New Effort Aims to Increase Diversity Among Academic Librarians
American University in Washington, D.C., the University of Iowa, Virginia Tech, and West Virginia University are hiring resident librarians from diverse backgrounds in the early stages of their careers for a three-year period.
Virginia Tech’s Summer Program Seeks to Increase Diversity at Its Medical School
Hampton University students selected for the internship program receive guaranteed admission to the medical school so long as they graduate from Hampton with honors and achieve a threshold score on the Medical College Admission Test.
Increasing the Number of African American Cancer Researchers
The Minority Training Program in Cancer Control Research aims to encourage Black and other minority graduate students to pursue doctoral degrees and careers in research relating to cancer.
Two African American Finalists for Vice Provost for Inclusion and Diversity at Virginia Tech
Menah Pratt-Clarke is the associate chancellor for strategic affairs and the associate provost for diversity at the University of Illinois and G. Christine Taylor has served as vice provost for diversity and chief diversity officer at Purdue University.
ACE Report Examines Current Diversity Strategies in Higher Education Admissions
A new report from the American Council on Education documents admissions practices of colleges and universities in the current legal climate resulting from the most recent Supreme Court rulings on race-sensitive admissions practices.
Purdue Commits $1 Million to Faculty-Inspired Diversity Initiatives
Purdue University has initiated the new Diversity Transformation Award program that will enlist current faculty and staff members to come up with strategies to further increase the diversity of the faculty and the student body.
University of Michigan in New Recruitment Effort for Low-Income Students
Prohibited from using affirmative action in admissions, the University of Michigan is embarking on a new effort to seek out and recruit low-income students.
Vanderbilt University Launches New Diversity Initiative
Part of the new diversity initiative is the establishment of three endowed chairs that will bring scholars to the Vanderbilt campus who will be leading figures in disciplines that match the chancellor's vision of a diverse university.
Berkeley Takes Multiple Steps to Enhance Opportunities for African Americans
The University of California has announced its new diversity initiative, a comprehensive effort to address the underrepresentation of African American students, faculty, and staff at the university.
Arizona State’s Kimberly Scott to Lead the National Academic STEM Collaborative
Dr. Scott is an associate professor in the department of women and gender studies at Arizona State University. She is also the founding executive director of the Center for Gender Equity in Science and Technology at Arizona State.
SUNY Announces a New Comprehensive Policy to Promote Campus Diversity
Under the new policy, all 64 campuses of the SUNY System will be required to hire a chief diversity officer. Also, all campuses will be required to develop a strategic plan to increase diversity among students, faculty, and staff.
American Public Schools: White Teachers, Minority Students
From 1987 to 2012, the percentage of minority teachers in the nation's public schools has increased from 12 percent to 17 percent. However, it must be noted that minority students now account for about half of all public school students.
The Nation’s Colleges and Universities With the Most Diverse Student Bodies
The Rutgers University campus in Newark, New Jersey, was deemed to have the most diverse student body in the country among large national universities. Blacks make up 18 percent of the enrollments at the Newark campus.
University of Iowa Offers New Certificate Program in Leadership for Diversity
Students in the program will take courses in coalition building across diverse groups, navigating and defusing conflict situations, and fostering a climate where diverse opinions, backgrounds, and identities can flourish and be respected.
University of Massachusetts Debuts New Diversity Website
The new website offers visitors a one-stop location for information on campus support systems, organizations, policies and procedures, and news relating to all university programs on diversity, equity and inclusion.
Two Flagship State Universities Report Progress on Student Diversity
Blacks are 5.3 percent of the first-year class at the University of Texas at Austin, up from 4.2 percent a year ago. At the University of Colorado at Boulder, the number of African American undergraduates students is up 8 percent from a year ago.
Ithaca College Aims to Increase the Diversity of Its Faculty
The new guidelines will include training for search committee chairs on tactics to make their searches more inclusive. Candidates from minority groups will be included in semi-finalist and finalist pools for open positions.
University of Missouri Announces Required Diversity Training After Racist Incidents
After two racial incidents on campus, the university's chancellor called for an end to hate and announced mandatory training for faculty, staff, and all incoming students.
Middlebury College Names New Intercultural Center After Two Early Black Alumni
The new Anderson Freeman Resource Center was named after Mary Annette Anderson, the valedictorian of the Class of 1889 and Martin Henry Freeman of the Class of 1849 who later became president of Liberia College.
University of Delaware Allocates $1 Million as a First Installment for Diversity Initiatives
The University of Delaware, has announced the allocation of $1 million for diversity initiatives. The dean of the College of Arts and Sciences says that the allocation will be a recurring expense, not just a one-time expenditure.
Ohio University Aims to Boost Retention of Black and Minority Faculty Members
The Multicultural Junior Faculty Mentoring Program that will assign new junior faculty members from underrepresented groups a senior faculty member who will serve as a mentor.
The University of Montana’s “Six-Word Essays” on Race
Students in the School of Journalism at the University of Montana are asking all 47,000 students at the 16 state university campuses and seven tribal colleges to submit a six-word essay on the topic of race.
A Check-Up on the Racial Gap in Medical School Applications and Enrollments
In 2015, the number of Black applicants to U.S. medical schools was up a whopping 16.8 percent from 2014. Blacks were 7.6 percent of all medical school matriculants in 2015. This was up from 6.9 percent in 2014.
Center for African Diaspora Student Success Opens at the University of California, Davis
The new center will offer on-site tutoring services, academic advising, and mental health counseling. It also will serve as a community gathering place for Black students.
Yale University Earmarks $50 Million for Faculty Diversity Efforts
The Ivy League university will earmark $25 million over a five-year period for faculty recruitment, faculty appointments, and emerging faculty development. Participating schools at Yale will add an additional $25 million in matching funds.
How Anti-Affirmative Action Admissions Laws Impact Campus Diversity Efforts
The authors found a reluctance by administrators who are charged with diversity missions at universities prohibited from using race in admissions decisions to deal specifically with race in their efforts to create a more welcoming campus.
University of Texas Introduces the “Rooney Rule” for High-Level Administrative Searches
William H. McRaven, chancellor of the University of Texas System is instituting a new rule for all administrative searches for deans and higher posts in the 14-campus system. At least one minority applicant must be included in the final pool of candidates for all high-level administrative positions.
George Lucas Gives $10 Million to the University of Southern California for Minority Scholarships
The University of Southern California in Los Angeles received a donation of $10 million from the George Lucas Family Foundation. The money will provide scholarships for students in the School of Cinematic Arts with preferences given to African American and Hispanic students.
Brown University Pledges $100 Million to Enhance Diversity and Inclusion Programs
Christina H. Paxson, president of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, recently released a draft report that outlines a concrete set of actions to promote diversity and inclusion and confront the issues of racism, power, privilege, inequity, and injustice.
Johns Hopkins University Announces a Major New Faculty Diversity Initiative
In 2013, Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore reported that Blacks made up 4 percent of its total full-time faculty and 1.7 percent of its full professors. Now a new five-year, $25 million initiative has the goal of significantly improving those numbers.
Wellesley College to Upgrade Its Black Student Center
Wellesley College in Massachusetts, announced plans to enhance and add to existing multicultural centers on campus including Harambee House that has served as a center for women students of African descent since 1970.
University of Missouri Establishes Office for Civil Rights
The new office will centralize reports and investigations of all types of discrimination on the University of Missouri campus.
University of Cincinnati Commits $40 Million to Faculty Diversity Initiatives
Yet a new Black student group on campus recently held a protest claiming that the administration's efforts to diversify the faculty have gone too slow. The group stated that there were 75 Blacks out of a total of 2,800 faculty members on campus.
Oregon State University Takes Steps to Promote Diversity, Equity, and Racial Justice
After student protests on the campus of Oregon State University in November, President Edward J. Ray has announced a series of measures to promote diversity, inclusion, and racial justice on campus.
College of Architecture at Texas A&M University Debuts Diversity Certificate Program
The certificate program requires students to take a minimum of nine hours of diversity-related courses and to complete four credit hours of independent projects or research.
University Doubles Its Commitment to Minority Graduate Student Financial Aid
The Graduate School at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst has announced a $600,000 annual investment to provide financial aid to graduate students from underrepresented minority groups.
