Diversity workshop is model for other universities
A College of Agriculture and Life Sciences diversity workshop has become a model for diversity training at other land-grant universities across the nation.
Offered by CALS since 2005, Opening Doors is a three-day overnight retreat that focuses on raising participants’ awareness of diversity and on enhancing their ability to create organizations that welcome people of all backgrounds.
Kansas State, Michigan State and Tennessee State universities have all invited the College’s five-person facilitation team to deliver the workshop at their institutions, and other universities have sent faculty and staff members to N.C. State for the training.
The training team from N.C. State includes two current CALS faculty members — Robin Landsman, an Extension family and consumer sciences agent in Wake County, and Robin Roper, an Extension associate in the Department of 4-H Youth Development and Family and Consumer Sciences.
Other team members are three former employees: Dr. William Swallow, a retired professor in the Department of Statistics; Dr. Harvey Lineberry, former CALS assistant dean for personnel who now works for UNC-Chapel Hill’s School of Medicine; and Dr. Brenda Alston-Mills, former CALS assistant dean for diversity who now works for Michigan State’s College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
Opening Doors originated with the N.Y. State Migrant Education Project, and the N.C. State training team underwent a two-year apprenticeship before leading the retreat on their own.
Opening Doors revolves around what its creators call the “dominator model,” which defines society as consisting of dominating groups and excluded groups. Examples in American culture include white people and people of color, men and women, heterosexuals and homosexuals, adults and children, and Christians and those of other religions or those who have no religious beliefs.
“All the -isms” is how Swallow puts it.
Participants explore what it means to be part of the groups they are members of, and through one-on-one and group conversations, they learn what it is like for others. They also consider how individuals and organizations maintain inequalities that prevent all people from reaching their full potential.
In addition, participants build alliances and networks, and they think about ways to implement change.
While the ultimate goal is organizational change, Opening Doors starts with personal discovery. The training team works to create an environment in which participants are willing to open up, Landsman says.
That’s why the training team itself consists of people from a range of backgrounds, is racially diverse and includes CALS workers from both the field and from campus.
But diversity among the team members is just a start, according to Landsman. In its work, the team strives to get away from the dominator model and instead operate as a partnership. It’s not easy or neat, and sometimes feelings get hurt, she says. But if the group didn’t strive to achieve true partnership, it couldn’t model what it is that the workshop is designed to teach.
“Opening Doors creates an environment of safety and non-judgment – an area where participants can go inside and explore their feelings and experiences,” she says. “You can’t dismantle a system until you look at yourself. We say it’s a personal journey. You first have to look at your own lens, your own role in the cycle of oppression.”
Roper adds, “Opening Doors is an opportunity for people to do hard work around how they interact in the world. … My sense is that for many participants, it’s the first time they have had that safety to explore personal and group dynamics.”
Participants have said that the workshop enhances their relationships with their coworkers as well as the people they serve.
One of them, Carteret County’s Extension Director Ray Harris, put it this way: “All employees need this training. When the focus of our work is to serve and build relationships with the public, we have a duty to be aware of others’ cultures, religions, beliefs and preferences, and their perceptions of our actions, so we don’t inadvertently damage relationships, which are so difficult to build.”
—Dee Shore
Offered by CALS since 2005, Opening Doors is a three-day overnight retreat that focuses on raising participants’ awareness of diversity and on enhancing their ability to create organizations that welcome people of all backgrounds.
Kansas State, Michigan State and Tennessee State universities have all invited the College’s five-person facilitation team to deliver the workshop at their institutions, and other universities have sent faculty and staff members to N.C. State for the training.
The training team from N.C. State includes two current CALS faculty members — Robin Landsman, an Extension family and consumer sciences agent in Wake County, and Robin Roper, an Extension associate in the Department of 4-H Youth Development and Family and Consumer Sciences.
Other team members are three former employees: Dr. William Swallow, a retired professor in the Department of Statistics; Dr. Harvey Lineberry, former CALS assistant dean for personnel who now works for UNC-Chapel Hill’s School of Medicine; and Dr. Brenda Alston-Mills, former CALS assistant dean for diversity who now works for Michigan State’s College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
Opening Doors originated with the N.Y. State Migrant Education Project, and the N.C. State training team underwent a two-year apprenticeship before leading the retreat on their own.
Opening Doors revolves around what its creators call the “dominator model,” which defines society as consisting of dominating groups and excluded groups. Examples in American culture include white people and people of color, men and women, heterosexuals and homosexuals, adults and children, and Christians and those of other religions or those who have no religious beliefs.
“All the -isms” is how Swallow puts it.
Participants explore what it means to be part of the groups they are members of, and through one-on-one and group conversations, they learn what it is like for others. They also consider how individuals and organizations maintain inequalities that prevent all people from reaching their full potential.
In addition, participants build alliances and networks, and they think about ways to implement change.
While the ultimate goal is organizational change, Opening Doors starts with personal discovery. The training team works to create an environment in which participants are willing to open up, Landsman says.
That’s why the training team itself consists of people from a range of backgrounds, is racially diverse and includes CALS workers from both the field and from campus.
But diversity among the team members is just a start, according to Landsman. In its work, the team strives to get away from the dominator model and instead operate as a partnership. It’s not easy or neat, and sometimes feelings get hurt, she says. But if the group didn’t strive to achieve true partnership, it couldn’t model what it is that the workshop is designed to teach.
“Opening Doors creates an environment of safety and non-judgment – an area where participants can go inside and explore their feelings and experiences,” she says. “You can’t dismantle a system until you look at yourself. We say it’s a personal journey. You first have to look at your own lens, your own role in the cycle of oppression.”
Roper adds, “Opening Doors is an opportunity for people to do hard work around how they interact in the world. … My sense is that for many participants, it’s the first time they have had that safety to explore personal and group dynamics.”
Participants have said that the workshop enhances their relationships with their coworkers as well as the people they serve.
One of them, Carteret County’s Extension Director Ray Harris, put it this way: “All employees need this training. When the focus of our work is to serve and build relationships with the public, we have a duty to be aware of others’ cultures, religions, beliefs and preferences, and their perceptions of our actions, so we don’t inadvertently damage relationships, which are so difficult to build.”
—Dee Shore