The external program review team on diversity initiatives at 欧美口爆视频-Boulder has issued its final report on the status of diversity efforts at the university.
During an October visit, the team reviewed documents and conducted interviews with administrators, faculty, staff and students. The report recognizes the institution's best practices, highlights the challenges and concerns it faces and includes recommendations for more fully implementing the campus diversity plan.
"The team has focused on the most important issues that have arisen on our campus. It is important to note that many of these issues have been raised in our own campus discussions," said Ofelia Miramontes, associate vice chancellor for diversity and equity.
"I want to thank the many members of the 欧美口爆视频-Boulder community who participated in voicing their issues, concerns and expectations as well as positive support for many of the campus initiatives to the external review team," Miramontes said. "They were impressed with the level of commitment and intensity brought to the discussions with them. I invite you to access their report on the 欧美口爆视频-Diversity Web site at
Many "best practices," or efforts that supported the university's attempt to implement diversity initiatives, were cited, including:
* The existence of the Office of Diversity and Equity
* The Pre-collegiate middle and high school programs
* Focused mentoring and retention programs in some of the colleges, specifically, the Multicultural Engineering Program, the Minority Arts and Sciences Program and residential academic programs
* Student Affairs initiatives, including the Cultural Unity Center, the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Resource Center, the Disability Services Office and the Women's Resource Center
*The presence of ethnic and women's studies departments
* The loyalty and energy of student leaders who clearly want to be at the university but also want to see an improved campus environment
"Challenges and concerns" facing the university were listed using the categories of Climate, Communication, Recruitment/Retention and Training/Development.
Climate concerns included:
*The feeling that there is resistance to diversity by some and apathy by many mainstream students, faculty and staff
*The lack of inclusion of GLBT campus members in the anti-discrimination policy
*An overall climate perceived as unfriendly by many minority students
A need for better communication to the campus community regarding the many excellent programs in existence also was cited.
In the areas of recruitment and retention, a concern facing the campus community is the belief that recruitment and retention of minority faculty, GLBT faculty and faculty with disabilities is a major problem and more scholarships are needed to effectively recruit and retain minority students.
Recommendations were presented in the same categories. The recommended action for "Climate" stated that efforts should be made to improve and clarify the diversity definition so that all campus members are clear about who is included, because GLBT persons and persons with disabilities often feel excluded.
Recommendations for "Communication" included establishing better and ongoing communication between campus administration and diversity groups, particularly faculty and students, and suggested that strategies and mechanisms be developed to better inform and connect students to programs that promote educational success.
"Recruitment and Retention" recommendations focused on increasing the number of retention programs and resources to assist with the recruitment of diverse staff and tenure track faculty, in addition to more aggressive recruitment of students to improve the diversity mix.
The review team said they were very impressed with the level of commitment of individuals and groups toward making the campus diverse. They also stated that given several factors, the university is poised to take the next needed steps to more fully implement the campus diversity plan and assure a strong leadership role in diversity in the 21st Century. Those factors include the expressed commitment of the chancellor, the strategic role being carried out by the Office of Diversity and Equity, the presence of several "best practices," the contributions of the Student Affairs division and the commitment and hopeful expectations faculty, staff and students.
The five team members included: Lee June, assistant provost for academic student services and multicultural issues at Michigan State University, Nancy Barcelo, associate vice president for multicultural and academic affairs at the University of Minnesota, Maria Armstrong, an Americans with Disabilities Act Officer at the University of Denver, Chocka Guiden, first-year graduate student at Portland State University and a liaison for the United States Student Association, and Karen Raforth, associate vice president of student services and dean of students at Metropolitan State College, Denver.
The full report is available on the 欧美口爆视频-Boulder Office of Diversity and Equity Web site at .