President Ed Ray presents OSU undergraduate Matthew Holland with a check for next year’s tuition. Holland won a diversity essay contest earlier this year for “This is My OSU: A Destination of Choice.” Holland is an English major. (photo: Theresa Hogue)

Inspired by his philosophy class, Ethics of Diversity and his professor, Lani Roberts, he says that “from slavery to suffrage to civil rights, the road ahead is not as long as it once was, and we must do our part today,”

Holland, a fifth-year English major, entered the “This is My OSU: A Destination of Choice” diversity essay contest during winter term and spoke passionately about the need for all OSU students to take classes such as Ethics of Diversity.

The contest was created by the Office of Community and Diversity to demonstrate a campus commitment to diversity and to get student input on diversity efforts. It invited OSU students to submit a one-page essay outlining their best idea for making OSU a destination of choice for people who are committed to diversity and inclusion.

The term “Destination of Choice” came from one of President Ray’s University Day speeches and the “This is My OSU” slogan was created by the University Advancement office.

“As we move forward on our ambitious diversity agenda, it is clear that we cannot do everything, and we have to develop priorities,” said Director of the Office of Community and Diversity Terryl Ross. “Student voice is our true north. This essay contest has generated some great ideas.”

The contest yielded 101 essays. The identities of the writers were kept anonymous and 37 students, staff and faculty read the essays. Each essay was read by at least five different people. The top five essays were presented to the campus for “American Idol” style on-line voting in May. President Ed Ray, who served as one of the readers, was impressed with many of the essays.

“I’m glad to see that so many people from different backgrounds took time to participate in the contest,” Ray said. “We are looking forward to implementing some of these creative ideas.”

Holland will graduate in Fall 2010, after studying abroad in Chile this fall. After graduation he plans to attend Marine Officer Candidate School and perhaps graduate or law school.

Holland appreciates that OSU is interested in what students have to say, and encourages others to reach past their comfort zone and get to know people and experiences that are different from their own. He encourages others to embrace the opportunity to take Ethics of Diversity and other classes from OSU’s nationally recognized Difference Power and Discrimination program.

You can read Holland’s award winning essay and those of the other finalists at http://oregonstate.edu/diversity/.The Office of Community and Diversity is seeking participants in an “Ethics of Diversity” class which will be taught by Lani Roberts M-Th, 10 a.m.-noon, Aug. 3-Aug. 27. This class is being offered to all OSU faculty and staff, free of charge, as a follow-up to the “This is My OSU: A Destination of Choice” diversity contest. If you are interested in participating, please contact Corrine Gerig at 54-1-737-4381 or Corrine.Gerig@oregonstate.edu by July 24. Thirty people are needed to conduct this class. Space is limited, participants will be selected on a first come, first served basis.

~ Diane Davis

Peter Banuelos of Omega Delta Phi Fraternity, Inc. presents Dwaine Plaza, associate professor of sociology, the Frances Dance Hooks Award during the Peace Breakfast Monday. (photo: Theresa Hogue)

During the 27th annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Peace Breakfast held Monday, Jan. 19, in the Memorial Union ballroom, a number of outstanding campus community members were honored for their achievements in advancing equality and social justice issues on campus.
Joseph Krause, professor and chair of the foreign languages department, was presented with the Phyllis S. Lee award. Krause has organized international conferences on the plights of minority peoples in Oregon and around the globe, as well as organizing the Ava Helen Pauling Lectureship for World Peace.
Dwaine Plaza, associate professor in sociology and Vananh Nguyen, a student in
bioresource research, received the Frances Dancy Hooks award. For the last decade, Plaza has been offering a spring break course encouraging students to interact outside their comfort zones. He is also an active mentor with the McNair Scholars Program and the BEST program. Nguyen was co-chair for the MANRRS Regional Workshop in 2008, linking students with resources and building bridges to academic and career success.
The breakfast featured music by Jan Michael Looking Wolf Reibach as well as a student panel on the relationships between King and the new presidency, and a presentation of King’s “I Have a Dream,” speech by emeritus faculty member LaVerne Woods.

Kirk Walker is OSU's women's varsity softball coach

faculty on how best to help gay, lesbian, and bisexual athletes address their sexuality. He expands on those initiatives and recounts his own experiences here in an interview during the last week of October with the Women’s Sports Foundation, founded in 1974 by Billie Jean King. – Editor)

1. How did you decide to come out as a gay coach?
I had been out to my family and friends for several years.  I had come out to some of my coaching peers in the softball world and at OSU as well.   The final step of coming out publicly to my team and the media came about due to my pending adoption of a new born child with my Partner, Randy Baltimore.

2. How did you come out to your team? Your coaching colleagues?
I came out to my team in a team meeting early in the fall.  It was not a specific meeting for that purpose, but we had completed all of our team topics and I just felt that it was as good a time as any to tell them about the adoption and my partner.  With my coaching colleagues it was over a period of time and then once it became public then the rest just found out.

3. How does being openly gay affect your recruiting efforts with prospective athletes and their families?
As far as I can tell and have experienced, there has been no negative effects with any recruits that have not come to OSU because of my sexuality.  It generally comes up on in person visits or in home visits when discussing my daughter and family.  I do not hesitate any longer to correct someone when they ask about my wife.  I just say, my partner….  Some parents ask more questions and become very interested, some are not outwardly affected and the visit continues without a pause.   I did speak on a forum panel with Esera Tuaolo here at OSU and my full team attended and sat in the front row, including the freshman and that did send a quick pause in me when I first saw them all.   My sexuality or any topic of sexuality specifically is never really a discussion between me and my players, so it was odd to talk about those experiences in front of them.   We do discuss diversity and acceptance but rarely focus specifically on sexuality in our daily team discussions.  So I did wonder how the freshman viewed that discussion.

4. How do parents of athletes on your team react to their daughters having a gay coach?
Well I can only describe what I have felt and have experienced and it has been very uneventful.  I know that several of them are very proud of my journey and my willingness to take that huge step because it supports what we preach all the time to our players and parents that we are a family with many differences and strengths that we need to celebrate and not hide from each other.  For some of the other parents that were less vocal about their thoughts, I have always felt that I am judged by my ability to coach their daughter and help her become a more successful individual rather then my sexuality.

5. How does your experience of coaching as an openly gay man compare to coaching while closeted?
I would say that just like any person that has come out of the closet, I feel more comfortable and less anxious about saying something or being seen with someone that might give up my secret.  In terms on my coaching….well I don’t really think that I feel or experience things dramatically different.  I was passionate about coaching before, I passionate about coaching now, and have never felt more fortunate to do what I do for a living.

6. What does your team/school do to support you as an openly gay coach?
Well, most importantly I feel they support me as a coach.  And not really as a gay coach.  I don’t ask for any different support and don’t seek any different support because of my sexuality.  It is only one small component of what and who I am.  The support I need for my profession and for my team is independent and not relevant to my sexuality.  I am challenged more often by the lack of support for a women’s sport then I am for being a gay coach.

7. Have you had any negative experiences in athletics since coming out?
I am not aware of anything that has been a negative to my coming out.  Honestly, I really see the good in people as best I can and I have little expectations on others.   There probably have been some negative ramifications, but none that I am aware of or honestly really care about because they don’t affect me or the people that I care about.

8. Negative recruiting is a problem for women coaches, have you experienced negative recruiting as a gay coach?
Not that I am aware of.  I have never heard of a coach saying anything to a recruit or using my sexuality against me.  I am well respected for my work as well as disliked for my successes.  If it has been used against me I have yet to hear about it or seen the effects.   So I assume that it is not happening until someone proves me wrong.

9. What advice do you have for other LGBT coaches who are thinking about coming out to their communities, teams, colleagues in athletics?
Well it is really hard to give advice to any other individual about coming out in any profession or any part of the country.   I know that I felt comfortable with my abilities as a coach, my contribution to the university and the sport and to my athletes.  If you are thinking about doing it….it is probably long over due.  If you are still very fearful for your job and for your ability to succeed then you probably are not ready even if those fears are not a reality.   For most people, the fear is the greatest obstacle and in many cases the fears are grossly over exaggerated.  That being said, I did not come out for any other reason then I wanted my team to hear it from me and not from anyone else.  I owed it to them to be honesty.    In the many years previous to coming out, I would have never lied to someone about my sexuality or partner if asked, but I did not feel a need to share that information.  I still believe strongly that it is not anyone else’s business.   I also don’t feel the need to have to share my sexuality to everyone that I meet.  It does not define me, it is part of a full description of who I am and I am not ashamed of my sexuality. 

10. How can schools best support LGBT coaches?
I think there are my resources on most campuses across the country, but within the athletic departments there is a lot lacking.   I think diversity in general needs to be a daily dialogue from administration and within the athletic department and teams.   The greatest support anyone can get is security and freedom from any negative or hostile environment.

11. What recommendations do you have for athletic departments to make athletics respectful and inclusive for LGBT people?
Probably going off the previous question and answer, it is imperative that every athletic department have a no tolerance for bigotry, harassment, or intimidation when it comes to diversity of religion, sex, sexuality, race, etc…  There is absolutely no need or value for any athlete, coach or team staff person to be harassed.   It does not and will never motivate a player to be a better athlete because they are ridiculed or taunted for a diversity issue that they have no control over.  If an athlete is lazy or acting weak then call them out for that, don’t allow coaches to use derogatory comments or phrases that demean another diversity group that may or may not be within ear shot.   Ignorance or lack of quality communication skills is no excuse to defer to using unacceptable derogatory words or phrases related to race, sex, sexuality, religion, physical attributes or limitations.   Coaches or administrators that revert to tired old tactics that were used on them decades earlier are completely out of touch and not growing beyond their own experiences.  And therefore have little to offer the athletes of today and future generations of valued citizens of the USA and the world.

12. What initiatives has your school taken to make athletics a safe and respectful place for LGBT athletes and coaches?
Our athletic department requires every athlete to attend at least one discussion or presentation a year covering a topic of diversity.  I think those forums can lead to further dialogues.   The Student Athlete Advisory Committee additionally works hard to create positive opportunities for all of the student-athletes to grow.  There are certainly more things that should be done, but overall there is a general willingness by most in the department to education and not discriminate.  Unfortunately as in most places there are some coaches and administrators that are truly uneducated in terms of sexuality and have a limited understanding of sexuality because of inaccurate religious fears or misconceptions.

              ~ Terryl Ross

As our campus moves forward on its community and diversity journey, I now have better insight about the opportunities and challenges we face. 

Lesson Learned: Community Before Diversity

 First and foremost, I have made many mistakes in this position, the biggest being that I led with “diversity” rather than “community.” My work has two distinct sides: one that is celebratory and addresses our commonalities, and other that investigates institutional bias and “-isms.”  Trust is the single most important component in diversity work, and it rarely comes from the latter.  And at Oregon State, we simply have too many units that do not have enough community within them to get to the real diversity work that needs to be done. This is why I am now devoting more time and resources to community-building, fostering authentic dialogues, and communications.  

Biggest Disappointment: The Way Some People Treat Each Other

 I get to talk with literally thousands of OSU students, faculty, and staff each year, and more than anything else, I’m disappointed in the way some people treat each other. As a former Army officer, I walked among people with loaded guns who could have solved problems with a pull on the trigger. But it didn’t take me long to learn that people didn’t have to like someone to be able to work with them.

At OSU, I’m astonished at the number of people who cannot work with each other because of something someone said, something that happened years ago, something that didn’t agree with them. And there are way too many people who sit on the fence telling me what other people need to do and who have built-in excuses why they cannot do it themselves.

My personal low moment was when I looked into the tearful eyes of a small group of students who wondered aloud why this campus does not care about them. It broke my heart.  These students are someone’s children, people, and we need to do a better job of being their stewards. 

What Excites Me Most: Walking the Talk

 Disappointments happen, but what is working at Oregon State with diversity far outweighs what is not working.  I’m excited about all the people on this campus who are walking their talk and helping us to be more welcoming and inclusive.  I have personally witnessed amazing transformations by lots of people, particularly in the last two years.

Three campus units have rewritten their diversity action plans.  Individuals are volunteering to attend diversity-related workshops and events they never would have attended years ago.  Lots of units are collaborating with each other for the first time.

More than anything else, I am excited by the students who are doing diversity work. They are out there, and my office needs to do a better job of telling their stories and sharing the impressive diversity-related actions they are making OSU. Because once they realize that diversity is a 21st century life skill and not a politically correct issue, hear them roar and get out of their way! 

Vision of the Future: A Destination of Choice

Two of the many good things President Ed Ray presents really excite me: (1) our greatest contribution to the state of Oregon is our graduates and (2) OSU can be a university “destination of choice” for many more people.

When we incorporated these themes into our campus diversity action plan a few years ago, the number one complaint was that the plan was too lofty, too unrealistic.  I beg to differ.
 
When we do our diversity work right, our units and our classrooms will feel different.  People from all backgrounds will want to come here and they will stay here longer.  Better yet, they will go back to their home communities and tell others to come to OSU.  It will take a long time for OSU to look the way we want it to look, but getting it to feel the way we want it to feel is achievable — now.
 
I truly believe that we at Oregon State are headed in the right direction and that if just a few more people get actively involved in our diversity effort, a tipping point will be reached and a whole new wave of students and faculty and staff will join us because of what we are doing.   OSU, in fact, will become their “destination of choice.”

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Terryl J. Ross is director of the President’s Office of Community and Diversity at Oregon State University. He recently accepted for OSU the “Committed to Diversity” Award given by Minority Access Inc. for the university’s initiatives and best practices to create diversity on campus.  

“Commentary” is a regular feature of LIFE@OSU, offered to promote civil dialog and an open exchange of ideas on campus. We encourage you to comment on this and other stories already appearing in our print and web editions. Browse over to oregonstate.edu/lifeatosu and click on the “comment” link at the end of each piece. Also, we invite submissions and suggestions of articles such as this Commentary, along with our other regular features — LIFE/Work, Mentors, OSU Around Oregon, and In the Classroom – and news and features stories that would be of interest to the staff and faculty of Oregon State University. Send them to lifeatosu@oregonstate.edu. Thank you. — Editor

Terryl Ross, director of OSU's Office of Community and Diversity, displays the national award OSU earned for its commitment to promote diversity. (photo: Ed Curtin)

Oregon State’s commitment to promote diversity on campus has received a national “best practices” award for college programs.

Terryl Ross, director of OSU’s Office of Community and Diversity, accepted the “Committed to Diversity” Award from Minority Access Inc., a Washington, D.C.-area non-profit working to expand minority involvement in education, employment, and research.

About 30 universities and colleges received the 2008 award, among them Southern California, Purdue, Ohio State,  Colorado State,  Auburn, Syracuse, New Mexico, and Michigan.

Oregon State and its fellow awardees “genuinely seem to appreciate the value of diversity in creating a well-rounded educational experience,”   said Andrea D. Mickle, president of Minority Access.
Minority Access looks for good role models, Ross said, and Oregon State’s many initiatives provided the organization with many examples:

 Diversity action plans within several OSU colleges and schools;

 The only campus in the United States with six cultural centers, five of which are established in perpetuity through permanent covenants with the university;

 A tenured faculty-diversity hiring initiative;

 The Differences-Power-Discrimination (DPD) class required of all OSU undergraduates;

 The Women’s Advancement and Gender Equity (WAGE) office;

 A “vibrant” international students program;

 Expansion of the OSU’s undergraduate study abroad program;

 The “Voices Project,” which gives students an opportunity to have authentic dialogues about diversity;

 Award-winning gay and lesbian support efforts;

 And one of the largest and longest-standing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. celebrations for colleges in Oregon.

The “best practices” award “gives validity to our past and direction to our future,” Ross said.

“While it’s good to be in the same room with programs that are considered diversity leaders from across the country, I don’t go to bed thinking about how great we are. I go to bed thinking about what we need to do better,” he added. “The challenge is to be more proactive in our offices and classrooms.  We still have too many people who feel marginalized on this campus.”

Ross observed that for OSU students to succeed after their university experience, they must be prepared to enter a world that is “far more diverse than that of their teachers. We have to help them to see diversity as a critical life skill and not as a politically correct issue. As Oregon’s only land grant university, we should look like Oregon, and we should be its most inclusive and welcoming campus.”

~ by Ed Curtin