Changes to boost staff diversity

As part of an ongoing effort to increase minority representation among University staff, President Tilghman on Tuesday announced the creation of two new diversity staff positions and a promotion in the provost office. Associate Provost for Institutional Equity Terri Reed will now serve as vice provost for institutional equity and diversity.

The changes were prompted by a Diversity Working Group (DWG) initiative that Tilghman started last year. The group was created to respond to student concerns about faculty in the Survey on Race and Campus Life, and to the departure of several minority staff in fall 2004.

Colleagues commended Reed for her commitment to promoting diversity. "I think Terri is an extremely talented individual," Executive Vice President Mark Burstein said. "She understands how an organization of higher education works but she also has the energy, focus and intellect to make change within that organization."

Former USG president Leslie-Bernard Joseph '06, who met with Reed to discuss the USG race survey, echoed Burstein's praise but said the recent changes are just the first step.

"Essentially, it's a nice start, but [administrators] definitely need to do more," Joseph said. "If the only thing they're doing is creating more positions for diverse staff to work on diversity work, they're not ensuring that there is diverse leadership across the University, departments and student body."

Chris Willis '07, who co-chaired the committee for the Survey on Race in 2004, applauded Tilghman's efforts, noting that students were concerned about the makeup of the staff that surrounded them. "Some students reported in the free responses [in the survey] that it made them feel as if they were instantly associated with an underclass because they viewed the dining staff as overwhelmingly consisting of minorities. If new minorities are brought in at higher rankings, this may help diminish this perception," Willis said in an email.

Vice President for Campus Life Janet Dickerson emphasized the importance of identifying staff needs for support both in family life and in their efforts to advance in their positions. "Retention has been an issue here. I think that [the new supporting positions] will be able to help create a family friendly, supportive environment for employees whom we hope to retain after they've been recruited," Dickerson said.

— Senior admin. lacks diversity (Oct. 21, 2005) — Departure of minority staff called a 'problem' (Sept. 14, 2004) — Officials seek more high-level minorities (Feb. 16, 2004)