CHC Leadership Groups Fall 2021

In fall 2021, the CHC is launching a new program to enhance our support for students, as well as promote student leadership opportunities within the college. Information about these new student leadership groups is pasted below. Please share this information with other students and if you have any questions about this program, contact interim dean Carol Stabile (chcdeansoffice@uoregon.edu).

CHC Leadership Groups Fall 2021

Student groups often happen informally and spontaneously—in dorms, at meals, in all the places our students work and relax. The CHC recognizes that students from underrepresented groups have specific needs and experiences of the CHC and may need safer spaces to ask questions, get answers, and build mentoring networks and leadership skills. The CHC Deans Office also needs diverse student voices to provide input about decisions affecting CHC students.

The purpose of these groups is to:

·         Create a network of mentors, allies, and peers for underrepresented students;
·         Build inclusion and community within the CHC;
·         Help student groups and their members navigate the CHC and share experiences and tips for student success;
·         Allow diverse groups to share ideas, feedback and concerns with CHC leadership;
·         Build leadership skills through advocating for policies and programs to meet the needs of their members.

Students may submit ideas for leadership groups (e.g. African American Leadership Group, Asian American Student Leadership Group, First Generation College Student Leadership Group, Latinx Leadership Group, LGBTQIA Leadership Group, Native American Student Leadership Group, et al.) by sending an email to chcdeansoffice@uoregon.edu. The email should include a short description of how the proposed leadership group will fulfill the above purposes, as well as the names and contact information for organizers.

Students and student leaders may identify with multiple proposed leadership groups. In committing to student leadership groups, students to think carefully about time commitments and not to stretch themselves too thinly. To encourage this, student leaders should only propose leading one group, although they may wish to participate in multiple groups.  

We will work with groups to assign a CHC advisor (faculty or staff), whose role will be to help the group set goals, design activities, and promote leadership development. Student participants will think about what their leadership group structure should be and what members want to accomplish in a given year. Should their leadership group be a space where people think about identity in an academic way? Should it be more social in nature? Should it a space of support, where people can discuss their experiences? Should it be a space where students help each other problem solve and mobilize for change?How much work should the group take on, given members’ commitments and busy schedules? How can the group set priorities that are manageable? The ground rules and the activities should be determined by student members and oriented toward the agreed-upon goals. Each leadership group will be responsible for determining its own scope and priorities.

CHC advisors can help groups with goal-setting and ways to check their progress in meeting these goals. CHC advisors can also communicate directly with the Dean’s Office about issues of concern, providing access to funds for group activities, and offering logistical support or strategic guidance as feasible or desired.

To receive support from the CHC Dean’s Office, all groups must be:

·         As open as possible to all CHC students around the affinity topic or identity;

·         Have a clear sense of purpose, including a mission statement that contributes to the larger university’s mission and core values;

·         Its meetings should be open to students and allies;

·         Meet once a term with CHC leadership.

If you have any questions about this program, contact interim dean Carol Stabile (chcdeansoffice@uoregon.edu).