Diversity Task Force: A Question and Answer Exchange

The following is a question-and-answer with Louis D. Bilionis, dean of the College of Law, who chairs the steering committee for the UC|21 Diversity Task Force. The 40-member task force has been meeting since May and was created by President Zimpher to reassess diversity and the climate for diversity at the University of Cincinnati.  President Zimpher and UC alumnus Marian Spencer co-chair the task force as a whole, while Bilionis heads the smaller working group that leads and guides the task force in its work.

Q: What is the purpose of the Diversity Task Force?
A: President Zimpher appointed the task force to examine UC’s strengths and weaknesses in the area of diversity and has asked us to make recommendations on an overall strategy and action plan for promoting diversity at UC.

Q: You must have a very busy schedule as a dean.  Why is this task force something to which you would want to dedicate so much of your time?
A: I firmly believe that the strength of our nation lies in its diversity, and that will be ever more the case in the years and generations to come.  Like my colleagues on the task force, I want to live and work in a community that is truly diverse, celebrates its diversity as a richness, and is committed to principles of fairness, justice and equality.  Working on the task force is a privilege for us, and a great opportunity to help make UC even stronger.

Q: What is the timeline for your work?
A: The task force has been meeting since the spring, and we plan to have recommendations to present to the president in a written report by January.

Q: Have you made any efforts to get input from people outside the task force membership?
A: We have been meeting with as many groups as possible to inform them of our work and solicit their input. For example, one of our members, Jerry Tsai, the president of the Student Government, organized an event for all students and student groups to come and learn about the task force and weigh in on our efforts.  Similarly, I and other members of the task force have been spreading the word through a variety of groups such as the African American Alumni Association and UCAAMP, one of the staff organizations on campus.  Our various committees have been reaching out.  And our members, drawn from throughout the community, also ensure that we consider a wide range of views.
 
Q: Diversity is an enormous topic. How are you approaching this issue to make optimal impact?
A: The president’s charge is for us to focus mainly on ethnicity and race among UC students, faculty and staff. Our membership spent several weeks at the outset getting acquainted with the current climate and environment, finding out what we could learn from data that are readily available and hearing from members of the university community who have been here for many years. Ultimately, our task force decided to focus our recommendations on five overarching themes:

• Institutional Structure and Framework, which is chaired by Faculty Senate Chair Ann Welsh.
• Student Recruitment and Retention, co-chaired by Vice President for Student Affairs and Services Mitchel Livingston and Student Government President Jerry Tsai.
• Faculty Recruitment and Retention, chaired by Associate Professor of African American History John Brackett.
• Staff Recruitment and Retention, chaired by Director of Employee Relations Alecia Trammer.
• Community and Climate:  At UC and Throughout Cincinnati, chaired by Livingston.

Subcommittees are now hard at work on these themes and will be writing recommendations that will be shared with the task force as a whole.

Q. How can people participate?
A: We encourage members of the community, both on campus and off, to follow our progress through our Web site and to share their opinions with us using the Feedback button on the Web site (www.uc.edu/diversitytaskforce). We urge those who wish to weigh in to try to focus their comments on one of the five themes as I have outlined them.