3/20/02

AU TAKING MAJOR STEPS TO MAKE DIVERSITY 'CORE VALUE' AT UNIVERSITY

AUBURN -- Auburn University is taking major steps to follow up on a commitment it made last fall to make diversity a "core value" within the university, says AU Interim President William F. Walker.

Auburn's continuing commitment to diversity and tolerance is key to its establishment as an educational leader of the 21st century, said Walker.

"I have made it clear to everyone here that our renewed and active commitment to diversity and tolerance is one of our key priorities at Auburn," he said. "To be a competitive university in the 21st century, these are steps we absolutely must take. More importantly, promoting and establishing a culture of diversity and tolerance here at Auburn is simply the right thing to do."

AU administrators are among several key groups who are receiving diversity education in a series of workshops underway on the AU campus, said John Pritchett, interim provost.

Sixty-two of the university's top officials, including Walker, other top administrators and deans of AU's colleges and schools, attended the first of seven training courses, in February.

The workshops are being conducted cooperatively with Russell Corp., and are led by Kevin Clayton, a diversity consultant for the Alexander City-based company, and Julius Pryor, director of diversity for Russell.

"This was the first of six or seven of these workshops we've planned," Pritchett said. "The remaining six will include 40 to 50 persons each, representing all sectors of the university -- administration, faculty, staff and students.

"Parallel to these activities, we're putting together a diversity leadership council that will work with the various constituencies of the university to begin putting together a comprehensive diversity plan for the university. In the end, we expect understanding and respecting diversity will become one of Auburn University's core values and will be woven into the very fabric of this institution."

Walker mandated that all segments of the university accelerate or establish programs aimed at promoting and nurturing diversity and tolerance. Several steps have been taken, including programs by Tolerance.org, the education wing of Montgomery's Southern Poverty Law Center, and Walker's declaring AU's Multicultural Diversity Commission as a standing university committee.

According to Pritchett, one of the Multicultural Diversity Commission's first actions as a standing committee was to develop a proposal for establishing a Center for Diversity and Race Relations on the AU campus.

"They have submitted to us a proposal for (the center) and we will immediately start implementation of that proposal," Pritchett said. "We have identified space in Foy Union and will move rapidly to get this space ready for the center. We think locating it in Foy is critical to its success because of the central location. We want the center to be readily accessible to the entire university community."

Pritchett added that funding is being made available for the center's staff, which will include a coordinator, a faculty member-in-residence and support personnel.

AU has also surveyed its course offerings and identified more than 400 courses that incorporate some elements of diversity and/or tolerance with regard to race, disability, gender and sexual preference. Associate Provost Stephen McFarland is coordinating the development of a web site that will outline these courses so that interested students can explore these offerings.

The moves were prompted after photographs from two Halloween parties hosted by Beta Theta Pi and Delta Sigma Phi showing some AU students in offensive attire and poses were posted to the Internet last October by a local photography shop.

Because of the incidents, the national and AU charters of the two fraternities were suspended and 15 students were temporarily suspended from the university. They were reinstated after a court ruling.

The students agreed to take certain steps, which included an expression of remorse for the disruption caused by their conduct on Oct. 25 and Oct. 27, 2001, in class and out of class educational activity involving diversity and multicultural issues and community service.

"This is an educational institution and we believe the heart of any diversity training must be in an educational setting and through educational programs," said Wes Williams, AU's vice president for student affairs.

The national charters of both fraternities have been restored and both are seeking recognition from AU. In addition, Beta Theta Pi filed a $100 million lawsuit against AU, seeking compensatory damages. Negotiations are underway for an out-of-court settlement of the suit

The AU Office of Student Affairs helped create for students and the community a project called Programs Emphasizing Acceptance, Change and Education (PEACE).

PEACE programs, aimed at diversity, have included an address by Birmingham Pledge author Lou Willie III, a program by the National Coalition Building Institute, a Unity Breakfast with Zeta Phi Beta, a Martin Luther King Day Unity and Peace March with the Office of Multicultural Affairs, an essay contest and dinner discussions among campus leaders.

PEACE also will help sponsor "Journey to a Hate-Free Millennium," a video presentation and interactive discussion coordinated by CampusSpeak. The program is scheduled for March 21 at 6 p.m., in the James E. Foy Student Union ballroom

# # #

mar02:AU-diversity

CONTACT: Pritchett, 334/844-5771; and Williams, 334/844-5810.