Joel Seligman Adopts Proposals by Task Force on Faculty Diversity

University of Rochester President Joel Seligman is moving ahead with a list of 31 recommendations suggested by a panel that studied how to increase faculty diversity at the University. The president said the report from the Task Force on Faculty Diversity and Inclusiveness, which he appointed in February 2006, has provided a framework for "making our University a more inclusive and welcoming campus for all faculty regardless of gender, race, and ethnicity."

The recommendations include appointing a diversity officer to coordinate University-wide programs, creating a Special Opportunities Fund to help in "the intense market competition for quality faculty who are members of groups historically underrepresented in certain academic fields," and establishing family friendly policies.

In his response to the task force report, Seligman named Lynne Davidson, who chaired the task force, as the University's faculty diversity officer. She will remain deputy to the president and will become vice provost for faculty development and diversity, effective Jan. 1, 2007. She will continue as a member of the Senior Leadership Group and as a member of the President's Cabinet.

The president also named Frederick C. Jefferson Jr., University intercessor and professor emeritus at the Margaret Warner Graduate School of Education and Human Development, to serve as a consultant to the faculty diversity officer and to chair a diversity advisory group.

To read the president's comments on the task force report and the full report, go to www.rochester.edu/president/memos/2006/diversity.html.