A variety of ways to discuss diversity

readyBlack History Month begins Feb. 1, but efforts to foster diversity at UC Irvine take place year-round. Douglas Haynes, associate professor of history, is one of many on campus working to ensure gender and racial equality at UCI and throughout the community.

Haynes, who has conducted extensive research into the history of medicine in Britain and the U.S., likes to show his students a picture called the “Founding of the American Medical Association,” a rendering of the first meeting of association delegates in 1847.

“I ask the students to describe who’s present in the picture,” Haynes said, “and the answer is usually something like, ‘a lot of soberly dressed men.’” In fact, they’re all white, male and dressed “in the uniform of a nascent professional middle class.” Women and African Americans were barred from the AMA in the 19th century.

“It’s a way to get students to think about how organizations are constructed through a process of inclusion and exclusion,” said Haynes, whose latest book project focuses on the AMA’s early years.

When it comes to organizations excluding people because of race or gender, Haynes is determined to see that history doesn’t repeat itself. He’s one of 11 members on the University of California President’s Task Force on Faculty Diversity that is reviewing the representation of minorities and women among faculty at each UC campus. The task force recently visited nine of the campuses, including UCI, to discuss recruiting and retaining a diverse faculty, and will deliver a report identifying areas that need improvement this month.

“We’re creating an opportunity for campuses to intensify their leadership in producing a diverse faculty for an increasingly diverse state,” Haynes said.

Fostering diversity occurs on many levels at UCI, from individual efforts to campuswide events, such as the upcoming 22nd annual Martin Luther King Jr. Symposium. Titled “What’s Next? Realizing the Dream,” the symposium will focus on race and gender equality.

This year’s keynote address will be given by author and activist Julianne Malveaux from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday in the UCI Student Center’s Crystal Cove Auditorium. A syndicated columnist, Malveaux writes frequently about race, culture and gender. The free public talk, cosponsored by the Cross-Cultural Center and the Gender Education Series, will include a signing of Malveaux’s new book, “Unfinished Business: A Democrat and a Republican Take on the 10 Most Important Issues Women Face.”

Other symposium events include:

* A panel discussion about marching for justice from 2:30 to 4 p.m. today and a discussion about race and the penal system from noon to 1:30 p.m. Wednesday. Both workshops will be held in the Cross-Cultural Center’s conference room.

* A Martin Luther King March around Ring Mall from 11 a.m. to noon Thursday, starting at the Disability Services Center and ending at the Cross-Cultural Center, followed by a groundbreaking ceremony for the center’s renovation.

* Uniting people of different ethnic backgrounds will be the subject of another campus event Monday, Jan. 23, when UCI’s Center for Research on Latinos in a Global Society and the American Jewish Committee present “Latinos and Jews: A Conference on Historical and Contemporary Connections.” The symposium, free and open to the public, will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Social Science Plaza A, Room 2112.

A panel of experts from across the Southwestern U.S. will discuss the often-forgotten cultural, social and political ties that have existed between Latinos and Jews for more than 500 years, since Sephardic Jews fled the Spanish Inquisition and settled in Mexico. Topics will include their cultural imprint in Los Angeles’ Boyle Heights area, Latinos of Jewish heritage living in New Mexico and the common interests of their current political agendas.

“Our campus is great because of its continuing commitment to diversity,” Haynes said, “which makes UCI more responsive to the people of Orange County, the state and the world.”

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Interested in dropping a few pounds in 2006? Changing your lifestyle to reduce the risk of stroke?

As Orange County’s only university hospital, UCI Medical Center promotes public education to improve health -- and even save lives. The medical center offers seminars and classes on a wide range of topics, from pregnancy to aging.

The seminars are free and open to the public. Among the upcoming topics:

* “Glaucoma” with Dr. Sameh Mosaed, UCI ophthalmologist, 2 p.m. Monday, Jan. 23. Lakeview Senior Center, 20 Lake Road, Irvine.

* “Losing the Pounds” with Dr. Andrea Avery, UCI assistant clinical professor of internal medicine, 1 p.m. Friday, Jan. 27. Oasis Senior Center, 800 Marguerite Ave., Corona del Mar.

* “Stroke Prevention and Carotid Stents” with Dr. Steve Cramer, UCI neurologist, 1 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 31. Florence Sylvester Senior Center, 23721 Moulton Parkway, Laguna Hills.

The medical center’s classes cover pregnancy, parenting, diabetes, diet, heart health, meditation, yoga, stress management and other health-related subjects. Most classes range from $10 to $40 and are held at UCI Medical Center Health Education, 200 S. Manchester Ave., Suite 840, Orange. Many are free to center patients and their families.

For information about seminars or classes, visit www.ucihealth.uci.edu or call (877) 824-3627.

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“An Evening with Taryn Rose,” shoe designer, entrepreneur and UCI alumna, will be held Tuesday, Jan. 24, at 5:30 p.m. in the Humanities Instructional Building, Room 100. The talk, presented by the UCI Career Center and School of Humanities, is free and open to the public.

Trained as an orthopedic surgeon, Rose transformed the footwear industry with her line of fashionable and functional luxury shoes. For more information, call (949) 824-1342.

* SUSAN MENNING is assistant vice chancellor of communications at UC Irvine. She can be reached at [email protected].

20060117it7s3lnc(LA)Douglas Haynes, associate professor of history at UCI, teaches about gender and racial equality.20060117icaerakf(LA)20060117it7rwmnc(LA)Julianne Malveaux is the keynote speaker for the 22nd annual Martin Luther King Jr. Symposium at UC Irvine.