The State University of New York (University) recognizes that it needs a multi-pronged approach to addressing diversity and assuring inclusive excellence. It must implement best practices to attract and retain diverse students, faculty, staff and administrative leaders. It must foster student completion and implement programs and strategies to establish a welcoming environment for all. The intent of this policy is to support campus and System Administration efforts to achieve the goal of becoming the most inclusive public university system in the country.
The Goal
SUNY aspires to be the most inclusive State university system in the country. We will achieve this goal by: striving to ensure that the student population we serve and the administrative staff and faculty we employ are representative of the diversity of our state; recognizing the value of international experiences and interactions; and eliminating achievement gaps for minority and low income students. We will develop strategic diversity and inclusion action plans for system administration and at each campus that tangibly demonstrate SUNY's commitment to the principles of inclusive excellence, wherein an institution only achieves excellence when it is inclusive. SUNY will identify diversity, equity and inclusion as essential aspects of system and campus planning and as indispensable characteristics of academic excellence and the ongoing experience of every member of the SUNY community.
Guiding Principles
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Diversity and inclusiveness are integral components of the highest quality academic programs and the strongest campus climate. Diversity is essential to excellence in the university setting.
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SUNY's statutory mission makes clear its responsibility to provide the broadest possible access, fully representative of all segments of the population of New York State.
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As detailed in the Data Brief, SUNY has made important strides at System Administration and on its campuses to increase diversity and strengthen inclusiveness; however, challenges remain.
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This is the right time for a system-wide effort to address challenges, particularly in light of projected increases in the diversity of New York's high school population and the expected increases in the number of new hires across SUNY due to a growing number of retirements.
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A multi-pronged approach to strengthening diversity and inclusion is essential for a system of SUNY's stature. SUNY's approach must employ best practices to attract diverse students, faculty, staff and administrative leaders, including efforts to strengthen the pipeline of diverse individuals with advanced credentials; ensure that services are in place to support retention (of faculty and students) and foster student completion at a rate that closes existing achievement gaps; and implement programs and strategies to establish a welcoming environment for all.
Action Items
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System Administration and each campus will appoint a chief diversity officer ("CDO") by no later than August 15, 2017. This shall not preclude campuses from sharing the services of a chief diversity officer. However, any proposal to share such services shall be subject to prior review and approval of the Provost.
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The Campus CDO will:
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Be a senior member of the campus administration, reporting directly to the president or provost;
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Work collaboratively with offices across campus including but not limited to, the offices of academic affairs, human resources, enrollment management, and admissions-to elevate inclusiveness and implement best practices related to diversity, equity and inclusion in such areas as the recruitment and retention of students and senior administrators, faculty and staff hires; and
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Serve as part of a system-wide network of CDOs to support SUNY's overall diversity goals.
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The System CDO will:
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Be a senior member of System Administration;
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Work collaboratively with offices across System Administration-including but not limited to, the offices of academic affairs, human resources and enrollment management and student success, to elevate inclusiveness and implement best practices related to diversity, equity and inclusion; and
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Support the system-wide network of campus CDOs in collaboration with the Provost and Executive Vice-Chancellor to realize System Administration's goal of becoming the most inclusive system of higher education in the country.
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System Administration and each campus will develop and implement strategic diversity and inclusion plans to achieve SUNY's inclusion goal.
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Campus plans will build on existing efforts and include:
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Campus commitments for diversity and inclusion;
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Campus principles guiding the development and implementation of the diversity and inclusion plan;
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A student recruitment strategy that includes programs and activities that will enable the campus to enroll a student population that is increasingly representative of the diversity of its primary service region and the State as a whole;
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A student retention and completion strategy wherein the campus strives to increase the rate of completion for all students and close any gaps in the completion rates of students from any group when compared with the average campus completion rate and to address the challenges of students in transition (such as transfer, stop-out, international student acclimation);
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An administrative, faculty and staff recruitment and retention strategy that continuously improves campus efforts to increase diversity and inclusion in the following areas:
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Recruitment, development of the prospect pool, and hiring decision-making for campus leadership, faculty and staff. Plans should address the unique challenges of dual career couple relocation and ensure that selected candidates can articulate a commitment to diversity and inclusion;
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Implementation of best-practice mentoring plans and strategies tailored to the needs of diverse campus groups of faculty and staff; and
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With support from System Administration, the introduction or expansion of cultural competency programming as a central aspect of the orientation program for new employees and as a regular program for all continuing employees.
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An evaluation component to ensure that the campus is meeting its diversity and inclusion commitments and that activities designed within the overall plan are achieving their intended outcomes. The evaluation system should be aligned to the campus planning and resource allocation processes to ensure that required improvements in the diversity and inclusion plan are incorporated in the revision of the academic and financial plans.
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The System Administration plan will build on existing efforts and include:
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System Administration commitments for diversity and inclusion;
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System Administration principles guiding the development and implementation of the diversity and inclusion plan;
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An administrative, faculty and staff recruitment and retention strategy that continuously improves efforts to increase diversity and inclusion in the following areas:
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Recruitment, hiring prospect pool development and hiring decision-making. Special attention is encouraged for the plan to address the unique challenges of dual career couple relocation;
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implementation of best-practice mentoring plans and strategies tailored to the needs of diverse campus groups of faculty and staff; and
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Introduce cultural competency programming as a central aspect of the orientation program for new employees and as a regular program for all continuing employees.
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An evaluation component that ensures that System Administration is meeting its diversity and inclusion commitments and that activities designed within the plan are achieving their intended outcomes and that System Administration is providing appropriate resources and guidance to campuses to assist them in meeting University commitments and SUNY's overarching goal of being recognized as the most inclusive system of higher education in the country. The evaluation system should be aligned to System Administration planning and resource allocation processes to ensure that required improvements in the diversity and inclusion plan are incorporated in the revision of the academic and financial plans.
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Campuses and System Administration will inquire about a search firm's success in assuring diverse candidate pools. In those instances where the campus is considered a Federal Contractor, the campus will require that the search firm provide it with information about the diversity of the search firm's staff and its success rate in placing diverse candidates prior to entering into a contract with such firm.
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System Administration will develop the tools to provide cultural competency training across System Administration and to campus senior leadership teams, faculty and staff.
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System Administration will implement a Campus Climate Report Card to evaluate System Administration and campus efforts to attain the goals and the intent of its respective diversity and inclusion plans.
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Questions on surveys administered or procured by the System Administration Office of Institutional Research and Data Analytics will be reviewed to ensure that questions are free from bias and provide necessary information to support diversity goals.
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System Administration will begin a system-wide initiative to meet the challenges associated with dual-career couple relocation that will include identification of best practices related to cluster hiring.
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System Administration will examine the feasibility of a cross-campus mentoring network for faculty and staff within the SUNY system, in consultation with faculty governance, which will be piloted as a resource for diverse faculty and staff and later expanded.
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The University Provost and System Administration CDO will convene faculty researchers in the area of diversity, equity and inclusion as well as program evaluation to work with the System Administration office of Institutional Research and Data Analytics to support the SUNY Network of CDOs and develop an evaluation of the effectiveness of this policy for the purposes of ongoing improvement.
Action Item Deadlines and Next Steps
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Campus presidents will report to the Chancellor no later than March 2016 on their plans for appointing a CDO;
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Campus presidents and the System Administration CDO will submit their diversity plans, to be developed via a process set by the campus president where in place, for review to the Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor no later than September 1, 2016;
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After initial review of campus plans, presidents will annually report on their progress in implementing their plans and this policy as part of the Performance Improvement Plan reporting process;
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The SUNY Diversity Task Force shall be reconstituted as a standing Diversity Advisory Committee to support campuses during the implementation of this policy and make additional recommendations, where appropriate; and
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The Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor and System Administration Chief Diversity Officer shall be responsible for overseeing implementation of this policy, including distributing additional guidance and resource materials to campuses, assessing progress, and reporting back to the Board of Trustees, and shall be required to provide an annual updated data brief on diversity, equity and inclusion, including a summary of campus annual reports, which will be shared with the Governor and New York State Legislature.
There are no definitions relevant to this policy.
A procedure related to the implementation of this Policy is currently being developed.
There are no forms relevant to this policy.
State University of New York Board of Trustee Resolution, No. 2015-53.
September 10, 2015, Board of Trustee Resolution No. 2015-53, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Policy.
There are no appendices relevant to this policy.
