American novelist Ernest Hemingway once said, “The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places.”
After an unfortunate incident last spring, I think our university community has emerged stronger. President Boren displayed real leadership when he took swift action last spring, listened to student leaders and created the Office of University Community. I am grateful that I have the opportunity to work with President Boren, students, faculty and staff to make OU a more diverse and inclusive campus.
This year marked the first year for the Freshman Diversity Experience, a five-hour diversity training that focuses on The Diverse OU Family, Being Aware of Difference, Understanding Stereotypes, Learning to Interact and Knowing Your Responsibilities. We are the first school in the Big 12 to require freshmen to attend a mandatory diversity training.
I have met with a dozen corporate recruiters over the past year, and they are amazed with President Boren’s commitment to ensure that our student body is more culturally competent. What those recruiters know is that by 2050 there will be no clear minority. Therefore, most businesses expect our graduates to be culturally competent and prepared to work in the global economy.
Before I arrived, President Boren met with the deans of our various colleges and asked them to appoint a faculty or staff member to coordinate diversity and inclusion efforts. Our colleges have responded in a major way. The Michael F. Price College of Business is one of only six business schools in the nation with an Office of Diversity and Inclusion. Headed by Mr. Kenneth Chapman, the new office is charged with expanding the multicultural business program and creating new bridge programs which will help recruit and retain a more diverse student body. In addition, the College of Engineering has a long history of success in recruiting and graduating engineers with diverse backgrounds. Although women are underrepresented in the fields of math, science and technology, women comprise a record breaking 24 percent of this year’s freshman engineering class. Also, the College of Arts and Sciences, our largest college, is working to build a more diverse faculty with programs that enhance faculty development and recruitment.
The Office of University Community looks forward to several new opportunities to work with faculty and staff across campus to improve upon our diversity and inclusivity efforts. One of the exciting efforts is President Boren’s decision to create the Tribal Liaison Officer position, which will work with my office to enhance the recruitment and retention of Native American students. In addition, his efforts to elevate the Native American studies program to a department will enhance our plans to work with tribal governments on issues like tribal sovereignty and how we improve retention rates of Native American students on campus.
While we have a great deal of work ahead, the past year has allowed us to work together to create the infrastructure for real change. I am proud to say that we are a stronger family because we have confronted our challenges and decided to grow from our past.
