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Listen to podcast interview with Edna Chun, Ph.D., VP, Broward College about bridging the diversity divide

Posted by Elena del Valle on February 22, 2010

Edna Chun, Ph.D., vice president, Broward College

Photo: Edna Chun, Ph.D.

A podcast interview with Edna Chun, Ph.D., vice president, Broward College is available in the Podcast Section of Hispanic Marketing & Public Relations, HispanicMPR.com. During the podcast, Edna discusses bridging the diversity divide based on a book she co-authored by the same title with Elena del Valle, host of the HispanicMPR.com podcast.

In her job at Broward College, a large urban community college with four campuses and 60,000 students in Fort Lauderdale, Florida Edna oversees recruitment, professional development, staffing, diversity and affirmative action, employee and labor relations, compensation, records management, and benefits administration for the college. She has over two decades of human resource experience in public research universities in the California, Oregon, and Ohio state university systems. She holds a Doctor of Music degree from the Indiana University School of Music.

Edna is co-author, with Alvin Evans, of Bridging the Diversity Divide: Globalization and Reciprocal Empowerment in Higher Education (see University human resources administrators address diversity) (Jossey-Bass) published in 2009. They also co-authored Are the Walls Really Down? Behavioral and Organizational Barriers to Faculty and Staff Diversity published as part of the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE) Higher Education Series (Jossey-Bass) two years earlier. The book discusses subtle and covert discrimination in the higher education workplace and provides a systematic institutional approach to diversity and inclusion. It received the Frances G. Hansen Publication Award by the College and University Professional Association for its contribution to the human resource profession at the organization’s 2007 national conference in Baltimore, Maryland.

Edna is co-author of articles on talent management, human resource strategies, and diversity published in Hispanic Outlook, Insight into Diversity, and Diverse. She was recently unanimously elected to serve on the editorial board of the Association for the Study of Higher Education. She is a regular contributor and member of the editorial board of Insight into Diversity magazine.

To listen to the interview, scroll down until you see “Podcast” on the right hand side, then select “HMPR Edna Chun, Ph.D.,” click on the play button below or download the MP3 file to your iPod or MP3 player to listen on the go, in your car or at home. To download it, click on the arrow of the recording you wish to copy and save it to disk. The podcast will remain listed in the February 2010 section of the podcast archive.


Click here to buy Bridging the Diversity Divide


University human resources administrators address diversity

Posted by Elena del Valle on February 12, 2010

Bridging the Diversity Divide

University administrators, educators and anyone wishing to better understand diversity have a new resource available in Bridging the Diversity Divide Globalization and Reciprocal Empowerment in Higher Education (Joseey-Bass, $29) by Edna Chun and Alvin Evans. The 144-page softcover research based book was designed as a practical guide for those wishing to develop inclusive campuses. The authors believe systematic organizational change is essential in order to achieve true inclusively universities.

Published in 2009, the book is divided into five main sections: The Changing Landscape and the Compelling Need for Diversity; Translating Principles into Practice; Mapping the Terrain for Inclusion and Bridging the Gaps; Orchestrating the Process of Cultural Change; and A Toolkit for Operational Reciprocal Empowerment. There is also an executive summary, recommendations and two appendices.

The authors recommend organizations that want to embrace inclusive principles adopt a change model based on organizational learning ideas; formally outline, in cooperation with employees and relevant groups, the diversity ideas they wish to add; allocate resources to the inclusive project accordingly; measure results; highlight success case studies; be alert to disparate treatment of minorities and monitor retention; and establish a work environment where stereotypes are dispelled.

Chun, vice president, Human Resources at Broward College in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, has more than 20 years of human resources experience in public research universities in California, Oregon and Ohio. Evans is associate vice president, Human Resources and Kent State University. He has more than 20 years of experience in public sector human resources management and organizational development.


Click here to buy Bridging the Diversity Divide