Goal 4:
Recruit and retain a diverse university population
Plan 2008 encourages diversity
UW-Stout has made a commitment to encourage a respectful diverse community by adopting Plan 2008, a strategic plan for diversity. Measures of progress in 2003–04 included the following:
- DIAL Success, a diverse learning community in a residence hall, was held in the fall of 2003. The program, a collaborative venture between Housing and Residence Life and Multicultural Student Services, promotes a community where issues of difference are explored and treated as opportunities for students to learn more about themselves and others.
- The Peer Mentor Program for new multicultural students began in fall 2003.
- Several grants and scholarships were awarded, including: Schneider Diversity Leadership Scholarship, Brinkman Scholarship, Lawton Undergraduate Multicultural Retention Grant, Advanced Opportunity Task Grant, Career Ladder Grant, and the Refugee Teacher Improvement Grant.
- A Hmong language class was offered for the first time in fall 2003.
- In 2004, four one-week pre-college sessions were held. The sessions are designed for multicultural students and disadvantaged students in grades 7, 8, 9 and 10.
International Week celebrated
International Week at UW-Stout was held on campus in fall 2003.
The annual event is sponsored by the International Relations Club and the Office of International Education, and is designed to emphasize global understanding through international education and exchange.
Activities during the week included a slide show from a faculty member on her trip to Namibia, Africa; a faculty panel discussion on learning more about teaching and studying abroad; and the annual international dinner, exhibits and cultural show.
Women's Studies Conference hosted
The 28th annual UW System Women's Studies Conference, titled "Women's Sphere, Reconfigured Traditions," was held at UW-Stout in fall 2003.
The conference brought together academics, teachers, students and community leaders to examine how women's traditional roles in the home, the classroom, the arts and public life have been redefined.
The two-day event, which featured five speakers, concluded with the Women of Color Award Ceremony, and three art exhibits were on display during the conference. The Furlong Gallery located in the Applied Arts Building hosted an invitational exhibit of artists whose cultures included African-American, Asian, Hmong, Muslim and Native American. The works included painting, prints, sculpture, metalwork and textiles.