University's
Diversity Plan Upsets Faculty
By AP from the
NYTimes on the Web, May 27, 2005
PORTLAND, Ore. -- A push for
more diversity is causing a stir at the University of Oregon. Department
heads across campus have castigated an early draft of a five-year plan, which
would tie raises and promotions to ''cultural competency'' -- the ability to
successfully work with people from all backgrounds -- and would give funding
priority of new positions to departments that adhere to the university's
diversity goals.
The reaction in Eugene is 180 degrees from that of faculty members at Harvard
University, who earlier this month hailed to a multimillion-dollar commitment to
gender equity made by President Lawrence Summers.
Oregon's plan calls for hiring up to 40 faculty members by 2012 to teach courses
in a ''cluster'' of diversity-related topics, including race, gender, gay and
disability studies as well as setting aside more financial aid for minority
undergraduates and graduate students from ''under-represented'' backgrounds.
The critics wonder where the money will come from, and worry about the weight
placed on political correctness in determining tenure.
''Many people were upset with the content in different ways; the plan was sort
of an Orwellian, totalitarian plan,'' said Michael Kellman, a chemistry
professor.
University officials declined to comment directly on the plan, but President
Dave Frohnmayer acknowledged the concerns in a letter to the Faculty Senate's
diversity committee.
''We need to step back from specific details, to be mindful of alternative
viewpoints, and to develop a sense of urgency in recognizing the problems we
face,'' Frohnmayer wrote. ''I also emphasized the need ... to engage
faculty, staff and students who believe they have not properly been involved in
this dialogue.''
Faculty Senate members want a new committee on diversity to examine the
proposal. Frohnmayer has responded by saying he would like any new group to
''move with dispatch to suggest ideas for continuing this dialogue to a
successful and timely conclusion.''
The diversity dustup is the latest in a series of racial incidents to roil
Oregon's flagship public campus. At a rally earlier this month, 150 people
alleged racial discrimination and harassment at the College of Education.
And last week, a senior filed a complaint with the federal government over the
school's policy of reserving 10 slots of selected math and English courses for
minority students.
Under the diversity plan, number of black, Hispanic, Asian and American Indian
students would be doubled in the next five years -- to roughly 5,400. Of
the 20,339 students enrolled this year, 2,706 were nonwhites.
Two weeks ago, Summers committed Harvard to spending $50 million over the next
decade on a range of programs for women -- from mentoring to child care to safe,
late-night transport.
Summers pledged to change the predominantly male culture after coming under fire
for saying innate differences in ability between the genders may partly explain
why fewer women are in the pipeline for top science jobs.
Oregon's controversy is seen by one administrator, who helped put the plan
together, as a chance to talk about diversity on campus.
''We want to make a welcoming campus,'' said Chicora Martin, the university's
director of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender education and support
services. ''I think you need to have a plan for that.''
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