Dear Colleagues,

Since its debut almost a year ago, the Division of Student Affairs has been hard at work implementing our Multicultural Competence Strategic Plan. Achieving true multicultural competence will require thoughtful reflection and awareness as well as a steadfast commitment from all of us to work toward this goal. And while this will be a continuously evolving process, I'd like to highlight some of the most recent initiatives in the Division.

• Toti Perez, PhD, director of the Counseling Center, and Stephanie Ray, associate dean and director of Student Diversity Programs, presented in late May at the NCORE Conference on the Division's Multicultural Competence Strategic Plan. In addition, the team led a day-long institute titled "A Student Affairs Approach to Developing a Multicultural Competence Strategic Plan."

• Within the Office of the Dean of Students (ODOS), the Office of Student Diversity Programs is working to create opportunities and provide ongoing support, education, and training for staff to obtain competence in multicultural and diversity issues. This past semester, 90 percent of ODOS staff participated in a day and a half of Social Justice Training by a faculty member from the Social Justice Training Institute.

• LEAD's Grand Challenges Program is participating in a multicultural experiment to document the effects of multiculturalism and the added effects that a program like the Grand Challenges Living Learning Communities imparts into the development of multicultural competency.
• In April 2013, two videos produced by the Multicultural Competency Committee were viewed by 300 Campus Recreation Center employees and discussed during in-service sessions. The employees were also required to read supporting information and complete a brief online survey. Currently, Campus Recreation plans to distribute these videos and surveys to at least 160 Outdoor Recreation at Georgia Tech (ORGT) volunteers before sharing during a meeting of the ORGT advisory board.

• As announced during the Division's meeting last March, all full-time job descriptions in the Division will include the following statement by mid-July 2013:

The Division of Student Affairs is committed to Multicultural Competency and strives to create an inclusive campus environment. We are dedicated to cultural diversity in people, their values, beliefs, and feelings. This position requires possession of or willingness to develop attitudes, knowledge, and skills that demonstrate multicultural competency.

Directors will receive the revised job descriptions and distribute to their staff. All employees will receive a copy of their updated job description. Moving forward in developing SMART goals for 2013-2014, each of us is encouraged to take this opportunity to formulate a goal pertaining to multicultural competency.

Throughout the upcoming months, updates will be provided regarding our progress toward achieving multicultural competence. If you have news related to multicultural competence that you would like to include in The Buzz at Student Affairs, please send an email to studentaffairs@gatech.edu.