University Of Arkansas Continues Diversity Initiatives

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - As efforts continue at the University of Arkansas to diversify the composition of the student body, staff and faculty to more fairly reflect the population of the state, a Diversity Task Force has been established as the University pushes its initiatives into the year 2000.

The task force evolved from similar past efforts at the university, said committee Chairman Anne O’Leary-Kelly, who is an associate professor of management in the Sam M. Walton College of Business. However, it does have a different make-up from past efforts, she said, both in structure and in the people involved.

Members are faced with a broad mission to make real progress on the University’s diversity efforts, said O’Leary-Kelly.

"This is a real opportunity because we can think carefully and comprehensively about how progress can be made and then focus on accomplishing those actions that will lead to progress," she said. "We’ve been given a lot of freedom to pursue our goals.

"That means we have first begun by determining exactly what we mean by diversity. Then we have to figure out where we are so we know what ground we’re standing on," she said.

Task force members have agreed that after defining diversity and identifying specific goals, members must then prioritize those goals, determine how to implement the long-range plan and decide who will be accountable for its success.

Task force members, who include faculty, staff and students, want to avoid being just another committee to write a final report, O’Leary-Kelly said.

"I like what one committee member said," explained O’Leary-Kelly, "'We’re starting a process of change and are not here just to write a report.’ I think that’s the spirit in which we’re coming together. We’re seeing this as a commitment.

"Our philosophy is to try very hard to integrate with other things happening on campus. For instance, we plan to cooperate with the First-Year Experience team that works closely with freshmen students. We want to be right there because that’s a good opportunity to help shape students’ experiences and thinking by communicating the University’s vision related to diversity.

"I think we’re at the early stages at this time," she continued, " but we do have a team that will allow us to bring about the significant change that we need. First, we have faculty members on the task force that have a strong knowledge of these issues; second, we have the staff members, such as vice chancellors, that have the ability to make things happen on campus; and third, there are the students, who can relate their experiences and how they feel about the campus. All of those give us ability to make things happen on campus."

Task force members have been examining the approach of other universities to the issue, and have determined that there are often three components: representation, which questions whether the demographics of the university are representative of its state; climate of the university, is it nurturing and comfortable for its various members or is it hostile and difficult? And third, to what extent does the curriculum reflect different and diverse viewpoints?

Many universities look only at representation, said O’Leary-Kelly, which of course is easiest to measure. However, UA task force members are in agreement that concentrating only on the first component may lead to failure, and that to be successful, any long-range plan must focus on all three components simultaneously.

The task force has little information about the UA climate and plans to conduct an assessment of faculty, staff and students this fall, she said. This assessment will help task force members determine specific issues that need to be addressed and will also allow the task force to help track the university’s progress in attaining its diversity goals.

"These are critical issues for the University, and if we’re going to expand our reach and serve our constituents as a university, we have to address these issues," she said.

O’Leary-Kelly earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from University of Michigan and her doctorate in organizational behavior and human resource management from Michigan State University. Before coming to the U of A three years ago, she taught at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, and the University of Dayton in Dayton, Ohio.