The Associated Students of Madison Student Council met with UW-Madison Vice Provost and Chief Diversity Officer Patrick Sims during its meeting Wednesday to review advancements in the campus Diversity Framework.
The framework, an initiative released in 2014 to encourage campus-wide values of diversity and inclusion, initially contained abstract recommendations for implementation, according to Sims.
Several subcommittees have narrowed those recommendations down to 18 actionable steps, Sims said, and the university will implement two of those initiatives each year for the next nine years.
Sims said the first two initiatives to be addressed include sending out a campus-wide diversity climate survey and creating the Diversity Inventory Project, which will evaluate the success of campus programs focused on diversity and inclusion.
The survey would work to establish baselines from which the university can measure progress on equity and inclusion, according to Sims. He said his office would seek input from faculty, staff and students to create a comprehensive understanding of campus diversity climate.
Sims said the Diversity Inventory Project will “ask the hard questions” of diversity and inclusion programs on campus to determine whether those programs are demonstrating effective results.
The project aims to evaluate the university’s collective vision on diversity, according to Sims, and will encourage campus conversation on whether equity and inclusion programs are accomplishing successful outcomes.
Diversity Committee Chair Mariam Coker mentioned that in the framework released last year, there was a heavy emphasis on diversity and multiculturalism, but not as much focus on inclusion.
Coker said the university draws in many racially diverse students that often end up dropping out, and asked Sims how the new initiatives would work to improve that.
Sims said the university is successful in attracting students from underrepresented backgrounds, but has not figured out how to create a space where those individuals feel included. He pointed to instances where students use racially harmful language as one of many issues that must be addressed.
Campus conversations about equity and inclusion will continue to be important, according to Sims.
“We’re all on a bit of a learning curve right now,” Sims said. “I’m confident that we’ll get to a point where diversity is embedded in the conversation.”
