Goal 4: Enrich the Community of Scholarship and Learning through Diversity
Above the west entrance to Norlin Library is a quotation taken from Cicero, "Who knows only his own generation remains always a child." George Norlin, who caused it to be inscribed there, would surely endorse an amendment that the same is true of one who knows only his or her own culture. This principle embraces not only the broad diversity of cultures beyond our national borders; it includes those communities within this nation, whose contributions to our cultural life continue to be insufficiently acknowledged. The College endorses diversity not merely as a demographic target in enrollments or staffing, but as a principle of fundamental value in the education of all its students. It is important that the students, faculty and staff of the College reflect the diversity of the nation in which our students will live when they leave the campus. Students should learn from peers and teachers whose backgrounds might be different from their own, while they pursue a course of study that embraces all of the complexities of a multicultural world. It is important that the administrators, faculty and students of the College endeavor to integrate the values of diversity into their work. The College must continue to foster a culture of tolerance and civility in the free exchange of ideas. It must also continue to incorporate into the curriculum academic subjects which engage faculty and students in the intellectual contributions of diversity. We embrace the vision of a College that prepares its students for rich and meaningful lives in an increasingly diverse and integrated world community. Towards that end we recommend the following objectives:
4.1 To expand the opportunities available to talented low-income and first generation students to matriculate in the College of Arts and Sciences. In the recruiting activities of several existing College programs, many prospective students of diverse backgrounds are routinely identified who have the potential to excel in academics and make significant contributions to the intellectual and cultural life of the College. At present scholarship funds available to support such students through the academic units and programs such as the Honors Program are woefully inadequate.
- Expand aggressively the funds available from any potential sourceÜinternal, state support, private philanthropyÜfor academic scholarships directed towards low-income and first generation students. Recruitment programs for these students should be expanded as additional scholarship funds become available. Additionally, the College should increase its support of summer pre-high school outreach programs directed toward talented low-income and first generation students. The "College Camp", which has been proposed by the ASC Diversity Committee, is an example of the kind of program that should be considered as a priority for support by the College. Such programs should include summer academic programming on campus, combined with long-term follow-up with schools and families. It is important that such programs be integrated with sufficient scholarship support at admission for successful students. The ASC Diversity Committee should be charged with monitoring the success of such programs and reporting to the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.
4.2 To expand and enhance the opportunities available to students, faculty, and staff to support each other in the pursuit of their academic and professional goals. Such programs are an important component in the efforts of the College to retain and support a diverse faculty, staff, and student body.
- Successful programs, such as the Minority Arts & Sciences Program, should be expanded. The College should consider targeting this program for incremental resources. Programs which provide support to faculty in professional development, such as the Area Teaching Scholars Program, should receive support from the College administration. The College should require that academic departments provide formal guidance to faculty in professional development, as well as opportunities for informal mentoring that are consistent with the academic culture of the unit.
4.3 To create a campus that welcomes peoples of differing abilities. Diminishing resources at the campus level have made it difficult for individual faculty and academic units to support the legitimate needs of students who face special challenges in the classroom.
- The College should delegate to an officer at the level of Associate Dean the responsibility for coordinating with faculty in order to provide classroom facilities, proctoring and other services required by students of differing abilities.
4.4 To monitor the progress of the College in creating a more diverse faculty, student body, and staff.
- The College should designate an Associate Dean who will be charged with compiling data about recruitment and retention of students, faculty and staff in the College. This information will be reported to the ASC Diversity Committee at least annually and in a timely manner so as to be incorporated in the final report of the ASC to the faculty.
4.5 To increase the international component of the curriculum. Because the faculty today believe that education should embrace all the possibilities of human existence, it is critical to the mission of the College that we expand the possibilities for our students to learn about the world beyond the borders of our state and nation.
- The College should consider investing a portion of any incremental revenue in expanding Study Abroad opportunities for its students. This should include not only students whose program of study is foreign languages and cultures, but students from every discipline who might benefit from academic preparation abroad. The College should also consider expanding its offerings in areas not currently represented in the curriculum, including the languages and cultures of the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and southern Asia.
