the mental health needs of individuals who were wrongfully convicted of crimes and exonerated. The exonerees’ stories are compelling and led to changes in state law during the last legislative session.
UT Elementary Shares Best Practices
The exemplary-rated UT Elementary School serves as a learning laboratory for pre-service teachers and shares best practices in urban education with schools in the Austin Independent School District.
Neighborhood Longhorns: Partnering with AISD to Help Little Longhorns Dream Big
Each school year more than 5,000 students at Title I schools get encouragement and help obtaining high achievement goals through the Neighborhood Longhorns Program. The program is a partnership between UT Athletics, Austin Independent School District, and the DDCE.
ChemBridge: Preparing Students for College Success, Strengthening Teacher Knowledge
High school students gain confidence to master complex material and receive college chemistry credit through DDCE’s ChemBridge program. Their teachers receive annual professional development to deepen content knowledge.
SPURS: Partnerships Between UT and High School Students SPUR Academic Success
Eighty percent of high school juniors who participated in Students Partnering for Undergraduate Rhetoric Success (SPURS) were prepared to enroll in the first year writing course at The University of Texas at Austin.
University Outreach Centers Foster Student Focus on College
Five University Outreach Centers, located around the state, help fill a void at middle schools and high schools where guidance counselors are typically so busy they have little time to focus on supplying information about college.
Tapping Potential: Teens Forge a Path to Success Through ICUSP Program
DDCE ICUSP (Institute for Community, University, and School Partnerships) program helps high school students develop goal setting, conflict management, and leadership skills while working with peers in small groups to discuss how to tackle challenges in their day to day lives.
LCAE: Helping First-Year and Underrepresented Students Pursue Academic Excellence
The Longhorn Center for Academic Excellence has a number of programs that support first-generation college students, students from underrepresented populations, and students whose SAT scores are lower than the average incoming freshman UT student. Creating smaller learning communities for these students while holding the bar high for achievement has resulted in first-year GPAs and first-year retention rate comparable to the university overall.
Partnering to Provide Services to Students with Disabilities
Services for Students with Disabilities partners with faculty and colleges on campus to ensure students with disabilities succeed academically and are prepared for life beyond college.
QPOCA: Queer People of Color and Allies, Changing UT Austin One Supporter at a Time
QPOCA recently became an official student agency under DDCE’s Multicultural Information Center. The student agency creates a community for queer people of color and is a force for social change.
Gender and Sexuality Center Promotes Successful Transition to UT Community
The GSC promotes learning around issues of gender and sexuality and integrates women and LGBTQ students into campus life.
MIC: Multicultural Information Center
The MIC empowers students to be agents of social change by providing diverse educational opportunities, leadership development and support services.
Intellectual Entrepreneurship Internship Shows Long-Term Positive Outcomes
The award-winning Intellectual Entrepreneurship Pre-Graduate School Internship program empowers students to make decisions about their field of study and professional path while being involved in a research project with graduate student mentors. Overall, participating students feel more confident about attending graduate school and often discover their passion.
DDCE By the Numbers: A Quick Glimpse at 2008-2009
This provides a quick glance at our successes the past year.
Memorable Day Honored the Late Barbara Jordan
More than 1200 people from across the state gathered on The University of Texas at Austin campus for the touching ceremony and unveiling of a statue of the Honorable Barbara Jordan.
