This year Iowa State has implemented a new program into its curriculum, the U.S. Diversity & International Perspective Requirements.

As part of the program, students must earn three credits [or the equivalent] in each of the two areas.

The focus is to provide students with insights that will enhance their understanding of diversity among people.

In addition, the program enhances students’ understanding of cultural diversity on a global scale.

“It may seem odd to say Iowa State University is at the forefront of the movement (to diversify curriculum), but it is,” Jaose Amaya, assistant professor of English, said. “A lot of schools I would expect to have diversified the curriculum, including Ivy League universities and leading research universities, have not. There’s a real difference between acknowledging diversity and embracing and implementing it into the curriculum.”

Amaya will teach courses in Latino studies specifying in culture, literature and politics in the United States.

Four new diversity faculty positions were created and funded by the provost office last year. Three of the four positions have been filled, and another four positions will be added this year.

The new faculty will help teach the dozens of new diversity courses that are available to students.

John Kozak, provost, said the new positions help bring diversity to the university in two ways.

First, he said, the new faculty teach and conduct research in multicultural areas, bringing new perspectives to the curriculum and campus. And second, the new faculty have experiences with a variety of ethnic communities.

“I am delighted to welcome these people to the faculty,” Kozak said. “They will bring wonderful new perspectives to many disciplines and will help us fulfill the new curricular requirements approved by the faculty.”

The new faculty includes Camilo Garcia, assistant professor of human development and family studies, Lynne Paxon, assistant professor of architecture, and Amaya. The fourth position, in the anthropology department, is expected to be filled after the first of the year.

“I’m hoping non-Latino students will sign up for these courses,” Amaya said. “I’m hoping to show the contributions and connections of U.S. Latino to those who are not of this culture.”

Amaya’s research focuses on Latino literature and citizenship. For example, he is examining how race and ethnicity effect citizenship.

“It’s important to recognize that the face of America is changing. As the culture changes, it enriches who we are,” Amaya said. “It’s happening, here in Ames, in Des Moines, throughout the country, and the world.”

Camilo Garcia also will draw upon his research in the course he is teaching. Garcia studies the social organization of immigrant workers and has conducted field work at 40 sites in the U.S., Mexico and Europe.

Garcia will teach graduate and undergraduate courses on cross-cultural research methods, gender, and ethnicity. He also will supervise students observing human services in Mexico and Europe.

“Through they’re professional activities, students will interact with people from different cultures,” Garcia said. “They will gain an understanding of what it takes to cope with each other, and they will have an idea of what it will take to bring better services to different ethnic groups.”

Lynne Paxon, who already has been with ISU in an adjacent position, will continue her course on Native American architectural history, and will now include diverse issues in her architectural studio classes.

While Paxon’s Native American course is listed among those that meet the diversity requirements, she would prefer to see diversity incorporated into mainstream courses at ISU.

“I don’t want to see separate design classes that specialize in ethnic artists and designers, or ethnic groups,” Paxon said. “There’s a fine line between focusing on diversity and regulating it to the edges by pulling it out of the mainstream.”