Issue 417: 4 / 2 / 2012

Southwest Tennessee Community College President’s Proclamation

SOUTHWEST DIVERSITY WEEK – 2012

WHEREAS, the College is a comprehensive, multi-cultural, public, open-access College; and

WHEREAS, the College seeks to provide all its citizens with an effective teaching and learning environment designed to raise educational levels, enhance economic development, and enrich personal lives; and

WHEREAS, the College is committed to enhancing its diversity in all forms including age, divergent ideas and perspectives, disability, ethnicity, sex, national origin, race, religious and spiritual beliefs, sexual orientation, the socioeconomic and geographic composition of the College community; and

WHEREAS, the strength of the College lies in its diversity as well as in its unity of all people including students, faculty, staff, or administration; and

WHEREAS, the retention of diverse groups within the College is a component of the College’s mission; and

WHEREAS, given the historical and legal discrimination that has existed in American society, particular emphasis needs to be placed on the inclusion of individuals who are members of groups that have historically been excluded; and

WHEREAS, the College explicitly values diversity in all components of the institution;

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that April 2 – April 6 is hereby proclaimed as Diversity Week at Southwest Tennessee Community College.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Senior Staff urges all members of the Southwest family to observe this week by joining the Diversity Committee in celebrating and facilitating a greater understanding and appreciation for diversity of all our members.

Poet Steve Kistulentz visits Southwest for National Poetry Month

National Poetry Month, inaugurated by the Academy of American Poets in 1996, is observed annually in April and to celebrate it poet Steve Kistulentz will be reading his works on April 12, at 12:30 p.m. in the Bornblum Library at Southwest Tennessee Community College’s Macon Cove Campus.

Kistulentz is the author of two books of poetry: The Luckless Age (Red Hen Press, 2011) – selected by Nick Flynn from nearly 700 manuscripts as the winner of the Benjamin Saltman Award and Little Black Daydream – forthcoming this fall from the University of Akron Press Series in Poetry.

His poems have appeared in numerous literary magazines, including The Antioch Review, Black Warrior Review, Crab Orchard Review, New England Review, New Letters, Quarterly West, and Southern Review. His work in creative nonfiction has appeared in such magazines as Copper Nickel, River Teeth, and Barrelhouse.

The event is sponsored by Southwest’s Honors Academy. Kistulentz’s will be available following the reading to sign copies of his books, which will be available for purchase (cash or check only, please).

Spotlight on Ethical Literacy

Nathan L. Essex

When we take a look at current times, we often wonder if people have lost morals and values. Our government leaders, spiritual leaders, education leaders and average citizens seem to be faced with ethical issues. Ethics is defined as a system or set of moral principles relating to human conduct with respect to the rightness and wrongness of actions and the goodness and badness of motives.

With the support of the Assisi Foundation, Southwest has joined the Ethical Literacy Community to promote ethical practices throughout our institution. The committee has asked Southwest leaders to give insight on their thoughts regarding ethics, and will be sharing those comments in this publication. Our first comments come from President Nathan Essex (below), and will be followed by a series of other comments from individuals throughout the Southwest family.

How does ethical behavior impact the operations at Southwest?

Ethical behavior impacts the operation of Southwest in the sense that it determines if the College treats employees with dignity and respect. Ethical behavior exhibited by College leaders determines, to a large extent, whether employees exhibit ethical behavior in their employment positions as well. Southwest must be guided by moral principles that govern our behavior as we strive to achieve the College’s mission and vision. In doing so, we must articulate and embody the purpose and values of the College to ensure that our actions are framed in ethical terms.

Nathan L. Essex, President