BIG RAPIDS, Mich., Sept. 3, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Ferris State University is becoming known for its focus on educating people as to racism.
Dr. Barry Mehler PhD of Ferris has the Institute for the Study of Academic Racism http://www.ferris.edu/ISAR. Vice-President Dr. David Pilgrim PhD has the Jim Crow Museum for his donated racism items http://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow. Tom Rundquist Big Rapids native, a FSU alumni and former FSU staff, has his online testing sites http://www.culturaldiversitytest.com and http://www.racialattitudesurvey.com.
Tom's test was featured in ENTREPRENEUR Magazine May 1997 in its Management Smarts Section as Keeping the Peace.This article explained the advantages of cultural diversity testing to prevent lawsuits by proactive measures.
Also, Public Relations Society of America June 1997 in its Surveillance and Tactics Section further showed the benefits of testing to help solve related issues. For a few years Tom was a Round Table Group Scholar http://www.roundtablegroup.com for related expertise.
Recently the test has gone international with students at the Institute of Business Management at Karachi, Pakistan http://www.iobm.edu.pk using the test for research.
In the past 15 years university graduate students have been using the test for their theses. Dr. Jasmine Fierro, PhD used this test for her research testing a sample of 2,000 persons (1997) subsequently redesigning the test to American Psychological Association Test Standards. Cindy Lewis used it for her Masters Research project in Racial Attitude in Advertising. Many other students over the years have used it as well.
For a critical review go to Mental Measurements Yearbook site http://www.buros.org/mental-measurements-yearbook under Racial Attitude Survey or Thomas Rundquist.
Note: that the criticisms of RAS will soon be resolved with the online testing being done with SPSS statistics plus a test manual. About 2,000 persons this last February have taken the test online at our site. You too at no cost can try the test. But to have data feedback one pays $15 for an individual and $79 for an instructor testing groups allowed for a full year. Make sure one gets a number before one takes the test so we can track the results.
Tom gives credit to Dr James Weeks, PhD (Syracuse University graduate) his graduate school Counseling Dept Head at Eastern Michigan University http://www.emich.edu who suggested the original research project. Dr Weeks arranged for Tom to use the Institute for Social Research's Professional Library at University of Michigan www.isr.umich.edu to study the racial surveys there, Tom attempted to create an unbiased test in 1968. Dr. Weeks had the reputation of being a well known test scholar.
Years ago in the 1970's Tom was counseling ex-addicts in Detroit for Wayne Co Health Dept and Wayne Co Jail and came to know Rosa Parks, Civil Rights Activist. She worked at Congressman John Conyer's office in the Federal Building. At first Tom did not know just who she was and the Congressman was upset. She came to the defense of Tom explaining that he was not racist and was just not informed about her involvement in the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Later "I felt like I was just stupid."
Years later Tom's name was put on the Civil Rights Memorial's Wall of Tolerance. Rosa Parks signed his certificate. This museum is in Montgomery, Alabama and is connected with the Southern Poverty Law Center http://www.spicenter.org. Morris Dee, civil rights attorney, also signed his certificate.
Of related interest Ferris State's student loans and scholarship funds will be increased by using TR's art. Most of Tom's art was donated to FSU in his irrevocable trust 2/1/1991. He has been in Grand Rapids Artprize contest for the previous last 3 years http://www.artprize.org. His art has also shown at Big Rapids Artworks www.artworksinbigrapids.com . He has also been a resident artist at Blue Cow Cafe in Downtown Big Rapids, MI http://www.bluecowcafe.com for recent years. For Tom's art resume and images of his art go to http://www.novamediainc.com.
Tom is a Alumni 2014 of Stanford Graduate School of Business for Top Executives. http://www.gsb.stanford.edu.
SOURCE Nova Media Inc.
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