Penn State puts emphasis on diversity, inclusion
Penn State is a school that draws students and faculty from all over the country and the world.
President Eric Barron has made diversity a priority in his administration, as the university has wide appeal, but is still behind the population numbers in some demographics.
This week, Penn State released a new statement on diversity, equity and inclusive excellence, which vice provost for educational equity Marcus Whitehurst called “a call to action.”
“This is new. We’ve never had this before,” he said.
But on Thursday, a group of students and educators reminded the board of trustees committee on academic affairs and student life that there is a difference between being diverse and being inclusive.
“The fact of the matter is, we do see race in others,” said Wanda Knight, associate professor of arts education and women’s studies. Knight is also chairwoman of the Forum on Black Affairs.
She was joined by students and educators of different faiths, cultures, backgrounds and sexual orientations to speak about the good and bad of fitting in and standing out at a major univeristy.
Jorge Zurita-Coronado sees the Latino community at Penn State as being under-represented. That’s a problem when the university’s own figures, talked about at a trustees meeting in 2015, show Hispanics being one of the fastest growing populations in Pennsylvania. Zurita-Coronado knows that, and he knows that it’s true across the country, too.
“Creating a diverse and inclusive climate is a team effort,” he said. “It’s the responsibility of everyone.”
Penn State said in a recent release that it is “one of the first universities to approach diversity goals using a strategic planning process, and one of the few universities to engage in regular comprehensive progress reviews, as well as being the only university that publishes findings publicly online. Since 1998, Penn State has had a separate diversity strategic plan, ‘A Framework to Foster Diversity,’ the most recent iteration of which concluded in 2015.”
But Barron doesn’t want the process to become about numbers. He wants to keep it about people.
“Being metric driven is not moving inclusiveness,” he said Thursday.
In other words, it’s good to have goals and keep track of the numbers, but he urged the board, administrators, students and faculty to focus on what the university can offer minorities.
“We need to look at a different set of questions. How do we tell everybody that regardless of background, you can be successful here?” Barron said. “What we should be doing is looking down the row and making sure every single person is extraordinarily successful.”
More than one of the speakers pointed out the relative lack of diversity among the board of trustees. Of 39 board members, there are just eight women. The group isn’t diverse in background, either, with the membership website showing lots of white faces. The rare exceptions include Secretary of Education Pedro Rivera and faculty trustee David Han.
Han, a professor and vice chairman of education in surgery at Penn State Hershey, said he is seeing change. Of 42 trainees in the male-dominated surgical field, this year, 26 of those trainees are women, he said. He encouraged the speakers, and the committee, to keep pushing.
“There is no end game,” Han said. “It’s about working it into the fabric.”
Penn State Statement on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusive Excellence:
The Pennsylvania State University is committed to and accountable for advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in all of its forms. We embrace individual uniqueness, foster a culture of inclusive excellence that supports both broad and specific diversity initiatives, leverage the educational and institutional benefits of diversity, and engage all individuals to help them thrive. We value inclusive excellence as a core strength and an essential element of our public service mission.
At Penn State:
We will foster and maintain a safe environment of respect and inclusion for faculty, staff, students, and members of the communities we serve.
We will educate our faculty, staff, and students to be social justice advocates, creatively providing curricula, programs, and environments that reflect the diversity of our communities, and elevate cultural awareness.
We will ensure fair and inclusive access to our facilities, programs, resources, and services, and ensure that all of our policies and practices are inclusive and equitable.
We will advance and build our workforce by assessing hiring practices and performance review procedures to attract, retain, and develop talented faculty and staff from diverse backgrounds.
We will address intergroup disparities in areas such as representation, retention, learning outcomes, and graduation rates.
This story was originally published February 25, 2016 at 8:56 PM with the headline "Penn State puts emphasis on diversity, inclusion."