Journalism and Radio Television Arts first faculties in Canada with equality position
By Angus Frame
Diversity has come to Ryerson.
The first person in Canada to fill a Chair of Editorial Diversity is Dan David. Following his cross-appointment by the schools of Journalism and RTA.
John Miller, chair of Journalism, expects David to do a lot of work in the upcoming year to help the school meet the changing needs of Canadian society.
“He’s here to study how diversity can be integrated into our curriculum. To figure out how journalists can cover our increasingly diverse community and to do some outreach work in high schools to attract people not traditionally attracted to journalism,” said Miller. “He will also spearhead a major research project every year.”
David’s position is a one year appointment which is renewable with mutual consent.
David is a Native Canadian journalist whose career includes stints at the CBC, TVOntario and a number of aboriginal communications organizations in Canada.
Miller has been interested in setting up a Chair of Editorial Diversity for the past couple of years. “We know that the number of visible minorities working in news-rooms is very low in comparison to the number of visible minorities in Canadian society as a whole. There are great differences in coverage in newspapers and news judgments are based on stereotyping.”
Meetings aimed at establishing the unique position began in the Fall of 1994.
He hopes the appointment of the new chair will help journalists reflect on the society they are writing about more accurately.
Though the position is the only one of its kind, other faculties at Ryerson were enthusiastic about its creation.
“I think it’s wonderful,” said Lee Maguire, director of Faculty Affairs for the School of Business Management.
Maguire said he’d love to have a diversity chair in the Business School but the money just isn’t there. Still, the school does try to stay on top of the whole diversity issue.
Fourth-year business students can take a course in cross cultural diversity and the student body in business is so multicultural it helps make teachers and other students aware of Canada’s diversity. Maguire said he felt business students reflected a cross section of Toronto.
Lorna Kelly, chair of the School of Interior Design, said the need for a position dealing with diversity issues isn’t as important for designers as it is for journalists.
“We don’t have the same problems of hierarchy as journalists do,” she said. “Generally we’re a very liberal-minded group of people.”
Frank McGuire, chair of Graphic Communications Management, thought the position was a good idea. He said that his department didn’t have the funds or time to initiate a formal diversity position but tried to deal with issues of diversity more informally.
“Our faculty is very supportive, it’s very positive, we don’t have any problems to speak of,” said McGuire. “I direct my staff to be very sensitive towards all students.”
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