The University of Colorado Board of Regents approved a revised CU-Â鶹¹ÙÍø campus diversity plan at its June 24 meeting held at the University of Colorado at Denver. An annual "report card" containing data and campus input will be issued each year to document progress.
The plan, "Diversity and Equity: A Blueprint for Action," contains input from campus groups that was not included in the original plan approved by the board in December 1998.
"I am optimistic that this document will provide direction and opportunity to enhance diversity and equity on the Â鶹¹ÙÍø campus," said Chancellor Richard Byyny.
"The Board of Regents passed a resolution defining diversity and establishing principles for diversity plans," he said. "My understanding from the boardÂ’s discussion and action is that we cannot use numerical goals in our plan, even though many groups on campus requested it. Also, we were asked by the board to refrain from listing specific classifications of people in our Vision Statement and in the planÂ’s first goal.
"I believe, however, that the current plan contains substantive strategies for making progress in diversity, as well as qualitative and quantitative assessments that will help us to measure our progress. The bottom line is that we're committed to enhancing the diversity on our campus. The proof is in the action, not the words."
The plan contains three primary goals, or "aspirations." They are: 1) fostering a campus climate that values diversity and respects individual differences; 2) providing equal access and opportunities for students seeking a quality education; and, 3) building and maintaining a diverse community of faculty and staff. Each goal contains specific action items.
"We all want a learning community that reflects a diversity of ideas, thoughts and perspectives," said Dr. Byyny. "This is not a document about conformity to legal standards, but one that outlines a vision of the type of environment we want to create. We believe our blueprint for action is ambitious and sincere."
Ofelia Miramontes is the interim associate vice chancellor for diversity and equity and is responsible for management of the effort. For more information about the plan, visit the Office of Diversity and Equity website at .
CU-Â鶹¹ÙÍø Diversity and Equity Plan: "A Blueprint for Action"
Fact Sheet—June 24, 1999
Background
* The "Blueprint for Action" was developed in large part through the leadership of the Â鶹¹ÙÍø Campus Diversity Planning Committee (BCDPC). The committee was organized by Chancellor Richard L. Byyny in September 1998 to help provide a response to the Colorado Commission on Higher Education's (CCHE) mandate for all state public universities to create campus diversity plans. The committee was formed by asking the vice chancellors, deans and the UCSU Legislative Council to nominate members.
* Students nominated six additional individuals they felt would be important to the process. Each of these individuals was invited to join the committee. The committee was asked to develop a plan that would be reviewed by the chancellor and the Chancellor's Executive Committee (CEC), and ultimately be presented to the Board of Regents.
Actions Taken
* During its deliberations in fall 1998, the BCDPC created and recommended a campus diversity plan. As CEC reviewed the plan, questions arose about the specific goals, the use of numerical goals and the actions needed to implement a campus-wide diversity plan. The need for additional discussion was evident. It seemed particularly important to include the broader campus in these discussions since success of the plan depended on widespread participation.
* A revised Â鶹¹ÙÍø Campus Diversity and Equity Plan was presented and approved by the Board of Regents in December 1998, with the understanding that an implementation plan would be developed that would reflect campus-wide input and discussion. At the December meeting of the board, a group of CU-Â鶹¹ÙÍø students presented to the Regents an alternative plan called the "Bolder Â鶹¹ÙÍø." The Board voted to approve the plan forwarded by the Chancellor's Executive Committee. This was submitted as a "Phase I" plan to the CCHE.
* In January 1999 Chancellor Byyny asked the diversity planning committee to gather broad-based input from across the campus and to synthesize the information gathered into a set of recommendations for the writing of the implementation plan. During January and February members of the committee attended 40 meetings with governance, student, faculty and staff groups to gather input. Attendees received copies of both the Â鶹¹ÙÍø campus plan and the student plan.
o Feedback from the sessions was placed on the website of the Office of Diversity and Equity to be reviewed by the campus at large. The committee created a set of recommendations for the Â鶹¹ÙÍø Diversity and Equity Plan, which was submitted in March 1999.
* A writing team from the Chancellor's Office helped incorporate campus input, including many of the committee's recommendations, into a draft implementation plan for review.
* On May 13, 1999, the CU Board of Regents held a special meeting on diversity, at which the board endorsed a "Description of Diversity," and "Statement of Principles for Developing Campus Diversity Plans." The Regents also requested that campus diversity plans focus on continuous improvement, rather than specific numerical goals.
* Following the special meeting the Â鶹¹ÙÍø campus writing team revised the plan in preparation for campus-wide distribution and review. In particular, members of the Campus Diversity Planning Committee were invited to provide feedback.
* An administrative e-memo from the chancellor was distributed on May 25. The memo informed the campus of the status of the diversity plan and of the opportunity to make further suggestions for revision before it was finalized. The draft was posted on the Office of Diversity and Equity website for public review and input May 25-June 2, 1999.
* Additional campus input was incorporated into the plan and the revised draft was submitted to the CEC for review on June 7, 1999.
* The CEC reviewed the revised plan. Additional revisions from the June 7 meeting included: reorganization of material; adding specific timelines for measuring progress; reinforcing the use of external benchmarks as a measurement tool and other minor changes. The report was finalized and sent to the Board of Regents for review at the June 24, 1999 meeting.
o On June 23, 1999, the draft plan was reviewed at the Regent Audit and Financial Advisory Committee meeting. During the meeting, the board requested that the campus refrain from listing specific classifications of people in the Vision Statement and in the first goal of the plan.
* The Board of Regents approved the revised CU-Â鶹¹ÙÍø diversity plan, titled "Diversity and Equity: A Blueprint for Action," on June 24, 1999. The final version will be forwarded July 1 to the CCHE.
* The final document contained many specific actions designed to recognize the university's central mission in preparing students for the global society of the 21st century (see attached for details). Campus leaders -- the chancellor, vice chancellors, deans, department chairs and other faculty, in conjunction with the Office of Diversity and Equity -- will be responsible for implementing the diversity plan. This includes setting priorities, establishing accountability measures and mechanisms, implementing initiatives, managing budgets, building teamwork, reporting on progress and recommending needed changes in the plan. Annual reviews at multiple levels will be established to measure progress. An annual "report card," containing data and campus input, will be issued each year to document progress.
Comment
"I am optimistic that this document will provide direction and opportunity to enhance diversity and equity on the Â鶹¹ÙÍø campus," said Chancellor Byyny. "I believe that the plan contains accountability measures that will help us to use qualitative and quantitative assessments to measure the rate of progress toward meeting goals and implementing key strategies. The bottom line is that we're committed to enhancing the diversity on our campus. The proof is in the action, not the words."