Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis has been named among the 30 best non-Historically Black Colleges and Universities for minorities in the United States by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education -- a critical source of news, information and commentary on the full range of issues concerning diversity in American higher education.
Ranked No. 19, IUPUI was credited for doubling its graduation rate for African American students -- from 12.6 to 24.8 percent -- between 2004 and 2010 through targeted programs developed by the campus. The programs include:
-- University College: Serves as a gateway for entering IUPUI students to provide advising, first-year seminars, career services and other forms of support.
-- Multicultural Success Center: Leads the campus in creating an inclusive environment of excellence that embraces diversity and social justice, and provides opportunities for personal and professional growth and community development.
-- The Student African American Sisterhood and Student African American Brotherhood, part of the Diversity Enrichment and Achievement Program: Provides mentoring, retention, graduation and connectedness for African American students through social and academic interventions.
Additionally, IUPUI recently received the inaugural Higher Education Excellence in Diversity Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity, the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education. IUPUI was commended for making strides in the enrollment and graduation of minority students and for putting in place some distinctive diversity and inclusion programs to recruit and retain faculty, staff and students from underrepresented groups.
“Diversity is the future of our country, our cities, our world. As an urban university, IUPUI has a special obligation to encourage more participation and persistence in college by those who have historically not pursued higher education at the rate our nation needs to be successful,” said IUPUI Chancellor and IU Executive Vice President Charles R. Bantz.
In 2008, IUPUI created its first Diversity Report to advance the campus’s vision of diversity and inclusivity, as well as establish critical diversity performance indicators by which to compare future progress. Since that time, the report, available to the campus community and beyond, has been published annually and has continued to track those performance indicators, including:
-- Recruitment and retention of a racially diverse student population.
-- Graduation of a racially diverse undergraduate student population.
-- Diversity of curriculum and co-curriculum.
-- Campus climate for diversity.
-- Diversity in civic engagement, of faculty and staff, and of campus leadership.
IUPUI leadership also is maintaining a keen eye on diversity as it formulates its strategic plan, Vision 2025: Commitment to Indiana and Beyond, which has identified diversity as one of 10 strategic initiatives. Through this initiative, IUPUI’s goal is to nurture and promote a campus climate that seeks, values and cultivates diversity in all of its forms and that provides conditions necessary for all campus community members to feel welcomed, supported, included and valued by the campus and each other.
“We acknowledge and appreciate the recent recognition of IUPUI’s programmatic efforts in enrollment, graduation, recruitment and retention of minority students; however, there is still much to be done," said Edwin C. Marshall, IU vice president for diversity, equity and multicultural affairs. "We will continue to reinforce our efforts to identify and develop effective programs of holistic support that will ensure the retention, completion and success of underrepresented minority students at IUPUI and at all IU campuses.”