University President Dave Frohnmayer focused on community and diversity Wednesday afternoon in his State of the University address, saying that the need for a diverse campus ultimately goes back to the need to prepare students for a diverse world.
In his speech before a crowd of approximately 100 faculty members and others, Frohnmayer not only addressed the importance of achieving a more diverse campus, but the progress that has been made in the past several years.
Frohnmayer said that during his bi-ennium addresses, he likes to highlight one or two main topics. This year in particular, he said, diversity is a vital issue, and at least one faculty member in attendance agreed.
“It is good information to know; you can’t just pick up a book and find this out,” said Anand Prahlad, a new faculty member in the English department.
Frohnmayer gave a few examples of why he believes that the University is on a good path in regard to diversity. Enrollment at the University has increased, and the make up of the incoming freshmen class is more diverse than ever before.
“About one student in seven at the University of Oregon is a student of color, and one in 14 is an international student,” Frohnmayer said.
Achieving diversity at the University is not easy, Frohnmayer said, “especially in a state like Oregon, which has not always had a history of welcoming minorities.”
Though the process is neither easy nor quick, increased efforts have been made across campus, he said. Frohnmayer mentioned significant advancements in the form of hiring new staff to deal with issues of diversity in the Teaching Effectiveness Program and the Office of Multicultural Affairs. Monetary solutions — including $1 million in student scholarships and $500,000 in the recruitment and retention of faculty of color — are also being implemented to enhance and support diversity, along with faculty orientations and department meetings.
“Diversity is not something you can achieve overnight,” Frohnmayer said. “It is not measured by program count or head count. It is a long, slow process energized by the commitment of many teachers, students and staff members.”
New faculty members seemed for the most part to appreciate the focus on diversity issues.
“It is an important subject that everyone needs to know about,” said religious studies professor Judith Baskin, who is also the new director of the Judaic Studies program.
Prahlad, from the English department, said he was impressed by the efforts Frohnmayer made.
“I got a good feeling about the president and administrators; they seem to have a lot of integrity and sincerity,” he said. “I am optimistic about their efforts to increase diversity.”