Task Force on Tolerance and Diversity
In November 2002, Morehouse announced the formation of an advisory task force on tolerance and diversity. The Task Force on Tolerance and Diversity, chaired by Dr. Walter Earl Fluker, was developed with the purpose of creating policy recommendations for the President’s Office in the areas of strategic diversity and violence prevention in an academic environment. The Task Force had a two-tiered structure, which sought to approach the issues of tolerance and diversity from external and internal perspectives. Externally, a blue ribbon panel, which served as a National Advisory Committee, was comprised of experts in the areas of diversity, violence prevention, ethics, and human development, from academic, religious, corporate, philanthropic, and community environments. Students, alumni, staff, faculty from Morehouse and the AUC Center, the Office of Student Services, and the Institutional Values Project represent the other internal and local group. A report was submitted from this panel July 2003.
The purpose of the National Advisory Committee was:
- To provide the President with guidance on issues of diversity as they relate to our environment;
- To identify best practices for addressing issues of homophobia, violence and intolerance in academic environments; and
- To provide the President with specific policy recommendations for creating a safe and nurturing academic environment which upholds the values of diversity, civility, and community.
National Advisory Committee members are:
- Dr. Paul Burgett (University of Rochester)
- Dr. Robert M. Franklin (Emory University)
- Mr. Allan Gilmour (Ford Motor Company)
- The Reverend Peter Gomes
(Harvard University)
- Dr. Caryn McTighe Musil (The Association of American Colleges and Universities)
- Dr. Deborah Prothrow-Stith (Harvard University)
- Mr. Phillip Rush (The Community Foundation of Greater Atlanta)
- Dr. Roosevelt Thomas (American Institute for Managing Diversity Inc.)
The purpose of the Local Advisory Committee was:
- To provide a forum where representatives from various campus networks can openly dialogue about issues of tolerance and diversity at Morehouse College;
- To assess specific instances of homophobia, intolerance and violence on campus;
- To provide the President with specific policy recommendations for creating a safe and nurturing academic environment which upholds the values of diversity, respect, civility, and community.
Local Advisory Committee members are:
- Ms. Takkara Brunson, Spelman College Student
- Ms. Shirley Carpenter, Staff and Institutional Values Project
- Dr. Robert Dixon, Morehouse College Faculty
- Ms. Erin Edwards, Spelman
College Student
- Dr. Rita B. Finley, Chair, Morehouse College Faculty
Council
- Mr. Eddie Gaffney, Dean, Morehouse College Office
of Student Affairs
- Mr. Malcolm Gossett, Morehouse College Senior Student,
President, SafeSpace
- Mr. Roger Humphrey, Morehouse College Senior Student
- Dr. Cindy Lutenbacher, Morehouse College Faculty
- Mr. James Moffett, Morehouse College Junior Student
- Mr. Julius Pryor, Alumnus, Director of Diversity
for the Russell Corporation
- Dr. George Roberts, Alumnus, The Centers for Disease
Control
- Dr. Cynthia Spence, Academic Dean, Spelman College
- Ms. Cynthia Trawick, Director, Public Health Science Institute
