Equity Task Force update provided to Purdue Board of Trustees

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue trustees on Friday (Feb. 5) heard an update from Don Thompson, chair of the university's Equity Task Force, as trustees move to evaluate findings and consider implementation plans.

Mike Berghoff, chair of the board of trustees, said board members will now examine the findings of the task force then direct its recommendations be included in newly adopted universitywide strategic initiatives. Implementing this initiative will be the responsibility of senior members of the administration.   

Thompson said recommendations based on the work of the task force focus on strategies and goals in three key areas: representation, experience and success for all Black Boilermakers, and those strategies and goals will be specifically identified for undergraduate students, graduate students, faculty and staff.

Trustees in August authorized the creation of the task force, ultimately made up of close to 150 members of the Purdue community — faculty, staff, students and alumni — who formed into working groups of 10-12 each. The West Lafayette Campus Strategic Planning and Development Group, chaired by Steering Committee member Venetria Patton with vice chairs John Gates and Barrett Caldwell, led the working groups through data gathering, analysis and assessments. In addition, the planning group held three open forums to gather information from the Purdue community and to answer questions related to the work of the teams.

In a communication on Thursday (Feb. 4), Thompson thanked the Equity Task Force members for their extensive efforts to date, noting that, “These past months have allowed us to listen to and learn from so many in the Purdue community as we worked together to consider our strategies for enhancing the experiences of Black Boilermakers.”

Previous updates on the task force work can be found here. 

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Media contact: Tim Doty, doty2@purdue.edu

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