By: Esther Gowin
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The University of Arkansas is looking to improve diversity and inclusion on campus by creating initiatives and mandatory trainings.
Romona West, the Director of Diversity and Inclusion for Fulbright College, created a program that provides a platform to discuss diversity issues.
“I’m always hopeful that people would love to talk about it, but this really seemed like the right time,” said West. “Having the DEI hours weekly, it provides that platform.”
These Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) hours happen once a week on Zoom and are open for any student, faculty or staff member to join. West said this opportunity is for students especially, because it is important their opinions are heard.
During the summer, the hashtag #BlackatUARK went viral as students began voicing racial injustices they had experienced while attending the University of Arkansas.
The University responded by promising to increase diversity and inclusion efforts on campus and create a committee to specifically to address the racial climate on campus.
John Post, the Director for University Academic Communications, said the University established an office for diversity and inclusion decades ago for this purpose
“Diversity and inclusion at the University of Arkansas has been a priority for quite some time and it was not just a reaction from the events that happened this summer,” said Post. “Although it certainly showed us that we have more work to do in this area.”
Post said the University is working towards creating mandatory diversity training for faculty and staff, implementing anti-racist content in class curriculum and is in the process of establishing a permanent advisory group for the racial climate.
By taking a look at the racial diversity of enrollment at the University of Arkansas, it can help give insight on how diverse the University actually is.
The demographics of Arkansas show that the ethnic diversity of the state is greater than what is reflected in enrollment at the University of Arkansas.
As the official school for the state of Arkansas, this data shows that the University of Arkansas has room for improvement as far as racial diversity goes.
West said it is essential the University continues to increase it’s efforts to improve diversity on campus in order to make all students feel welcome.
“These are systemic changes but these are the things that need to happen in order to keep our campus moving forward.” said West.
The University encourages students to get involved by participating in campus initiatives that promote diversity and inclusion.