Alliant Energy/ Erroll B. Davis Award Nominations Due September 30   Diversity Recognition Tool

Welcome to a new academic year at The University of Iowa!

At Iowa we understand the link between diversity and excellence in education: the University of Iowa not only accepts but embraces “our responsibility to create a welcoming environment for all members of the community.” This commitment includes underrepresented faculty, staff, and students; persons with disabilities; lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered persons; persons of disadvantaged socioeconomic status; and nontraditional and international students. We are thrilled at record enrollments in first year minority students and first year international students, as well as the diversity reflected in our graduate and professional programs.

My role, as Special Assistant to the President for Diversity and Associate Provost for Diversity, is to help advance our diversity goals in all ways possible. Working with my colleagues and friends in the Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity and the Center for Diversity & Enrichment, among others, our goal is to coordinate our central diversity efforts, including those related to the recruitment, retention, and success of diverse faculty, students, and staff, and ensuring a warm, welcoming, respectful, and inclusive climate where all can succeed.

In addition to overseeing the work of EOD and CDE, my office is working to provide opportunities for faculty and staff, including through the faculty and staff diversity councils, and events such as the upcoming Diversity Leaders Convocation and Faculty of Color Holiday Reception, and programming such as the faculty mentoring workshops. Through community partnerships and our membership in Diversity Focus, we hope to connect with the larger community about important matters of diversity.
Special campus initiatives underway this year include initiatives to improve access under consideration by the Disability Planning and Action Committee, promoting a welcoming environment for veterans, and reaching out to the increasingly diverse Iowa community. These efforts are in keeping with our understanding that only by continually working to assess and improve our climate can we achieve true educational excellence.

Please consider participating in some of the programming initiatives underway for 2009-10, including the Catalyst Awards, Symbol to Substance Faculty and Staff Development Workshop, or by joining us at next year’s Cultural Diversity Festival or Multicultural Graduation & Recognition Banquet, or at one of the many other cultural events in our community. If you know a middle-school or high school student, you might pass on information about our many summer programs.
Finally, while we hope your experience at The University of Iowa will be a positive one, should you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact my office.

Best wishes for a successful and enriching year!

Marcella David
Special Assistant to the President for Equal Opportunity and Diversity & Associate Provost for Diversity

 

Marcella David's faculty biography.