NCAR Diversity Committee Meeting Notes
5-13-2009
Present: LuAnna Allapowa, Jack Fellows, Helen Moshak, Raj Pandya, Terry Woods, Cindy Worster. Guest: Bill Kuo.
Report on Asian Listening Meeting
Bill Kuo participated in the Asian Listening Meeting and gave a report in Roger Wakimoto’s absence. Out of 137 Asian staff and visitors invited, 45 people attended.
Discussion at the Asian Listening Meeting included the desire for mentoring/coaching in the areas of leadership and technical writing. Participants believe that Asians are given equal opportunity at UCAR. They recognize that due to cultural differences, especially for first generation immigrants, Asians are self-constraining rather than limited by external factors. Participants want to know if Human Resources can show statistics about: rate of promotion of Asian vs. non-Asian staff; comparison of salaries Asian vs. non-Asian staff; comparison in enrollment of Asian vs. non-Asian staff in leadership academy. They also discussed what may be self imposed cultural constraints (e.g., respect elders by juniors not speaking up) that mentoring may help and might inform UCAR management on how to best deal with these cultural issues.
Meeting participants will form an “Asian Circle,” with plans to meet every 6 months.
Two action items were identified based on the meeting Asian Listening Meeting feedback.
ACTION:
- On behalf of Human Resources, Terry Woods and LuAnna Allapowa will provide the requested statistics outlined above.
- The Asian Circle will develop specific recommendations regarding mentoring, coaching, and cultural issues.
Disabled Employees Feedback
Similar to the Asian Listening Meeting, Michael Knoelker has offered to gather feedbackfrom disabled employees in the form of individual meetings. All information gathered will be treated confidentially. Knoelker estimates that he will forward his findings to the Diversity Committee by late August. It was suggested that Knoelker identify an alternate point of contact to assist with data collection for several reasons, including that he is a Director and that position might be intimidating to some.
ACTION:
- Raj Pandya will discuss next steps with Knoelker. He will post an announcement in Today@UCAR. He will also email UMC members to encourage disabled employees to provide their input. Pandya will also talk to Knoelker about alternative points of contact.
Associate Scientists/Project Scientists Movement Through Job Families
LuAnna Allapowa distributed a handout “Targeted Analysis.” The group discussed the information presented. It was pointed out that applicants counted are those that meet the minimum qualifications, not necessarily those who best meet the position description. It was also noted that the numbers for reclassification data are small.
Project Scientist I-III – There is a decrease in minorities employed as one moves up the levels. With the exception of 2006, minorities are reclassified in proportion to non-minorities; the same holds true for hiring activities.
Software Engineer I-IV – There is a decrease in females employed as one moves up the levels. The reclassification data shows variation from year to year for females being reclassified, though reclassifications into the higher levels are low. Females are hired in proportion to the pool of applicants; however, there are few female applicants at the higher levels. There is evidence that minorities are not hired in proportion to their number of applicants.
Associate Scientists I- IV – There are fewer females at the higher levels, with a notable decrease in females from level II to level III. This cannot be attributed to hiring activity, but for a variety of other reasons such as moving to another job family, leaving employment with UCAR, etc. Females are reclassified proportionate to males; there is improvement in the last two years at level IV. Hiring data also indicates females are hired at a rate proportionate to the applicant pool.
It wasn’t clear that we would change any of our Affirmative Action goals for these groups based on this analysis (no clear signals).
Activities such as SIPARCS demonstrate that NCAR is working to reach those in underrepresented groups.
ACTION:
- Woods and Allapowa will construct a brief report summary for Diversity Committee analysis record. This will also be sent to Helen Moshak for inclusion in Workforce Management Plan (WMP) Environmental Scan data.
Trends in Degrees
Raj Pandya made a data rich presentation “National Trends in Degrees.” NSF data was uneven so he used the most recent National Center for Education (NCES) data of 2006. The data shows a diverse student population at the undergraduate level in computer science/math, but a decrease at the graduate level. The geosciences rate of PhD production is 2% for underrepresented minorities while the population of minorities in the PhD age range is 30%. There is a decrease in minority participation as you move from bachelors to masters to PhD.
Strategic guidance based on the information presented: recruiting outside of geosciences at the bachelor’s level could have significant positive impact.
ACTION:
- Pandya will write a short summary from the report, and distribute to the committee via email. Pandya will also send the Power Point presentation and summary to Moshak for inclusion in WMP Environmental Scan data.
Women in Science Survey
This discussion was postponed since Maura Hagan couldn’t attend the meeting.
Advertising/Relocation Proposal
Terry Woods reported that Nancy Wade is putting together a list of places to advertise to ensure that a diverse population sees UCAR job opportunities. Human Resources will also prepare a budget for annual advertising. Woods reported that the average relocation cost is $10k ($2k is travel, and $8k is the actual move). This committee will need to determine next steps. It was suggested that the committee identify a prioritized suite of diversity initiatives and associated budgets, rather than recommending proposed activities one at a time.
FY09 Diversity Fund Proposal Awards
Helen Moshak presented a summary of the Round 1 2009 Request For Proposal (RFP) process. In Round 1, the Diversity Committee recommended that 5 of the 7 proposals received be awarded, and the NCAR Executive Committee approved this recommendation.
Next steps include:
- Eric Barron will send out letters to all proposers, notifying them of the award results.
- Budget and Planning will do budget transfers for the awarded proposals.
The Diversity funds account balance is now approximately $19k.
ACTION:
- Helen Moshak will prepare a paragraph summary of their year’s Diversity Fund activity.
- It was suggested that the committee allocate time at a future meeting to include a brainstorming session to determine whether there are specific high-priority and strategic investment areas and themes for the next award cycle.
UCAR 2009 October Members Meeting
It was suggested that the committee create a brief summary report outlining the committee’s proposed activities at the Members Meeting, including priorities, initiatives, awards, Pandya’s analysis, etc. This could be tied to the meeting’s “Call to Action” theme which could focus on why we care about diversity and what it means for both UCAR, the UCAR community, and communities that are dealing with severe weather and climate change (e.g., are we producing the right students for tomorrow’s challenges). This is no longer a world that needs many National Weather Service operational weather forecasters. We produce the fewest students in the categories Pandya showed. Perhaps, that is because we aren’t looking at this in the right way. This is the right kind of issue to “convene” the UCAR community on from both a diversity and strategic vision perspective.
ACTION:
- At the June 18 Diversity Committee meeting, the group will discuss a brief power point summary report for presentation at the October 2009 Board of Trustees meeting and can work with the 50th Anniversary Committee to incorporate than into the activities (chaired by Jack Fellows).
Next Steps for Workforce Management Plan
Each WMP subcommittee will provide a status report comprised of a 3-4 page summary of findings and recommendations; there may be attachments. The first draft is due June 13.
ACTION:
- Terry Woods,Jack Fellows and Raj Pandya will prepare a first draft for committee members’ review and edits.