A faculty member and special assistant to the vice chancellor at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point has received $400 from the UW System Institute on Race and Ethnicity to support a reading group and scholarly exchange in conjunction with a teaching summit on diversity this month.

Kit Werner, administrative intern in academic affairs on half-time release from her duties as a lecturer in nutritional sciences, will use the money to purchase copies of "America�s Banquet of Cultures: Harnessing Ethnicity, Race, and Immigration in the Twenty-First Century" by Ronald Fernandez. Fernandez will be the keynote speaker at the diversity summit Jan. 16 and 17 at UWSP.

In addition to its relation to the summit, the reading seminar is one of UWSP�s campuswide activities in conjunction with Plan 2008 "Forging a Culture of Diversity." Plan 2008 is a Systemwide initiative to increase awareness and presence of diversity faculty, staff and students on UW System campuses. Werner will serve as moderator of the seminar.

"It is hoped that reading seminar participants will not only benefit from Fernandez�s keynote speech, but will develop a deeper understanding of diversity issues. The participants are representative of many disciplines. We anticipate exchanges that will stimulate curricular and pedagogical innovations and encourage campus-community interaction," Werner says.

Participants in the seminar are: Jin Wang, associate dean, College of Letters and Science; Barb Mihm, lecturer, business and economics; Jeanne Pawielski, pharmacy manager, health services; Maureen Giblin, academic tutoring coordinator, Teaching and Learning Center; Barbara Butler, associate professor of anthropology; Ron Hensler, professor and coordinator of soil and waste resources; Ron Strege, director of Multicultural Affairs; Michelle-Brophy-Baermann, associate professor of political science; Catherine Dugan, lecturer of English; Marty Meyers, associate professor of business and economics; Nancy Bayne, associate vice chancellor of personnel and budget; and Gary Cumley, associate professor of communicative disorders.

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