After years of planning, revision and debate, the University may gain an official diversity plan tonight if the University Senate votes to approve the latest draft of the document, which was released by the University May 14.
Although the plan is in many ways similar to previous drafts, it includes important changes. Foremost, it eliminates stipulations relating to the vague term “cultural competency.” Some faculty members had rightfully expressed concerns that the term was broad and might foster excessive attention to political correctness. It also recognizes that a well-rounded conception of diversity extends beyond ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation and must include religious and political affiliations.
The plan rightly leaves many details of
diversity efforts up to individual schools and departments, using the central administration as a resource. Each school, college and part of the administration is required to create a “Strategic Action Plan” that details how it will work toward the six strategic objectives identified by the overall plan.
Some faculty members undoubtedly remained concerned that encouraging hiring of people from underrepresented groups in any way will lead to the someone’s ethnicitys being a more important factor than his or her qualifications during the hiring process. Yet as faculty members who have been at the University for decades point out, professors have raised these same concerns about diversification efforts for years. These worries are valid, but we must recognize that Oregon is becoming increasingly less homogeneous. As the plan states, the University must be prepared to reflect demographic changes both in its student body and in its faculty.
No plan will ever be perfect, and it’s time that forward-thinking members of the Senate rally to prepare the University for future generations to learn in an environment that values a mixture of people and ideals by passing this plan.