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Coming full circle: UNC diversity chief feels she's been preparing for the job for decadesMar 24, 2010 (Greeley Tribune - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- The world began to open up to Anita Fleming-Rife when she returned to the University of Northern Colorado in 1986 to work on her master's degree in journalism. She took a class in international relations and one day saw a poster about a broadcasting seminar in London. "Here I am a single, divorced parent and I didn't have any resources to attend this seminar," Fleming-Rife said. "I had mentioned (the seminar) to a couple faculty members and, unbeknownst to me, they were out knocking on doors and raising the money for me to go to England." At the seminar she met faculty from Southern Illinois University, who later recruited her for a doctoral program. Fleming-Rife, who grew up in Des Moines, Iowa, quickly discovered that Southern Illinois had the fifth-largest international student body in the nation, and in fall 1988 she was in her first doctoral class with students from Malaysia, Taiwan, China, Somalia, Cameroon, Sudan, Nigeria and elsewhere. "It just opened my mind to diverse perspectives on any given issue," she said. "I came to understand that none were right and none were wrong -- that they were different. Different because of political, historical and economic circumstances. It was just an amazing, eye-opening understanding of differences." Fleming-Rife was suddenly on track for further globe-trotting and wider perspective gathering. She spent a year at the United Nations in New York City, as project manager for a communications research unit. She then served as a public information officer on a United Nations humanitarian operation in Somalia, a trip which also took her to Nairobi, Kenya. The global loop, so to speak, came full circle after Fleming-Rife, who went on to teach at Grambling State, Penn State and a few other universities, returned again to her Greeley alma mater in 2008 as a visiting full professor in Africana studies and journalism. Fleming-Rife earlier this month was named UNC's special assistant to the president for equity and diversity. Already active in working with the East African refugee community in Greeley, Fleming-Rife will expand diversity and community building efforts across the university. She will represent UNC in discussions about diversity and equity in the wider community. She's excited by the possibilities, especially considering how much Greeley has changed since she first arrived here in the 1970s. Fleming-Rife earned her bachelor's degree from UNC in communications and her master's in journalism. She found the city in 2008 much changed from the largely homogenous community of the '70s. It has become -- especially with the arrival of East Africans and Asians, all attracted by jobs at the meatpacking plant and low cost of living -- a melting pot in the heart of Weld County. Fleming-Rife said she feels honored to be selected to this role. She feels well-suited to the task, since getting people from different cultures to sit around a common table is what she considers one of her talents. "This is a real good time for me to be in this position and take a leadership role and help others who are interested in moving our students in a very engaging way," she said. "Preparing them for what is in fact a global village. There's so much work to be done. There's work for all of us." From out of various perspectives, she hopes to find areas of common ground that can serve the greater good, both on campus and in the community. And diversity means much more than minorities, Fleming-Rife said. For instance, she believes the university and community should be reaching out to veterans. "Many of them are disabled and have fought and given to our country," she said. "It's important to include them around the table. I just want to see this very inclusive environment that goes beyond the campus." Last fall, Fleming-Rife encouraged students in her African-American literature class to volunteer at the East Africa Community Center in downtown Greeley. The whole class of 20 students ended up volunteering, tutoring youth in reading as well as playing board games with them. One of her students started a book club, which attracted dozens of East African youth. "It didn't take but a week for them to build a sense of trust toward the UNC students. It was so rewarding," Fleming-Rife said. "One of the students said, 'It feels so good to give.' I'd like to see more of that, maybe in a more systematic kind of way." Fleming-Rife has a fascinating tale to tell about her childhood in Des Moines and a career that evolved from Arkansas TV and radio stations to academic research on media's societal influence to humanitarian work in war-torn Africa to her tenures as a professor. She's more inclined, however, to tell students about the benefits of experiencing education beyond the campus, out in the increasingly interconnected world. Things have indeed come full circle for Fleming-Rife, heading up a position for which she feels she's been preparing for decades. The journey started when she took that first venture across the pond as a UNC graduate student. "I'm just grateful to my university because they were key to opening my eyes to this larger world we live in, by giving me that opportunity to study in England," she said. "That's what education should be about -- to provide opportunities to learn about different perspectives outside the classroom." Chris Casey covers the city of Greeley, immigration and diversity for The Tribune. Reach him at (970) 392-5623 or [email protected]. His column appears Wednesdays. To see more of the Greeley Tribune, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.greeleytribune.com. Copyright (c) 2010, Greeley Tribune, Colo. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |