Shannon Portillo is an Assistant Professor in Criminology, Law & Society and Interim Director of the Center for Justice, Law & Society. Eden King is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology. Co-director of the project, Joya Crear is Director of the Office of Diversity Programs and Services and Associate Dean of University Life and Jamie Lester is Assistant Professor of Higher Education. The award was made available from Students as Scholars, a “Mason's initiative to support undergraduate research and creative activity, both within and beyond the classroom. The Office of Student Scholarship, Creative Activities, and Research (OSCAR) is the home of Students as Scholars.”
Shannon Portillo notes that the DRG consists of “university faculty, staff, students, and administrators interested in the impact of diversity on higher education. The group has been meeting once-a-semester since Spring 2004.” Participants come from all disciplines and departments –“Institutional Research, Institutional Assessment, the Office of the Provost, many offices in University Life, the Writing Center, as well as faculty from Anthropology, Criminal Justice, Education, English, the Graduate School of Education, the Higher Education Program, Psychology, Public and International Affairs, and Sociology.”
According to Portillo, the project that the DRG proposed “seeks to engage a multidisciplinary group of students, faculty and staff to explore diversity at Mason. Students will work with faculty and staff to assess how and why diversity works for Mason’s unique university community. The project contributes to the goals of the Students as Scholars quality enhancement plan by creating an opportunity for students to engage in knowledge production through a scholarly experience. It also promotes a culture of inquiry at Mason. Additionally, we contribute to the broader goals of the university by fostering an understanding of how diversity works at Mason and how students, faculty and staff experience the diversity of our campus community.” The project is organized around four separate semester research modules, so students may gain experience from participating in one or all four semesters of the project. Each semester has unique learning objectives, research goals and deliverables.”
June 13, 2012
