Sent on behalf of Mun Choi, Provost & Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs:
On October 30, 2014, I met and charged the Diversity Task Force with the important task of developing new initiatives and structure to realize our goals of becoming a university that promotes and respects understanding, advances cultural competence and multiculturalism, celebrates intellectual openness and diverse perspectives as well as broadening the participation from under-represented groups in the important research, education and outreach programs at the University of Connecticut.
The charge, process and the timeline are provided below. Please join me in thanking the members of the Task Force and the co-chairs, Dan Weiner and Dana Wilder.
Purpose
The University of Connecticut is a collegial and vibrant environment grounded in diverse perspectives that are enabled through differences in culture, experience, and values. An academic enterprise’s excellence and success depend fundamentally on diversity. Thus, UConn aims to become a much stronger, more inclusive community that explicitly promotes respect and understanding, advances cultural competence, celebrates intellectual openness and multiculturalism, and welcomes varied perspectives, experiences, and backgrounds. These values must infuse all of our programs, operations, and activities.
The Diversity Task Force is charged to review, assess, and recommend strategies to improve diversity at the University of Connecticut. The Task Force will closely examine the meaning of diversity, and then will challenge the University with new perspectives and ideas, and develop creative approaches for broadening and strengthening diversity. This initiative offers an important opportunity to step back and think carefully about what we as an institution and a community value and why, and to recommend measures that will operationalize these values in the fabric of our institution’s strategic choices, activities, policies, programs, and organizational structures.
Organization of Work
The Task Force is asked to consider a set of complex concepts and challenging questions. To approach this systematically, the work will proceed in three phases:
First, the Task Force will focus on foundational questions about what the University aspires to achieve with respect to diversity. It will carefully consider and define what diversity means, and specify the attributes of an institution where diversity is created, understood, celebrated, and integrated throughout its activities. It will also articulate the outcomes the University expects to attain as a result of emphasizing diversity.
Next, the Task Force will understand current practices and approaches to diversity at UConn and evaluate their effectiveness. It will examine the dynamics of interacting forces that contribute the University’s current diversity environment, determine the gap between current and desired diversity outcomes, and identify existing enablers of and barriers to diversity. To accomplish this, it will engage the community through focus groups and individual meetings to seek perspective on the University’s strengths and weaknesses with respect to diversity. The Task Force will also gather data about effective practices and diversity outcomes at peer and aspirant institutions.
Finally, the Task Force will consider what broad strategies we should pursue institutionally to fulfill these aspirations across a range of core domains and functions (for example, hiring, research, instruction, engagement, outreach, and others). It will identify policies, processes, practices, and plans that can be developed or strengthened to enrich the University’s environment, increase consciousness about privilege and bias, foster inclusion and mutual respect, and elevate diversity as a priority. Furthermore, in light of these aspirations and strategies, the Task Force will examine what organizational and functional arrangements can best support our diversity goals.
Deliverables and Timeline
December 15, 2014: Phase 1 report submitted to Provost and posted for public comment
February 15, 2015: Phase 2 report submitted to Provost and posted for public comment
April 1, 2015: Phase 3 report submitted to Provost and posted for public comment
May 1, 2015: Final report and recommendations submitted to Provost
Staff support
Courtney Wiley will serve as secretary to the Task Force and coordinate all support needs. The University Ombuds, Jim Wohl, will serve as a resource to the Task Force in a non-voting consultative role.
Membership
Dan Weiner, Co-Chair
Vice Provost for Global Affairs
dan.weiner@uconn.edu
Dana Wilder, Co-Chair
Assistant Vice Provost for Academic Affairs & Diversity
dana.wilder@uconn.edu
William Jelani Cobb
Associate Professor of History and Director Africana Studies Institute
william.cobb@uconn.edu
Elizabeth Conklin
Associate Vice President and Title IX Coordinator
elizabeth.conklin@uconn.edu
Joseph Cooper
Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership
joseph.cooper@uconn.edu
Andrea Dennis-LaVigne
Board of Trustees
abdennis-lavigne@comcast.net
Terri Dominguez
Environmental Health & Safety Manager
terri.dominguez@uconn.edu
Davita S. Glasberg
Associate Dean for Social Sciences, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences and Professor of Sociology
davita.glasberg@uconn.edu
Thulasi Kumar
Assistant Vice Provost, Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness
thulasi.kumar@uconn.edu
Kathy Libal
Associate Professor in Community Organization and Associate Director, Human Rights Institute
kathryn.libal@uconn.edu
James Lowe
Assistant Vice Provost for Career Development
james.r.lowe@uconn.edu
Joe Madaus
Associate Professor of Educational Psychology and Director, Center on Postsecondary Education and Disability
joseph.madaus@uconn.edu
Erin K. Melton
Assistant Professor of Public Policy
erin.melton@uconn.edu
Suresh Nair
Associate Dean, School of Business
suresh.nair@uconn.edu
Shayla Nunnally
Associate Professor of Political Science
shayla.nunnally@uconn.edu
Mark Overmyer-Velazquez
Associate Professor of History and Director, El Instituto
mark.velazquez@uconn.edu
Angela Rola
Director, Asian American Cultural Center
angela.rola@uconn.edu
Pamela Schipani
Executive Director, Office of Residential Life
p.schipani@uconn.edu
Charmane Thurmand
Program Specialist, Graduate School
charmane.thurmand@uconn.edu
For more information, contact: Office of the Provost at provost@uconn.edu