Diversity Matters Award Winners
Congratulations to the winners of the
Inaugural Diversity Matters Award:
Gloria Adams
Diversity Town Hall Meeting
Students, faculty and staff,
One of our institutional priorities is to value, promote and teach about diversity. An appreciation of diversity is an essential component of an excellent education. To further advance our efforts, I invite students, faculty and staff to the second-annual UNI town hall meeting on diversity Thursday, Jan. 21 from 2 to 5 p.m. in the Maucker Union, Old Central Ballroom.
Last January, we held our first town hall meeting on this topic. The gathering gave us an opportunity to open up conversations about diversity and introduce the Diversity Council and its role.
The Diversity Council, with input and feedback from the Diversity Advisory Committee, the College Diversity Councils and the campus community at large, has been busy this past year building the foundation of our sustainable commitment to diversity. At this year's town hall meeting, we will share the university's diversity definition, vision and mission as well as our strategic priorities and the key performance indicators to guide us as we move forward. We will report on our progress so far and the winners of the inaugural UNI Diversity Matters Award will be recognized.
While we have achieved much this year, we have also had our share of challenges. Several bias-related incidents were reported late in the fall semester. As I stated in November, we do not tolerate this kind of behavior and we will address it whenever we are confronted with it. Dean of Students Jon Buse will, in a separate message, provide the campus community with an update on our response to these incidents. We will spend a portion of our time at the town hall meeting in dialogue about our campus climate.
All of us at UNI are responsible for making our campus welcoming and supportive to all; connecting us to diverse communities here and around the state, the nation and the world; enhancing the diversity of our student body, faculty and staff; most importantly, fostering the success of all.
I look forward to seeing you Jan. 21 at the annual town hall meeting on diversity.
Ben Allen
January 2010
Commitment to Diversity
As the state of Iowa, and our nation, experience demographic changes, so too does the University of Northern Iowa. This institution takes a welcoming attitude toward these changes and actively seeks to enhance the quality of our learning environment by strengthening our commitment to diversity. UNI’s stellar programs historically have attracted some of the best and brightest students, faculty and staff. We consider ourselves extremely fortunate to have individuals from varying backgrounds who can contribute different ideas, new ways of thinking and fresh perspectives to the processes through which we seek to attain our university’s goals.
Appreciation of diversity is an essential component of an excellent education. Because our graduates carry into society the knowledge and values they learn or refine while with us, it is essential that we make continuous and substantive progress on our institutional priority to value, promote and teach about diversity. I invite those who are passionate about diversity to come forward and help champion UNI’s efforts to become a leader in this arena.
Through UNI’s Diversity Matters web site, we are strongly reaffirming the aspirations first presented in 2008. Please read here about our most recent endeavors, and check back often for updates. Please make use of the many resources that are listed. Do what you can to contribute to this important goal. I look forward to your comments and suggestions for helping us make UNI a leader in diversity. Feel free to use the diversity@uni.edu address to share your ideas. Have a wonderful semester!
President Benjamin Allen
August 2009