Enterprise Univesity Diversity Plan

Enterprise University Diversity Plan

Enterprise University is an institution of higher learning committed to improving the diversity of its student body, professional staff, and support staff. A community comprised of various cultures will encourage students to learn about, to respect, and to appreciate other cultures through mutual interaction. Regular interaction with different people, whether due to control or by natural occurrence will be a valuable experience for young adults who are being groomed for leadership. The population of the university will be foster diversity due to its strategic location, the effects of immigration, and international students seeking educational opportunities. A diversity action plan is designed to address and resolve cross-cultural integration and conflict. A diversity action plan that addresses all issues pertaining to diversity will serve as the impetus for the university to achieve its goals in this respect and to reach its full educational potential.

Following the edicts of a diversity action plan will ensure that the best possible employees are interviewed and employed. Additionally, incentives and initiatives offered by the diversity action plan will attract a diverse population of students. The most qualified employee candidates will not be screened out due to race, gender, age or sexual orientation but will be screened in based upon professional experience, education and work ethic. The student body will benefit since new students will be enrolled вЂ" as opposed to being disregarded вЂ" because of their diversity. What follows defines the who, what, when and why of Enterprise University’s diversity action plan.

Effects of Globalization on Diversity at Enterprise University

Trends in Population Growth

Enterprise University, using a number of sources ranging from the United States Census Bureau to the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, has endeavored to expose the variety of factors that will affect the diversity of our student body now and for the next 25 years. The reason for this far reaching analysis is a desire to capitalize not only on the current mix of diversity which is readily available, but also a desire to ensure future growth or our varied diversity initiatives will be focused in the correct area to the extent that projections allow. Within the confines of the United States, census data shows an approximate status quo, with projected percentages of minorities remaining relatively unchanged in our country (U.S. Census Bureau Website, 2008). University officials must look deeper into this vital issue.

Technological advances, specifically in telecommunications, require a global approach to diversity. The evolution of mankind’s communications outside their immediate surround over the past 100 years in the United States have seen methods go from using smoke signals to semaphore to satellite communications. This has had global implications which cannot be ignored.

Of specific signification importance is the fact “the ten countries which will contribute most to world population growth over the next 30 years are India, China, Pakistan, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Indonesia, United States of America, Bangladesh, Zaire, and Iran - in that order” (Heilig, 1996, Ð'¶ 8). This statistic is only valid in the context of the volume of persons who will seek their educational needs in the United States. Figure 2 demonstrates the steady increase that has been realized in foreign nationals attending university in the United States. (Department of Homeland Security Website, 2008). Combining statistically sound projections on population growth with the current and past educational visas which have been authorized can provide a glimpse at this huge body of individuals who will need inclusion in our educational and societal system.

The national origin demographic data is important, but another population metric that is worthy of consideration in the Enterprise University diversity plan is the volume of elderly persons in our society and their impact on institutions of higher learning like ours. Figure 3 shows graphically that the world population of the elderly will increase by 100% in the next 25 years, and should be integrated into our diversity plan. Too often, diversity plans focus on race, sex, ethnicity and national origin with the negative result of not looking at such vital contributors to diversity as age and professional experience. The living history and experience is a rich asset that should not be ignored.

Cultural Norms and Enterprise University

The university environment, with the varied and diverse student body, will also maintain an equally diverse set of cultural norms. Institutions of higher learning are traditional melting pots of culture, and therefore, cultural norms should not be standardized to suit a specific demographic, but rather remain open and transparent. Of course, the variety of ethnicity that is found at Enterprise University will inherently carry with it certain norms (Kottak & Kozaitis, 2003), but policy should clearly not favor one set of norms over another. The common thought of cultural norms is usually associated with ethnicity; however, like diversity as a whole, norms have much greater depth than just culture. An example is professional norms.

Professional diversity will produce a variety of different but interlinked aspects of professional norms. Development of programs that cater to a diverse network of working adults will inherently provide substantial depth to the culture of learning. Cross-pollination of ideas coming from adults with varied professional backgrounds is as important to diversity and the pool of cultural norms as any other major contributor.

Enterprise University Actions to Support Diversity

Statement of Commitment

The Enterprise University is committed to assembling and unifying a staff of educators that will employ all available resources to prepare its student population, academically and socially, to make a positive difference after having had the benefit of the Enterprise University experience. This difference will become evident in their individual lives, jobs, respective communities and globally by elevating the individual and collective levels of knowledge, thinking, and socialization. These efforts will be enhanced by implementing and following a diversity action plan which