Staff members and students asked the Provost's Campus Council on Community and Diversity at last Thursday's forum to look into resources that support the hiring and retention of a diverse staff. Students also voiced frustration over a perceived lack of support for their outreach efforts to potential undergraduates. The forum was the second held by the council since its inception in the fall of 1997. The council, composed of administrators, staff members, faculty members and students, serves as an advisory board to Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef and Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Robert Grey, who heads the group. It was formed to ensure that UC Davis is a welcoming and supportive environment for all, to enhance communication between different constituencies, and to increase the ethnic and cultural diversity on campus. The first forum took place in early June, resulting in an extensive list of ideas on how the campus might increase its effectiveness as a diverse university and in the formation of subgroups to work on the suggestions. As a result of that meeting in June, forum moderator Lenora Timm, a linguistics professor who serves as special assistant to the provost, noted last week that the faculty subcommittee will institute a series of workshops to develop more sensitivity to a diverse student body and improve classroom climate. The workshops will also work on models for better curricula development. Mandatory diversity training has also been suggested for staff supervisors-an idea applauded by some staff employees in attendance. But a few said they are still concerned about the future of three positions in the Provost's Office for Diversity, Affirmative Action and Equal Employment Opportunity. One of the office members, Timm, will go on sabbatical for the winter and spring quarters and Karen Roth, who serves as special assistant in that office, will resume her post as associate director of student housing on Dec. 1. Also, a position vacated in the Staff Affirmative Action Office has not yet been filled since Marbella Sala left the job for the medical center. Barry Klein, vice provost of academic personnel, said the positions will be refilled. "We'll have a plan in place this year to meet the goal of making the Office for Diversity even more effective," he said. Klein said he is working hard to strengthen the staffing in that office and is looking for ways to increase its service to the campus. Timm announced that the Multicultural Immersion Program, an educational experience for students that focuses on race relations and intercultural communication, has received permanent funding through the Counseling Center and the provost. The program was without a funding source at the last meeting. Carol Wall, vice chancellor of student affairs, said the program staff will now work on developing an organizational structure and associated courses. "This is a significant step, substantively and symbolically, for the campus as it addresses issues of community and diversity," she said. "The program has made a difference; it will continue to do so." Other ideas brought up during the forum include: * Focusing on two or three important issues that can be addressed concretely; * Generating more publicity about council forum time and places to the students; * Engaging more people to resolve campus issues; * Establishing an annual "Days of Dialogue" on racism for the campus community; * Extending the diversity discussion to the Web; * Providing housing for prospective students when they visit campus; * Examining resources allocated for staff employment; and * Strengthening involvement in community outreach with more structure and organization for involved students, staff and faculty members.