In the News

Mankato Uses Rochester's Diversity Council as a Model

By Dawn Schuett, schuett@postbulletin.com

August 3, 2004

The work done by the Diversity Council in Rochester has impressed Mankato-area officials so much that they want to imitate it.

School, university and community leaders in the Mankato region have established an organization modeled after the Diversity Council in Rochester to make their communities more inclusive and welcoming, provide diversity education, and respond to racism and discrimination.

"We're excited to follow Rochester's lead on this initiative," said Shelly Schulz, public information director for Mankato-area public schools and the city of Mankato.

In January 2003, schools Superintendent Ed Waltman attended a presentation by George Thompson, executive director of the Diversity Council, and Kay Hocker, education director for the council.

After learning about the Diversity Council and the prejudice-reduction workshops it offers to nearly 16,000 students in grades K-12 in Rochester-area schools, Waltman started the process to form a similar council in the Mankato area.

At a news conference about the new council in June, Waltman referred to the increasing diversity of the Mankato area. In the 1990s, the nonwhite population of the area doubled. About 27 languages are spoken by students in Mankato-area schools.

One of the most important factors for the council's success, Thompson said, is to get the entire community involved.

Representatives from Mankato and North Mankato, Minnesota State University-Mankato, Bethany Lutheran College, Gustavus Adolphus College, South Central Technical College and the private sector have joined the Mankato school district in starting the diversity council. The new organization, managed by a 17-member board of directors, has raised about $100,000.

"Everybody is a part of this movement," Schulz said.

Thompson also told the Mankato officials to start small.

The Diversity Council in Rochester has existed for 15 years. In its first years, its prejudice-reduction workshops, led by trained, paid facilitators who live in Olmsted County, reached about 300 students.

The curriculum for the workshops is updated annually and is meant to teach students to have respect for others and to value differences, Hocker said.

It's the same curriculum that will be used by the Greater Mankato Area Diversity Council when it begins the workshops during the 2004-2005 school year.

© 2004 Post Bulletin. Used by permission.

1130 1/2 7th St NW, Suite 204 , Rochester, MN 55901 · Tel: 507.282.9951 · Fax: 507.282.9964 · info@diversitycouncil.org

Diversity...It's all about respect.