Lincoln (Neb.) - Nov. 26, 1997 - The University of Nebraska- Lincoln released for campus discussion a draft plan to enhance the diversity of its faculty, staff and student body. The initial draft, released Nov. 26 and titled "Diversity Plan and Implementation Initiatives," sets specific goals for recruitment and retention of faculty.
The draft plan is the first phase in developing a comprehensive action plan to enhance diversity at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. To meet its goals, the plan would utilize the $530,000 "Targets of Opportunity" fund as part of the $700,000 committed to enhancement of diversity by the university's budgetary reallocation process earlier this year.
The draft plan was drawn up by the university's Office of Academic Affairs, and will now be reviewed by the Chancellor's Commission on the Status of People of Color, the Chancellor's Commission on the Status of Women and other appropriate campus advisory bodies.
"The goals outlined in this draft are an important step in developing a comprehensive action plan that will include other diversity-related issues on campus," said Chancellor James Moeser. "The action plan will be responsive to the regents' goals, our long-standing Strategic Plan for both gender equity and racial diversity and our ongoing campus conversations about diversity."
Last month, Moeser appointed Evelyn Jacobson, vice chancellor for academic affairs, and Bruce Currin, director of human resources, to assume responsibility for overseeing improvement in meeting the gender equity goals for faculty and staff. Subsequently, he asked Linda Crump, director of affirmative action and diversity programs, to join Jacobson and Currin in drafting the more comprehensive campus diversity plan.
Appointments that have been made to enhance diversity in the student body are Ricardo Garcia as associate dean of graduate studies and Barbara Carrasco Fechner as assistant director of admissions for minority and community relations. Garcia joins Keith Parker, director of African American and African Studies, in recruiting minority graduate students. Fechner has responsibilities in recruiting minority undergraduates.
Crump's office, meanwhile, will continue its annual analysis of the demographics of the university's available work force based on current U.S. Census figures. This allows her office to determine how well the university's staff matches the available work force in terms of race and gender.
Moeser said the draft plan announced Nov. 26 and the action plan being developed are intended to complement and build on the efforts of other groups and individuals on campus.
"These plans reflect the shared values of the university," he said. "I applaud the grass roots initiative of the town hall meeting last week that supported celebrating the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on campus. We are committed to creating a working and learning environment where people from all groups will feel welcomed and supported as full members of the community."
The major goals included in the draft plan released Nov. 26 include: Increase the number of minority faculty over the next five years so that the percent of tenured and tenure-track minority faculty exceeds the midpoint of the university's peer institutions. The goal established in the plan is to add at least five new tenured and tenure-track minority faculty members each year through 2002. Increase the number of tenured and tenure-track women faculty over the next five years, through special efforts to hire women faculty in programs that currently underutilize women faculty. These efforts would likely result in approximately 45 percent of all new hires for tenured and tenure-track faculty being women. That should allow Nebraska to exceed the midpoint of its peer institutions in percent of women faculty. Continue to increase the overall representation of minority students in graduate and professional programs; and increase the overall representation of minority students in undergraduate programs through aggressive recruiting. Increase the representation of women students in underrepresented programs through targeted recruiting. Sponsor universitywide and targeted forums, conferences, administrative workshops and discussions to foster support of diversity on campus. Support efforts in the Lincoln community to foster understanding of multicultural issues and build a stronger diversity support system. Provide and encourage curricular and co-curricular programs that enhance learning about other cultures and people.
In addition, the plan calls for continued internal monitoring of the university's progress toward these goals.
"This university has been and is committed to diversity as
reflected in its long-standing Strategic Agenda," Moeser said.
"Last year, the university went through a difficult but necessary
budgetary reallocation in order to be responsive to that
strategic agenda and now our plans are ready for broader revue
and implementation. We are committed to action."
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