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Richard McCormick, Ph.D., left, president of Rutgers University, and Jonathan Alger, senior vice president and general counsel at Rutgers, were the keynote presenters at a UNMC-sponsored conference on diversity on Tuesday. |
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Rubens Pamies, M.D., vice chancellor for academic affairs, makes his closing remarks at the conference, which was attended by more than 170 UNMC faculty and staff. |
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The five presenters at the conference included, from left, Richard Spellman, J.D., associate general counsel for health care at UNMC, and general counsel for UNMC Physicians; Richard McCormick, Ph.D., president of Rutgers University; Joel Pedersen, J.D., vice president and general counsel, University of Nebraska; Linda Pratt, Ph.D., executive vice president and provost, University of Nebraska; and Jonathan Alger, J.D., senior vice president and general counsel at Rutgers University. |
Looking for ways to continue its diversity momentum while remaining in compliance with the law, UNMC held a special conference on Tuesday looking at how the campus can move forward.
The conference, “Diversity in Post I-424 Nebraska,” was held at the Truhlsen Events Center in the Michael F. Sorrell Center for Health Science Education with more than 170 campus leaders attending. It was conducted through the efforts of UNMC’s Diversity Task Force chaired by Rubens Pamies, M.D., vice chancellor for academic affairs. The conference planning committee was chaired by Carmen Sirizzotti in human resources.
“There are huge racial disparities. The playing field is far from level,” said Richard McCormick, Ph.D., president of Rutgers University, which is the State University of New Jersey. “But, you will be able to maintain your numbers. You will succeed. I’m absolutely confident that you will.”
Diversity is vital to society, Dr. McCormick said.
“Everybody gets a better education when they go to school with kids who are not just like themselves,” he said. “If you go to school with people whose backgrounds are the same as yours, who look like you, you’ll probably make a lot of friends, but you’re not nearly as well prepared for the diverse, international, multicultural 21st century.”
With more than 50,000 students enrolled on its three campuses in Camden, Newark and New Brunswick, Rutgers is one of the largest universities in the United States.
Dr. McCormick, who has served as president of Rutgers since 2002, was president at the University of Washington when a similar initiative banning affirmative action passed in 1998.
Following passage of the initiative, the university’s diversity numbers took a hit. The number of minority students went from 9 percent down to 5.5 percent.
But, by rolling up their sleeves and implementing a variety of creative approaches and outreach programs, the minority numbers soon returned to normal levels after a few years.
“It takes commitment and creativity … and courage and leadership matter,” said Jonathan Alger, senior vice president and chief legal counsel at Rutgers. “An arrow was removed from your quiver, but the goal should remain the same — to strive for diversity. It’s been said that diversity can be your biggest strength or it can tear you apart.”
Alger also speaks from experience. Prior to coming to Rutgers, he was assistant general counsel at the University of Michigan in 2003 when it presented two landmark cases on the educational benefits of diversity. The state later voted to ban affirmative action in 2006.
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Alger stressed the need to reach children as soon as possible and how important it is to serve as a role model or mentor for youngsters.
“Who you’re exposed to at a very early age can have a tremendous impact on a young student,” he said. “It (shows the student) …’I did it. You can do it too.'”
In addition to outreach and mentoring, Dr. McCormick and Alger provided other tips for enhancing diversity through financial aid and scholarships, maximizing relationship skills when dealing with diverse individuals, always making diversity a priority when forming search committees, and making sure you conduct exit interviews when a person of color leaves the university.
UNMC Chancellor Harold M. Maurer, M.D., who made the welcoming speech to kickoff the conference, emphasized that diversity remains a high priority at UNMC.
“We embrace the richness of diversity,” he said. “But, building diversity at UNMC is not as easy as it is in Brooklyn, N.Y., or Newark, N.J.”
Joel Pedersen, vice president and general counsel, University of Nebraska, challenged the attendees to “broaden the scope of what diversity means.” The goal, he said, should be “to enhance diversity and comply with the law — that’s the home run. There’s not one magic silver bullet that we’re looking for. Diversity is multi-dimensional.”
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“You hear the statistics (on diversity) … but rarely do you get the solutions,” he said. “Diversity and excellence are not mutually exclusive. They go hand-in-hand. We need to address this like we do all issues — with passion, determination and persistence — with our ultimate goal to be world class.”
Several other university officials participated in the conference, including:
- Linda Pratt, Ph.D., executive vice president and provost, University of Nebraska;
- Richard Spellman, associate general counsel for health care, UNMC, and general counsel for UNMC Physicians; and
- Bob Bartee, vice chancellor for external affairs, who served as moderator.