The Office of the Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Multicultural Affairs has released its first diversity assessment report for Indiana University at Bloomington and Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. The assessment was conducted by an independent consulting firm, Halualani & Associates.
James Wimbush, vice president for diversity, equity and multicultural affairs, stated that “the assessments will be used to establish a baseline measurement in the areas of diversity achievement and progress, and to provide information that further and expand the university’s efforts in this area.” A professor of business administration at Indiana University since 1991, Dr. Wimbush holds a master’s degree in human resources management and industrial and labor relations and a Ph.D. in management from Virginia Tech.
The reports found that the Bloomington campus initiated nearly 2,000 diversity efforts between January 2010 and October 2015. A “diversity effort” was defined as “any activity or program that promotes the active appreciation of all campus members in terms of their backgrounds, identities and experiences, as constituted by gender, socioeconomic class, political perspective, age, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, disability, regional origin, nationality, occupation and language, among others, as well as any activity or program that brings together any of these aspects.”
The report also cited progress in increasing the number of Black and minority students on campus. Blacks now make up 7.1 percent of all students in the first-year class and 6.2 percent of total enrollments. The diversity assessment noted that there are several areas that needed improvement:
- Diverse faculty recruitment and retention.
- Diverse staff recruitment and retention.
- Student retention and graduation for diverse groups.
- High-impact diversity professional development for faculty, staff, and leaders.
The diversity assessment reports for the two campuses may be accessed here.
