Shortly after 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 18, Miami University president, Greg Crawford, addressed the faculty assembly and presented plans for tackling various goals in the upcoming year.
Tenured Miami professors, as well as librarians from various departments made up the assembly and gathered at Shideler Hall to hear about the changes to come this fall semester.
"This year will be the year of strategic planning," Crawford said. "I think what we're going to do is claim success."
To enhance the university's planning abilities, Crawford is putting together a steering and integration committee that will oversee several smaller subcommittees. The subcommittees will address specific areas of the university that have been deemed to need improvement.
One of these subcommittees will focus on diversity, inclusion and community.
"This year is the largest and most diverse class in Miami history... We have 17.2 percent domestic students of color -which is up from last year - 7.5 percent international students and 15.8 percent first gen[eration]," Crawford said.
The Miami administration believes focusing on the success and welfare of minority students is essential to the university's success.
"Diversity, inclusion and community is a sense of cultivating a culture," said Phyllis Callahan, Miami's executive vice president for academic affairs. "A learning environment where everyone's included and feels welcome, are provided fair treatment, access, and opportunity to advance."
The committee will focus on recruiting and retaining minority students, as well as making these students feel appreciated by offering them programs designed to assist them.
Nicole Thesz, a professor of German language and culture at the university, was an international student herself. Thesz felt the assembly did a "fine" job addressing the inclusion needs the university has. She is excited for the upcoming year.
By the end of September, faculty will be appointed to the committees to move forward with Crawford's plan.
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