Office of the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs

The Office of Diversityand Educational Equity

New York’s Diversity Is SUNY’s Strength

• SUNY’s Office of Diversity and Educational Equity (ODEE) works to ensure that our academic institutions are prepared to meet the diverse needs and expectations of New York’s dramatically changing population.

• By AY 2021-22, New York’s public high school graduates will consist of 43% students of color and 57% non-Hispanic whites.

• Within a generation racial and ethnic minorities will comprise over half New York’s population.

ODEE’s Origins and Connections• SUNY is one of a select number of U.S. public higher

education systems that has established a centralized diversity office.

• ODEE was established in 2007 with a $300,000 appropriation from the NYS legislature, and maintains an active legislative agenda.

• ODEE staff has visited SUNY’s state-operated campuses to provide support and leadership, offer expertise and encourage collaborative endeavors.

• The University Faculty Senate approved a resolution supporting the mission and leadership of ODEE.

ODEE Diversity Statement

Diversity includes all aspects of human difference, including but not limited to, race, gender, age, sexual orientation, religion, disability, social-economic status and status as a veteran. Without diminishing the importance of these aspects of diversity, the Office of Diversity and Educational Equity focuses in particular on achieving equal access, meaningful academic and intellectual inclusion in curriculum, research and service, and holistic integration into the academic culture of higher education at all levels for New York State’s underrepresented populations, and students who are economically disadvantaged.

ODEE’s Vision

• Situate diversity as an integral component of academic excellence at SUNY;

• Establish SUNY as a leader in preparing students for success in a culturally and racially diverse world;

• Promote SUNY as the preeminent public university, representative of the rich array of human and intellectual diversity in New York State and the world; and

• Pursue expanded engagement through inclusion to promote new academic partnerships within SUNY.

ODEE’s Mission• Develop and implement a range of programs to diversify

SUNY’s academic human resources;• Integrate diversity-related instruction and research into

system-wide initiatives to enhance academic excellence;• Partner with campuses to expand representation of New

York’s underrepresented and economically disadvantaged populations; and

• Strengthen SUNY’s ability to create knowledge of benefit for society and educate students for leadership positions in a culturally diverse and globalized society.

Contributions to SUNY and New York State

ODEE employs a comprehensive and inclusive approach to diversity that promotes:

I. Academic Excellence II. Social JusticeIII. RepresentationIV. The Education PipelineV. GlobalizationVI. Workforce Development

The Diversity ImperativeI. Academic Excellence• ODEE’s programs improve student retention and graduation rates, enhance

recruitment of diverse faculty, foster new research endeavors, and promote an inclusive campus climate.

• The resulting diversity in thought, perspective and experience increases organizational strength, creativity, innovation and productivity– all components of academic excellence.

• ODEE supports innovative research projects that stimulate intellectual diversity.

The Diversity ImperativeII. Social Justice• ODEE programs, along with the Office of Opportunity Programs, enhance

educational access and success, economic opportunity, and democratic equity for New York’s economically disadvantaged and historically underrepresented student populations.

• In partnership with campuses and other SUNY units, ODEE contributes to realizing SUNY’s commitment to access and equity– key aspects of social justice.

The Diversity ImperativeIII. Representation• “[P]rovide to the people of New York educational services of the highest

quality, with the broadest possible access, fully representative of all segments of the population.”

• ODEE aims to ensure that the composition of the faculty, student body and administration is responsive to impending demographic changes.

• ODEE increases opportunities for inclusion of students from historically underrepresented and underserved populations in secondary and post-secondary education.

The Diversity ImperativeIV. The Education Pipeline• ODEE prepares disadvantaged students for post-secondary education and

facilitates their transition to community college.

• ODEE supports programs designed to enhance transfer rates from community colleges to four-year institutions.

• ODEE serves as an incubator that cultivates a diverse student body and professoriate, and provides them with opportunities that promote an inclusive campus climate for success.

• ODEE will collaborate with the Office of the Education Pipeline to create new synergies that increase the number of college-ready graduates.

The Diversity ImperativeV. Globalization• ODEE will collaborate with the Office of Global Affairs and international

studies programs to develop academic initiatives that promote understanding of the relationship between domestic diversity and globalization.

• ODEE supports academic programs to study the consequences of demographic transformation generated by the forces of globalization.

The Diversity ImperativeVI. Workforce Development• Along with the University Center for Academic and Workforce

Development, ODEE promotes the advancement of underserved New York State residents through educational and workforce training programs.

• ODEE helps recruit and support a new generation of skilled professionals and educators to work effectively in New York’s culturally diverse environment and globalized economy.

ODEE Programs & InitiativesFaculty Diversity Program• Salary support to campuses for recruiting, retaining and promoting diverse scholars• Awards up to $155,000 per faculty member over 3 years • Six SUNY campuses hired nine faculty from AY 2008-09 to 2009-10

Graduate Diversity Fellowship Program• For graduates who have overcome a significant disadvantage to obtain an

undergraduate degree• Awards averaging $11,570 to 540 graduate students at 25 campuses in AY 2008-09• 35% Latino; 38% African-American; 12% White; 6% Native American; 4% Asian American• Women received 64% of the fellowships

ODEE Programs & Initiatives

Doctoral Diversity Fellowships in STEM• Awards exceptional students who commenced studies in STEM fields in Fall 2009• Awarded $66,000 over 3 years to 4 recipients at 3 campuses in AY 2009-10

Empire State Diversity Honors Scholarship Program

• Scholarships for students from historically underrepresented and economically disadvantaged communities who qualify for a campus honors program

• Scholarships averaging $1175 to 961 undergraduates at 51 campuses in AY 2008-09

• 37% African-American; 31% Latino; 12% White; 9% Asian-American; 4% Native American• Women received 63% of the awards

ODEE Programs & InitiativesExplorations in Diversity and Academic

Excellence• Competitive program to support academic innovation in diversity at SUNY

campuses• Awards averaging $10,000 to 7 programs at 6 campuses in AY 2009-10

Individual Program Grants• ODEE supports campus-based initiatives to promote diversity• AY 2009-10, 15 grants in excess of $100,000 across the SUNY system

including:– $6000 to Cortland’s Diversity Leadership Train the Trainer Institute– $5000 to Farmingdale’s College Preparatory Program– $5000 to Stony Brook’s How Class Works conference– $5000 to Purchase’s STEM Bridges program– $3000 to Cortland’s Succeeding as Women in Higher Education conference

ODEE Programs & Initiatives

Native American Initiative• Supports the recruitment, retention and graduation of Native American

students by funding activities and support services

Veterans’ Affairs• Since 2009, ODEE has served as SUNY’s liaison with veterans’

organizations and is actively engaged in developing programs and services to assist veterans’ transition and educational success.

• Activities to date include:– Grant proposals for the ACE/Wal-Mart Success for Veterans Award– Meetings with private organizations and relevant NYS agencies (Division of

Veterans’ Affairs)– Report on SUNY’s veterans’ affairs work and contacts– System-wide communication and convening process

ODEE Programs & Initiatives

Diversity Advisory Committee• 10 Member committee that represents the broad diversity of SUNY

campuses• Offers strategic and programmatic recommendations

Chief Diversity Officers Network• ODEE established a network of chief diversity officers and affirmative

action officers from state-operated campuses.• Annual workshops on best practices and new research on diversity• 49 participants from 30 campuses for the inaugural AY 2008-09 meeting• Second Chief Diversity Officer Workshop: March 18-20, 2010

ODEE Programs & InitiativesAccess to Success• ODEE represents SUNY in NASH’s Access to Success initiative to reduce the

achievement gap.

STEM Conference• Conference on SUNY programs that have proven successful in increasing

recruitment and graduation of diverse students majoring in STEM disciplines• 200 faculty, staff and administrators from 35 campuses participated in the

2009 inaugural conference

Professional Development Workshop• One day workshop on tenure and publication strategies for assistant

professors recruited through the Faculty Diversity Program

Ensuring Success through Accountability

ODEE has developed new technology-based administrative and budgeting procedures to:

• Monitor and assure that campus allocations are used as intended;

• Reinforce campus alliances through increased communication;

• Enhance transparency and credibility; and

• Improve reporting standards and outcome assessment.

ODEE’s Colleagues & CollaboratorsODEE

SUNY Campuses NYS Legislature

Foundations University Faculty Senate

Governor’s Office Veterans’ Organizations

NYS Agencies United University Professions

National Association of System Heads Professional Organizations

ODEE Organizational ChartOffice of Diversity

andEducational Equity

FacultyDiversityProgram

GraduateFellowshipDiversityProgram

EmpireState

DiversityHonors

ScholarshipProgram

Veterans’Affairs

University Center forAcademic and

Workforce Development

Office ofOpportunity

Programs

NativeAmericanInitiative

Accessto

Success

EducationalOpportunity

CentersBridge

Program

AdvancedTechnologyTraining andInformationNetworking

Jobsfor

Youth

EducationalOpportunity

Program

GraduateOpportunity

Program

EconomicallyDisadvantaged

First ProfessionalStudy

Gaining EarlyAwareness andReadiness for

UndergraduatePrograms

The Future of ODEE• Strengthen collaborative efforts with campuses to

promote diversity;

• Augment campus resources to enhance student access and success;

• Increase scalability of diversity programs among all SUNY campuses;

• Favorably position ODEE in the academic policy and budgetary process of System Administration;

The Future of ODEE

• Obtain enhanced appropriation from New York State;

• Obtain budgetary support from System Administration; and

• A SUNY statement on diversity as integral to academic excellence and social justice.