2008 Woodie Awards
UWT employee raises awareness on diversity issues
Kristin Draus
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As Coordinator of the Diversity Resource Center, Ling Yeh helps oversee and organize various events designed to increase awareness of diversity at UWT. The Diversity Resource Center is located in WCG 102.
What is the function of the DRC? When was it created?
This is its second year. The main, kind of broader, objective is to raise awareness on campus and also raise awareness around issues on diversity – to support students, faculty and staff who are interested in more issues of diversity as well as population source from diverse backgrounds, as well as make connections with local communities.
What responsibilities do you have at the Diversity Resource Center?
I head up the center. I sort of do everything from budget to photocopies to event planning, and I work with a couple of work study students. We also just started an AmeriCorps program, so I make sure that's going smoothly. There is a program called ROUTES (Reaching Out to Empower Students), it's a mentoring program that works with first-generation college students – college students whose parents do not have a college degree. It pairs them up with high school students with similar backgrounds.
Were the latest DRC events well attended?
I would say so. We're still recruiting people for the Days of Service. The ones that have already passed had great turnout. Last quarter we had a photo exhibit that was up in the library. We had a lecture on the photo exhibit that was pretty well attended.
What are some of the events coming up?
We do a monthly series, called the Lunch Hour Diversity Series. Every month we highlight a different person, usually a faculty member at UWT, and research or work they're doing that is related somehow to diversity. Next month we'll have a talk on Black History Month. That should be on the website. The next big event is on Feb. 8, the talk with UWT’s Dr. (Trista) Huckleberry about Black History Month. We're looking for mentors to be in our ROUTES program. So if people are interested in mentoring a high school student, particularly if they are first-generation students, then we'd love to have them here. People should just come here and ask us, or look for information on the Web.
What has been the most successful event/endeavor of the DRC?
If I had to pick one, I guess I would say it would be the photo exhibit. It was our most successful event recently. The unity breakfast was quite successful, but I can't claim full credit for that. A lot of the events that we do are collaborative, so it's hard to – I mean, we help out with an annual college fair for college students with the Latino students. That ROUTES program is a really important endeavor because currently there are no other specific programs targeted to support first-generation students at UWT.
Why did you decide to work at UWT?
I think the campus is really growing and it's just an exciting place to be. I like that it is small and friendly. I've worked in a lot of really huge institutions, and this feels so different because you can actually walk down the hallway and know most of the people. And I think for the most part people are open to new ideas and are willing to try new things and are excited about a growing university. It's a welcoming and warm institution.
Why is it so important for Diversity & Minority Affairs to exist?
Most people agree that it's important to talk about diversity, and it's important to have people with diverse backgrounds on campus. If there isn't one place to continually bring up those issues or concerns, then I think it falls to the wayside. Everyone thinks it’s important, but if it's not first on someone's agenda, then it becomes last on everyone's agenda. And it just helps to have one place for people to go. I think that even though lots of people on campus are supportive – if there isn't one place for people to look to when they have a question or an issue, then they really don't know where to turn. So at least if there's a physical space on campus, then at least it's a starting point.
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