University of Connecticut
PAE-7: Measuring Campus Diversity Culture

In January 2001, the President and Chancellor, at the request of the University Board of Trustees, established the Diversity Action Committee which was co-chaired by the Vice Provost for Multicultural and International Affairs and the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The committee itself was a diverse and widely representative committee. The committee’s charge was to prepare a diversity strategic plan which would recommend initiatives to be taken over the next five years to: 1. Create a more welcoming campus environment for all of our students. 2. Enhance our efforts to recruit and retain a diverse student population. 3. Enhance our efforts to recruit and retain a diverse workforce. 4. Diversity university leadership and management. 5. Assign accountability to achieve the goals outlined in the action plan it presents.
The report of the Diversity Action Committee to the University of Connecticut Board of Trustees was completed and presented to the Board in April, 2002. When the Plan was developed, the committee defined diversity as the presence and participation of people who differ by age, color, ethnicity, gender, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, socioeconomic background and disability status. However, it should be noted that in defining diversity, it is understood that the definition is ever changing and that it is constantly to be ratified. See http://www.ode.uconn.edu/docs/Diversity%20Action%20Committee.pdf

Moving forward, the Board of Trustees was provided with updates on the status of the implementation of the report guidelines and the results of the study had a significant impact on the ongoing development of programs and initiatives throughout the 2000’s, as outlined below.

In 2006, the Provost’s Commission on the Status of Women completed a significant report regarding gender equity on campus including recommendations on how to advance leadership for women on campus, including increasing female academic heads on campus, and utilized those results to focus on continuous advancement of women on campus, an ongoing initiative and priority at UConn. See http://pcsw.uconn.edu/files/Leadership_Report%2006.pdf

In addition, beginning in 2008, the University made diversity a University-wide priority by mandating all employees– not just supervisors, as mandated under state law – attend training on the topics of Diversity and Sexual Harassment Prevention. To date, the University, through its Office of Diversity and Equity, has trained 4,155 employees on Diversity and 4, 212 employees on sexual harassment prevention. The Office of Diversity and Equity similarly provides ongoing training for all employees regarding the hiring and search process, including providing resources for decreasing inherent bias in the search process and ensuring diverse candidate application pools. See http://ode.uconn.edu/training/

In its role of ensuring affirmative action and equal opportunity compliance, the Office of Diversity and Equity on campus continuously assesses campus climate issues as related to diversity, and is available for consultation, response to complaints and concerns, and to provide tailored trainings for departments seeking additional resources and education on diversity and harassment issues. See http://ode.uconn.edu. Moreover, the University’s Senate Diversity Committee and Provost’s Commission on Institutional Diversity are actively engaged in diversity and inclusion issues, including discussing campus climate and holding various campus-wide events on a broad range of diversity issues, as well as engaging directly in diversification of faculty and staff initiatives. See http://pcsw.uconn.edu/. The University’s five Cultural Centers additionally play a critical day-to-day role in fostering an inclusive and diverse climate on campus for all community members, including partnering with ODE in providing campus-wide trainings and educational events on diversity topics. See http://www.studentunion.uconn.edu/culturalcenters.html

Significantly, the culmination of the above initiatives led to the inclusion of diversity as one of five key pillars within University’s 2009-2014 Academic Plan, the University’s guiding set of goals and strategic steps to advance the University’s standing. As the Plan provides: An emphasis on diversity is woven throughout our Academic Plan. Providing opportunities for students to experience different perspectives and cultures is essential to preparing them for their future as citizens of a global society. Our faculty programs of research, scholarship, creative work, and engagement flourish in an environment of diversity that fosters new insights and viewpoints. The value and accessibility of our many contributions to the state and beyond will also be enhanced to the extent that we welcome and engage individuals from a variety of backgrounds. In summary, our tripartite mission of teaching, research, and outreach will thrive in an environment of diversity. The goal and strategies articulated in this section of the Academic Plan complement those related to diversity that appear elsewhere. Our emphasis on a climate that welcomes individuals with different viewpoints, experiences, and values underscores the importance that we place on diversity and the key role we believe that it must play in contemporary higher education. See http://www.academicplan.uconn.edu/files/UConnAcademicPlan.pdf

Information from HR department