VCU Hosts Workshop on University Diversity

By Mike Porter

Representatives from every academic and administrative unit at Virginia Commonwealth University recently participated in a workshop to discuss diversity efforts at VCU and other institutions of higher education.

Internationally recognized diversity expert Daryl G. Smith, Ph.D., professor of education and psychology at Claremont Graduate University, conducted the two-part workshop titled “The Diversity Imperative: Developing and Monitoring Diversity Plans.”

“Your credibility and viability as an institution will rest on your ability to embrace diversity,” Smith said.

Smith challenged participants to embrace diversity in the same way institutions have embraced technology.

“We would never ask how much technology is enough or how much do we need to spend,” Smith said.

Smith’s Feb. 26 appearance was sponsored by the Office for Diversity, established in 2007 to develop the university’s diversity initiatives and oversee VCU’s Five Year Diversity Plan. 

In May 2009, VCU’s Board of Visitors affirmed diversity as a core value and approved the development of diversity strategies based on principles of inclusive excellence.

M. Njeri Jackson, special assistant to the provost for promoting diversity, introduced Smith.

“We want everyone here to leave with a greater understanding of the imperative of diversity,” Jackson said. “Diversity is not an ‘add on.’ It’s part of our core mission, and it’s important that we have ongoing conversations about campus diversity.”

But Jackson cautioned that establishing and encouraging diversity programs on college campuses alone isn’t enough. She said it’s also critical to monitor diversity progress, which was the focus of Smith’s second workshop.

“It’s important to set goals and to follow through,” Jackson said. “How else would we know we are moving forward?”

Smith is well known for her research into the organizational implications of diversity, assessment and evaluation, leadership and change, governance, student affairs and adult development.

Smith is one of three researchers responsible for the evaluation of the Campus Diversity Initiative for the James Irvine Foundation in collaboration with the Association of American Colleges and Universities in Washington, D.C. That project resulted in a final report, three research briefs and a resource kit for campuses.

Smith was also part of a U.S. delegation that participated in conferences in India and South African on campus diversity in higher education.