University of Missouri–St. Louis Chancellor Thomas F. George recently gave his 2013 Report to the Community in what is the university’s 50th anniversary year. The American asked him about his annual report and the progress of diversity and inclusion at UMSL.
The St. Louis American: What are some things you’re proud in terms of diversity and inclusion at UMSL?
Chancellor Tom George: We are a very diverse student body. Over 30 percent you would classify as “diverse” students, and 19 percent are African-American. In terms of numbers, we have more African-American students than other four-year institution in the state. Our average age is 28, and our students come from all walks of life. We serve a large number of veterans, so we are about as diverse as a student body could be.
Our faculty members are diverse, though we don’t have as high percentage as students (7.2 percent of UMSL’s full-time faculty are African-American compared to 5.5 percent nationally.) If you look at diversity in terms of women, we have one of the highest percentages of women that are on a tenure track in the country.
Last year we hired a consultant to do a climate survey to put our fingers on how people on campus perceive what’s going on within the workplace. Is there any harassment that we should be aware of? It’s being analyzed at this point by the Chancellor’s Diversity Taskforce, which I created about nine years ago (now called the Chancellor’s Cultural Diversity Council.)
Other areas, we’ve got one of the best Martin Luther King Jr. celebrations in the community, just behind Harris-Stowe State University’s.
The American: You reported to the community that the $30 million renovation of the Benton-Stadler science complex is scheduled for completion in 2015. What are the participation goals for minority businesses and workforce on this project?
Chancellor George: I can’t give you that answer, except that we do very well in that arena. Our track record is very good in hiring minority-owned firms. We haven’t picked a contractor yet. The Board of Curators will do that later this year. Regardless of who the contractor is, we encourage them to use minority subcontractors. We certainly do as well as any university in the system in that regard.
The American: Is there a policy that the board has passed to ensure minority participation goals are established and met?
Chancellor George: They don’t require but encourage strongly minority participation. We have a staff person Jacqueline Kelly. Her total job in the University of Missouri system is to ensure that we use minority-owned businesses. Her title is director of minority business development.
(Kelly referred The American to UMSL’s Tom Royster, senior construction project manager, who said the goals were not yet determined. He said they will most likely be 25 percent for minority businesses and 5 percent for women. Royster said the goals are considered part of the contractual agreement and are strictly enforced.)
The American: The chancellor’s 50th Anniversary report has very few photos of African Americans. Was there no news about black students, faculty or administrators this year? Or if there was, why didn’t you share it?
Chancellor George: Hmm, so you saw none?
The American: There was one photo of an African-American student with other students on the enrollment update slide, but no mention of news for African-American faculty or students.
Chancellor George: We ask for information, and we get 10 times more than we can use. Bob Samples, associate vice chancellor of communications, kind of picks and chooses. If you look over a three year period of the reports, we do highlight African Americans a lot. (The 2011 and 2012 reports did include news of African-American students, alumni and one faculty member.)
The American: The Carnegie Foundation is honoring UMSL for community service for a variety of different programs that focus on inclusion.
Chancellor George: We are tagged as a “community-engaged institution.” Only about three percent of all universities have that designation. There are three in this state, and we are one of them.
The American: One of the programs cited as a reason that UMSL earned the Carnegie recognition is the Bridge program (a precollegiate program).
Chancellor George: That’s our shining star. Almost everyone in that program is African-American. It’s designed to get students and their parents acquainted with the university. We run Saturday sessions for six months and then we have a graduation ceremony. We have to keep moving this thing because it’s getting so big. And they all go onto college. That’s the main goal.
It’s a service of getting students – particular those who are underrepresented and come from disadvantaged homes – on board so that they can go to college. Bridge works with parents as well as students, that’s key.
Now if I could capture more of them to come to UMSL, even better. But that’s being selfish.
