Web conference to explore ideas for minority hiring

On Oct. 25, the Research Challenge Trust Fund (RCTF) Endowment Match Program Diversity Committee will sponsor a Web conference titled “Best Practices in Recruiting and Retaining Diverse Faculty” that will be held in the William T. Young Library Auditorium from 1 to 3 p.m.

The conference, provided by Academic Impressions, will address the issue of diversity on campus by exploring best practices in hiring and retaining underrepresented groups.

The University of Kentucky has a compelling interest in faculty diversity. President Lee T. Todd Jr. has acknowledged this significant challenge and is working to increase awareness among faculty, staff and students.

Dr. Charmaine P. Clowney, director of Diversity and Equal Opportunity in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education and the conference presenter, has over 15 years of experience as a higher education diversity executive, consultant and attorney.

Clowney has presented over 100 diversity-training seminars for universities, Fortune 500 companies, and federal agencies. In her role with Pennsylvania’s higher education system, she has provided strategic leadership to 14 universities on issues related to diversity policies, institutional access, multiculturalism and employment equity.

The Web conference agenda includes Equal Opportunity Law Overview, current topics surrounding diversity issues, and practical applications of tools such as forming a search committee, campus visits and best practices summary.

“The desired outcome of the Web conference is to help gain a better understanding of the issue at hand in recruiting and retaining diverse faculty, in order to increase diversity on our campus,” said Terry Allen, associate vice president for Institutional Equity and chair of the RCTF Diversity Committee, which is sponsoring the conference.

The RCTF Diversity Committee, was created by Kentucky legislators in 1997 to produce and create educational, research and economic benefits for faculty, staff and students, including women and minorities. Over the past year, the RCTF Endowment Match Program Diversity Committee examined seven strategies established to improve diversity on campus, which address specific goals of the UK Strategic Plan. At the conclusion of the 2004-2005 academic year, the committee reviewed the outcomes and found there was a moderate increase in the number of female, all minority, and African-American RCTF Endowment Match Program Fellowship recipients and an increase in female faculty from the previous year.

The Diversity Committee is comprised of members from various backgrounds on campus, including: Terry Allen (chair), Institutional Equity and Equal Opportunity Office; Horace Bartilow, Political Science; Joseph Fink, Pharmacy Practice and Science; Bessie Guerrant, RCTF Research Assessment; Barbara Knutson, Chemical and Materials Engineering; Edythe Lach, Markey Cancer Control Program; Jay Perman, College of Medicine; Connie Ray, Institutional Research, Planning and Effectiveness; and William Turner, Office of Multicultural and Academic Affairs.

— Lauren Greathouse