VP for Diversity visioning session report

3/30/2011: My report from the diversity meeting today. This was billed as the session for faculty and staff. Turnout was low – there were about 8 search committee people, maybe 5 faculty, and about 40 staff. Make what you will of the disinterest on the part of the faculty. If the search committee is serious about faculty input they will need to try another avenue.

The search firm is – I think – “Diversified Search”. The session was ably moderated by CAS Dean Scott Coltrane, and everyone got a chance to speak their piece. The agenda points, with my comments, were as follows.

• What are the most important issues for the campus to focus on over the next 5 years? Or, if you accelerate into the future 5 years from now, what do you hope for our campus in terms of our diversity efforts? What will the campus look and feel like?

David Frank of the Honors College spoke first and took this head on: We do not want another 5 year diversity plan! He advocated for concrete efforts to prepare and recruit low SES kids while they are still in middle school, and noted the growing Hispanic population as an example of the importance of this.

 Dean Coltrane used his summary on this point to defend Charles Martinez’s 5 year diversity plan process and the yearly updates and make clear that they were here to stay. Anyone who has ever read or prepared one of those plans knows they are a bureaucratic time-wasting soul-destroying exercise in futility. Check them out here. Last I looked UO had 1307 pages of diversity plans.

• What do you see as our greatest challenges and threats to our current and future efforts?

 “Eugene is so white. People of color don’t stay because of this.” This is not something UO can solve. It is also a very narrow definition of diversity – not irrelevant, but narrow. Other people made comments that tried to broaden the definition to include SES etc. The committee does not seem to include representation from these groups.

Someone made a pitch for mandatory training in “cultural competency” for all UO faculty. Dean Coltrane pointed out that many other universities require this training. I’ve had this. Trust me, there is *nothing* that will destroy the faculty’s respect for this idea or for the importance of diversity in general than 4 hours of mandatory re-education and inane role playing exercises. Big $ for the trainers though, I hear.

• What do you see as our greatest opportunities? What is going well and should be continued?

There was response from several people about the effect of the increasing diversity of international students on diversity. Good point – it’s huge. Someone else noted SES diversity, and physically handicapped. Some economist went on and on about UO’s SAIL program, and how it was bringing local minority and low SES High School students to campus and preparing them for college, involving faculty and student volunteers in an effective diversity program, and was an example of the sort of innovative thinking UO could become nationally known for. Enough already friend, give it a rest.

• What are the types of qualities and characteristics needed in the next VP for Diversity?

Someone pointed out it was an impossible job with all these expectations. Someone said building bridges to the community. Someone said experience with “fill the pipeline” diversity. A few people said we needed a troublemaker who would stir things up and make change happen.