The College and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences hosted a Diversity Forum Tuesday intended to emphasize feedback and recommendations from the student body regarding diversity and inclusion within the College.
The forum, organized under the leadership of Dean Ian Baucom, was intended to serve as follow-up to the “Dialogue on Community” held in April, co-hosted by Sustained Dialogue.
“For [the University] to continue to be a great university, we must be a diverse one,” Baucom said. “Universities are knowledge institutions, and having diversity of thought and perspective from people of different backgrounds — especially in our research and in our teaching — is essential for students to flourish, for the flourishing of the common good, and for the advance of scholarship and understanding.”
The forum was broken up into three sessions — a student-led presentation entitled “Toward a Better University,” a lecture given by Kathleen Wong, director of the University of Oklahoma’s Southwest Center for Human Relations Studies, and an update on College initiatives given by Dr. Marcus Martin, vice president and chief officer for diversity and equity. At the end of each session, attendees met in small groups to discuss the topics presented, make suggestions, build understanding, and brainstorm for the future.
The Toward a Better University report was published by the Black Student Alliance and spearheaded by BSA president Aryn Frazier, a third year College student. It addresses how the University can be a more equitable, inclusive, and harmonious place using theories and methodologies used at other colleges and universities across the country.
“This is important to the University community because [the report] is a 26-page document that members from many corners of the University worked on,” Frazier said. “We look forward to continuing conversations and working closely with faculty and the College of Arts & Sciences more broadly to see these recommendations and ideas through to fruition.”
Baucom said he was pleased with the forum as a continuation of the Apr. 24 event and is looking forward to reaching out to those who attended and asking their opinions.
“Great ideas were shared today that I think could make a meaningful difference from a variety of perspectives — ideas that would help the diversity and inclusion initiatives we have underway and new ideas that we can explore,” Baucom said.
— Ankita Satpathy contributed to reporting
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