On Tuesday, May 2, the Organizational Communication Training and Development in the School of Communication Studies will hold a showcase of its diversity research work on the third floor of the University Library. It is open to the public. Refreshments will be available at 12:15 p.m. with the program beginning promptly at 12:45 p.m. To help the class prepare for you, please RSVP.
The students in Molly Taggart’s Organizational Communication Training and Development class have started a company to utilize what they are learning in their coursework.
This company, named Training and Development Inc., is not just hypothetical – these students are researching the best ways to implement a diversity training program.
“I am honored to be a part of a project that will hopefully help everyone in this college feel comfortable and proud to be exactly who they are,” said student Beth Coccia.
Their findings and suggestions will be used by their client, the Office of Academic Diversity Outreach located within the College of Communication and Information (CCI). The office, founded in the summer of 2016, is working to create programs that will increase awareness and understanding of diversity among faculty, staff and students.
“With today’s political climate,” Taggart added, “it’s more important than ever to make sure all of our students, faculty and staff feel welcome, safe and included.”
The course is service/experiential learning oriented and is offered every fall and spring semester at Kent State in the School of Communication Studies. The students are excited to know their efforts can make a real difference.
“It’s inspiring to know that something my classmates and I poured our hearts into will change the university forever,” said student Zach Zabel.
The class members themselves are a diverse group of people, reflecting the larger diversity that the university can be proud of.
“Since I’m an international student, I feel so happy and proud of Kent,” said student Mohammed Noor Elahi, “and now with working on this project, I am sure I chose the right university.”
Amanda Leu, the coordinator of CCI’s Office of Academic Diversity Outreach, is excited to see where this project is heading.
“The project is already showing great progress, and the students are an absolute pleasure to work with. Under Molly's leadership and the incredible support from COMM Director Elizabeth Graham, we are confident that we will be able to gather some really important information through this project,” Leu says. “The CCI Diversity Team will review the recommendations from the students over the summer and use that information to develop curricula for diversity workshops that will hopefully launch in fall 2017.”