HSU Releases Campus Diversity Plan

Humboldt State University has released a Campus Diversity Plan, a comprehensive tool for increasing and monitoring diversity and inclusive student success on campus.

The HSU Campus Diversity Plan 2013+ is an evolving plan that outlines current initiatives, future goals and strategies for institutionalizing campus diversity, equity and inclusivity. It is available online at humboldt.edu/diversity.

“More than simply saying we are committed to diversity, this plan provides an important mechanism for benchmarking and making our stated goals a reality,” said Radha Webley, director of the Office of Diversity & Inclusion (ODI), which oversaw its completion.

A working group—composed of students, faculty and staff from various campus departments—met monthly to draft the plan, which is modeled after similar strategic documents produced by other California State Universities. The plan outlines the following five goals to improve diversity, equity and inclusive student success:

  • Ensure that students receive equal access to an HSU education
  • Ensure the social and academic success of underrepresented students on campus
  • Broaden outreach to attract and hire diverse faculty and staff
  • Collaborate with local partners to ensure community inclusiveness
  • Monitor the university’s progress toward its goals through the annual Campus Diversity Report and other tools

In the past year, HSU has made significant strides toward increasing diversity and inclusion on campus. This spring, two campus working groups developed proposals to address retention and academic advising, resulting in the comprehensive restructuring of all retention-related student support units. Their suggestions also led to the establishment of multiple cultural-specific centers of academic excellence.

The university continues to implement initiatives for diversifying faculty and has created a campus plan for diversifying staff, which will be implemented this year.

More recently, the Office of Diversity & Inclusion completed its 2013 Campus Diversity Report, an annual ongoing assessment of diversity, equity and inclusivity efforts on campus. The report is available online at humboldt.edu/diversity and will be delivered to campus mailboxes this week.

For more information on programs that support diversity and inclusive student success at HSU, visit humboldt.edu/diversity or stop by the Office of Diversity & Inclusion in Siemens Hall 209.