Marcus Martin, Interim Vice President of the Office for Diversity and Equity. Photo courtesy University Relations.

In recent months the Office of Diversity and Equity has transitioned to new leadership after this past summer’s resignation of Bill Harvey, the University’s first Vice President for Diversity and Equity. This change in administration — which came almost four years after the office’s creation — has provided administrators and student leaders time to reflect about the impact University officials have had on the creation of a diverse, inclusive community on Grounds.

How the office came to be

During the early hours of Feb. 26, 2003 at around 2 a.m., Daisy Lundy, a minority student running for Student Council president, was allegedly assaulted in a racially motivated attack. The attack shocked the University community and prompted University President John T. Casteen, III to deliver a statement the following morning.

In that statement, Casteen said the incident “left many, African-American students in particular, feeling vulnerable and afraid.”

He also asked all University community members to take a stand against acts of intolerance and violence.

“We continue our work to create an open and civil community,” Casteen continued. “That work now takes on a new urgency to which we will respond with renewed resolve and vigor.”

With this impetus, the University later conducted a year-long Commission on Diversity and Equity that reported its findings in a June 11, 2004 Board of Visitors meeting.

“Today’s reality is that, all too often, we encounter a negative racial climate at the University and within the Charlottesville community,” Commission co-Chairs Angela M. Davis and Michael J. Smith said in a statement to the Board at the time.

The commission spent a year in “intensive consultations, meetings, and study,” according to the statement. As a result of its findings, the Commission recommended the creation of an Office for Diversity and Equity.

William Harvey, Former Vice President of the Office for Diversity and Equity since 2003. Photo courtesy University Relations.

The search for a leader

Following the recommendation, the University set out to find its first Vice President of Diversity and Equity, eventually selecting Harvey, said Marcus Martin, current interim Vice President for Diversity and Equity. Harvey had previously served as director of the Center for Advancement of Racial and Ethnic Equity, an initiative of the American Council of Education that seeks to promote diversity at all levels of higher education.

“Bill had a successful record of advocacy,” said Martin, who helped in the search for Harvey.

With its appointment of Harvey in October of 2005, the Office of Diversity and Equity was created to “promote diversity and equity as pillars of excellence,” Martin said.

2005 to Present: An office at work

From 2005 until his resignation this past summer, Harvey worked to establish the office as a body that actively promotes diversity throughout the University community.

“The Office provides “consultation, coordination, and assistance to various organizations and University constituents,” Martin said.

One of those organizations is the Office of African American Affairs. African American Affairs Dean Maurice Apprey cited three components of diversity. The first is diversity from the standpoints of affirmative action and University policies. The second, he said, is a desire to foster a sense of multicultural “inclusion” within the University community. The third component is diversity as an educational value.

The Office of African American Affairs is an example of the promotion of diversity from an “inclusion” standpoint because it helps ensure that black students feel welcome at the University, Apprey said. The University has had the highest black student graduation rate among public colleges and universities for 15 years running — which indicates the office has been successful in its aim to promote inclusion, Apprey said.

The Office of Diversity and Equity, though, does not focus on any of these three points alone, Martin said. The Office promotes all three of the aspects of diversity that Apprey described, but is not directly involved in the recruitment of faculty, staff or students, Martin said.

How the Office’s policies are intended to affect the different aspects of diversity can be seen in some of the office’s broader goals, including “promoting an inclusive, welcoming, respectful environment, and embracing diversity and equity as core values tied to the University’s priorities,” as well as “encouraging commitment to academic diversity,” Martin said.

To accomplish these broad goals, the Office has five committees that each have a unique focus to promote different aspects of diversity. One of those committees, Martin said, is the Diversity Council, which was created “to provide a forum where representatives from the community could come together to discuss strategies to make the community more welcoming.”

In addition to administrative forums, the Office has sponsored numerous community engagement events in its short history and has plans for a large symposium this spring that will focus on topics such as gender issues and media effects related to diversity and equity.

The Office of Diversity and Equity also plays an important role in the Virginia-North Carolina Alliance for Minority Participation. This alliance encourages more minority students to graduate with degrees in science, engineering and math, areas in which minorities are underrepresented. Without the Office of Diversity and Equity’s involvement, the University might never have become part of the Alliance, Martin said.

The various workings of the Office of Diversity and Equity are all part of the University’s larger goal to create a culture of “inclusive excellence,” Martin said. “Diversity must be a part of excellence, not apart from excellence,” he said.

How effective is the University in promoting Diversity?

Martin said he believes that the University, and his office in particular, has succeeded in increasing the University’s overall diversity — although there is still work to be done.

“Having been here 14 years I truly believe that U.Va. has become a more inclusive institution,” Martin said.

Martin cited the many community events sponsored by his office, collaborations with student groups, various community outreach efforts and his office’s input in developing “a global curriculum” at the University.

Black Student Alliance President Lauren Boswell agreed that the University has successfully promoted diversity on Grounds, noting that the Office of Diversity and Equity has been one of her group’s biggest supporters.

Indian Student Association President Mitika Garg said the University “does a great job of empowering us to address diversity issues.”

The administration, however, strongly emphasizes student self-governance, and as a result “there’s only so much the administration can do,” Garg said.

Asian Student Union President Jigar Patel said although the Office of Diversity and Equity is very helpful, his group mostly interacts with the Dean of Students.

Overall, Patel said that from his perspective, “the University is doing its part.” He said, though, there is still room for improvement.

“For us to grow as an institution we’re going to have to focus more of our efforts on diversity,” Patel said.

Seth Kaye, president of Queer and Allied Activism, added that the University could potentially do a better job of preventing problems, instead of just solving them as they arise. For example, he noted that his group was frustrated with the University police for not immediately sending out an e-mail after two gay students had been the victims of a hate crime last April.

“They were helpful after we went to them,” Kaye said.

Although he acknowledges that there exists room to improve, Martin said the University’s creation of his position almost four years ago shows that it has taken a much more proactive role to foster diversity than in the past. He hopes its actions will make the University a much more inclusive and open institution.

“At the end of the day [we hope that] anyone can say ‘This is my school,’” Martin said.