The Office of Multicultural & International Affairs (OMIA) has moved forward on a number of activities emerging out of the Diversity Action Plan accepted by our Board of Trustees in April 2002. Some of our more prominent activities include:

• Task Force and Committee Membership,
• Diversity Training for Executives and Directors, and
• Launching the Diversity Web-Portal.

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TASKFORCE AND COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP

Leadership of OMIA participates in and provides leadership to several campus and statewide taskforces and committees. During the 2002/2003 academic year, the Associate and Assistant Vice Provosts, provided leadership to three Diversity Action Plan Committees focused on Student Issues, Faculty/Staff Issues, and Campus Oversight. These committees met on several occasions to establish an operational plan for enabling various components of the Diversity Action Plan. These meetings resulted in several new operational initiatives out of OMIA including and not limited to:

• University wide diversity web-portal;
• Committee to support minority faculty and staff mentorship and recruitment;
• Revision of University admissions publications to reflect greater levels of diversity;
• Outreach initiatives for Native American youth;
• Academic Leadership Development Programs for African American, Latino/a, and Native American Student majoring in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math.
• Institute on Leadership and Diversity focused around issues of citizenship, diversity education, and leadership in the 21st Century for key undergraduate student leaders (launch Fall 2004).

  OMIA leadership also participated in a number of other campus wide committees to enhance the overall climate at the University of Connecticut and insure that the interests of diversity were included in decisions and policies that emerged. Some of these committees include and are not limited to:

• Academic Planning Committee,
• Senior Year Experience Committee,
• Athletics Review Committee,
• Retention and Graduation Study Committee, and
• the Alcohol and Campus Life Committee.

  In addition, OMIA leadership has actively worked with several schools and colleges to assist in the recruitment of new minority faculty and staff to the University.

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  DIVERSITY TRAINING FOR EXECUTIVES AND DIRECTORS

  Working collaboratively and through the leadership of the Office of Diversity and Equity, OMIA offered diversity training to all university executives and directors during the second semester of the 2002/2003 academic year. Assistant Vice Provost, Dr. Damon Williams, Diversity Consultant, Dr. Carlian Dawson, and Director of the Office of Diversity and Equity, Ms. Dana McGee, developed the curriculum, workshops, and distributed materials for all training participants.

  Training sessions were designed to accomplish a number of learning goals for participants:

• To overview federal and state statutory provisions concerning discrimination and hate crimes directed at protected classes;
• To overview processes and procedures for reporting discrimination and hate crimes on campus;
• To overview the educational and institutional benefits of diversity;
• To engage leaders in a case study of one diversity management issue in higher education;

  Over 80 percent of current supervisory personnel participated in Diversity training including President Phillip Austin, Provost John Peterson, and several of the Deans and Directors from around the University. In total, 98 participants took part in 6 sessions to a high level of success as nearly 79 percent of respondents said that the program effectively addressed the challenges that they face as a higher education manager. Furthermore, nearly 88 percent of respondents rated the quality of the training program as either effective or very effective.

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  UNIVERSITY WIDE DIVERSITY WEB-PORTAL

  Project activities are currently underway to develop and launch a new institution wide diversity web-portal for students, faculty, staff, and community members. The overarching goal of this new web-environment is to provide comprehensive information regarding diversity at the University of Connecticut and extend the university's perspective regarding diversity to the external community. Some sample capabilities of the new site include:

• Contact information for all units, programs, and initiatives related to diversity at the University of Connecticut;
• Electronic cataloging of diversity training tools to help faculty, staff, and administrators to conduct independent and continuing diversity training activities in their respective units;
• Teaching and learning tools to help faculty better understand the dynamics of race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation within the classroom environment;
• Additional resources to enhance professional and support staff's understanding of federal and state statutory requirements regarding the reporting of discrimination and hate crimes.