Joe Graham strongly believes in education, and now, he's in a position to help. Joe is the graduate assistant in Native American Activities for the College of Agriculture Academic Programs. A member of the Laguna Pueblo in New Mexico, Joe grew up recognizing education and its power. "Tribes don't always need outside help," Joe says. "They need to utilize their own trained people." He qualifies as one of those trained people. Joe earned his BA in 1984 from New Mexico State University, in Las Cruces, with majors in history and anthropology. After qualifying for a teaching certificate, he taught civics and world history for eight years in southern New Mexico. "Teaching is still the best thing in the world to me, but I discovered the worst thing in teaching was trying to reach people who didn't want to learn." He hopes to earn a doctorate so he can continue to teach-and do research-at the university level. In his present job, Joe is interested in recruiting Arizona Native American young people to attend the College. He plans to work with community college students, among others. However, he will focus on retaining current students. Another goal is establishing internships for students within their own tribes. During the summer, students could go home to gain hands-on experience in their fields of study. Both students and tribes would benefit. To Joe, that is the bottom line.

A new study reports that having a same-sex partner could be unhealthy for your income. Both males and females who have had at least one same-sex partner earn less than their heterosexual counterparts, whether or not they have admitted their sexual preferences. A University of Maryland economist found homosexual males earned from 11 percent to 27 percent less than heterosexuals. Females with same-sex partners reported earning only slightly less than their heterosexual counterparts. However, as victims of gender discrimination, they were apt both to be in lowest-paying occupations.

• "How to Modify a Trailer for Accessibility," $10 from Access Group, 1776 Peachtree Rd. NW, Ste. 208N, Atlanta, GA 30309.
• "A Comprehensive Approach to Retrofitting Homes for a Lifetime," $10, Adaptive Environments Center, 374 Congress St., Ste. 301, Boston, MA 02110.
• A 19-page annotated bibliography, $5, Center for Universal Design, North Carolina State University, Box 8613, Raleigh, NC 27695-8613.
• "Making Your Home Accessible," free from the Architecture and Barrier-free Design Program, Paralyzed Veterans of America, 801 18th St., NW, Washington, DC 20006.
• "National Directory of Home Modifications/Repair Programs," $8, NAHB Research Center, Publication Department, 400 Prince Georges Blvd., Upper Marlboro, MD 20772.

What difference would it make if more women were in senior management positions or on boards of directors and trustees? Tongue in cheek, Harris Sussman, of the Diversity University in Cambridge MA, gives a number of reasons for the shortage of women in high places:

• It changes the lingua franca, the terms in which conversations take place.
• It changes the balance of hormones in the room.
• It brings a different thought process to bear.
• It brings a different "way of knowing" to all subjects, providing several million years of evolution's worth of intelligence.
• It's a link to 52 percent of the world not otherwise represented.
• It shows you are prepared for the 21st century, not living in the Dark Ages.

Large agricultural companies are trying to recruit more minority students who are majoring in modern agriculture. But it's a hard sell, according to the Wall Street Journal. "Many students from urban areas, including minority students, think of jobs in agriculture as harvesting crops and milking cows." Agriculture's link to the hard labor endured by their ancestors is an additional hurdle. "Some African-Americans have an aversion to agriculture going back to slavery," said a black Ohio State University student. Another Latina student thought people without rural backgrounds would fail at agricultural studies. Indeed, minority students are still hard to find in many agricultural scientific occupations. In the 1990 U.S. Census, white men accounted for 65% of all agriculture and food scientists; women had 26.7% of such jobs and Hispanics, Asians and African-Americans together accounted for the remainder. The president of Monsanto's crop protection unit said, "We can chaise diversity with a passion, but it doesn't mean that we catch it." He still believes a multiracial work force is an "absolute business imperative to competing globally."

"Building Partnerships with Tribal Governments" is the theme of a 3-day workshop sponsored by USDA. It will be held Dec. 12-14, at the Radisson Tempe Mission Palms Hotel, in Tempe. David Montoya, director of the USDA Office of Civil Rights Enforcement, said, "This workshop will provide an excellent opportunity to strengthen communication networks, exchange ideas, and discuss strategies and issues." Tuition costs $195. For further information, contact Dr. Shirley O'Brien at (520) 621-7145.

"No one really expects the buffalo to return and the land become virgin again. What is possible, though, is for white America to begin to come to terms with its past and treat American Indians fairly."

C. Blue Clark, executive vice president of Oklahoma City University