Members of the President's Commission on Minority Affairs discussed changing its name and mission during a meeting at Southeast Missouri State University Saturday.

The commission, organized in 1996 by Southeast president Dr. Dale Nitzschke, was to address issues of recruiting and retaining minorities at Southeast. Nitzschke charged the commission to meet twice a year to discuss concerns and implement strategies to improve the life for minority students on campus.

Commission member Betty Thomas addressed the group about changing its name and taking an active role in campus and community activities. The commission should be more visible in student- and community-sponsored events, she said.

As the commission's role increases to include endorsing programs and attending recruitment events, it might also consider renaming itself, she said. Thomas opposed the term minority in the group's name because its negative connotations doesn't necessarily express the panel's mission.

Reaction was mixed to renaming the commission, but most members agreed the commission's mission and objectives should be clearly defined. Minority is a broad term that can encompass ethnic groups and cultures, gender, sexual orientation, age and other factors.

Commission members agreed they should determine which groups they should target before making a name change.

"I think we need to consider what's the role and mission of the commission," said Pat Washington. "We need to look to defining what is our role and then decide whether we need to change our name to reflect our mission."

Implementation team members will research the issue and bring recommendations for action to the next meeting.

In other business, presentations on a new Bootheel Public Service Initiative was made by Dr. Paul Keys, dean of the College of Health and Human Services, and state Sen. Jerry Howard, D-Dexter.

State Rep. Charles Quincy Troupe, D-St. Louis, who played a key part in developing the new program, was unable to attend the meeting.

The university is scheduled to administer $700,000 in state funding to existing social agencies in the Bootheel area.

The university will conduct support services and program evaluations.

"Let me emphasize that our role is to administer," Keys said. "We will not be conducting programs. We will be working with existing agencies to provide additional training and other services to break the cycle of poverty and youth involvement in juvenile crime."

Funding will be available for programming that targets job training and job placement for people going off welfare. Funding would also be available for programs that target youth considered prime candidates for the justice system.

Howard's representative area includes Dunklin and Pemiscot counties, regions that are at the bottom of state lists assessing social welfare and poverty issues. He said the new initiative will bolster "the weak link in the chain" by assisting people who have lost hope and dropped out of the community.

"People who can't read at a second-grade level are counted in advance for prison space," said Howard. "Poverty springs a powerful trap, luring people into crime and drugs. We want them to refuse that temptation."