New Legislation Aims to Boost Diversity in Public Schools
If enacted into law, The Stronger Together School Diversity Act of 2016 will encourage voluntary community-driven efforts to increase diversity in schools.
Southern Illinois University Adopts New System-Wide Diversity Initiative
Southern Illinois University President Randy Dunn stated that the new initiative was put in place so that all campuses in the system "reflect a culture that values diversity and inclusivity in all its forms."
University of Oregon Creates a Fund to Promote Diversity
The Division of Equity and Inclusion at the University of Oregon has begun a new fundraising drive to build a fund that will support efforts to recruit more students and faculty from underrepresented groups and to create a more welcoming environment on campus.
Study Finds That Mandatory Diversity Training Is Ineffective
The authors suggest that managers who are obliged to undergo training have a natural tendency to resent it. People don't like to be told how to behave. They outline other strategies that may be more effective in reaching diversity goals.
The University of Cincinnati to Request a Diversity Statement From All Job Applicants
Applicants for administrative position at the University of Cincinnati will be asked to file a personal statement on their contributions to diversity efforts and/or the potential contributions to diversity, inclusion, or leadership that they plan to make if hired by the university.
New Black Faculty Association at the University of Cincinnati
The organization is an official group at the university with funding and other support services provided by the university administration. The university will fund the group's faculty development seminars, research symposia, as well as mentoring and networking initiatives.
Dartmouth College Unveils Its Action Plan for Inclusive Excellence
The plan contains more than three dozen new initiatives and enhancements of existing programs. Among the most notable items in the plan is a pledge to hire 50 faculty members from underrepresented groups over the next decade.
Brown University’s New Visiting Faculty Program Aims to Boost Diversity
Under the Provost's Visiting Professors program, scholars from underrepresented groups will spend between one and four semesters on the Brown campus.
Examining Faculty Diversity at the University of Southern California
The data shows a total of 3,614 faculty members at the university. Of these, 108, or 3 percent are Black. There are only two tenured Black faculty members in the life and natural sciences and three at the university's medical school.
A Record Percentage of Black Students in Harvard’s 2016 Entering Class
Black students make up 11.4 percent of all students in the Class of 2020. This is the highest percentage of Black students in any entering class in Harvard's 380-year history.
Legislature Eliminates Funding for the Office of Diversity at the University of Tennessee
Administrators in the diversity office at the university had angered legislators by calling for the use of gender-neutral pronouns and the suggestion that office holiday parties not be "Christmas parties in disguise."
University of Cincinnati Program Aims to Increase Diversity in America’s Orchestras
Only 4 percent of the members of America's professional orchestra musicians are Black or Latino, according to the League of American Orchestras. A new fellows program at the University of Cincinnati, in conjunction with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, seeks to increase diversity in the field.
University of Oregon Responds to Black Student Protestor Demands
The University of Oregon has agreed to take action based on demands presented by student protestors in demonstrations held on campus in recent months. The university has agree to boost recruitment efforts, establish a Black residential community, and bring prominent Black scholars to campus.
New Report Examines Teacher Diversity in U.S. Schools
The percentage of African Americans in the elementary and secondary school teacher force actually declined from the 1987-88 school year to the 2011-12 school year at a time when the nation's schools became increasingly populated by students of color.
College of William and Mary Takes Steps to Enhance the Diversity of Its Faculty
The college also announced other efforts aimed at enhancing diversity and race relations on campus. This includes a proposal to name two residence halls in honor of African Americans, one a slave who was owned by the university and the other a long-time administrator.
University of California, San Diego Launches Black Academic Excellence Initiative
The goal of the initiative is to increase the number of Black students and faculty on campus and to make the campus environment more welcoming to African Americans. The latest Education Department data shows that Blacks make up just one percent of the undergraduate student body.
University of Cincinnati Launches New Fellowships for Minority Ph.D. Students
The University of Cincinnati has announced that it has created the Provost Graduate Fellowship that will provide financial aid for students from underrepresented minority groups in the university's graduate programs.
Johns Hopkins University Releases a Roadmap for Achieving Diversity and Inclusion
In releasing the draft plan, Ronald J. Daniels, president of Johns Hopkins University, stated that "diversity of thought, people, and experiences is central for the excellence of our work, and to our education, research, and service missions."
Michigan State Establishes an Anti-Bias Unit Within Its University Police Force
Sgt. Florene McGlothian-Taylor, a 26-veteran of the police force, will lead the new anti-bias unit. It is believed to be one of the first such units among university police forces across the nation.
Indiana University Assesses Its Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion
A diversity assessment was conducted by an independent consulting firm for Indiana University at Bloomington and Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. The report found that progress has been made but noted areas that need improvement.
University of Southern California Study Shows Extent of Black Invisibility in Entertainment
The report examines 109 major films and 305 television programs in 2014 that included more than 11,000 speaking characters. Some 22 percent of all these films or TV shows had no African American characters.
The Three Finalists for Chief Diversity Officer at the University of Connecticut
The three candidates for chief diversity officer are Lisa McBride of the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Joelle Murchison, an executive at The Travelers Companies in Hartford, and Franklin A. Tuitt of the University of Denver.
University of California Aims to Increase Black Applicant Pool
The Achieve UC program targeted 12,000 students at high schools with large underrepresented minority student bodies with programs to guide them through the admission and financial aid processes. The program is being expanded this year to target 60,000 minority students.
Brandeis University to Offer New Diversity Scholarships to Graduate Students
Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts, has announced the establishment of the Diversity, Excellence, and Inclusion Scholarships. Recipients will receive full-tuition credits and a $10,000 stipend for master's degree programs in the humanities, social sciences, and the arts.
Brown University’s Plan to Create a Diverse and Inclusive Campus Community
In releasing the report, Christina Paxson, president of Brown University, stated that “a diverse and inclusive academic community is foundational to every ambition we have as an institution of higher education."
University of Texas System Initiates a “Rooney Rule” For Senior-Level Hiring
The University of Texas System has instituted a new policy that requires search committees to have a minority candidate among the finalists for every senior level administrative post on campus. The new policy is modeled after the Rooney Rule in the National Football League.
Two Major Research Universities Join the Creating Connections Consortium
The Creating Connections Consortium seeks to increase the number of underrepresented minorities who are hired to tenure-track faculty positions. The University of Chicago and the University of Michigan are the consortium's newest members.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
