Diversity programs

Welcome to programs for culturally diverse students at the College of Education and Human Development!

CEHD is committed to recruiting, enrolling, and educating a diverse population of students who represent the overall composition of our society.

Come explore our programs designed to create a culturally diverse student body.

Our programs include:

• Commanding English is a first-year learning community for multi-lingual students. Students enroll in linked classes, working on academic language and literacy in social science, science, and humanities courses offered through the Department of Post Secondary Teaching and Learning.
• Commanding English Post Secondary Options is a specialized PSEO program for talented multi-lingual students at Edison, Roosevelt, and Washburn high schools in Minneapolis. As a group, students take PsTL courses in academic reading, immigration literature, and college writing, earning both high school and college credit.
• Common Ground Consortium (CGC) supports advanced graduate work in education by students of culturally diverse backgrounds who are graduates of several Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Eligible programs of study include master of education (M.Ed.)/professional studies, master of arts (M.A.), doctor of philosophy (Ph.D.), doctor of education (Ed.D.), or specialist certificate.
• Homegrown Teacher Partnership Project (HTPP), a program to recruit and prepare students of culturally diverse backgrounds as teachers
• Multicultural Teacher Development Project (MTDP), a program to recruit and prepare students of culturally diverse backgrounds for teacher development programs
• Rodney S. Wallace Endowed Scholarship supports Native American students who have enrolled in CEHD programs of study.

Teaching cultural diversity is not merely a matter of including content that represents diverse cultures, it is also a matter of using students' diverse knowledge as part of the process of teaching and learning.

—Patricia James, Associate Professor in Postsecondary Teaching and Learning

• Isabel Graham Giddings Scholarship is awarded to female students entering M.Ed./initial licensure programs. Upon the donor's request, one scholarship will be awarded to an African-American female student, and one will be awarded to a female student (preferably from an underrepresented population).
• McNair Scholars, seeks to increase the rate of doctoral program application, matriculation, and degree attainment by first-generation college students who are underrepresented in graduate programs.
• Upward Bound is a college preparatory program for low-income and educationally disadvantaged high school students.
• Veterans services include involvement in Veterans Appreciation Day and working with University offices such as the Veterans Certification Office, the Veterans Services Office, the Veterans Transition Center, and the Veterans Resource Office to advocate for and support our veteran students.

Faculty research

Many of the college's faculty conduct research in areas of diversity. Examples can be seen in a recent list of University funded multicultural research awards presented to college faculty. Other examples include the following:

• The challenge of Hmong mental health counseling
• Civil rights and social inclusion for persons with developmental disabilities
• The effect of poverty on children's psychological development
• Family diversity
• Institute on Domestic Violence in the African American Community
• Narrowing the achievement gap one student at a time
• Technology for all
• Tucker Center for Research on Girls and Women in Sport

Outreach and service

• ACT/SAT prep course for at-risk students
• The challenge of Hmong mental health counseling
• CitySongs
• Questions About Kids
• Training and technical assistance in the area of transition for American Indian educators and administrators, through the Institute on Community Integration

Updated March 2008