UO to take new look at diversity.

Byline: Greg Bolt The Register-Guard

A diversity plan that sparked a flap at the University of Oregon will get a new review by a panel of faculty members and others in an effort to ease concerns about its scope while still accomplishing its goals.

UO President Dave Frohnmayer said he is in the process of appointing an executive working group of eight to 10 people to conduct the review this summer. They will be asked to more clearly define some key terms as well as consider ways to promote diversity that can win broader support.

"The direction we're going to take is to work from the basic goals of the document but not regard particular details as set in concrete," Frohnmayer said.

The five-year diversity plan, developed over the past year by a 70-person work group, got a hot reception from some on campus who felt it went too far and offered too few opportunities for debate. Proposals that attracted the most heat were those relating to "cultural competency," a vaguely defined standard that would be considered in everything from hiring to tenure decisions.

Some faculty members believed that the proposal threatened academic freedom, noting that it would require a "demonstrable commitment to cultural competency" in tenure and post-tenure reviews. But it said the document included no definition of the term.

"We assume that a 'demonstrable commitment to cultural competency' would not be aimed at dictating to faculty what (they) must teach. But it is unclear from the draft what such a phrase means," said a letter from the UO chapter of the American Association of University Professors.

Frohnmayer said that while he wasn't disappointed by the reception the proposal received, he felt that some judged it too swiftly without understanding that the document was still a work in progress.

"I think some people reacted without really considering that this is a draft and was always meant to be a draft," he said.

"The draft didn't impose anything. The draft made these suggestions and it was always assumed by its authors that anything that might affect, for example, tenure and promotion would be the subject of consideration, debate and action by the University Senate."

Appointing the executive working group to review the plan and recommend changes will slow the process, Frohnmayer said, but given the response to the original draft he said it's clear that more time is needed.

He hopes a new draft will be ready for the start of fall term with comments and debate to take place in the following months.

The UO president acknowledged that the plan was deliberately provocative but he said bold steps are needed to ensure that the university community at least reflects the racial makeup of the state and that it also be seen as a place where people of all types can learn and teach without fear.

He pointed to recent figures released by the U.S. Census Bureau that show college campuses have become more diverse and will continue to do so.

The report said minority students now make up 24 percent to 26 percent of enrollments at four-year universities and 36 percent at two-year colleges; at the UO, minorities made up 13 percent of last fall's enrollment.

"The student population with which we will be confronted in the next decade will have a distinct difference in ethnicity from the present," he said. "In Oregon, we know from our population surveys there will be a significant increase in Latino students of college age over the next 10 years. We know that nationally - and it's mirrored in Oregon - that there is an underrepresentation of African-American males. That's something that ought to challenge us."

In their responses to the draft, most faculty members said they do not object to the goals of the diversity plan and have supported past efforts to attract more minority students, faculty and administrators.

Frohnmayer agreed on the need for clearer definitions, conceding that without a consensus on key meanings some terms will be seen by some to carry a hidden agenda.

But he also said some people's reactions have been "excessively alarmist" because they assume the words are an attempt to force a particular ideology on the university community.

Cultural competency, Frohnmayer said, is a straightforward concept.

"To me it means that we are able to effectively reach all of the students who have demonstrated their competence to be in the university but for whom, because of cultural background, traditional techniques of teaching may not be as effective as others," he said. "A good teacher is always open, I hope, to ways to increase teaching effectiveness."

The dust-up over the diversity plan again made headlines around the country and particularly on conservative Web sites and blogs, where the UO has been dubbed the "Berkeley of the north." Conservative commentators cited the plan as further evidence that the school is controlled by liberals and goes too far in the name of political correctness.

Frohnmayer brushed off the comments and said the "intensity of the reaction shows we're a community that's not afraid to be engaged."

"People can engage in stereotypical thinking if they want, and that is one of the really ugly downsides of the blog-verse," he said, referring to the world of online Web logs. "I guess to that group of people I'd say, what is it you don't understand about the word 'draft?'

"The minute you get in the business of censoring people who have serious ideas that want them discussed seriously even if you don't agree with them, the minute you can't do that at a university without someone engaging in character assassination and stereotyping, it's a pretty sad day."