UC|21 DIVERSITY TASK FORCE

It is time to reassess diversity and climate at the University of Cincinnati, to identify our strengths and weaknesses, and to create an action agenda for institutional change.

A presidential task force, co-chaired by President Nancy L. Zimpher and former president of Quadres at UC, Marian A. Spencer, will engage in an assessment of UC’s progress toward diversity and will recommend to the executive committee of the President’s Cabinet an overall strategy and action plan for promoting diversity that integrates ongoing efforts and existing institutional structures into goals, plans and benchmarks for moving forward.   While recognizing important relationships to the ongoing work of the UC Women’s Center and other campus groups, the focus for this effort will be on race and ethnicity among faculty, staff and students at UC.

Vision: A campus environment that embraces diversity as one of our core values, infusing every aspect of campus life and purpose, and every measure of success.

Themes as Identified by the Task Force:
• Institutional Structure and Framework (chaired by Ann Welsh).
• Student Recruitment and Retention (co-chaired by Mitchel Livingston and Jerry Tsai).
• Faculty Recruitment and Retention (chaired by John Brackett).
• Staff Recruitment and Retention (chaired byAlecia Trammer).
• Community and Climate:  At UC and Throughout Cincinnati, (chaired by Mitchel Livingston).

Agenda and Activities: Members will engage in activities such as the following:

1. Discuss what kind of institution we want and how UC fits into the needs of the community.  Is UC diverse enough?  By what definition?  Determine a focus for the work of this task force.
2. Review the AASCU/NASULGC publication, Now is the Time: Meeting the Challenge for a Diverse Academy.  Determine whether this publication is the appropriate tool for a campus-wide conversation about racial/ethnic diversity at UC.
3. Study UC’s demographics.  How do we rate in all areas of diversity and climate?  (Affirmative action, number of faculty of color, student data, attitudinal benchmarks, etc.)
4. Review the inventory of existing programs and diversity efforts at UC and assess progress toward racial and ethnic diversity.  Use a reflective process to identify what we have at UC, our institutional strengths, weaknesses and potential remedial steps to foster personal and institutional change.  Where are the gaps?  What might we do about the gaps?
5. Review recommendations from the Just Community Task Force.  How is the new student and freshmen experience carried through to other aspects of campus life?  How might these recommendations be incorporated into the new action plan?
6. Review the draft University Mission Statement and suggest modifications.
7. Create awareness, leadership and support for a university-wide conversation about our progress on enhancing diversity through recruitment, retention, partnerships, campus climate, professional development and assessment.

Tentative Meeting Schedule:  We have requested space at the African American Cultural and Research Center from 4:00 – 5:30 p.m. for meetings on the following dates:
May 17, 2006 (W)
June 26, 2006  (M)
July 18, 2006  (T)
August 9, 2006 (W)
September 22, 2006 (F)
October 20, 2006 (F)

Additional meetings:
November 29, 2006 (W)
December 19, 2006 (T)

Work Products to be submitted to Executive Committee of President’s Cabinet: 

1. Framework and action plan that integrates ongoing efforts and existing institutional structures into goals and plans for promoting diversity at UC.  
2. A plan for incorporating diversity into the university’s performance measures and a set of performance indicators that should be monitored to insure that UC’s commitment to diversity is measured; e.g., personnel demographics, enrollment demographics, support programs and activities, attitudinal benchmarks, and academic support services.  How will we know if we are making progress?
3. Proposed revisions to University Mission Statement

Task Force Structure: 

• Co-Chairs:  Marian Spencer and Nancy Zimpher
• Steering Committee:  This small group, chaired by Lou Bilionis, Dean, College of Law, will lead, organize and guide the work of the task force.