Goal 4:
Recruit and retain a diverse university population
Diversity efforts awarded
UW-Stout was recognized for diversity achievements by the Wisconsin Department of Employee Relations and the State Council on Affirmative Action. The university was granted the Secretary's Award of Achievement, a new category, for progress in attracting women and minorities into faculty positions, and for a broad variety of diversity initiatives.
The Secretary's Award recognizes praiseworthy human resource practices in attracting and retaining minority and women employees. Due to the campuswide goal to recruit and retain a diverse population, UW-Stout implemented initiatives that created the following positive results:
- The percentage of minority hires and applicants doubled in the past year.
- The annual percentage of women faculty and academic staff hires increased from 38 to 53 percent between 1999 and 2002.
- The average number of women applicants for each employment search increased by three applicants.
Encouraging a diverse community
UW-Stout has made a commitment to encourage a respectful diverse community by adopting Plan 2008, a strategic plan for diversity. As the first phase of this plan ended, the majority of the 67 programs included in the plan met or exceeded their expected outcomes. Measures of progress in 2002-03 included the following:
- Enrollment of students of color increased from 291 in 2001 to 333 in 2002.
- New partnerships with Milwaukee Rufus King and Milwaukee technical schools, Bayfield schools, Wausau schools, Wisconsin Rapids schools, the St. Paul Public schools' Multicultural Excellence Program and the LCO Tribal College, reached children and their parents at an earlier age.
- Focused efforts by UW-Stout's Educational Talent Search on school districts in the northern tier of the state with a high number of Native American students strengthened the university's presence in those communities and formed bonds with students.
- New multicultural courses were introduced, including two Hmong language courses, Hmong studies and contemporary life, sociology of the Hmong, and multicultural philosophy.
- An additional five courses were revised to include more multicultural material.
- The Schneider Diversity Leadership Scholarship was developed, offering $1,000 scholarships to 10 freshmen based on diversity achievements and leadership.
- One City One Book, a national initiative, brought the university and Menomonie communities together to read and discuss "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee.
- All Cultures Every Student, a newly formed student organization, brings people of all backgrounds together to share information, values and lifestyles, and to plan programs that expand everyone's understanding.
- An active cultural events calendar focused on diversity themes and activities.
Support for minority businesses recognized
UW-Stout again received the Governor's Special Minority Business Award
for purchasing activity with Wisconsin certified minority vendors. The
university's purchases from minority vendors increased to 9 percent during
the 2002 fiscal year, surpassing the Department of Administration's 5
percent goal. The university made $796,747 in purchases from such minority
vendors as the Blackhawk Company and Vanguard Computers, exceeding the
previous years total by more than $200,000.
(Figure 3)
Enhanced enrollment
With enhanced recruitment efforts, the official enrollment at UW-Stout continues to rise as the average freshman profile improves.
- Applications from new freshmen increased more than 6 percent.
- UW-Stout leads the UW System comprehensive universities in the net number of students who transfer to the university. In the two-year period of 2000-01 and 2001-02, the number of net transfers to UW-Stout was 974, while the UW System comprehensive average was 579. (Figure 4)
- Enrollment rose from 7,780 students in 2001-02 to 7,902 students in 2002-03, within one percent of UW-Stout's target.
- Incoming freshmen average ACT composite score was 21.4, the average grade point average was 3.2 (4.0 scale) and the class rank increased to the 65th percentile.
- Eighty-two percent of incoming freshmen graduated in the top half of their graduating class.
- Freshman to sophomore student retention rate remains sound at more than 73 percent.
Summer institute supports
Web designer youth
The
WebFair Summer Institute brought 24 high school students from around Wisconsin
to UW-Stout for advanced instruction in Web page design. This institute
grew out of the annual statewide Wisconsin WebFair competition.
During WebFair, Wisconsin students from kindergarten through college enter their Web page designs to have them judged. High School students who enter the competition are invited to the summer institute. The Nakatani Center for Learning Technologies has sponsored the WebFair institute as part of its mission to support programs that improve education with technology.
The institute provided students a variety of Web development experiences, including:
- presentations by professionals from Larsen Design + Interactive, Voila! Media Group, Adobe and Apple.
- access to an abundance of technology.
- opportunities to network with students from other high schools.
- introductions to new technologies and software, such as Web animation.
In addition, UW-Stout received a grant from the Stout University Foundation to facilitate extracurricular Wisconsin Web Weavers clubs in high schools across the state. Eventually, the WebFair Summer Institute will be a place for the WWW clubs to get together to network.
Addressing women's issues
Spurred by UW System's one-year evaluation of university life for women, UW-Stout initiated an Equality for Women Initiative to examine and improve all aspects of university life related to the status of women students, staff, faculty and administrators. The initiative addresses a variety of women's issues, including hiring, promotion and retention of women employees; educational opportunities for women students; learning and work environment; and balancing work and personal life.
As measures of progress in 2002-03 toward the goals of the initiative, UW-Stout:
- conducted a child-care needs survey and developed recommendations.
- provided funds for six faculty, academic staff and classified staff women to attend the Work/Life forum at UW-Madison.
- sent one female faculty member to Bryn Mawr Summer Leadership Institute for Women.
- supported a team of seven to attend the 2002 annual WWHEL Conference through a professional development grant.
- received the Secretary's Award of Achievement from the Department of Employment Relations for equal opportunity and affirmative action leadership.
- conducted Women/Gender in General Education Survey.
- set up the Women's Resources Area within the Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Office.
- created the Women's Mentoring Program for Academic Staff.
- sent 22 female faculty, academic staff and classified staff women to the WWHEL Regional Leadership Skills Development Workshop held at UW-Eau Claire and funded by a professional development grant.
- established an Ad Hoc Committee on Family Friendly Policies that will provide recommendations during the fall 2003 semester.
- introduced seventh grade girls from an Eau Claire middle school to careers in science and technology through UW-Stout's second Girls Science and Technology Orientation program.
Technology and engineering
career days encourage youth
Hundreds
of high school students from Wisconsin and Minnesota attended two separate
Engineering and Technology Career Days at UW-Stout. The one-day events
were designed for high school students interested in engineering and technology-related
careers, and their teachers.
The events offered students breakout sessions featuring the following areas: engineering technology, manufacturing engineering, packaging, construction, telecommunication systems, applied mathematics and computer science, applied science, and graphic communications management. The sessions introduced students to UW-Stout's academic programs in these areas and provided them hands-on projects in state-of-the-art laboratories.
In addition, panels made up of employers and alumni enabled students to interact with people employed in the engineering and technology fields, as well as graduates of the related programs.
Additional Resources:
- Wisconsin WebFair
http://webfair.wisc.edu/ - Equality for Women Initiative Report
http://www.uwstout.edu/chancellor/women/ewcreport.htm