April 9, 2004

Purdue President Martin C. Jischke made these comments to the Board of Trustees on Friday (4/9).

Universities should match the diversity of society

OPENING COMMENTS

Today we have prepared for the board a comprehensive governance report on diversity at Purdue University.

Diversity is one of the most important issues not only at Purdue but also at universities throughout the nation. Indeed, it is one of the most important issues in our nation and world. It has a special significance at universities, and most especially land-grant institutions.

Since American society is highly diverse, universities, which prepare most of our future leaders, must reflect that diversity.

Diversity is important for everyone on this campus. It is not for the benefit of minority students alone. Diversity is a tide that raises all ships. It is vital to the learning environment at Purdue.

All of our students, faculty and staff benefit tremendously through interaction with people from a variety of backgrounds and cultures.

At Purdue, we believe diversity is more than an issue of tolerance. Diversity is a cause for celebration.

Jerome Nathanson described the democratic way of life as "a growing appreciation of people's differences – not merely as tolerable, but as the essence of a rich and rewarding experience."

Our objective at Purdue is to celebrate the rich and rewarding experience that grows from bringing people of many backgrounds together in one place for the purpose of learning.

In the years ahead, our students will live and work in an increasingly globalized world where they will need to interact with a wide variety of people, cultures and customs.

Diversity on our campuses prepares students for their future. Diversity on our campuses also helps to break down stereotypes and misinformation that are the breeding grounds of intolerance.

Martin Luther King Jr. said: "We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects us all .…"

It is a major role of universities today to promote understanding to bring diverse groups of people together so they can explore their differences, their commonalities and learn from one another.

America – for all its greatness as a land of opportunity – has not always treated all people equally. Our government and most of our major institutions have recognized that complex historic and social forces have denied some of our people many of the benefits that most Americans take for granted. The impact of this over the centuries has been significant, and we will live with the consequences for many years to come.

As someone who has spent his entire working life on university campuses, I understand that education is the best tool for giving people the ability to take control of their lives and become productive citizens. I believe most educators understand this enormous power for positive change.

Affirmative action is an important effort to insure that this power for change reaches all sectors of society. An America in which everyone takes full advantage of the benefits of education will be an even greater nation than it is today.

The elevation of diversity as a university priority is one of our goals at Purdue today. It is a goal that has been set by this board.

We are using our strategic plans as vehicles to address holistically the full range of diversity issues. Diversity is an overarching initiative in our strategic plans. That means it is a factor in everything we are doing.

The entire enterprise of this university is involved in promoting diversity. We are engaging university leadership in setting objectives, devising plans to achieve those objectives and in being accountable.

Our efforts in diversity include seven areas of emphasis.

First, students – this includes recruitment and retention. It is not only our goal to enroll students at Purdue. It is our goal to graduate them. Our efforts in diversity must have a focus on student success.

Second, faculty – including recruitment, retention and promotion.

Third, staff – again including recruitment, retention and promotion.

Fourth, academic programs.

Fifth, procurement and contracts.

Sixth, intercollegiate athletics.

And seventh, environment and campus life.

I know you are all aware of last's year’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the Michigan cases.

Although the June 23 ruling had no effect on the way Purdue admits students, I believe the court's decision was a good one for America and for higher education. The justices acknowledged that diversity is a compelling interest of universities. Also, they recognized that higher education plays an important role in creating opportunities for minorities who are underrepresented in many areas of American society.

The opinion acknowledged that the benefits of diversity are "substantial" not only for universities, but because it leads to the education of "leaders with legitimacy in the eyes of the citizenry."

Though the decision did not impact our admissions policies, we are working to make certain everything we are doing in diversity today is compliance with the law.

As trustees of the university, you are the ones who set diversity as an important priority. It is our responsibility to keep you involved and engaged in what we are doing. It is our responsibility to seek your input and endorsement of these efforts at Purdue.

That is among the goals of the governance report you will hear today.

This report has been several months in the making.

It will develop a context for diversity. It will report on progress we are making. And it will go further.

The report will also set objectives, describe action steps to achieve those objectives and establish a basis for accountability.

This board has addressed diversity many times during its meetings. You have heard reports concerning progress in diversity focusing on individual areas.

Our goal today is to present the entire picture of diversity at Purdue, examined from all its important perspectives.

I believe this is among the most exciting moments in the long history of Purdue. We are at a tipping point when the balance is shifting and everything is about to change in exciting new ways.

Our strategic plans include initiatives in learning, discovery and engagement that will set Purdue on a course for preeminence in the 21st century. I believe we cannot succeed in any of our goals unless we succeed in promoting and celebrating diversity as well.

It is a key challenge that we cannot fail.

Today you will hear diversity reports from six individuals covering six different areas.

You will first hear from our counsel Tony Benton, who will talk about the legal background, including more details about the Michigan cases and their impact on Purdue.

Next will be Provost Sally Mason, who will talk about faculty and graduate student diversity.

Following Dr. Mason will be Vice President for Student Services Tom Robinson, who will discuss undergraduate student diversity.

After Dr. Robinson you will hear from Vice President for Human Relations Alysa Rollock, whose topics will be the diversity climate at Purdue and diversity within our staff.

The next report will be from Executive Vice President and Treasurer Ken Burns, who will discuss diversity in procurement and construction.

Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Morgan Burke will give the final report discussing diversity in our athletic program.

CLOSING COMMENTS

Thank you to everyone who participated in developing this very comprehensive report. This gives us all an excellent perspective on diversity at Purdue and positions us to launch initiatives focused on reaching our goals.

The first overarching strategy listed in our strategic plan is titled "Enhancing human and intellectual diversity."

According to the plan, our objective is "to build a student body, faculty, and staff that reflect our society, while fostering a climate that values inclusivity and equity, assures respect for human dignity, and positions Purdue as a place of choice, of support, and of pride."

What you have heard and seen today is a detailed report on how we are progressing toward that objective.

I believe this report shows that we are moving forward. We are seeing progress with diversity at Purdue. Though surely not as dramatic and as rapid as we all would like, you can see this progress in many of the numbers that have been presented.

For example, you have heard that in the past three years, new faculty hires have gone from 50 percent women and minorities in 2001-2002 to 60 percent women and minorities in 2002-2003, to 63 percent this year.

Undergraduate minority enrollment has grown from 9.1 percent in 2000-2001 to 10.8 percent this year.

We are moving in the right direction.

While we are making progress, we are still behind our peers. We are close to the peer average in minority faculty and female faculty. We are farthest behind in terms of minority undergraduate students.

While this report has shown progress in many areas, there are also troubling numbers in this report.

Nearly 60 percent of our student respondents to a survey have heard others harass or make negative remarks based on race/ethnicity. More than 40 percent have seen and heard harassment and negative remarks based on religion, one-third based on color, one-third based on gender one-third based on national origin or ancestry, and more than half based on sexual orientation.

This is very disturbing.

In our freshman survey, only 23 percent believed it is essential or very important to promote racial understanding. Only 37 percent believed it is essential or very important to improve their understanding of other countries and cultures.

This is far from our strategic plan goal of "fostering a climate that values inclusivity and equity, assures respect for human dignity, and positions Purdue as a place of choice, of support, and of pride."

Clearly we have work to do.

We have not yet reached our objectives. But I do believe we will succeed.

And the reason I believe this is because Purdue is totally committed to accomplishing this goal. The president is totally committed.

The detailed report you have heard today based on an extensive analysis of the university is indicative of the depth of our commitment to diversity.

More times than not in life the height of our success is directly related to the depth of our commitment.

The question now before us is, where do we go from here?

I believe there are five strategies that have emerged from our strategic plans and from this report.

First, we have placed diversity at the top of our strategic plans as an overarching goal that is a key initiative in everything we are working to accomplish. This means that our goal for preeminence in engineering includes diversity; our goal to recruit and retain the best faculty and staff for our students and state includes diversity; our goal to improve the learning environment includes diversity.

Everything we are doing includes initiatives in diversity.

Second, after placing diversity at the top of our plans, we have completed a thorough, unflinching study of diversity as it impacts all aspects of the university enterprise. This included a "Diversity, Work Life and Campus Life Assessment."

Third, we have sent a message throughout the university by our words and by our actions that diversity is not a responsibility limited to the Board of Trustees, or the president, or

the provost, vice presidents and deans. Diversity is the responsibility of every single person at Purdue — from unit heads and managers who hire and promote, to student recruiters, to faculty, staff and students whose actions, words and deeds make this campus a place where all people feel welcome, included and respected.

Fourth, we have created objectives and action plans to move us forward, and we have clearly identified what office is responsible for accomplishing the objectives. As president, I have an overall responsibility in everything we are doing.

And fifth, we are now committed to annual reviews of our progress along with annual diversity reports to the Board of Trustees so there can be no ambiguity about what we are doing, what is working and where we need to redouble our efforts and take new actions.

Our strategic plan vision at Purdue is preeminence. It means "notable above all others, outstanding."

Preeminent universities settle for nothing short of excellence. That is where we are aiming in everything that we do.

If we were to aim any lower in our goals for diversity, we would not be true to our vision. We would not be true to ourselves.

I am confident we have set a course toward success.

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