M. Rick Turner, dean of the Office of African-American Affairs, officially kicked off observance of African American Heritage month at the University with his address entitled, "The State of African-American Affairs at the University of Virginia."
Turner covered a variety of topics in his speech, laying out the achievements of the OAAA in the past year, addressing the University's treatment of its laborers, evaluating diversity options and evaluating the role and morality of African-American students within the University.
The second annual address was held in the Rotunda Dome Room.
Silvia V. Terry, associate dean of the OAAA, introduced Turner and highlighted his role as an advocate for students and as a father-figure.
"This man is a father of four who has adopted hundreds and hundreds of students in his time here," Terry said.
Turner cited the 70 percent student approval rating of the Peer Advisory program offered by the OAAA and positive student responses to programs such as Black Study Time as evidence of the OAAA's success in the past year. Yet he also criticized the inequalities that still exist at the University.
He said that if the University is to become a leader among other universities -- especially in light of its charter initiative -- it needs to address complaints from its classified University personnel. He then outlined a series of suggestions to help the University in this quest for leadership.
He suggested that exchange programs with historically black colleges should be formed and cultivated in order to augment diversity. According to Turner, the University suffers from below average enrollment of African American students in its various graduate programs.
Turner encouraged the University to fully support the newly created position of Chief Officer of Diversity, saying that the position will only be effective if it is backed by the administration.
The occurrence of hate crimes at the University was also a focus of the address. Turner recommended instituting a clear system for reporting hate crime incidents.
Turner emphasized his dedication to developing a better relationship with the Charlottesville and Albemarle community and expressed his wish that more African-Americans within the community would stand behind the African-American superintendent, Scottie Griffin.
Turner also said he thought most African-American students are not as involved in the University as they should be. Some students said they felt that Turner's observation was unfair.
"I think it's disheartening that he thinks that a lot of students don't get involved in the U.Va. community," first-year College student Solome Paulos said.
Despite his constructive criticism of student involvement, Turner remained upbeat about his general impression of African-American students, noting most are very happy to be attending the University.
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