e-Newsletter: June 2006
IDEAL’s $1 Million Challenge Grant
Goal: $2 million by 2008
Thanks to a lead donation of $1 million from philanthropist and entrepreneur, Mitch Kapor, the Initiative for Diversity in Education and Leadership Scholars Program (IDEAL) will experience a growth in the number of scholars being admitted into the program over the next five years. This gift kick starts the Growing the IDEAL Campaign that will allow an additional 31 students to become IDEAL Scholars over the next five years if we raise another $1 million by 2008. The funds will cover four to five year annual scholarships for each student (based on the students’ federal financial aid packages), as well as access to summer internships, a laptop loan program, and tutors.
To contribute or make a pledge to the Growing the IDEAL Campaign, please call (415)946-3062 or make a secure donation online!
Kapor, who also serves as a board member for Level Playing Field Institute, donated the funds after attending the IDEAL Recruitment Reception on April 9, 2006: "The impact IDEAL has made in the lives of these students is enormous. It feels great to be able to support this program and to be in a position to allow more students access to the crucial resources it provides.”
IDEAL invests in the next generation of California leadership by assisting exemplary underrepresented students of color to maximize their educational, service, and career opportunities. IDEAL works with Black/African American, Latino/Hispanic, and Native American undergraduates at UC Berkeley.
Eight IDEAL Scholars Graduate
On May 19, Level Playing Field Institute hosted a reception to recognize eight students from the IDEAL Scholars Program, the second IDEAL class to graduate from UC Berkeley. Almost 100 attendees, made up of present and graduating IDEAL scholars, their families, UC Berkeley faculty and staff, Level Playing Field Institute team members, donors, and media joined in the emotional celebration. Highlights of the event were speeches by Chancellor Robert J. Birgeneau, continuing IDEAL Scholars about their graduating peers, and the IDEAL graduates, themselves.
In addition to heartfelt addresses by Chancellor Birgeneau and IDEAL scholars, key supporters bestowed each graduating IDEAL scholar with a specially made stole to commemorate their milestone. The event also received media attention by KTVU Channel 2’s John Sasaki, who created a brief segment on the success of the IDEAL Scholars program that aired on TV. It was a special day, as reflected by IDEAL graduate Rene Peña-Govea’s thoughts:
Ideal transcends academic help and transcends financial help. Everyone at IDEAL provides that emotional support and love in any context of life that you need... I appreciate everything that [Cedric has done] and everything that everyone is IDEAL has done to make me feel this emotion, this love.
"Corporate Leavers" Project Continues Forward Momentum
Level Playing Field Institute has selected the University of Connecticut’s Department of Public Policy to conduct the second phase (a nationwide phone survey) of the “Corporate Leavers” Project. Bendixen Associates, a research consultancy with extensive experience working with populations of color and LGBT groups will also be providing insight into creating research meaningful to these communities. Data gathered in the phone survey will greatly enhance what the Corporate Leavers team has learned in interviews and focus groups. Through anecdotal data and rigorous quantitative studies, Level Playing Field Institute seeks to shed light on the barriers--especially subtle, “hidden” barriers--that still exist in workplace culture. These barriers have a disproportionate impact on women, people of color, and lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender individuals, prompting many to voluntarily leave their corporate positions to pursue new careers in an entirely different sector or the non-profit world, become entrepreneurs, or stay home with family. [Read more]
UConn’s Department of Public Policy is non-profit and non-partisan, and is nationally and internationally recognized as a leader in the field of public opinion research. The university is also no stranger to the work of Level Playing Field Institute, since it conducted our groundbreaking HOW FAIR study in 2003. This extensive study of US employers and employees was the first and only major survey to take an in-depth look at the role that inappropriate (or productivity-killing or demoralizing) behavior--such as stereotyping, bullying, and public humiliation--play in the workplace.
As UConn and Level Playing Field Institute prepare for the nationwide quantitative study, additional one-on-one interviews and focus groups are still being conducted. One organization which has recently participated in a Corporate Leavers focus group is the Network of Arab-American Professionals. It joins a number of other organizations whose members have graciously offered their time and insights, for example: National Society of Hispanic MBAs, Lawyers for One America, Filipina Women’s Network, Out and Equal, Human Rights Campaign, Women of Color Action Network, and Chinese for Affirmative Action.
If you know of other professional organizations whose members have faced barriers to full participation and fulfillment in their chosen careers, prompting them to become Corporate Leavers, please contact Mary Kate Stimmler at: mkstimmler AT lpfi DOT org.
If you are a member of an organization that might be interested in playing a collaborative role in the Corporate Leaver research, please contact our managing director, Caroline Barlerin, at cbarlerin AT lpfi DOT org.
SMASH
At a time when most students are happy to say “good-bye” to the classroom, 81 Bay Area high school students are looking forward to moving into dormitory rooms on the UC Berkeley campus for five additional weeks of intensive math, science, and English classes. These 81 students are participants in Level Playing Field Institute’s Summer Math & Science Honors (SMASH) Academy, which begins on June 24th and runs for five weeks. This year’s students come from 40 different high schools (up from 25 in 2005).
SMASH students attend classes taught by experienced and dedicated high school teachers, conduct lab experiments, meet math and science professionals, take educational and recreational fieldtrips, and build a supportive community which remains in close contact throughout the entire year. The ultimate goal of the program is to encourage students from underrepresented communities (Hispanic/Latino, African American, and Native American) to pursue studies and excel in math, technology, engineering, or science at top colleges and graduate schools.
While the students are eager to spend five weeks away from home improving their math, science, and English skills (as well as testing their independence), their parents face mixed emotions of excitement and worry. “I don’t worry (too much) about my daughter, because I trust the SMASH staff. They are professionals who support our kids, guide them, and point them in the right direction,” said Maria Guadalupe Rubio, mother of Iris Rodriguez. Rubio also offered the following words to this year’s new SMASH parents: “Your kids are in the right hands. It might be hard for your son or daughter to get used to living away from home, but after a while, they won’t want to leave SMASH. SMASH is the best thing that has happened to my daughter, and hopefully it will be the same for your kids.”
Tilt
- a cartoon series from Level Playing Field Institute
Created by Nate Creekmore- www.creekification.com
