The University of Iowa | Center for Diversity & Enrichment

Spanish Conversation Circles
Every Friday, 12:00-1:00pm
US Bank, 204 East Washington, Iowa City lower level training room
Sponsored by Diversity Focus: www.diversityfocus.org

Crash Dialogue (Movie & Discussion)
Tuesday, June 2, 9:00am-1:00pm
US Bank, 204 East Washington, Iowa City lower level training room
Sponsored by Diversity Focus: www.diversityfocus.org

Iowa N.E.W. Leadership 2009 - Empowering Women to Lead
Keynote: Former Iowa Attorney General Bonnie Campbell
Thursday, June 4
Reception: 5:30-6:30pm
Keynote Address: 6:30-7:00pm
Old Capitol Museum, 21 Old Capitol, University of Iowa
Free and open to the public

Diversity Focus Brown bag Lunch
Thursday, June 11 12:00-1:00pm
US Bank, 204 East Washington, Iowa City lower level training room
Sponsored by Diversity Focus: www.diversityfocus.org

Juneteenth in the Spirit
June 13, 2:00-4:00pm
UI Shambaugh Auditorium, 125 West Washington Street, Iowa City
Come learn more about the dreams, actions, and spirit that led to the fulfillment and promise of liberty that came for all slaves on June 19, 1865 when they finally
learned they were free at last
Speaker, musical performances and cake reception
Free and open to all ages

Juneteenth: A Celebration of Freedom
June 19, 5:30pm – Taste of Freedom (soul food dinner honoring African American veterans) $10.00
June 19, 8:30pm – Light up the Night with Freedom semi-formal dance $10.00 (dinner and dance $15.00)
Dinner and Dance at African American Museum of Iowa, 55 12th Avenue SE, Cedar Rapids
June 20, 9:00am-5:00pm – Celebration Day at Gibson Park, 14th Avenue SE, Cedar Rapids
www.blackiowa.org/juneteenth

2009 Friday Night Concert Series
May 22 – August 28, 6:30-9:30pm
Weatherdance Fountain Stage, PedMall, Iowa City
http://summerofthearts.com

Iowa Arts Festival, Iowa City
June 5-7
http://summerofthearts.com

Freedom Festival, Cedar Rapids
June 18 – July 4
www.freedomfestival.com

Contact Janet Fotsch in the CCOM Office of Cultural Affairs and Diversity Initiatives for more details on any of the listed events. 384-2952 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all University of Iowa sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires an accommodation in order to participatein these programs, please contact the Office of Cultural Affairs and Diversity Initiatives in advance at 384-2952.

Its that time again... Don't be left out to dry!

Attend the Spring 2009 Study-A-Thon and get a leg up on others in your class!

Friday May 8, 2009
5 PM - 10 PM
S401 Pappajohn Business Building

by Sharon Gaudin, computerworld.com

Need your kids to pick their grades up? Tell them to spend less time on Facebook.

A new study released by Ohio State University shows that college students who use Facebook spend less time studying and have lower grades than students who don't use the popular social networking site. But don't count on the Facebook users admitting the problem. The university report noted that 79 percent of them said that using the social networking site was not interfering with their studies.

"We can't say that use of Facebook leads to lower grades and less studying - but we did find a relationship there," said Aryn Karpinski, co-author of the study and a doctoral student in education at Ohio State University. "There's a disconnect between students' claim that Facebook use doesn't impact their studies, and our finding showing they had lower grades and spent less time studying."

And who was more likely to use Facebook? Yup, future system administrators and CIOs.

The university reported that science, technology, engineering, math and business majors were more likely to use Facebook than students who are studying social sciences and the humanities.

The survey of 219 Ohio State students only asked about Facebook and did not focus on other social networking sites, like Myspace or Twitter.

Facebook, which just turned five-years-old in February, had nearly double the global users last December as rival and longtime market leader Myspace.com. Just last week, Facebook itself reported that it was hitting a major milestone - it had captured its 200 millionth user.

And last month, Nielsen Online reported that social networks like Facebook had knocked email down a rung in the ladder of leading online communication tools. Used by two-thirds of all worldwide online users, social networks and blogs have become the fourth most popular online products. The report now lists e-mail as No. 5 on the list of favorite online tools.

The Ohio State University study found that 85 percent of undergraduates use Facebook, while 52 percent of graduate students had accounts. It also found that Facebook users, who generally studied between one and five hours a week, had GPAs between 3.0 and 3.5, but non-users, who studied 11 to 15 hours per week, had GPAs between 3.5 and 4.0.

And Karpinski pointed out that the study doesn't necessarily mean Facebook use automatically leads to lower grades.

"There may be other factors involved, such as personality traits, that link Facebook use and lower grades," she added. "It may be that if it wasn't for Facebook, some students would still find other ways to avoid studying, and would still get lower grades. But perhaps the lower GPAs could actually be because students are spending too much time socializing online."

04/17/2009
Tonya L. Peeples
Associate Professor, Chemical and Biochemical Engineering
Wild Bill's Coffee Shop
North Hall

Networking works! You can be the beneficiary of my networking experiences by attending the last Friday After Class (FAC) program in 2009.  At this event, you will meet Tonya Peeples.
Join us while Professor Peeples shares her commentary, unique stories, and interacts with you about student success.

Your student peers say the following about the Friday After Class programs, “Expect to hear something that will resonate with you for sometime."

I look forward to seeing you there on Friday, April 17, from 3:45 to 5 PM at Wild Bill’s Coffee House in North Hall.

Johnnie M. Sims, Director
New Dimensions in Learning
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Gabriela Rivera, Multicultural Coordinator, and Yewande Lewis, PhD candidate in Language, Literacy and Culture Program in the College of Education and graduate student for the West Liberty Mentoring Program presented at the American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education National Conference last March 2009 in San Antonio, Texas.

The purpose of the program is to explore the ways in which the University of Iowa can effectively support and retain a cohort of freshmen and sophomore students, all of whom are from West Liberty High School. Professor Carolyn Colvin and Gabriela Rivera are both program coordinators and mentors for the West Liberty Mentoring Program.

2009 AAHHE Conference | San Antonio, Texas, March 5-7, 2009
Click here to download the presesntation (10 MB - .pptx)

American Association of Blacks in Higher Education Conference Handout and PowerPoint Presentation as presented by Nancy J. Humbles and Marisa Moore of the Center for Diversity & Enrichment, University of Iowa.

Click here to download the PPTX version of the presentation.
The Handout is available here.

Greetings TRiO Students!

We are offering some workshops for TRiO members only.  As your semester is in full swing, we encourage your participation to continue learning about new ways to approach studying or perhaps to form a study group.

These workshops are intended to give you the tools necessary to apply toward your academic success this semester and those that follow.

Please be advised that there will be a series of workshops coming up which will be offered at different times/days.  Please continue to check your emails for your RSVP’s to these invitations!  Here are the dates/times in advance.

Looking forward to working with you!