A wooden maze that dispenses M&Ms. Plastic straws and ping pong balls. A basket full of brain teasers.
Karen Ferrer-Muñiz, Union’s new director of Multicultural Affairs, is thinking outside the box when it comes to stimulating dialogue and understanding about diversity on campus.
"These are my thinking toys,” she said recently, showing a visitor around the Office of Multicultural Affairs, located in Reamer Campus Center Room 304. “I want to motivate students, to provide the spark they need to know themselves.”
This means, she said, giving them an opportunity to engage in conversations, workshops and events in which they can freely and comfortably embrace their background and family history.
“Where you grew up, who raised you, what school you went to – these are what make you who you are. They are more important than race, deeper than ethnicity, gender or age.”
Ferrer-Muñiz arrived in August from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where she was associate dean of students and director of Minority Student Affairs & HEOP. In looking at diversity in the broadest sense of the word, she espouses a philosophy that is consistent with Union’s goal of supporting a living and learning environment in which people from varied backgrounds can succeed and thrive.
“This is the right time for Union, the right moment to go in this direction,” Ferrer-Muniz said. “This generation of students at Union is ready for new diversity leadership skills.”
Ferrer-Muñiz will work with a number of student groups, from Academic Opportunity Programs to Student Support Services. In the coming weeks, in particular, she plans to get together with fraternities and sororities, the Minerva Houses, Posse students and athletic teams.
“Besides playing hockey or football together, do they know and understand each other?” she said.
Ferrer-Muñiz has found that a few props go a long way toward breaking the ice, getting students to stretch their ideas about themselves and furthering understanding among individuals. Her work with several dozen resident advisors at the beginning of the term quickly demonstrated her hands-on approach.
“I came in with four tubes of toothpaste, toothpicks and a toothbrush, and portable blackboards,” she explained. “I gave them 15 questions about diversity and family history – What do you like most about where you grew up? Tell about something you did that was out of character for you. What is a characteristic in others that you admire? – Then I asked them to answer by writing symbols on their blackboards.
“They were looking at me like I was crazy, but once they broke into groups and started working, they couldn’t stop.”
Ayanna Vinson-Dobson ’11 of Boston, an R.A. in Davidson who also works in the Office of Multicultural Affairs, is one who enjoyed symbolizing her thoughts and life.
“I never imagined drawing with toothpaste, but we got to learn a lot about people, things we wouldn’t normally ask,” Vinson-Dobson said. “I was so excited, I went home and told my mom about it that night. You would never think you would have this deep experience with toothpaste and black cardboard.”
Ferrer-Muñiz calls herself a connector and a main resource for diversity issues on campus. She also likens herself to a scout leader.
In fact, she was a member of the Girl Scouts – Niñas Escuchas – in her native San German, Puerto Rico, from which she came to the Capital Region 18 years ago to earn a master’s in social sciences from the University at Albany. Currently, she is pursuing her Ph.D in Latin American Studies and Higher Education Administration there.
She serves on the board of directors of the Hudson Valley Council Girl Scouts and is president of the board of directors of Centro Civico Hispanoamericano of Albany.
Her cheerful office and the Straus Unity Center next door are full of tapestries, photographs and other items that present a rich array of messages about heritage, family and culture.
“Our students should understand that when they leave Union, which is a safe zone for four years, and they are ready for their careers, they alsoo need to be ready for all kinds of people with different backgrounds, ideas and values,” Ferrer-Muñiz said.
Editor’s note: The Office of Multicultural Affairs is sponsoring an open house today, Friday, Sept. 19, 12:30 p.m.-2 p.m. in Strauss Unity Center on the third floor of Reamer Campus Center.