TULSA Okla.
Increasing the number of students studying abroad, doing
more international recruiting and developing classroom courses focusing on how
inclusiveness benefits everyone are some of the recommendations from a yearlong
evaluation of diversity efforts at Oklahoma
State University.
The findings of the study, which included input from OSU
faculty, staff and students, will be presented at Friday’s meeting of the Board
of Regents for the Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical
Colleges in Stillwater.
The self-study is the first step in formalizing a systemwide
diversity plan, officials said.
In addition to more than 150 information-gathering sessions,
an independent team of administrators and faculty visited the campus to
evaluate diversity efforts.
Other recommendations include expanding the role of the
Diversity Academic Support Office and stepping up efforts to increase access
for nontraditional and economically disadvantaged students, among others.
“The study not only leads to how we ought to be
addressing diversity, it talks about how we should become leaders in any
field,” said Cornell Thomas, vice president for institutional diversity at
OSU. “There’s a lot of work to do.”
