Campus forum launches ‘Inclusive Excellence’

At the end of concession stands at the Kohl Center, a section of the counter is lowered to make ordering and picking up food possible for people who use wheelchairs.

But children like using the lower counters, and they’re still accessible to anyone else who wants to order there, Cathy Trueba, director of the McBurney Disability Resource Center told a campus forum on diversity on Oct. 8.

The value of such an inclusive approach can be seen not only in the Kohl Center, but in the classroom, too, she said.

“Not everyone can use the high (counter), but everybody can use the low,” Trueba said. “When universal design works, it works well for all of us.”

Blending inclusiveness with excellence is part of UW–Madison’s effort to move forward and build on the legacy of Plan 2008, the university’s 10-year diversity plan that ended last year.

About 600 people registered for the all-day forum at the Memorial Union on the theme of “Seeding Inclusive Excellence.”

More precise plans for advancing the goals for diversity will evolve over a year of activity and input. Inclusive Excellence has important connections and links to the new campus strategic framework, the recent reaccreditation process and the Madison Initiative for Undergraduates.

Damon Williams, vice provost for diversity and climate, told the forum attendees that Plan 2008’s focus on racial equity will be part of the plans going forward.

The idea of diversity can’t be just about one set of groups, he said, and the university needs to address such issues as disability, nationality, gender, sexuality and class.

“It must be a conversation that is one about inclusion,” Williams said.

The university has made some strides in accomplishing that. This fall’s class includes the largest group of targeted minority students ever enrolled in a first-year class.

But at 11 percent of the class, that’s still not good enough, Chancellor Biddy Martin said in her remarks.

“We need actively to recruit a diverse student body, not simply wait for people to apply,” Martin said, adding that to attract the best students from all backgrounds, the school should provide more generous financial aid packages earlier in the process. “We aspire to being more than merely demographically diverse…we also aspire to providing opportunities for each person to flourish.”

Martin said she’s not always comfortable with the way the word “diversity” is used because people see it as a goal, when in fact, it’s the reality in which they live.

“The question is not whether we should be diverse, but whether we should take advantage of the diversity that exists in the world and that has the power to enrich us,” she said.

Martin hopes that many elements of the Madison Initiative for Undergraduates, an effort to improve the quality of undergraduate education on campus, will help the university work toward the goal of inclusive excellence and address the achievement gap, Martin said.

For example, departments looking to hire new faculty will first need to show they will be able to recruit from a diverse pool of candidates.

The university should also work to increase enrollment of international undergraduates, Martin said. She plans to visit China early next year to bring top prospective students to campus.

Additional information and supporting documents on inclusive excellence will be posted at http://www.diversity.wisc.edu.