Inclusive Excellence Activation
Forum and Reception
On February 19, 2009, the Office of the Vice Provost for Diversity and Climate (OVPDC) hosted more than 250 people for an evening designed to bring together representatives from the myriad of offices, departments, committees, student organizations and other groups from across campus in a social / informational space. Many of these individuals have worked shoulder-to-shoulder toward the same goal for years but had never met in person.
Vice Provost and Chief Diversity Officer Damon A. Williams addressed the crowd, outlining his transition activities since arriving in Madison last summer and describing some of the challenges facing us as we move into a post-Plan 2008 era. He underscored the need to define diversity much more broadly than it has been in the past, including, but not limited to, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability, and socioeconomic status. He also emphasized the importance of strategic alignment. Many of our diversity efforts are carried out in our campus’ infamous “silos” with little communication or coordination between programs.
To that end, Dr. Williams described some “next steps” that will help to form stronger alliances between the various diversity initiatives on campus. They include: developing a diversity database, which would allow the OVPDC to communicate more effectively with its constituents; creating a more interactive campus diversity Web site; developing a Diversity Affiliates program that taps into grassroots energy to plan and implement specific projects and; convening regular meetings of the chairs of the many equity and diversity committees and other groups focused on issues including, but not limited to race, ethnicity, gender, disability, sexual orientation and socio-economic status.
View Dr. Williams’ presentation on Inclusive Excellence:
Read a transcript of the presentation here.
Read more on Inclusive Excellence:
Toward a Model of Inclusive Excellence
and Change in Postsecondary Institutions
By Damon A. Williams, Joseph B. Berger,
and Shederick A. McClendon
Making Diversity Work on Campus:
A Research-Based Perspective
By Jeffrey F. Milem, Mitchell J. Chang,
and Anthony Lising Antonio
Achieving Equitable Educational
Outcomes with All Students:
The Institution’s Roles and Responsibilities
By Georgia L. Bauman, Leticia Tomas Bustillos,
Estela Mara Bensimon, M. Christopher Brown II,
and RoSusan D. Bartee
9th Annual Plan 2008 Diversity Forum