Cook Francis, L., & Ousley, M. "The Millennial Student Project: First Year Findings." Keynote presented at the Faculty Resource Network National Symposium, San Juan, Puerto Rico, November 2006.
Ousley, M. & Cook Francis, L. "Postmodernism or Diversity Diluted? Findings from the Millennial Student Project." Paper presented at the 31st Annual Conference of ASHE, Anaheim, CA, November 2006.
Ousley, M., Pascarella, E., Milem, J., Hart, J. & Land, L. "Borderlines Broken, Diversity Redefined: Implications for Higher Education on the Diversification of Student Characteristics and Perspectives." Symposium presented at the 31st Annual Conference of ASHE, Anaheim, CA, November 2006.
Ousley, M. & Cook Francis, L. "The Millennial Student Project: First Year Findings." Paper presented at the 2006 NASPA Western Regional Conference, San Francisco, CA, November 2006.
Cook Francis, L. & Ramos, S. "The Millennial Student Project: First Year Findings." Paper presented at the Nineteenth International Conference on The First-Year Experience, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, July 2006
Cook Francis, L. & Vito, M. "National
Trends and The Millennial Student Project." Presentation
to the Campus Advisory Council, The University of
Arizona, January 2006.
Ousley, M., Cook Francis, L., & Antonellis,
J. "Millennials on diversity:
Assessing diversity perspectives." Paper presented
at the 2005 NASPA Student Affairs Multicultural Institute,
Las Vegas, NV, December 2005.
Ousley, M., Vito, M., & Cook Francis,
L. "Millennials
on diversity: Policy implications." Paper presented
at the 2005 NASPA Western Regional Conference, Tucson,
AZ, November 2005.
Ousley, M., Cook Francis, L., & Antonellis,
J. "Millennials on diversity."
Paper presented at the Twelfth National Conference
on Students in Transition, Costa Mesa, CA, November
2005.
Cruz, G., Ousley, M., Ramos,
S., & Antonellis,
J. "Millennials on diversity:
Unraveling the tapestry." Paper presented at the
American Council on Education (ACE), Phoenix, AZ,
October 2005.
Ousley, M., Cruz, G., Vito,
M., Cook Francis, L., Ramos, S., Quijada, C., & Kraus,
A. "Millennials
on diversity: Unraveling the tapestry." Paper presented
at the 18th Annual National Conference on Race and
Ethnicity in American Higher Education (NCORE), New
York, NY, May 2005.
Ousley, M. "Cultural identity
development and perspectives of students."
Paper presented at the National Association of Student
Personnel Administrators
(NASPA) 2005 National Conference, Tampa, FL, March
2005. |
|
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEW WEB SITE LAUNCHED —
RETHINKING DIVERSITY: THE MILLENNIAL STUDENT PROJECT
TUCSON, Ariz. – January 6, 2006 –
The University of Arizona's Division of Multicultural
Affairs and Student Success (MASS) and the Dean of
Students Office excitedly announce the launch of a brand
new Web site titled "Rethinking Diversity: The
Millennial Student Project" located
at
http://mass.arizona.edu/millennial.
The Web site is the evolving
product of a unique and extensive two-phased research
project at The University of Arizona that seeks to
understand the evolving attitudes, perceptions and
behaviors of current college students - the Millennials
-regarding diversity.
The Web site contains valuable
information and resources on each project phase that can
be adopted for use by the general public, elected
officials, students, faculty and administrators.
Resources include conference presentations, publications
and literature references and institutional and national
diversity resources. Furthermore, the site, which is
continuously developed as the project evolves, presents
the research team's diversity model and will showcase a
short promotional video that captures the essence of the
model through the voices of students.
Phase I, the interval piece of the
project, involved a sample of over 1,100 students
enrolled in spring 2005 at the University. Students
completed an online survey and were invited to
participate in a focus group to discuss aspects of
diversity.
Phase II, the longitudinal phase of
the project, follows a cohort of incoming, first-year
students over the course of four years at the
University. In fall 2005, incoming first-year students
were invited to complete an online survey. From this
sample, over 60 students participated in subsequent
interviews and will be followed for the next four
years. Twelve students were selected to create film
diaries as part of a documentary on diversity. Each
student will have a page that features their developing
perspectives on diversity through journal entries and
video clips.
Grounded in social theory, this
project seeks to explore the richness of the evolving
changes in students´ attitudes, behaviors and
perceptions on diversity. The project aims to discover
how, why and to what extent diversity values are changed
and influenced by university experiences, and in turn,
how these students influence the campus climate. The
results gathered from the study will be integral to the
re-evaluation and reshaping of diversity programs and
policies at The University of Arizona.
Preliminary findings indicate that
over 65% of students have a broad, postmodern
perspective of diversity. That is, they express a sense
that diversity is important and necessary but that it
should not be a forced outcome. As one Caucasian female
student stated, "I think it is important, and that is
should exist. Variety is the spice of life, and I like
to surround myself with a diverse group of friends. I
like to live in an environment with a diverse group of
people." Few students discussed critical diversity
issues, suggesting that while students are generally
open to diversity, more education may be needed on
social justice issues.
This project is sponsored in part
by a grant from Alltel. Documentary support comes from
Firehouse Pictures.
The Division of Multicultural
Affairs and Student Success (MASS) is catalyst for
increasing access, success and the full engagement of
all students, faculty and staff at The University of
Arizona by applying theory and practical techniques to
develop innovative services and programs; influencing
the design of policy, programs, facility and curricular
environments; heightening the discourse on the impact of
culture and difference; and building strategic alliances
with campus, community and national organizations.
The Dean of Students Office
plays an important role in assessing, maintaining and
enriching a sense of community at The University of
Arizona. We see that all students have a voice in campus
affairs by connecting with and advocating for student
leaders and organizations. We develop and support
guidelines and policies and, at the same time, educate
students to be accountable for their actions in order to
promote a safe campus environment.
###
Press Contact:
Lynette Cook Francis
Assistant Vice Provost for Student Affairs and Dean of Students
(520) 621-3772,
lynettec@email.arizona.edu
Melissa Ousley, Ph.D., Research
Analyst
Department of Multicultural Affairs and Student Success
(520) 626-2885,
mousley@email.arizona.edu |
