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HONORS SELF- DESIGNED PROPOSAL

Complete this proposal prior to your experiences start date and upload it in the UHP Database
(https://webapps.uc.edu/uchonorsstudent). Create an experience (Add a new record) in the Tracking Project
tab and upload your proposal document as an attachment. The deadline for submitting proposals is the 5th of
each month (excluding July).
Proposals are intended to be well developed plans for your experience. However, experiences are exploratory in
nature, and we are flexible with changes throughout the experience. If your experience changes after receiving
approval on your proposal, contact your honors advisor to verify the changes still satisfy the requirements of an
honors experience.

Basic Information
Full Name: Robert James Senior
Title of Project: Lindner Diversity and Inclusion Scholar
Thematic Area(s): Community Engagement and Leadership
Expected Start Date: January 11, 2016
Expected End Date: April 28, 2016

GUIDELINES
1. Proposal submission timeline: Proposals should be submitted at least one month prior to the expected
start date of the experience. International experiences require at least two months notice. Contact your
honors advisor immediately for any exceptions.
2. Proposal length: While the quality of the proposal is most important, strong proposals are typically 3-4
pages single-spaced.
3. Proposal format: Please maintain the proposal format (e.g. headers, layout)
4. Time commitment: Experiences should consist of at least 75-90 hours of preparation, execution, and
reflection. This is approximately equivalent to the commitment of honors seminars and pre-approved
experiences.

REQUIREMENTS FOR INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL

All self-designed international travel experiences require two months notice and must be at least one week in
length. You will need to provide a detailed itinerary (dates, locations and activities). If participating in
independent travel (not with UC faculty, staff or student group), you must also fill out a Worldwide: Honors
Experience application via UC International.
Additionally, the Student Travel Policy restricts UC-sponsored travel to countries under a U.S. Department of
State Travel Warning. Those who wish to visit a country with a travel warning must seek an exemption through
UC International. Students traveling without a faculty or staff leader must individually request an exemption.
We cannot allow you to count this travel as an honors experience nor can we give you a grant without an
approved exemption.

1. Abstract
Briefly describe the experience. What makes this experience personally meaningful? What goals do you have for this
experience? What is your timeline for this experience?
*If you are proposing an international experience, provide an itinerary.
**If you are developing this experience from an existing opportunity (class with a study tour, campus organization, co-op,
etc.) that is not already an honors seminar or pre-approved experience, how will you differentiate your experience from
what is already required of other students?
Briefly describe the experience.
The Lindner Diversity and Inclusion Scholar is a newly created position within Business Fellows of the Lindner College
of Business. I will assist in advancing the mission of Lindner-wide diversity and inclusion efforts in order to increase the
engagement and cultural competence of the many constituents who take part in the Lindner experience or aid in its efforts.
Ultimately, the position helps create a diverse and inclusive environment within the Lindner College of Business and the
University of Cincinnati. Projects for the position include, but not limited to: diverse engagement database creation;
Lindner cultural competence course catalog; diverse alumni award recipient recognition; programmatic support; and
research pertaining to prospective Diversity and Inclusion organizations and partners.
What makes this experience personally meaningful?
The position was created and offered to me after my Directors Meeting for Business Fellows. It has become evident over
the course of the newly established program that an individual is needed to conduct research and create needed programs
in order to further the diversity and inclusion attempts of programs such as Business Fellows. This project is personally
meaningful for several reasons. First, I was offered the opportunity because of an individual sees possibility in me
changing the program on various levels and making it a better experience for not only the current participants but the
Lindner College of Business Students and University of Cincinnati students from all walks of life. Second, upon entering
college, I have noticed that many minority students fill distant from their fellow classmates. Organizations such as The
Irate 8 are coming out and making a stand, proving that change must occur for a more inclusive environment on our
beloved campus. I truly believe the University of Cincinnati can grow in this area and make our University one of the
greatest experiences for any individual who chooses to attend.
What goals do you have for this experience?
Being that the first semester is a trial run for the position, my ultimate goal is to create change in my first attempt at the
position in order for the position to exist over the coming years. I also wish to truly make a difference which can be seen
and experienced by students who walk past me on campus on a daily basis.
What is your timeline for this experience?
This experience is going to span the course of the 2016 spring semester.

Advisor Feedback
Must Include:
Brief description of the experience
Personal connection to the experience
Identified goals for the experience
Timeline from start to finish

Required Revisions:

Effective:

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*Itinerary (international experiences only)
**Explanation of differentiated experience
from what is required of other students

2. Experience Advisor
Identify an experience advisor and provide their contact information. Explain why you chose this person and how you
plan to utilize your advisor for this experience.
Note: Advisor(s) should have knowledge or expertise in an area related to the experience. Honors advisors, undergraduate
students, and family members cannot be experience advisors.

Adison Nelson
Associate Director, Lindner Diversity & Inclusion
Lindner College of Business
Carl H. Lindner Hall, Room 207
(513)556-5298
Adison.Nelson@uc.edu
I chose Adison because she is the Assistant Director for Lindner Diversity and Inclusion and will be providing me with
projects to accomplish. She is actively involved in Business Fellows and plays a major role in students lives across
Lindner. I intend to take part in conversations with her on a daily basis to make sure the intended project is going to
benefit as many students as possible. I will also be evaluated by her on my progress, including constructive criticism.

Advisor Feedback
Must Include:

Required Revisions:

Effective:

Experience advisor name and contact

information
Description of why advisor was selected
Specific plans to engage with advisor

3. Connection to Learning Outcomes

List 3 learning outcomes from any thematic area(s). Provide specific activities you plan to engage in to help you make
progress towards the chosen learning outcomes. Describe how you expect each activity to help your progress. Include an
estimated time commitment for those activities.

Identify and differentiate multiple ways to contribute towards the development or achievement of the
communitys goals.
The goal of this position is to create a system to adequately manage various form of diversity and inclusion. One
of the biggest projects is to create a Lindner cultural competence course catalog. There are many students who
face difficulties understanding the various issues faced by minority students on a daily basis. There are also
minority students who do not know of the various opportunities offered to create a more inclusive environment
for them. This catalog will serve as a resource for various students to refer to when taking the next step to creating
a more culturally aware college and campus. This project will assist me in working towards creating a more
inclusive environment for all. With it, I will be able to provide students with a basic reference for diversity and
inclusion. This project will be ongoing because there are constantly new courses and projects created to help
students experience a much more inclusive environment. Initially, I will create a basic catalog which lists all of
the opportunities offered; however, over the course of the semester I will update it with new courses or activities
that will also help students with diversity and inclusion.

Explain how education, advocacy, mobilization, or public policy can influence social issues and transform
communities.
Many of the projects I will take part in during the course of the semester consist of creating resources for students
and Alumni to refer to when deciding their next step to diversity and inclusion. These resources serve to educate
as many people as possible in order to create a culturally aware campus. One of the projects I plan to take part in
is creating a diverse engagement database. Coupled with the Lindner cultural competence course catalog, these
resources will provide various forms of education to many students. This is important because helping students
understand the many problems students face when it comes to diversity and inclusion is one of the major steps to
creating change across campus. Without education, students will not understand the problem at hand and will not
be able to take any step towards creating an inclusive campus. This activity is going to help further create a
reference point for helping students from all walks of life. Like most of the projects, this is going to be ongoing
over the course of the semester. I will work to create a basic database but update it when needed.

Develop strategies to identify and respond to challenges and obstacles.

This opportunity was created in order to solve one of the major issues faced by minority students across campus,
diversity and inclusion. This challenges many students on a daily basis and needs community involvement in
order to create change on any level. All of the activities I plan to take part in seek to remedy this problem on
various levels. Some are specific to helping students and their struggles while others reach out to alumni to assist
with the problem. Specifically, I will work to create a diverse alumni award recipient recognition. With this, we
will work to provide individuals who have gone above and beyond with their service to UC with an award.
Business Fellows, the organization sponsoring my position, and I will work to incorporate Alumni in the task of
solving the problem at hand. This activity will serve as a medium between Alumni and the problem at hand. Often
times, many Alumni graduate and take little part in the activities at UC. By reaching out to them, we can work
towards creating a system where Alumni will also be working to solve the problem faced by many students. This
program will be ongoing over the course of the semester because I do not wish to merely reward several
individuals and hope they help UC. I wish to continually bring Alumni back to campus and help students.

Advisor Feedback
Must Include:

Required Revisions:

Effective:

3 learning outcomes explicitly identified

from any thematic area(s)
Examples of activities and explanation of
how each will assist the progress towards
the chosen learning outcome
Estimated time commitment for each
activity

4. Academic Resources Connected to the Learning Outcomes

List 1-2 academic resources you plan to use to enhance your understanding of the learning outcomes. Explain how each
resource connects to your learning outcome(s) and helps you execute your experience. Please include the title and
author/creator for each resource.
Note: Academic resources are professional works that can be used to assist your understanding of the topic. Some
examples are books, documentaries, videos, or research journals.
1. Multiculturalism on Campus: Theory, Models, and Practices for Understanding Diversity and Creating Inclusion
by Michael J. Cuyjet, Mary F. Howard-Hamilton, and Diane L. Cooper.
This book presents a comprehensive set of resources to guide students in creating an inclusive environment for
under-represented groups on campus. Recognizing that cultural identity is more than a matter of ethnicity and
race, they equally address factors such as gender, age, religion, and sexual orientation. This resource will assist in

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helping me more fully understand the situation faced by many students across campus. By educating myself, I can
thoroughly develop a passion for my work because I will be working to understand the problems I have not faced
but others have.
2. Why Aren't We There Yet? : Taking Personal Responsibility for Creating An Inclusive Campus by Jan L. Arminio,
Vasti Torres, and Raechele L. Pope.
The contributors to this book seek to offer new insights to improve student affairs, emphasizing action that
recognizes this is a complex and multi-faceted process, and beginning with the assertion that, without recognizing
the influences of privilege and inequality, we cannot promote truly welcoming environments. With this resource, I
can seek to understand various actions taken by individuals to create an inclusive environment I wish to be a part
of.

Advisor Feedback
Must Include:

Required Revisions:

Effective:

1-2 academic resources connected to the

learning outcomes
Title and author of each resource
Description of how resources will help
make progress towards learning outcomes
and execution of experience

5. On-going Reflection
The on-going reflection should help you process the experience and progress toward your chosen learning outcomes.
Describe your method for reflecting throughout the experience. Indicate specific reflection questions/topics you plan to
use to guide your reflective process.
Note: A variety of methods can be used for on-going reflection. Some examples are videos, drawings, blogs, songs, and
journals. Reflection topics to consider include your ideas/insights about the experience, connection to other areas of
involvement, and your progress towards the learning outcomes.
I will use two methods for my on-going reflection throughout this experience. First, I will have a journal which I will
write in at least once a week about my progress. I will be responding to the following questions:
1. What have I done this week to get closer to my goal of creating a more inclusive campus?
2. In what aspect can I better my progress next week as compared to this week?
3. What are the major challenges faced throughout this week?
I do not wish to respond to every question every weak; I would like to either pick one or two I believe is of utmost
importance to continue my progress and reflect on it in order to successfully accomplish the goals set for myself with this
project.
Second, I will do a video blog at the end of every week where I reflect on how I am feeling about my work. Thus far, I
have worked to be an individuals who is open for inclusiveness for all. However, I have faced many internal problems
with my progress that I believe will best be expressed through a video. I will talk about the week and work to find
possible problems I faced and how I can work to overcome them. Ultimately, I want to see myself over the course of the
semester growing and I believe I can best see that if I am able to watch and listen to myself facing various challenges.

Advisor Feedback
Must Include:
Method for ongoing reflection
Reflection questions/topics clearly

Required Revisions:

Effective:

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specified

6. Sharing Your Learning

Describe how you plan to actively share what youve taken away from this experience with a targeted audience. Explain
why you chose this specific audience.
Note: While social media can be an effective platform for sharing, only posting on your personal learning portfolio or
social media account(s) does not reach a targeted audience.
I plan to share several of my videos, a few journal entries, and a PowerPoint presentation with the most notable work I
have accomplished over the semester to my fellow class of first-year Business Fellows members. Thus far, this issue has
been prevalent with all of us and I believe many will appreciate my findings and work. I also believe this will demonstrate
that the work of one is beneficial, but it takes a community of individuals to truly make an impact on our campus.
Ultimately, I hope that this can be a motivator for them to also take action and work towards the goal of creating a better,
more inclusive, University of Cincinnati.

Advisor Feedback
Must Include:

Required Revisions:

Effective:

At least one method to actively share takeaways/learning from the experience

A specific audience and why the audience
was selected

7. Budget (if applicable)

Provide an itemized budget and indicate your source for cost information.
*If you are engaged in an unpaid internship or research, please indicate the number of weeks and hours per week you
plan to participate.
The cost of my project includes the following:
1. $37.50
Multiculturalism on Campus: Theory, Models, and Practices for Understanding Diversity and Creating Inclusion
by Michael J. Cuyjet, Mary F. Howard-Hamilton, and Diane L. Cooper
The item will be purchased from Amazon.
2. $28.42
Why Aren't We There Yet? : Taking Personal Responsibility for Creating an Inclusive Campus by Jan L. Arminio,
Vasti Torres, and Raechele L. Pope
The item will be purchased on Amazon.

Advisor Feedback
Notes:
Detailed budget of expenditures with
sources to justify budget estimates
*Indicates the number of hours per week
and number of weeks of participation

Required Revisions:

Effective:

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Learning Outcomes for the Leadership Thematic Area:
By engaging in this thematic area, you will make progress towards learning how to

Formulate and manage a shared vision and develop goals towards its achievement.
Motivate and collaborate effectively with others towards completion of shared projects or
goals.
Develop strategies to identify and respond to challenges and obstacles.
Identify personal strengths and areas of growth and evaluate opportunities to maximize
skills and abilities.
Synthesize the current trends related to a specific issue or field and evaluate how
thought-leaders are currently addressing them.