BATON ROUGE – Katrice Albert, vice provost for Equity, Diversity & Community Outreach, and Chaunda Allen, director of Multicultural Affairs, formed one of only 25 teams to present a pre-conference institute at the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education, or NCORE, Conference in San Diego in late May.

The NCORE Conference is the leading and most comprehensive national forum on issues of race and ethnicity in American higher education. The 2009 conference welcomed participants with traditional dances and songs from the California Indians of Northern and Southern California and the keynote speaker was Cornell West, a civil rights activist, author and professor at Princeton University.

Albert and Allen's one-and-a-half-day pre-conference institute, "In Search of Our Mother's Garden: Growing a Model Multicultural Affairs Department," offered novice and mid-level professionals in multicultural affairs the tools and resources needed to assist them in creating and growing multicultural affairs departments at institutions of higher education. The institute focused on theoretical and practical solutions in evolving "grass roots" efforts of putting diversity into action. This is the duo's second year being selected to present this institute.

"The NCORE Pre-Conference Institute was a wonderful way to engage with other diversity professionals from across the country to spotlight the critical work of advancing diversity at LSU as well as provide a space where we could learn from our peers. It is an honor to have been chosen as an NCORE Pre-Conference Institute facilitator this year," said Allen.

Institutes covered a broad array of topics ranging from assessment to recruitment. Albert and Allen's institute included four key areas for developing multicultural affairs departments: developing a theoretical framework, mission statement and strategic plan; establishing programs that bolster recruitment and retention and facilitate cross-cultural interactions and civic engagement; forming partnerships and collaborations with both internal and external allies; and positioning one's self in ways that reduce burnout, increase job satisfaction and best utilize collegial support.

NCORE is housed at the University of Oklahoma's Southwest Center for Human Relations. Next year's conference will take place in Washington, D.C.

For more information regarding NCORE or the institute, please contact the Office of Multicultural Affairs at oma@lsu.edu or 225-578-4339, or the Office of Equity, Diversity & Community Outreach at 225-578-5736 or diversity@lsu.edu.