A New Academic Year, a Renewed Commitment to Diversity
The start of a new academic year is a time to re-evaluate, re-prioritize and revitalize our goals. As the 2011-2012 school year opens, I find myself looking forward to increased opportunities for growth, renewal and vigor in the diversity efforts of our campus community.
We already have many reasons to be pleased. Among our most notable achievements was the opportunity to host First Lady Michelle Obama as commencement speaker in May 2011. In October 2010, presentations by the famed Laramie Project allowed us to have a frank discussion about hate crimes against those in the LGBT community. And when outside forces threatened to disrupt this observation, our campus came together in a remarkable show of support for diversity and solidarity against prejudice that made us all proud to be affiliated with this institution. Additionally, the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost established an affiliation with the National Coalition Building Institute (NCBI), providing in-depth diversity training for members of the Academic Affairs division.
This year we will continue work with NCBI; already 175 members of the faculty and staff have been trained on specific diversity issues. Sessions are planned for the entire year in order to provide opportunities beyond the Academic Affairs division. Results from our 2011 Climate Survey will be announced this fall, giving our Diversity Council and Diversity Advisory Committee data for evaluating and expanding efforts. Keep checking this site for news of our progress.
It is my goal that every member of our community will understand her/himself to be a valued individual who is respected for the unique talents and characteristics they bring to the campus. Please feel free to contact us at diversity@uni.edu with your ideas and thoughts. We want to continue this important dialogue.
President Benjamin Allen
August 2011
A Renewed and Growing Commitment to Diversity
Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff of the University of Northern Iowa,
As the UNI community begins the new academic year, it serves us well to reflect on the remarkable year that we have already experienced. Enlightened by the recent campus visits of Dr. Cornel West and His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet, the students, faculty, and staff of the University of Northern Iowa have had a tremendous 2010 thus far.
As we enter the remaining months of 2010 and move into 2011, these recent experiences and opportunities highlight what we are doing, and what we are looking to do, to address the critical issue of diversity on our campus. This past January marked our second Town Hall Meeting on Diversity, and the Diversity Council and Diversity Advisory Committee were proud to announce the first winners of the new Diversity Matters Award. Our Bias Response Team has continued to act quickly and fairly to remedy concerns brought forward by faculty, staff, and students, and it is our goal to have the entire UNI community working tirelessly to maintain a welcoming environment for all. Our bonds as members of the same community are continuously strengthening; student organizations, staff, and faculty are hard at work planning interactive and educational programs to promote and facilitate conversations on diversity. Most of these programs and events are open to the public, because we see this as a community effort in the broadest sense.
This continued dedication will ensure that the University of Northern Iowa remains a vibrant and diverse community of learning, living, and acceptance. Please continue to refer to the Diversity Matters website for updates related to these initiatives, and share your suggestions and stories by contacting diversity@uni.edu. The Diversity Matters website serves as an excellent resource for any members of our community wishing to do what they can to help us achieve this important goal as an institution, and a community.
President Benjamin Allen
August 2010
Commitment to Diversity
As the state of Iowa, and our nation, experience demographic changes, so too does the University of Northern Iowa. This institution takes a welcoming attitude toward these changes and actively seeks to enhance the quality of our learning environment by strengthening our commitment to diversity. UNI’s stellar programs historically have attracted some of the best and brightest students, faculty and staff. We consider ourselves extremely fortunate to have individuals from varying backgrounds who can contribute different ideas, new ways of thinking and fresh perspectives to the processes through which we seek to attain our university’s goals.
Appreciation of diversity is an essential component of an excellent education. Because our graduates carry into society the knowledge and values they learn or refine while with us, it is essential that we make continuous and substantive progress on our institutional priority to value, promote and teach about diversity. I invite those who are passionate about diversity to come forward and help champion UNI’s efforts to become a leader in this arena.
Through UNI’s Diversity Matters web site, we are strongly reaffirming the aspirations first presented in 2008. Please read here about our most recent endeavors, and check back often for updates. Please make use of the many resources that are listed. Do what you can to contribute to this important goal. I look forward to your comments and suggestions for helping us make UNI a leader in diversity. Feel free to use the diversity@uni.edu address to share your ideas. Have a wonderful semester!
President Benjamin Allen
August 2009
Town Hall Meeting
Thank you to everyone who attended the Town Hall Meeting on Diversity on January 22, 2009. The meeting gave me an opportunity to further explain the organizational approach we’ll be using to address diversity at UNI. The main entities include: the Diversity Council to provide leadership and coordination; the Diversity Advisory Committee to provide input and ideas; and College Diversity Councils to help meet specific goals and objectives. While these groups have specific responsibilities, all of us here at UNI are responsible for making our campus welcoming and supportive to all; for connecting us to diverse communities here and around the state; for enhancing the diversity of our student body, faculty and staff; and fostering the success of all in this environment. My vision is to see us arrive at a UNI campus where diversity is so well understood and well achieved, and so enriches every aspect of campus culture, that ‘initiatives’ are no longer needed.
To become involved in UNI’s commitment to diversity, please contact any member of the groups listed above or diversity@uni.edu. Continue to watch the Diversity Matters web site for updates of the actions of these groups. If you have information you would like to share through the Diversity Matters web site, contact the Office of Compliance and Equity Management at 3.2846 or diversity@uni.edu.
To view the presentation slides from the meeting, click here. Names of the members of each of the councils and committees are included in these slides.
President Benjamin Allen
January 2009
New Diversity Council formed
I am pleased to announce the formation of the University of Northern Iowa Diversity Council. The Diversity Council will report to me and is responsible for providing the leadership and coordination necessary to achieve the diversity-related goals of the university. Terry Hogan, Vice President for Student Affairs, has agreed to serve as chair of this council for fiscal year 2009.
Council members will be Interim Executive Vice President and Provost James Lubker; Vice President for Administration and Finance Tom Schellhardt; Vice President for Student Affairs Terry Hogan; Vice President for University Advancement Bill Calhoun; NISG Vice President Clarence Lobdell III; Director of Student Support Services Inez Murtha; and Assistant to the President for Compliance and Equity Management Leah Gutknecht.
Responsibility for chairing the Council will rest initially with Terry Hogan, but will rotate in the future among the vice presidents. The council will meet monthly and will provide quarterly updates to my office. It will report annually to myself and the university community.
To ensure broad participation and support for planned initiatives, the council will form and charge a Diversity Advisory Committee, and will appoint a chair who will also serve on the council.
I'd like to thank the council members for their willingness to serve in this capacity. It is important that this council provide leadership to coordinate campus diversity efforts.
President Benjamin Allen
October 2008
Dedication to Diversity
When I came to the University of Northern Iowa in 2006, I was vocal about my belief that this university should play a leadership role in the state of Iowa. Having lived in Iowa for more than two decades I have become keenly aware of the role that UNI must play in advancing a commitment to diversity statewide.
We educate many of Iowa’s business, education and government leaders – those who will influence our society in the future. Our graduates take with them the knowledge and values they learn or refine while with us. Because we believe that appreciation of diversity is an essential component of an excellent education, we must make it an institutional priority to value, promote and teach about diversity.
By dedicating ourselves to this cause, we learn and grow as a community and as an educational institution, and we assist students in developing cross-cultural competence necessary for success in life after UNI. The change we effect in our students and on our campus will benefit workplaces, schools and communities across the state and the nation.
Our commitment to diversity is a work in progress and remains a priority. This site is but one method of acting on it. Please, look around and feel free to make use of the many resources you will find listed here, and do what you can to contribute to this important goal. I look forward to your comments and suggestions for helping us make UNI a leader in diversity.
President Benjamin Allen
Fall 2007