Diverse opportunities

Because the remarks that I provided to The Cavalier Daily were truncated and separated (“Officials discuss Asian faculty diversity concerns,” 4/3/2009), readers will likely receive the opposite impression of what I was attempting to convey. I mentioned to the reporter a comment that was shared with me by a University president who is an Asian American. He said that while many people believe that Asian American faculty have a strong sense of security in their academic appointments and so do not seek positions of administrative leadership, what’s missing is opportunity. The first part of the statement was included in the story, but not the concluding phrase.

The subheading in the story reflected my hope that additional faculty hires in the sciences will include Asian Americans since they are well represented in those areas, but prior to making that point, I said that we need Asian American faculty in all segments of the institution.

The concluding statement attributed to me was correct — I am optimistic about the University’s future faculty diversity and the Office for Diversity and Equity will be vigilant in its efforts to help achieve this goal. To that end, last summer we asked Prof. Connie Lee to join the staff of the Office for Diversity and Equity. Though her contributions will certainly not be limited to a particular group, her insights and perspectives will be particularly valuable as we assist the University in developing more successful methods of recruiting and retaining Asian American faculty and administrators.