Office of the Provost

Equity Task Force Updates

October 2022 – Fall Semester Update

Dear Colleagues, 

As you likely know, we are now in the second year of the five-year $75 million Equity Task Force initiative that focuses on the representation, experience, and success of Black Boilermakers. Your ideas, insights and support have been instrumental in helping us through a successful first year.  As a reminder, after the initial 150-member task force shared their report and recommendations with the Board of Trustees, an implementation team was assembled to move the work forward. The team continues to meet monthly to implement the strategies, initiatives and recommendations shared through the initial findings of the task force and the Board of Trustees.

As we near the mid-point in our fall semester, we wanted to share some of the progress of the Equity Task Force to date. 

Undergraduate Representation:

  • Through a new partnership between Purdue and the Posse Foundation, 11 students started their academic careers at Purdue West Lafayette this fall. The Posse Foundation is a national college outreach and youth leadership development organization that helps to select, financially support, and mentor Indiana public high school graduates in northwest and northern Indiana from urban backgrounds.
  • Recruiters are holding collaborative events with the Purdue Black Alumni Organization for this current admission cycle. Recruiters are on the road and beginning Fall 2023 recruitment activities.
  • Campus communicators and recruiters are improving messaging to prospective students using data collected by the market research firm,  Black Raspberry Insights . The firm conducted interviews with Black high school students related to their college consideration process.
  • Enrollment Management is developing new mechanisms to enhance prospective student and family understanding of financial aid.

Undergraduate Experience & Success:

  • 95 Emerging Leaders Scholars started this summer, including 32 (33%) Black Boilermakers - EL scholars earned an average term GPA of 3.86, compared to 3.70 for all Early Start students.
  • Fall undergraduate programming will focus on belonging, with a particular emphasis on the Black Male Excellence Network (B-MEN) and Mind, Body, and Soul.
  • The installation of a display in Parker Halls to tell the story of the Parker sisters’ time on campus is moving forward. The initial concepts have been approved with installation and unveiling during Black History Month.
  • Purdue was well represented at the Indiana Black Expo this summer. Purdue sponsored the Youth Leadership Summit (190 pre-college attendees) and worked with Purdue Polytechnic High Schools, who developed and delivered engaging STEM-focused curriculum.
  • The 2022 Summer Academy activities were a success. Of the 756 participants in Summer College for High School Students, 114 (15.2%) were Black.
    • This includes 100 Black students who participated in the 1-week, 1-credit programs.
    • The BCC, AARCC and MEP offered courses; working with HHS and Pharmacy to develop content for their colleges.
    • All parents were invited to the concluding event.

Graduate Students:

  • Summer programs were successful - hosting 75 SROP and Bridge
  • Expecting 80 students for the Graduate Diversity Visitation Program that will take place October 16 – 26.
  • Prioritizing connections between the Black Graduate Student Association and the Black Caucus of Faculty and Staff.
  • David Rollock has joined the Graduate School as associate dean for student success
  • Black Grad Student Organization hosted a picnic and a dinner at Walk-Ons in the PMU.
  • Working on Black and Latinx Trailblazers in Engineering events, including a discussion of faculty pathways; developing ways to scale up programming in coming year and how cohorts might connect with ETF cluster hire faculty throughout the year.
  • The “Alma Mater Talks” program continues. The program provides funding for graduate students who graduated from HBCUs to return to their undergraduate institutions to give technical talks and discuss the opportunities at Purdue.

Faculty:

  • Census numbers are still on the way, but there are early indications of a 20% increase in Black tenured/tenure-track faculty as a result of both regular and ETF cluster hiring efforts in AY21-22.
  • The Public Health & Health Equity Cluster Hire process resulted in 11 new faculty starting this Fall.  The new faculty are:
  • The next round of 13 Clusters Hires is beginning within the following areas:  
    • Two searches for faculty in African American Studies, College of Liberal Arts.
    • Six searches for faculty in anti-microbial resistance, Colleges of Science, Veterinary Medicine and Agriculture.
    • Two searches for faculty in sustainable, equitable urban environments and food systems, College of Agriculture.
    • Three continuing searches for faculty from last year’s public health/health equity cluster, Colleges of Health and Human Sciences and Liberal Arts.

Staff:

  • The Senior Diversity Recruiter, Willie Cruz, is in place and working with campus units and community partners.
  • Plans are underway to revamp and relaunch the Diversity Ambassador Program.
  • Develop Me 2.0, a professional development and mentoring program, kicked-off its second cohort this semester with 22 participants. 
  • Talent Acquisition has been busy with career fairs and other events, many are diversity/ETF-related.
  • Human Resources is looking for ways to get Purdue job postings in front of students from historically Black colleges and universities who are close to graduating.

ETF Supporting Activities

  • Alumni
    • Three new Homecoming events were held to engage diverse alumni, including collaborations with the National Pan-Hellenic Council and the Purdue Black Alumni Organization.
    • Purdue Development professionals attended the inaugural Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Development Summit to learn about how to best support ETF and DIB goals.

The individuals serving on the implementation team have senior management responsibility for the area they represent to ensure the actions of the ETF are fundamentally embedded in the activities of units across the campus. The Board has asked for a public ETF update at its stated meeting on a regular cadence. Progress updates also will be provided to the campus community each semester.

Members of the implementation team are:

  • Executive sponsors:  John Gates, vice provost for diversity, inclusion and belonging and Jay Akridge, provost and executive vice president of academic affairs and diversity.
  • Strategic advisor/provost fellow: Barrett Caldwell, professor in the School of Industrial Engineering and provost fellow for graduate/faculty initiatives related to the Equity Task Force.
  • Undergraduate experience and success: Renee Thomas, associate vice provost for diversity, inclusion and belonging.
  • Undergraduate representation: Kris Wong Davis, vice provost for enrollment management.
  • Graduate, post-doc and professional students: Linda Mason, dean of the Graduate School.
  • Faculty: Peter Hollenbeck, vice provost for faculty affairs.
  • Faculty, staff and graduate staff: Candace Croney, associate vice provost for diversity, inclusion and belonging
  • Staff: Bill Bell, vice president for human resources.
  • Marketing and Communications: Katie Weismiller Ellis, assistant director of marketing strategy, Purdue Marketing and Communications, and Kate Walker, director of communications, Office of the Provost
  • Data/assessment: Molly Amstutz, director of institutional data analytics and assessment.
  • Project coordinator: Christopher Munt, senior director, Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging.

Thank you for your continued support and for sharing your ideas and energy.  Together, we will create a campus environment of belonging for all Boilermakers.

Jay Akridge
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Diversity

John Gates
Vice Provost, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging

April 2022 -Spring Semester Update

Undergraduate Representation
  • Outreach to prospective Black and minority Boilermakers has been expanded in northwest Indiana and Marion County through the work of two new early academic outreach counselors, Shanita Starks (BS ’96), left, and Alex Pettigrew (BS ’15, MS ’18).
  • Working with Purdue Black Alumni Organization on two “Each One Reach One” yield events in Indianapolis and Gary, IN.  Admitted students and parents are invited to a dinner which will include a presentation and discussions with Purdue staff, alumni and current students.
  • Awards have been distributed to colleges and programs that competed for a pool of $150,000 to support innovative college-level recruitment initiatives focused on Black Boilermakers.
  • 11 incoming students from northwest Indiana have been selected for the first Posse Foundation More details on the cohort and the Posse program to be announced in late spring.
Undergraduate Experience & Success
  • Expansion of counseling and psychological services (CAPS) – 2 Black counselors on staff and 5 BIPOC contract counselors hired.
  • Launched a pilot tutoring program at Purdue Polytechnic High School to assist students with math readiness skills.
  • Black Male Excellence Network (BMEN) and Mind, Body and Soul, academic support and leadership groups for Black Boilermakers, continue to meet regularly.  100% of survey respondents agreed or strongly agreed MBS enhanced their sense of belonging at Purdue.
  • A variety of undergraduate courses that cover the themes of justice, equity, diversity and inclusion (JEDI) will be offered this summer.  These courses offer students the opportunity to more deeply understand racial and cultural differences, grasp the importance of current social movements and navigate them effectively and appropriately.
  • An $80,000 GEAR-UP grant has been secured to support Summer Academy participation for minority students from 11 Indiana high schools.
Graduate Students
  • Moved the Graduate Diversity Visitation Program to spring semester. Developed and sent new recruitment materials to all Purdue faculty and to faculty/staff/students at other universities (approximately 8000 emails). 
  • 450 Summer Research Opportunities Program (SROP) applications received and processed for 40 positions. Eight additional students will participate in a parallel summer program that is funded by a grant between Engineering and the University of New Mexico.
  • Hosted a series of inclusive leadership workshops for Bridge, AGEP, and SIGP (Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership) students plus a workshop for them on dissertation writing.  
  • Updated the Graduate Diversity Initiatives website and launched a page for Black History Month that profiled Purdue graduate students
  • Working with Renee Thomas and Levon Esters to find ways to further support the Black Graduate Student Association at Purdue. The Graduate School is helping to fund a year-end gathering.
  • Initiated a new program to increase URM application completion by contacting applicants who have incomplete applications before deadlines pass.
  • The “Alma Mater Talks” program continues with four scheduled this spring. The program enables minority graduate students visit their undergraduate institutions to discuss the opportunities at Purdue.
  • Conducting an inventory of existing relationships with HBCUs to start planning additional institutional partnerships (e.g., Morgan State) or determining college-level partnerships.
  • Working with Purdue for Life development officers to pursue donor funding for graduate education – with a focus on minority funding.
Faculty
  • The first wave of the ETF cluster hires is underway with seven successful hires already, two offers outstanding, and the remaining searches are currently interviewing their finalists.
  • Departments are preparing for cohort-building among the incoming cluster hires, including ways to connect them to existing faculty and campus resources.
  • Planning and organization has started for the second wave of cluster hires. More information will be shared in the next several months.
Staff
  • Launched a revised “Develop Me” program to expand participation in professional development opportunities; revised program was presented to the Black Caucus of Faculty and Staff in February 2022.
  • Human Resources has now hired a minority recruitment specialist who began on April 11. In addition to direct recruitment activities, this staff member will develop  relationships and conduct outreach efforts within the local community and serve as an internal consultant to the Talent Acquisition team with a dedicated focus on expanding the diversity of our candidate pools. 

ETF Supporting Activities:

The university successfully celebrated Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Black History Month in January and February.  Events included:

  • Day-of-service activities for students as well as a campus-wide food drive to benefit the ACE Campus Food Pantry throughout the week.
  • Dr. David K. Wilson, president of Morgan State University, delivered the annual commemorative lecture. The event was also livestreamed and featured an acknowledgement of the 2022 Dreamer Award recipients, as well as musical performances by Black Voices of Inspiration and operatic vocalist Alexandria Critchlow Bradshaw, an alumna of Morgan State University.
  • Along with Dr. Wilson, a delegation of senior leaders from Morgan State University met with their Purdue counterparts during the celebration week to discuss future and continued partnership opportunities.
  • A collection of artwork and artifacts from the Purdue Black Cultural Center was installed at the Indianapolis Airport through April 2022. Per airport data, more than a million passengers flew through the Indy airport during the first quarter of 2021.
  • Black History Month was celebrated campus-wide. Read the stories here.

November 2021 – Equity Task Force Progress Update from John Gates, vice provost for diversity and inclusion and Jay Akridge, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs and diversity.

Dear Colleagues, 

As you know, in April the Board of Trustees approved the Equity Task Force (ETF) as one of five Purdue Next Moves initiatives. Based on the work that you completed during the 2020-21 academic year, the Board committed a total of $75 million to fund the initiative  – $37.5 million from university funds; and $37.5 million to be raised from donors, primarily (but not exclusively) to fund undergraduate scholarships.  The ETF will focus on the representation, experience, and success of Black Boilermakers. Your ideas and insights have led to a series of initial actions that were presented to the Board in April and serve as the road map for ETF future activities.  These initial action plans are on the Equity Task Force web site.

John Gates, vice provost for diversity and inclusion, and Jay Akridge, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs and diversity, were assigned executive sponsorship for the ETF.  Immediately following Board approval, a core implementation team was assembled and includes:

  • Executive sponsors:  John Gates and Jay Akridge.
  • Strategic advisor/provost fellow: Barrett Caldwell, professor in the School of Industrial Engineering and provost fellow for graduate/faculty initiatives related to the Equity Task Force.
  • Undergraduate experience and success: Renee Thomas, associate vice provost for diversity and inclusion.
  • Undergraduate representation: Kris Wong Davis, vice provost for enrollment management.
  • Graduate, post-doc and professional students: Linda Mason, dean of the Graduate School.
  • Faculty: Peter Hollenbeck, vice provost for faculty affairs.
  • Staff: Bill Bell, vice president for human resources.
  • Marketing and Communications: Katie Weismiller Ellis, assistant director of marketing strategy, Purdue Marketing and Communications, and Kate Walker, director of communications, Office of the Provost
  • Data/assessment: Molly Amstutz, director of institutional data analytics and assessment.
  • Project coordinator: Christopher Munt, director of inclusive excellence in the Division of Diversity and Inclusion.

The individuals assigned to lead the student, staff, and faculty areas have senior management responsibility for the area in order to ensure the actions of the ETF are fundamentally embedded in the activities of units across the campus.  The Board has asked for a public ETF update at its stated meeting on a regular cadence with the other four Next Moves initiatives.  In addition, monthly updates on ETF progress will be provided to the President and the Board.

At the mid-point in our semester, we wanted to take the opportunity to share some of the progress and highlights of the Equity Task Force activities to date.  The core implementation team has moved forward with the goal of developing and implementing many of the recommendations and actions that were, through your commitment and much hard work, put forth to the Board of Trustees.

In this update, we’ll share some major milestones that have been met, and point to significant activities that are in process.  While this memo does not capture all of the activity of the Equity Task Force, the work described below will give you a sense of actions to date.

Increasing Representation

  • To help reach the goal of doubling the number of Black students on campus, Enrollment Management has successfully hired and onboarded two academic outreach counselors, Shanita Starks and Alex Pettigrew. They will specifically work to enhance recruitment efforts in the State of Indiana.
  • The market research firm, Black Raspberry Insights, is conducting interviews with Black high school students related to their college consideration process. We have the preliminary data in-house and are using it to improve our approach to communicating with prospective Black students.
  • The plan to establish a Purdue Summer Academy is underway.  This is a collaborative initiative between Enrollment Management, Teaching and Learning, and Diversity and Inclusion that will leverage the excellence of existing programs and augment with additional programs to make Purdue a primary destination for Black Boilermakers.
  • The first faculty cluster hire process for 14 faculty positions is underway, focused on the disciplines of public health, health policy and health equity. Four colleges/units are involved: Health and Human Sciences, Pharmacy, Liberal Arts, and Libraries and School of Information Studies.
  • Jerome Adams, former Indiana state health commissioner and the 20th U.S. surgeon general, has joined Purdue as a Presidential Fellow and the university’s first executive director of health equity initiatives, professor of practice in the departments of Pharmacy Practice and Public Health, and a faculty member of the Regenstrief Center for Healthcare Engineering at Purdue. He will help lead the recruitment efforts for the public health cluster hire.

Improving the Campus Experience

  • Renee Thomas has been named associate vice provost for diversity and inclusion. She will provide administrative oversight for the implementation of the Equity Task Force recommendations for Black and other underrepresented students, and be responsible for championing and advancing student success.
  • Leadership from Student Success has been engaged in conversations to better serve and engage Black Boilermakers during Boiler Gold Rush. 
  • We are collaborating with the Purdue Black Alumni Organization on the creation of the  “Each One Reach One”campaign that includes the creation of a mentor program to connect students with alumni and the engagement of alumni with recruitment/yield activities. Another program honoring “Pioneering Women,” took place this fall after a five-year hiatus.
  • Mind, Body and Soul, an affinity program for Black and African American women, has been successfully re-launched. Program pillars include Academic Achievement, Leadership, Empowerment, Mindfulness and Networking.
  • The Provost’s Office is working with partners across campus to continue and extend efforts related to the Purdue Road Map for Transformative Undergraduate Education and Maximizing Student Potential.
  • We are in the interview process for an additional associate vice provost for diversity and inclusion. The focus of this position will be to facilitate and ensure faculty and staff representation, experience and success.
  • The dedication of the Parker Halls took place on October 3. The former Griffin Halls were renamed after sisters Frieda and Winifred Parker, who led the campaign to integrate Purdue’s student housing in 1947. Read more and view a special short documentary about the Parker sisters here.
  • The process is underway to rename the Division of Diversity and Inclusion to become the Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging. This new name signifies our intentional efforts to create an inclusive campus where all Boilermakers can thrive.

Investing in Success

  • A portion of the total ETF investment has been allocated to college and unit programs that support the experience and success of underrepresented minority students, including minority programs in engineering, the Business Opportunity Program, and the Black Cultural Center, among others.
  • Dean Linda Mason’s team is Identifying opportunities to enhance research and travel support for Black graduate students and postdocs.
  • Purdue is working to increase the number of scholarships and financial aid packages for underrepresented minority students and continues to support the Purdue Polytechnic High Schools and  Emerging Leaders In support of this work, Purdue appointed Mark Gaines as senior director of development for diversity and inclusion for the Purdue for Life Foundation.

As you can see, the past several months have been busy.  We can’t thank you enough for all of your foundational efforts and look forward to your continued engagement as we work towards making Purdue a leader in attracting and supporting the successes of Black Boilermakers, ultimately improving the experience and lives of the entire Purdue community and beyond.

All the best,
John Gates

Vice Provost for Diversity and Inclusion
Jay Akridge
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Diversity 

March 3, 2021 - Board of Trustees sets priorities based on Equity Task Force work

To say this has been a year of challenges would be an understatement. And yet, as we knew would be the case, our Purdue community has never wavered, has never slowed, has continued in its missions of discovery, learning and engagement, achieving success after success.

A sincere thank you goes to each and every one of you for your persistence and your effort in making Purdue University a place where we work hard, we care for each other and we strive to find solutions to the world’s greatest challenges as well as our own. We have never been prouder to be leaders of this great institution.

Beginning in September, as you know, the Purdue Equity Task Force, as authorized by the Board of Trustees, was at work with that same drive and effort. The task force and its working groups — ultimately numbering some 150 members of our Purdue community — spent the fall semester in discussion, data gathering and assessment of the current state of equity on our West Lafayette campus. Equity issues were explored, current initiatives reviewed, and new ideas debated. Findings passed on to the board focused on three key areas — representation, experience and success for all Black Boilermakers — and identified specific impactful ideas for undergraduate students, graduate students, faculty and staff.

In February, trustees received a full accounting of the task force work and began examining the recommendations and prioritizing goals and objectives to ensure that each Boilermaker, and specifically each Black Boilermaker, has the opportunity to experience all that Purdue has to offer.

Last week, the board delivered a set of priorities to the university’s leadership team, led by President Daniels and Provost Akridge. The team will create proposed budgets, implementation plans and timelines for the goals and priorities identified by trustees. The board will review these budgets, plans and timelines, then recommend selected priorities to be included for approval at the April board meeting. A detailed plan for rolling out and achieving these goals and objectives will follow with responsible administrators identified, along with metrics and measures of success. The initiative will be accountable to the trustees, and we will expect regular reports on progress against the plan.

We approach this with urgency and also with a deep commitment to get this right for each one of you. As President Daniels stated at our February board meeting, we have elevated the equity initiative to a trustee priority, and we intend to vote in April to make it one of the university’s next big moves — those initiatives of most strategic importance to our university.

All of you make Purdue the institution it is and the institution it will become as we move together to create an ever better Purdue University.

We thank you, again, for all that you are doing and we ask for your full support as we embark on this vital initiative.

Sincerely,

Michael Berghoff
Chair, Purdue Board of Trustees

Don Thompson
Purdue Trustee and Chair, Purdue Equity Task Force Steering Committee

December 4, 2020 - Equity Task Force working groups identify key issues, begin framing strategic plan

Working groups of the Purdue Equity Task Force have completed their identification and review of overarching equity issues that now will form the basis for a strategic plan and implementation as the university aims for broader equity and inclusion across the West Lafayette campus, particularly for Black Boilermakers.

Don Thompson, Purdue trustee and chair of the Equity Task Force Steering Committee, reported to the trustees on Friday (Dec. 4) that he expects a final report to be presented for review by the Steering Committee on Dec. 15 and a full strategic plan to be delivered to trustees to review and approve on Feb. 5. Once it is approved, implementation will begin, led by the Office of the Provost and the Office of the Vice Provost for Diversity and Inclusion with regular reporting and updates to the Board of Trustees on progress toward goals.

“We are extremely grateful for the outstanding effort and long hours put in by the working groups thus far, and we look forward to the completed report,” Thompson said. “The Steering Committee will subsequently finalize a strategy and recommendations that will go to the board of trustees for approval. We have made significant progress over the last few months in our objective to improve equity across every aspect of the university. It may have taken longer than we had hoped, but the time and effort and attention are vital. We absolutely must get this right.” 

The task force, charged in September by the Purdue Board of Trustees, has worked with more than 150 individuals from across the university system, including faculty, staff, students and alumni, to identify concerns, gather data and develop recommendations around the following issues:

  • Undergraduate student recruitment, yield, and retention.
  • Graduate student recruitment, retention and success.
  • Postdoctoral recruitment and retention.
  • Faculty recruitment, retention and promotion.
  • Staff recruitment and retention.
  • Climate (campus and community).
  • Safety and wellness.
  • Curricular and co-curricular activities.
  • Diversity initiatives.
  • Athletics

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 working groups to identify concerns, gather data and assess these key issues. 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.

The task force is made up of close to 150 members of the Purdue community: faculty, staff, students and alumni, who are formed into working groups of 10-12 each. They work closely with a Steering Committee and Deans Advisory Committee as they review data, look at past and present investments and initiatives to ensure that they remain the right ones, identify gaps, and recommend new and/or alternate strategies.

Information about the Equity Task Force can be found at  www.purdue.edu/bot . Click on the Equity Task Force button to find current updates on the work of the task force, recordings of open forums, an overview presentation outlining the task force work and timeline, and a list of task force members.


November 8, 2020 - Equity Task Force identifies top issues to be addressed, announces campus forums

Members of the Purdue Equity Task Force working groups have begun meeting as they start to assess and address equity topics on the West Lafayette campus.

The Equity Task Force Steering Committee on Friday (Nov. 6) heard an update from the West Lafayette Campus Strategic Planning and Development Group, chaired by steering committee member Venetria Patton with vice chairs John Gates and Barrett Caldwell. The group identified the main issues it plans to address in working toward recommendations for broader equity and inclusion across the West Lafayette campus. 

“Identifying equity areas of opportunity on our campus as they relate to Black students, faculty and staff is a significant step forward in our ongoing effort,” said Don Thompson, Purdue trustee and chair of the Equity Task Force. “Our working groups now have solid action items to pursue.”

Issues to be addressed by the working groups include recruitment and retention of faculty, staff, and students; climate; curriculum; student success; and diversity initiatives.

As part of the effort to address equity issues and work on strategies, the task force will host three virtual forums for the university community. These forums will be moderated by Patton. 

  • Thursday (Nov. 12), 7 p.m. – Students
  • Friday (Nov. 13), noon – Faculty
  • Monday (Nov. 16), noon – Staff

All forums will be livestreamed at the Equity Task Force website.

The task force encourages members of the campus community to submit questions in advance of the forums so they may be answered during the applicable forum. 

“To be productive and continue moving forward, it is important that our students, faculty and staff let us know their thoughts, questions and ideas,” said Jay Akridge, provost and executive vice president for  academic affairs and diversity. “Their input will allow us to make sure we have a productive conversation in the forums and that their voice continues to inform the overall work of the task force.”

The task force is made up of close to 150 members of the Purdue community: faculty, staff, students and alumni who are formed into working groups of 10-12 each. They work closely with a Steering Committee and Deans Advisory Committee as they review data, look at past and present investments and initiatives to ensure they remain the right ones, identify gaps, and recommend new and/or alternate strategies. The task force is expected to provide recommendations to Purdue’s Board of Trustees when it has completed its work.

October 20, 2020 - Equity Task Force moves toward analysis, assessment, creation of strategic plan

Members of the Purdue Equity Task Force met virtually Oct. 15-16 to review multiple data sets and discuss needed next steps in identifying the goals, deliverables, metrics and actions to be taken to achieve improved equity on the West Lafayette Campus.

“As a task force, we are committed to looking carefully at a wide range of data, both qualitative and quantitative, striving to understand it, and then definitively identifying equity areas of opportunity on the West Lafayette campus as they relate, initially, to Black students, faculty and staff,” said Don Thompson, Purdue trustee and chair of the Equity Task Force.

The full task force is made up of close to 150 members of the Purdue community: faculty, staff, students and alumni who are formed into working groups of 10-12 each. They work closely with a Steering Committee and Deans Advisory Committee as they review data, look at past and present investments and initiatives to ensure they remain the right ones, identify gaps, and recommend new and/or alternate strategies. The Task Force is expected to provide recommendations to Purdue’s Board of Trustees in December.

Moving to the next step in the semester-long process, Thompson has appointed a West Lafayette Campus Strategic Planning and Development Group, to be led by Venetria Patton, chair of the Purdue Black Caucus of Faculty and Staff, professor of English, and head of the School of Interdisciplinary Studies in Purdue’s College of Liberal Arts. Patton will be joined by two vice chairs: John Gates, Purdue vice provost for diversity and inclusion, who will focus on Strategic Plan Implementation, and Barrett Caldwell, Purdue professor of industrial engineering, who will focus on Data & Working Team processes required to help the teams move from data and insights to goals, deliverables, metrics and actionable plans recommended to achieve improved equity on the West Lafayette Campus. The Campus Strategic Planning and Development Group will oversee the work of the subgroups as they meet over the next few months to identify gaps in equity and provide proposed recommendations to move the university forward.

“We will continue to work through fragile and difficult issues together and lead together,” Thompson said. “Sustainable progress requires collective learning, alignment, intentionality, strategic planning and strategic execution with measures. The process we are undertaking and the aspirations that many of us independently have as the outcome of this process, is most certainly, no different.”

Information about the Equity Task Force can be found at www.purdue.edu/bot. Click on the Equity Task Force button, where you will find current updates on the work of the task force, an overview presentation outlining the task force work and timeline, a list of task force members, and a submission form for those who would like to provide suggestions to the task force and its subcommittees.

October 9, 2020 - Equity Task Force begins vital work

Close to 150 individuals gathered virtually on Thursday, Oct. 8, for the first full meeting of the Purdue Equity Task Force. Those in attendance heard from Purdue trustee and task force chair Don Thompson, and met in small groups to discuss the process and expectations for the team’s work through the fall semester.

“Today’s meeting was the beginning of an historic and important conversation about Purdue University and how we can better include all Boilermakers for a better learning and living experience,” Thompson said. “We heard from faculty and student representatives from across the West Lafayette campus who want fair, and equitable treatment for all, especially our Black Boilermakers. On behalf of the Board of Trustees, we thank everyone involved for the time and commitment to helping Purdue move forward in the process of developing a recommendation for strategic implementation plans so that we can sustain a culture of inclusion.”

Task force members represent faculty, staff, students and alumni of the university and, over the next weeks and months, will continue to meet in working groups of 10-12 individuals to review data, to look at past and present investments and initiatives to ensure they remain the right ones, to identify gaps, and to recommend new and/or alternate strategies.

“We will take a data driven and objective approach as we work together to analyze, assess, find gaps and propose actionable and sustained solutions,” Thompson said. “The fact that trustees of this institution, every dean and students and faculty from vast backgrounds were in attendance shows how very committed we all are to real, impactful and sustained change for the betterment of Purdue.”

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