Resolved that the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges direct its Research Committee to survey community college faculty to determine to what extent ethnic studies has been incorporated into staff development activities as a viable means of developing teachers for cultural diversity, and that the results of that survey be presented in a report at the 1989 Spring Session.
Resolved that the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges direct the Executive Committee to develop strategies for developing ethnic studies as an AA degree discipline/program and/or a component of the General Education Curriculum.
Whereas the growth of the ethnic population in California is evident by AB 1725 and also by the thrust of this 1988 Fall Session, and
Whereas ethnic studies focus on some academic disciplines which attempt to bring to light cultural, sociological, and historical differences of the new majority,
Resolved that the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges embrace the idea of encouraging faculty members to include material which addresses the new majority in their courses as that material pertains to their disciplines.
Whereas AB 1725 mandates California Community College academic senates to establish evaluation criteria for new faculty and administrators and to develop criteria that include a sensitivity to and understanding of the diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds of community college students,
Whereas college environments can be perceived as being nonsupportive or even hostile to students in the "new majority," and
Whereas members of the "dominant culture" can, through their own ignorance and misunderstanding, contribute to a less-than-supportive learning environment for students in the "new majority," and
Whereas all faculty, staff, and students can benefit from learning to live more effectively in a diverse society,