Eleven Feinstone Grants awarded to further dialogue on multicultural issues on the Syracuse University campus

Eleven Feinstone Grants awarded to further dialogue on multicultural issues on the Syracuse University campusJanuary 12, 2001Kelly Homan Rodoskikahoman@syr.edu

The 11 new recipients of the Chancellor’s Feinstone Grants for Multicultural Initiatives are working on projects aimed at advancing campus dialogue on cross-ethnic relations at Syracuse University.

This is the fifth year the awards have been granted to students, faculty and staff to support projects that encourage SU to move beyond tolerance and create community through diversity.

Grants of up to $1,000 were awarded to individuals whose projects met certain criteria, including the following: discussing strategies for building alliances across ethnic identities; proposing methods for individuals and groups to break out of learned patterns of prejudice; highlighting specific skill-building components; and providing a summary of goals achievable by the end of the semester.

Proposals were submitted last fall and will be implemented this semester. Eleven of the 15 proposals submitted received grant awards.

The Conflict Management Center Diversity and Multicultural Working Group (Katherine Baker, George Farag, Pedro Martin and Alia Nankoe) and Michael Nobleza of the Program on the Analysis and Resolution of Conflicts (PARC) in The Maxwell School, received a grant for pilot programming to develop a multicultural and diversity training curriculum, specifically on the topics of identity, privilege and status.

The Department of Sociology, in collaboration with the Department of African American Studies in The College of Arts and Sciences, was awarded a grant for “Exploring Assimilation and Identity Issues in Immigrant/International Populations,” a film series and panel discussions to explore identity and assimilation issues confronting non-Western immigrant groups in the United States, with a particular emphasis on the SU campus and the Syracuse community.

Jordana Cohen, a senior in the School of Management, received a grant for “Bridging the Gap: Cultural Diversity Awareness Fair,” an evening of cultural representation in music, dance, poetry, art, speech and food. Proceeds will go toward a scholarship to fund a protégé for the P.E.O.P.L.E. (Peers Eliminating Oppression and Prejudice by Learning and Educating) Together Program.

Margery Connor, associate dean in the College of Law, was awarded a grant for “Separate and Unequal: Using Diversity Education and Conflict Resolution for Issues that Divide Us,” a training workshop for student leaders on the Cultural and Ethnic Affairs Committee of the Student Senate in the College of Law. The grant will be used to provide food for the workshop day.

David Coryell, student services coordinator with SU’s Honors Program, was awarded a grant for “Honors–Onondaga Tree Planting.” Seventh- and eighth-graders from the Onondaga Nation School, together with Honors Program students with whom they are currently working, will plant 150 seedlings on a hillside to continue cross-cultural conversations.

Cynthia Fulford, associate director of the Center for Career Services, and Paul Buckley, associate director of academic achievement in the Center for Academic Achievement, received a grant for “Project C.O.D.E ” (Coalition on Diversity and Equity), a training program geared toward encouraging students to learn about multiculturalism and the psychological effects of the marginalization of targeted groups.

Prasanta Ghosh, associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science in the L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS) received a grant for the development of a Web-based diversity and ethics information resource.

Molly Voorheis of The College of Arts and Sciences Writing Program; Robert Wilson, associate director of supportive services; and members of the SU Writers Guild received a grant for the “Syracuse University Writers Guild Diversity Literary Volume,” a short volume of literary works by SU students that touch on ethnicity, racial awareness, diversity and tolerance.

Stacey Riemer, associate director of the Center for Public and Community Service, was awarded a grant for a “Reflective Workshop for the Syracuse University Literacy Corps Facilitators,” a one-day, in-depth pilot workshop focused on issues of diversity for undergraduates who volunteer with the Literacy Corps.

Sudha Raj and Bradley Beran, assistant professors of nutrition and hospitality management in the College for Human Development, received a grant for the development of three courses: World Cuisines (NHM 217) and Food, Culture and the Environment (NHM 555), both to be offered in Fall 2001, and Multicultural Cuisine Catering (NHM 300), to be offered in Spring 2002.

Peter Gray, associate director of the Center for the Support of Teaching and Learning (CSTL); the Phi Beta Delta Honorary Society (of which Gray is president); and the One World Celebration Committee received a grant for “One World Celebration,” a weeklong celebration sponsored by Phi Beta Delta to celebrate multiculturalism on the SU campus.

The award recipients will be honored at an April 9 luncheon in the home of Chancellor Kenneth A. Shaw and Mary Ann Shaw, associate of the Chancellor.