Administrators and Faculty of Color Alliance

MARK YOUR CALENDAR! The last AFCA meeting of the academic year will be this Tuesday, May 14th at noon – Usdan 108.  Lunch will be provided.

Special Guest:  John Meerts, Vice President for Finance and Administration.
He will discuss the University’s efforts to improve “Town Gown” relations and also solicit feedback regarding the topic.

We hope you can join us!

Check out this interesting article.  Let us know your thoughts at the next AFCA meeting.

http://acpacsje.wordpress.com/2013/02/19/social-justice-not-just-another-term-for-diversity-by-paul-c-gorski/

Our next meeting will be Monday, March 4th at noon in Usdan 108, lunch will be provided. Please note that this is a schedule change from what was sent out earlier this month.  We wanted folks to be able to attend the Taste of Middletown on the 5th!

Our guest speaker will be Patrice Melley, Director of Human Resources, and she will be informing us of the great initiatives being put forth through the “Cardinal Fit Program”.

In addition, John Kehoe, Bon Appetit Catering Director, will discuss healthy alternatives to the existing catering menu.   The lunch he will be providing is a sneak peek to the “Seasonal Spring Menu” which will be introduced to campus on April 1st.

We hope you can join us!

If you would like to be added to the AFCA list serv, please email jrafferty@wesleyan.edu

In celebration of the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., you are invited to participate in

Diversity University: Moving from Theory to Practice
Friday, February 1, 2013

Session I: 10 a.m. to noon. Choose among:

Film Screening & Discussion: Cracking the Code: The System of Racial Inequity
Facilitators: Dr. Shakti Butler & Dr. Sonia Mañjon
Location: Usdan 108

Film Screening & Discussion: Mirrors of Privilege: Making Whiteness Visible
Facilitators: Professor Sarah Mahurin & Professor Lois Brown
Location: Usdan Multi-purpose Room

Exploring Privilege by Examining Socialization
Facilitators: Tanya Bowers ’94 & members of the Wesleyan Diversity Education Facilitation Program (WesDEFs)
Location: Fayerweather Theater Rehearsal Room

Inside-Out & Outside-In: A Creative Identity & Ally Workshop
Facilitators: Elisa Cardona & Joanne Rafferty
Location: Usdan 110

Session II: 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Choose among:

Film Screening & Discussion: Cracking the Code: The System of Racial Inequity
Facilitators: Dr. Shakti Butler & Dr. Sonia Mañjon
Location: PAC 001

Film Screening & Discussion: Mirrors of Privilege: Making Whiteness Visible
Facilitators: Professor Sarah Mahurin & Professor Lois Brown
Location: PAC 002

Exploring Privilege by Examining Socialization
Facilitators: Tanya Bowers ’94 & WesDEFs
Location: Fayerweather Theater Rehearsal Room

Inside-Out & Outside-In: A Creative Identity & Ally Workshop
Facilitators: Elisa Cardona & Joanne Rafferty
Location: Usdan 110

Keynote Address: Dr. Shaki Butler
Memorial Chapel, 3:15 p.m.

Dessert Reception to follow in the Zelnick Pavilion

 While the entire Wesleyan community is invited, space is limited and we ask you to please register at www.wesleyan.edu/mlk.

Sponsored by Academic Affairs, the Office of Diversity and Institutional Partnerships, the Office of Student Activities and Leadership Development, the Office of Residential Life and the Wesleyan Student Assembly

Join us on Wednesday, February 6th at noon, Usdan 108 for great conversation and lunch!

We will be highlighting a new Middletown area restaurant – Taino Smokehouse BBQ.  This will also be an opportunity to discuss the new MLK celebration format and hear from those who were hopefully able to attend.  A student from the group Ujamma will also be attending the meeting to present the Black History Month Calendar of Events.

If you know of a colleague that would like to be added to the AFCA list serv, please have them email Joanne Rafferty at jrafferty@wesleyan.edu

Hope to see you there!

Thank you to those who attended the meeting on November 13th.  We had a thought provoking discussion after watching the film: Cracking the Codes:  The System of Racial Inequity by Shakti Butler. I think most would agree that we wished we could have watched the entire film and spend more time talking with one another.  A special thank you to Sonia Manjon for bringing the film to campus, for facilitating the discussion and for sponsoring our lunch. 

We also spent some time talking about the Diversity University Forum that occurred on Monday night.  Those who attended expressed their concern about students who were deeply affected by stories that were shared, or by sharing their own story.  A question that many of us had was “where do we go from here?”  Personally,  I am hopeful.  For any real change to occur I think it’s important for there to be a forum where people’s voices can be heard, and for the right people to be listening.  Also, a safe environment needs to be created where those who want to speak feel they can do so without repercussion.  Considering the Diversity Forum went for over 3 hours, I beleive a lot of hard work has already been done by many people on this campus, and by AFCA members, to help create this safe space.  It’s was made evident that there is still a lot of work to be done, but at least this was a start.

We hope more of you can attend the AFCA meetings next semester where we can continue the dialogue and determine our place in helping with this important work.  If you know others on campus who are not on the AFCA list serv and want to be added please have them email me at jrafferty@wesleyan.edu. 

Respectfully Submitted,
Joanne Rafferty
Associate Director, Usdan Center
2012-2013 AFCA Co-Chair

AFCA and the office of Student Activities and Leadership Development through the Student of Color Interns, Taylor Dauphin & Eric Wilson, are working on creating a SOC Connections Initiative by pairing current first year students with an AFCA member. If you are interested in being a part of this connections program and getting to know some of the Students of Color a bit more personally here at Wes please e-mail ecardona@wesleyan.edu with your First and Last Name, Interests/Hobbies, the office you work for and whether or not you have a gender preference.

SAVE THESE DATES!

Our first meeting of the academic year will be on:

Thursday, September 13th, 2012 – Noon
Usdan Room 110
Lunch will be provided
Hear about an exciting new mentoring initiative that AFCA members can choose to be a part of!

October Meeting:
Tuesday, October 9th, 2012 – 4:30pm
Albritton Room 311
“Bring a Colleague Day!” – do you have co-workers, a supervisor, etc. that don’t know what AFCA is?  Invite them to come along with you to this meeting and learn more about the history and mission of AFCA.  Hor’s d’oeuvres and desserts will be served.

November Meeting:
Tuesday, November 13, 2012 – Noon
41 Wyllys  – Room 114
Lunch will be provided
Guest Speaker: Cheif Diversity Officer, Sonia Manjon

December Holiday Social – December 12, 2012
The AFCA Holiday Party will be at Marina Melendez’ house on Wednesday, December 12 (12/12/12), 4 p.m. till ?.  We are asking for canned good donations to Amazing Grace and the goggle doc below will show you what others are bringing. Please sign up your pot luck contribution.  Please RSVP to Marina, mmelendez@wesleyan.edu .  Looking forward to some holiday cheer, so bring your partner, spouse, or significant other and let’s welcome the holiday!  Children are welcomed.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AgBRNj4nCMXcdFZYWmZUS0RCVGJsR2VJbzBreGJBTXc

Marina Melendez
56 Mack Road
Middlefield, CT (only 4.2 miles from Wesleyan)
860.301.1700 cell

Calling all AFCA members!  Please do your best to attend this important event. This is a perfect opportunity to greet the incoming freshmen of color.

When: Thursday, August 30th, 2012  – 11:30 am
Where: Daniel Family Commons – Usdan 3rd floor
Light refreshments will be served

Hope to see as many of you as possible there!

Take a moment to review Don Christian’s artwork that was honored at the Alumni of Color Dinner at Homecoming.

http://nilelivingston.com/