The UNMC Faculty Senate passed a resolution on Monday night urging Nebraska state lawmakers to reject a legislative measure that would ban affirmative action.
The legislative initiative, known as LR233CA, reads “The state shall not discriminate against, or grant preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting.”
If passed by the Legislature, the initiative would be placed on the November ballot for voter approval.
UNMC is committed to achieving and maintaining a diverse student body and workforce to enrich the educational experience for students, said Faculty Senate President Gordon Todd, Ph.D., a professor in the department of genetics, cell biology and anatomy.
“This diversity increases UNMC’s competitiveness with other institutions because it better prepares students to face the diversity they will encounter in their careers,” Dr. Todd said. “LR233CA is not good public policy and could eliminate lawful measures used by the university to ensure such valuable diversity.”
Faculty Senate member Mary Helms, associate director of the McGoogan Library of Medicine, echoed Dr. Todd’s comments about the importance of creating and maintaining a diverse workforce and student body at UNMC.
“Our population as a whole is becoming more diverse and it’s important that we embrace this fact and prepare our students to succeed in this reality,” Helms said.
The full faculty senate resolution reads as follows:
RESOLUTION NO. 2, 2007-2008
WHEREAS, the Faculty Senate of the University of Nebraska Medical Center is committed to the achievement of diversity in its student body and workforce in order to enrich the educational experience of students and strengthen the competitiveness of our state and nation in the 21st century; and
WHEREAS, in endeavoring to achieve broad diversity in the makeup of the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s student body and workforce, the University of Nebraska employs measures that take into consideration diversity of race and gender, consistent with relevant decisions of the United States Supreme Court and with state and federal laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, national origin and disability; and
WHEREAS, LR233CA introduced by Senator Mark Christensen in the Nebraska Legislature seeks to amend the Nebraska Constitution in ways that would eliminate lawful and established measures used by the University to assist in carrying out the University of Nebraska’s commitment to achievement of diversity;
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Faculty Senate representing all the academic units of the University of Nebraska Medical Center believes the use of existing narrowly tailored lawful measures that take diversity into consideration to assist in achieving the University of Nebraska’s commitment to diversity in the University’s student body and workforce is good policy; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the University of Nebraska Medical Center Faculty Senate believes the amendment to the Nebraska Constitution contained in LR233CA is not good public policy and may result in elimination of existing lawful measures employed by the University in furtherance of the University of Nebraska’s commitment to diversity; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED the University of Nebraska Medical Center Faculty Senate opposes LR233CA and urges the members of the Legislature to vote against this legislative measure.