Panel report on diversity climate at IUB released

By Rose McIlveen

The report of a review team charged with evaluating diversity issues on the Indiana University Bloomington campus is in, and the recommendations were unveiled at a news conference at IUB last week.

Nelms

Last spring, Kenneth Gros Louis, IU vice president for academic affairs and chancellor of the Bloomington campus, asked Charlie Nelms, special assistant to IU President Myles Brand, to form a multi-racial panel to study the diversity climate on the Bloomington campus and make recommendations. The panel report, released Oct. 1, calls for structural changes in the administration and efforts toward establishing what IUB's diversity climate should become during the next 20 years.

Nelms described what the committee found on the Bloomington campus -- a climate that was "chilly," with "latent hostility just below the surface." He added that part of the problem was lack of communication by senior level administrators and a widespread belief that nothing else needed to be done.

Recommendations of the review team were:

Upgrading the position of associate vice chancellor of academic affairs to that of vice chancellor for academic support services and diversity. While eliminating advocacy deanships, the plan calls for the new associate vice chancellor to have three assistant vice chancellors, one to direct the Honors Division, one to direct multicultural affairs and one to direct academic support services.
MAP/MASS (Minority Achievers Program/ Mathematics and Science Scholarships) and the McNair Program would be located in the Honors Division.
The vice chancellor for academic support and diversity would work closely with the vice chancellor for enrollment services to ensure that accountability in the areas of recruitment, admissions and financial aid is realized.
The associate vice chancellor of multicultural affairs would have responsibility for the Neal-Marshall Education Center, the Asian-American Cultural Center, La Casa, the African American Arts Institute, community and school partnerships and summer research fellows.
The associate vice chancellor of academic support services would oversee mentoring and tutoring services, such as the Neal-Marshall Library, the Groups Program, the Student Research Opportunity Program, 21st Century Scholars and the academic support centers.

Additional recommendations include forging partnerships with public school districts, expansion of the MAP/MASS program, coordination of campus mentoring and tutoring services, changes in the reporting of women and minority hires, and utilization of ethnic and cultural centers for cross-cultural/multi-cultural and educational experiences.

Expansion of racial and ethnic diversification of the IUB faculty, administration and staff was also recommended. Deans, department chairs and directors would be held accountable for diversifying applicant pools and hiring decisions.

In January, Nelms was named to the university-wide appointment of special assistant to IU President Myles Brand with responsibilities in the areas of diversity and undergraduate retention.

He will be asked by Gros Louis to come up with plans to move forward on the recommendations. Gros Louis presented the panel's report, titled 20/20: A Vision for Achieving Equity and Excellence, to the Bloomington Faculty Council Oct. 6.