By Greta Lieske
IV Leader Editor
Illinois Valley Community College will be closed to
students and the public on Friday, Oct. 10 due to a mandatory Faculty and Staff
Enrichment Day that will involve various multiculturalism and diversity teaching
and learning activities.
All full-time and Friday part-time faculty and staff will be
starting out the day with guest speaker, Lemuel W. Watson, dean of the College
of Education at Northern Illinois University, said Glenna Jones, director of
human resources at IVCC and a committee member of the group organizing
Enrichment Day.
After Watson’s speech, attendees will be choosing from eight
different “breakout sessions” of different topics related to multiculturalism
and diversity in the community, which is considered in subjects as “disability;
ethnic background; multicultural education; sexuality; generation x; medium
security and maximum diversity, which is looking at the Sheridan Correctional
Facility and the students that they have. Then we have a traditional marriage in
Cameroon” Jones said.
All of the breakout sessions will be repeated a second time
before lunch so that attendees will have more than one chance to be a part of a
certain session.
According to Jones, the day has many goals, which include:
• Allowing staff, administration and faculty the opportunity
to interact and share ideas on a common subject • Teaching and learning new
technological skills
• Exploring the opportunities for learning and services
available in other areas of the college
• Providing training on topics for motivation, education and
self-development
• Encouragement and understanding of individual roles and
responsibilities across campus
“Then in the afternoon,” explained Jones, “we are going to
have more breakout sessions, which are a variety of topics just for professional
and some personal development.”
One of the most important things that Jones hopes will come
out of the Enrichment Day is a feeling of acceptance among the community. “I
think we are excited about the whole day itself,” said Jones, “and getting
people to think differently about diversity—that we’re not just talking about
race; we’re talking about differences. It’s a whole different ballgame that some
of us just maybe aren’t familiar with or think about. And if we know more, we
are more accepting, but not just accepting—we include those who are different.
So, those people don’t feel different all the time.”
Jones also emphasized that the Enrichment Day is not “a
wasted day” for faculty and staff. “The college is closed so every faculty
member; every staff member has the opportunity to participate in this
development, of which we find to be the most worthwhile topic out there for our
students, our faculty, our staff and our community” Jones said.
Other members of the Enrichment Day committee include: Sharon
Barthelemy, Jeanne Hayden, Betsy Klopcic, Diane Kreiser, Cindy Lock, Jeannette
Mathis, Sue Mertel, Sheri Mitchum, George Needs, Juletta Patrick, Laura Perlongo
and Delores Robinson.