Campus Diversity Coalition Provides 'Concrete Tools' for Leveraging Diversity

Campus Diversity Coalition Provides 'Concrete Tools' for Leveraging Diversity

By Amanda BallardUniversity Communications
Printer-friendly version PDF version
The coalition includes representatives from more than 20 campus units who provide tools and resources that promote campus diversity.
The coalition includes representatives from more than 20 campus units who provide tools and resources that promote campus diversity.
Nominations are currently being accepted for the 2014 Peter W. Likins Inclusive Excellence Awards, which is given to those who encourage diverse perspectives and foster equal opportunities on campus.
Nominations are currently being accepted for the 2014 Peter W. Likins Inclusive Excellence Awards, which is given to those who encourage diverse perspectives and foster equal opportunities on campus.

Most people know that diversity is a good thing, but they might not necessarily know why. The UA Campus Diversity Coalition hopes to change that.

Established in 2005, the Campus Diversity Coalition includes representatives from more than 20 campus units who provide tools and resources that promote campus diversity.

"There is no longer a question as to whether diversity results in positive benefits," said Raji Rhys, UA assistant vice president for inclusive excellence. "Teams that are more diverse in a myriad of ways ... get more effective ideas and more innovative ideas. We want to give people concrete tools to enact that diversity."

Campus Diversity Coalition members, or "change agents" as Rhys calls them, are tasked with communicating diversity initiatives to campus through engaging conversation. Rhys also provides them with frequent updates on compelling research and UA successes to keep them informed, motivated and equipped with information to share with their units.

"In my opinion, there's too much talking 'at' and not enough talking 'with,'" she said. "These people go out and engage others in a conversation, authentically and genuinely. They then bring their unique perspectives from their communities back to top leadership. It's a loop. It's a conversation."

Rhys said that the first step involves changing the way people traditionally think about diversity.

"Inclusion is something different than diversity," she said. "Inclusion is the process by which you engage diversity to make decisions that are shaped by that diverse population. You need both in order to get that positive impact."

Diversity, Rhys said, goes beyond the standard definition that involves race and gender. Rather, it also includes people of different sexual orientations, disabilities, thinking styles and perspectives.

Rhys said that people of various backgrounds look at problems differently, and leveraging diversity involves using those differences to build on each other to reach comprehensive solutions.

"It's not one plus one is two; one plus one is greater than two," Rhys said. "It's not cumulative, it's the process of creation." For Rhys, getting more and more employees involved in the dialogue helps improve their productivity, impacts their desire to keep working for the UA, and makes them feel like they are part of something that's making a difference.

She added that promoting a diverse culture is something everyone at the University has a hand in doing.

"Making change for diversity is everyone's responsibility, not just top leadership," Rhys said. "We all play a role. We want to acknowledge that there are action-oriented people that make a difference everyday, and we're trying to empower them with more tools to make a difference."

The Peter W. Likins Inclusive Excellence Awards is one University diversity initiative. The award, named after former UA President Peter Likins, who founded the Campus Diversity Coalition, is given to individuals, teams and organizations that encourage diverse perspectives and foster equal opportunities on campus. Nominations for the 2014 award are being accepted through March 28. President Ann Weaver Hart will present recipients with their awards during a reception on April 18.

For more information on the Peter W. Likins Inclusive Excellence Awards or to submit a nomination, click here.

UA@Work is produced by University Communications

Marshall Building, Suite 100. 845 N. Park Ave., Tucson, AZ 85719 (or) 
P.O. Box 210158B, Tucson, AZ 85721

T 520.621.1877  F 520.626.4121

Feedback University Privacy Statement 

2024 © The Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona