Through strengthening diversity leadership, UMD’s Diversity Plan achieves goals in diversity recruitment, programs and learning

 

The University of Maryland’s 10 year Strategic Plan for Diversity, Transforming Maryland: Expectations for Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion, continues Maryland on the “path toward realizing our vision of being a “model multiracial, multicultural, and multigenerational academic community.” The plan sets forth goals and strategies in six core areas: Leadership; Climate; Recruitment and Retention (of outstanding faculty, staff and students); Education; Research and Scholarship; and Community Engagement. The first step in the implementation of the Strategic Plan for Diversity was to name a strategic leader of diversity for the campus. After an intensive five month process, University of Maryland (UMD) President Wallace Loh name University alumna Kumea Shorter-Gooden, Ph.D. as the University's first-ever Chief Diversity Officer. She assumed the role in 2012.

As the first Chief Diversity Officer, Dr. Shorter-Gooden plays a vital role in implementing and unifying diversity goals and programs.

In this capacity, Dr. Shorter-Gooden oversees that newly-created Office of Diversity and Inclusion, which assumed the responsibilities of Office of Human Relations Programs with focuses on multicultural and diversity education programs. It is her job “to foster constructive interactions, to help unify the many diversity resources on the campus and to build on them in support of our ambitious strategic plan for diversity.”

Upon her arrival to campus, Dr. Shorter-Gooden spoke at the Lavender Graduation ceremony in 2012. Speaking on behalf of the University, she reaffirmed its focus on diversity and its culture as a key to educating and preparing students to succeed in an exceedingly diverse workforce and community, while recognizing that there is “still work to be done.”  

Two years after her appointment she continues to fill a much-needed role in having “senior leadership to provide voice to diversity issues.” In an article on the University's Diversity Plan in the Profiles in Diversity Journal, Dr. Shorter-Gooden said that “I see my job as helping to pull together the pieces, helping to align the various offices and initiatives so we can really harness the strengths and the capacities that were set out [in the Strategic Diversity Plan]." Since starting in this role, she has done just that through increasing enrollment and retention rates of minority students and faculty, the creation of the Rise Above Campaign, the creation of the Diversity Advisory Council, the merger of the Office of Diversity Education and Compliance (ODEC) with the Office of Diversity and Inclusion among many other actions that further unify the diversity initiatives on campus.

Recruitment and retention goals have been steadily achieved through increases in enrollment rates of University minority students.

“African Americans are a significant minority group, yet underrepresented in terms of their population in the state of Maryland. Clearly, we need to do much work in efforts to look more closely as to what are the strategies to recruit and to retain. We need to achieve parity in terms of admission, retention, and graduation,” said Shorter-Gooden in an interview as Chief Diversity Officer in 2012.

In the years since this comment, the University has made progress in its diversity of students. When the diversity plan was commissioned and accepted in 2010 students of color made up over 34 percent of the student body. That number has since by 8 percent risen to 42 percent of the students identifying as a minority according to the Campus Counts of Students by the Office of Institutional Research, Planning and Assessment. Specifically, the African American population of the undergraduate student body has increased by 0.6 percent from 12.1 percent in Fall 2012 to 12.7 percent in Fall 2014. Similarly, the Hispanic population has seen an increase of 1.3 percent in that time range.

Although these retention and recruitment rates show population improvement in the diversity and inclusion on campus,  U.S. News & World Report gives the University a 0.61 rating for campus ethnic diversity. This ranking places the University of Maryland as approximately the 45th top school based off of statistics was drawn from the student body for the 2013-2014 school year. 

According to Pamela Allen, Program Director - Liaison to Multi-Ethnic student populations at the University Career Center and President's Promise, member of the Student Affairs Diversity Initiative and of the University's President's Commission on Ethnic Minorities, there is still room for improvement in these statistics, but in her opinion statistics and enrollment rates only skim the surface of diversity. She believes that it is more important to recognize the impact that all diversity initiatives and strategies are having on students development such as through how many students are receiving degrees. 

This ranking, however, does not account for the fact that the University of Maryland has been ranked number one among degree given to African - Americans. The University of Maryland has granted 914 degrees (baccalaureate, doctorate and master’s) to African American Studies - the most of any school among the U.S. News & World Report’s top 20 public universities. This also makes the University first in the nation in granting baccalaureate degrees to African-American students among the U.S. News’ top 20 public universities. In fact, the University of Maryland has held this No. 1 position among the top 20 public universities for 10 of the past 11 years, according to Diverse Issues in Higher Education. 

Increase retention rates of minority faculty and the creation of the training fosters a positive climate and strengthens research.

According to the Campus Counts of Employees from the Office of Institutional Research, Planning and Assessment, the percent of faculty members who identify as white has decreased in relation to the increases of faculty members who identify with minority groups as shown in the chart.
Since 2012, the number of white faculty members has fallen by 2.5 percent, while the number of Black and Hispanic faculty members have both increased by 0.3 percent. These changes, while only a few percentage points, reflect a growing culture of inclusion for faculty members.

Programs such as the Advance Program for Inclusive Excellence and its Advancing Faculty Diversity Program have been created in connected with these adjustments to the faculty population in order to provide them with more training and support. The Advancing Faculty Diversity Program aims to aid in retention efforts and culture cultivation through providing faculty with a year - long research career development and leadership training program for UMD tenure-track faculty of color. Topics in this program range from how to work with colleagues in research to in-class efforts on how to manage diverse classrooms. 

The Rise Above Campaign, created in response to Trayvon Martin’s murder, provides a platform for student discussion on diversity and bias.

“We were still sort of reeling from that horrific episode despite the fact that it had happened much earlier in the summer,” said Jacqueline Lee, director of the University of Maryland Incentive Award program when interviewed by Stories Beneath the Shell. The Rise Above campaign was created "to provide an outlet for the campus community to discuss instances surrounding racism and stand your ground laws.”

The Rise Above campaign organized by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion with co-sponsors in the Division of Student Affairs is a week devoted to raising awareness and fostering discussion about topics that are relevant both on campus and in society as a whole. This year there were five specific events that were held over the course of Rise Above week in October to address the different “-isms,” including a variety of presentations and an open mic event.

According to Ms. Allen, collaboration and oversight from the Office of Diversity and Inclusion is a key component to ensuring that the Strategic Plan is not only implemented, but that programs such as the "Rise Above" campaign reach and engage students. It is through hosting these events and discussions that the Office of Diversity and Inclusion shows it commitment to diversity to shows and to faculty and staff who participate in these programs and provide insight to students.

The Rise Above Campaign advocates for students to reflect on their personal experiences with diversity and bias and create engagement.

The campaign calls on us to “Rise Above” racism, sexism, homophobia, and other forms of bias and, instead, to “embrace” unity and diversity according the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. In addition the week of event, there is grant program in which the Office of Diversity and Inclusion seeks to offer members of the campus community opportunities to engage actively around issues of diversity, culture, identity, bias, and difference. 

To aid the evolution of this campaign, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion created a sub-committee which included student leaders to expand focus from race to other dimensions of identity. Through collaboration with students, this year's discussions led by trained facilitators were intended to foster communication about "isms". These discussions held in the Stamp Student Union, as seen the pictures, were focused on the microaggressions that students of differing identities face in the campus community and gave students a platform to confront “isms” in society.These discussions then sparked engagement on social media using #IAmTooMaryland. Social media created a common ground for students to spark conversation, to show support in ending the use and spread of these “-isms” and to encourage positive conversation and support of diversity.

Diversity in Curriculum and Academic Programs enables diversity of thought and dialogue of identities for personal development of students.

Various formal programs and departments such as the interdisciplinary approach of the American Studies department and more recently the creation of the U.S. Latino Studies program in 2007 provide diversity through their existence. Their courses and degree programs give students the opportunity to gain knowledge, awareness and openness to different identities and perspectives. This leads to the creation of diversity of thought. Diversity of thought means "the idea of more-than-one-way" and it is important to understanding the potential of diversity and inclusion as an societal and personal resource. Ms. Allen believes that diversity of thought is a key to creating a culture and climate that cultivates diversity and to encouraging personal growth and social change. She further explains that academic programs are a major contributor to achieving the goal of diversity in thought.

In addition to these formal academic programs and areas of study, there is now Diversity course requirements for students. In Fall 2012, a new General Education program began with a more expansive definition of the diversity requirement and a change from one required course to two. Students under the new program must take either two Understanding Plural Society courses (UP), or one UP and one Cultural Competence (CC) course. These courses take diversity to a new level as students “investigate the complexities of human difference and commonality” and thus further affirms diversity of thought.

Historically, the University has embrace diversity through its leadership and Dr. Shorter-Gooden continues to show that commitment.

Previous, transformational leaders of diversity for the University of Maryland include previous presidents and chancellors: Dr. John Slaughter, chancellor, 1982–88; Dr. William E. Kirwan, president, 1988–98; and Dr. C. D. Mote, Jr., president, 1998-2010 and current president Dr. Loh and now Dr. Shorter-Gooden, as Chief Diversity Officer, can be add to that list.

These leaders created and fostered a commitment to diversity and inclusion in students, faculty, staff and beyond. Over the years and under their guidance, diversity has evolved from a discussion of race and gender to one of larger constructs of identity and thought. It was Dr. Slaughter who placed diversity at the forefront of the University’s goals as he “challenged the campus to become a “model multiracial, multicultural, and multigenerational academic community.” President Kirwan’s administration made strides in having offices and departments become involved in the diversification of the University. President Mote’s efforts were focused on reaching out to disadvantaged communities and creating more access to affordable education for all students, including international students. And now President Loh and Dr. Shorter-Gooden's Strategic Plan for Diversity continues to transform the University and community through their leadership and unification of diversity.