May 18, 2005

 

To:       Members of the University Senate

            Deans and Department and Program Heads

 

From:  Jeffrey M. Hurwit, Chair

University Senate Ad Hoc Committee on Diversity

 

Re:       Five Year Diversity Plan: Draft

 

The presentation last week of the Five Year Diversity Draft Plan has, as you may know, generated a great deal of comment from members of the university community, including some senators. It is important for us all to acknowledge the hard work and efforts that so many of our colleagues and other members of the university have contributed to the long process that resulted in the draft plan, and that there appears to be general (though perhaps not universal) support for the goals and aspirations outlined within it.

 

It also needs to be emphasized that the document presented to the Senate on May 11 was labeled, and remains, a draft. It is not policy. It is not an ultimatum. The Senate Ad Hoc Committee on Diversity (appointed by President Marcus) has been assured by President Frohnmayer that there is no deadline for the adoption of a new diversity plan: we clearly need to act in an expeditious manner, but we need to do it right.

 

It is not the mission of the Senate Ad Hoc Committee to draft a revised diversity plan. Rather, its principal mission is to advise the administration on a process for facilitating the continued and expeditious development of a diversity plan, and its own membership may evolve or expand to include those who would bring needed perspective to its deliberations. In his open letter to the Senate Ad Hoc Committee of May 16, President Frohnmayer has offered guidance. He requests that the diversity draft’s goals be used as a point of departure for further discussion and that its detailed recommendations, as well as input from a variety of other sources and from the general campus community, be given due consideration.

 

In response to the events of the last week, the Senate Ad Hoc Committee has recommended to President Frohnmayer and Vice Provost Vincent the formation of a new and more agile Executive Diversity Working Group, with a majority of members drawn from the faculty, to call for and examine comments about the initial Draft Diversity Plan, to make recommendations in a timely manner, and to present these recommendations in the form of a new draft to be offered to the Senate for its consideration in the fall.

 

We are pleased that this recommendation has today been accepted. The Senate Ad Hoc Committee will advise the Executive Diversity Working Group to ensure that all campus voices are heard as the process moves forward and that appropriate standing committees and governance bodies are engaged in the formulation, approval, and implementation any new plan.

 

Please recognize that much work has already been done, but that there is much work left to do to create an environment that is welcoming and supportive of all members of the campus community and that at the same time respects the academic freedom of all those same members.

 

Attached to this memo is a letter sent today to President Frohnmayer and Gregory Vincent offering in more detail the concerns and recommendations of the Senate Ad Hoc Committee.