Diversity council

Diversity Council Advances Inclusive Excellence Principles

The University of Akron's New Diversity Council will support and guide the Office of Inclusion & Equity's efforts to advance inclusive-excellence principles across campus and in the community, as prescribed in the Strategic Diversity Roadmap drafted by Lee A. Gill, J.D., the associate vice president for inclusion & equity/chief diversity officer.

Council subcommittees have been formed to focus on:

• University climate;
• improving student recruitment, retention, and graduation;
• faculty diverse hiring;
• staff diverse hiring; 
• business outreach and supplier diversity; and
• Community Outreach.  

Learn more about the subcommittees lower on this page.

Martin H. Belsky, J.D., Dean of the School of Law, and Lee A. Gill, J.D., AVP for Inclusion & Equity/CDO, lead the council together.

Council members are:

• Ms. Roxia B. Boykin, M.P.A., R.N., Vice President, Community Benefit & Diversity, Summa Health System
• Ms. Mary Beth Clemons, Student, ASG President
• Mr. J. Dean Carro, Professor, Clinical Law
• Mr. Samuel D. DeShazior, City of Akron, Deputy Planning Director
• Dr. Charles J. Fey, Vice President, Student Engagement and Success
• Ms. Starla Fry, Student, SAAS President
• Dr. William J. Hauser, Associate Professor, Marketing
• Mr. Gordon Holly, Senior Director, Student Life and Enrollment Management, Wayne College
• Dr. Becky J. Hoover, Vice President, Talent Development & Human Resources
• Ms. Dorothy Jackson, Former Deputy Mayor, City of Akron
• Mr. Davis W. James, Superintendent, Akron Public Schools
• Dr. Willis L. Lonzer, III, Abbott Laboratories, Inc.
• Ms. Lori Meek, Advertising Manager
• Dr. Chand Midha, Associate Provost for Academic and Financial Affairs, and Dean of the Buchtel College of Arts and Sciences
• Dr. Jennifer Milam, Asst. Professor, Curriculum and Instructional Studies
• Ms. Fedearia Nicholson, Director, Office of Multicultural Development
• Dr. Ramona Ortega-Liston, Associate Professor, Public Administration and Urban Studies
• Mr. James L. Sage, Vice President, Information Technology & CIO
• Mr. Stanley B. Silverman, Dean, Summit College
• Maj. Lindsey Smitley, Adjunct Professor, Military Science & Leadership
• Dr. Harvey L. Sterns, Professor of Psychology; Director, Institute for Life-Span Development and Gerontology
• Ms. Bernett Williams, Vice President, External Affairs, Akron Children's Hospital
• Mr. Thomas Wistrcill, Director, Intercollegiate Athletics
• Dr. Sheldon B. Wrice, Chair & Professor of Technical Writing and Comp., Department of Associate Studies, Summit College
• Mr. Fred Wright, President, Akron Urban League
• Dr. Julie Yuhua Zhao, Director of Increasing Diversity in Engineering Academics (IDEAS) Program, College of Engineering
• Dr. John F. Zipp, Associate Dean, Arts & Sciences

Ex-officio members of the committee are:

• Dr. Luis Proenza, President of the University;
• Dr. William M. "Mike" Sherman, Senior Vice President, Provost and Chief Operating Officer; and
• Mrs. Candace Campbell Jackson, Esq., Vice President and Chief of Staff

Diversity Council Subcommittees

 1. Focus on University Climate

• Co-Chairs:      
• Dr. Linda Subich, Professor of Psychology, Associate Dean of Buchtel College of Arts and Sciences
• Dr. John Queener, Associate Professor, Counseling

• Member:        
  • Dr. Juanita Martin, Director, Counseling Center 

Develop strategies to assess and improve the cultural and organizational climate at The University of Akron. Ensure that everyone feels welcomed and that ours is an inclusive community with an environment characterized by equal access and respected participation for all groups and individuals irrespective of cultural differences and, more importantly, where the multiplicity of characteristics possessed by persons are not simply tolerated, but valued and celebrated.

• Diversity Council Members:
• Dr. Julie Yuhua Zhao

November 18, 2009, Presentation on "UA Employee Racial Climate Survey." Click here

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2. Focus on Improving Student Recruitment, Retention, and Graduation

•    Co-Chairs: 
• Dr. Mark Tausig, Associate Dean, Graduate School 
• Ms. Nancy Roadruck, Director, Academic Advisement
• Mr. Charlton Lewis, Jr., Coordinator, Academics for Football
•   Members:
  
  • Mr. Eric Coleman 
  • Dr. Charlene Kemp-Queener
  • Ms. O. Dee Dee Pitts   

Develop strategies to assess and improve programs designed to increase the enrollment and completion rates of students from minority and first-generation populations, accurately identifying both general and demographically specific challenges and opportunities.

 Diversity Council Members:

• Maj. Lindsey Smitley
• Mr. J. Dean Carro
• Mr. Gordon Holly
• Ms. Fedearia Nicholson
• Dr. Julie Yuhua Zhao

November 18, 2009, Subcommittee Report on Improving Recruitment, Retention and Graduation Rates of Graduate Students.
Click here

November 18, 2009, Subcommittee Report on Undergraduate Retention. Click here

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3. Focus on Faculty Diverse Hiring

• • Dr. Sheldon Wrice, Chair/Professor, Associate Studies, Summit College
  • Dr. Bill Lyons, Professor of Political Science and Director of the Center for Conflict Management

•   Members:
  • Dr. Zachery R. Williams, Associate Director, Pan African Studies 
  • Ms. Patricia Wallace, Chair, Public Service Technology, Summit College 
  • Dr. Patricia S. Hill, Associate Professor, Communications 
  • Dr. Fannie L. Brown, Senior Lecturer, Associate Studies
  • Dr. Baffour K. Takyi, Associate Professor, Sociology 
  • Mr. Gaston Reinoso, Director, EEO/AA & Employee Selection 
  • Dr. John Queener, Associate Professor, Education
  • Dr. Rosa Githiora, Interim Director, Women's Resource Center
  • Dr. Heather Burton, Director, McNair Program

Develop strategies for recruiting, developing, and retaining faculty from underutilized populations, accurately identifying both general and demographically specific challenges and opportunities and ensuring adherence to disciplinary and professional standards of practice.

•   Diversity Council Members:
  • Dr. Jennifer Milam
  • Dr. Becky J. Hoover

Presentation on Diverse Faculty Hiring  Click Here

Subcommittee Report on Diverse Faculty Hiring Click Here

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 4. Focus on Staff Diverse Hiring

•  Co-Chairs: 
  • Ms. Kathy DuBose, Manager, Comp Based Assessment and Evaluation 
  • Mr. James Walczyk, Director, Student Recreation & Wellness Services

•   Members:
  • Ms. Valerie Cox, Coordinator, Student Union
    
  • Ms. Kristina K. Feagan, Manager, Employment Services 
  • Mr. Christopher E. Painter, Manager, Membership, Student Recreation & Wellness 
  • Ms. Rosalyn S. Pinkard, Coordinator/ Recruiter Employment Services 
  • Mr. Gaston Reinoso, Director EEO/AA & Employee Selection

Develop strategies for recruiting, developing and retaining staff from underutilized populations, accurately identifying both general and demographically specific challenges and opportunities.

•   Diversity Council Members:
  • Mr. Tom Wistrcill
  • Dr. John F. Zipp

Report on Staff Diverse Hiring  Click Here

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5. Focus on Business Outreach and Supplier Diversity

•   Co-Chairs:
  
  • Mr. John Myers,  Research Foundation, Executive-in-Residence 
  • Mr. Alan Parker, Financial Analyst, Department of Purchasing 

As a major regional employer, diversity and inclusion provide a competitive advantage that drives business results and supports our brand identification.  An integral part of our mission is a commitment to purchase from a supplier base representative of our employees, students, and communities.  Developing partnerships with minority-owned and women-owned suppliers helps us build the world-class supplier base we need.  It creates mutually beneficial relationships that expand the University's sphere of activity.

•   Diversity Council Members:
• Mr. Tom Wistrcill

January 27, 2010, Presentation on "Supplier Diversity." Click here

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6. Focus on Community Outreach 

•   Co-Chairs:
  
  • Mr. Russel C. Neal, Jr., Ward 4 Akron City Councilman
  • Ms. Judi Bevly Hill, Retired Akron Public Schools

Develop strategies that continue to improve programs and initiatives that provide a greater outreach to the Akron community forging collaborative partnerships and strategic engagement.

•   Diversity Council Members:
• Ms. Roxia Boykin
• Mr. J. Dean Carro
• Ms. Mary Beth Clemons
• Ms. Starla Fry
• Dr. William J. Hauser
• Ms. Dorothy Jackson
• Ms. Bernett Williams