Acts of the Senate

April 2004 – March 2005

September 7, 2004

RESOLUTION ON DIVERSITY AT AUBURN UNIVERSITY

Auburn University Senate

September 7, 2004

WHEREAS, diversity in all its forms fosters an environment where creative scholarship can flourish, and

WHEREAS, a prime responsibility of Auburn University is to prepare students to succeed in a world where success increasingly depends on the ability to communicate and function effectively in an increasingly interconnected world, and

WHEREAS, a Strategic Diversity Plan has been prepared but not yet released, and

WHEREAS, Auburn University has made important strides but has not as yet accomplished its stated goal of instilling diversity as a core value of its culture, as witnessed by the proportionately small numbers of African American, Hispanic American, Native American, Asian American and other minorities on the faculty or in senior administrative positions on this campus, and

WHEREAS, similarly the small number of women on the faculty and in senior administrative positions belies Auburn University’s commitment to diversity both to the university community and our state and nation, and

WHEREAS, Interim President Ed Richardson has reaffirmed Auburn University’s commitment to diversity as a core campus value, and

WHEREAS, the recent staff changes within the central administration of Auburn University have actually decreased the overall diversity of the administration, and

WHEREAS, Auburn University’s Affirmative Action/Equal Employment Opportunity office, prior to August 2004 an autonomous unit reporting to the Executive Vice-President, is now housed within the Office of Human Resources, with the Assistant Vice President for Human Resources designated as the University’s chief AA/EEO officer,

THEREFORE, the University Senate asks Dr. Richardson to release the Strategic Diversity Plan, present it to the University Senate at its October 12, 2004 meeting along with a strategy for implementing this Plan.

June 8, 2004

Be it resolved that Article 6, Section 3, of the University Senate Constitution be revised as follows:

1) The quorum for the Grievance Committee shall consist of a majority of the elected membership, rather than the current super-majority of 2/3rds.

2) Committee members who cannot attend the meeting to review the case are allowed to cast absentee votes on whether or not a hearing is merited after examination of the material sent to the Grievance Committee concerning the case.

3) Absentee votes will not count toward the quorum.