PAT Council learns about UNH’s diversity plan 

By Denise Hart, Media Relations

The PAT Council welcomed three guest speakers from the Diversity Strategic Planning Task Force to its May 4 meeting: Wanda Mitchell, vice provost for diversity and chair of the task force; Michael Jones, director of editorial and creative services and chair of the task force’s outreach and engagement subcommittee and Erika Clifford, human resources partner and member of the group’s community climate subcommittee to discuss the new Diversity Strategic Plan for the university.

The 24-member Diversity Task Force formed in October 2004 at the request of Provost Bruce Mallory and was charged with crafting a plan that provides action steps that would guide university practice and decision making as reflected in the academic plan and the diversity statements.

“The Task Force was a very ambitious group,” Mitchell said. “We needed to move towards action and the Diversity Strategic Plan is an action plan for moving diversity goals forward. We built upon the past.”

Mitchell said the current process began with the diversity study circles in 2004, which were completed in conjunction with the hiring of an external consultant, Bill Harvey from the American Council on Education, to assist the university community in assisting climate and to inform the process for moving to the next level of planning.
“We will be looking to unit leaders and department heads to carry out the diversity goals,” said Mitchell, who spent her first two years at UNH teaching as a visiting professor. “We need the participation of the entire campus.”

“The group that put this together was very representative of UNH,” Jones said. “This is a real plan and it will work.”

The seven major strategies for enhancing diversity at UNH are included as five categories of the Diversity Strategic Plan, addressing organizational structure, recruitment and retention, curriculum, community climate, and outreach and engagement.

Mitchell said that as an institution of higher education, the main quest is to provide quality experiences that help students to achieve success in becoming the person they wish to become. To do this well, the university must provide diverse learning experiences—from faculty, staff and the culture at the institution.

“Right now, what we do for recruitment isn’t effective, it is primarily advertising,” Clifford said. She added that the first priority is attracting qualified candidates to UNH. Administrative and academic departments currently pay for advertising from their own budgets and Human Resources is seeking ways to possibly consolidate and streamline advertising costs.

“We’re targeting people who meet the qualifications,” said Mitchell, in response to a question about the standards for recruitment for open positions and retention. “I help departments to explore a more broader, diverse pool of candidates.”

One council member noted that managing a culture of diversity is a challenge at UNH.

“A person comes to a higher education institution to work and to learn; there should be many ‘aha’ moments,” Mitchell said. “We’re challenging people to move outside their comfort zones.”

“The notion of diversity is not just for the few, but for the whole,” Jones said. “Many things that we talk about in the plan are already in progress.”

Another council member asked why a member of the PAT Council was not included as a representative to the task force. Mitchell discussed the process for choosing the 24 members, which includes several PAT staff. “In my work, I seek to make sure that everyone has a seat at the table,” she said.

The Faculty Senate voted to endorse the plan unanimously, Mitchell said, as she asked the council for their endorsement.

Phil Hammond, chair of the council, noted that this was a very positive step helping the university to move in an important direction. He noted that there are grants to support diversity training for faculty, staff and students. The council will study the document and consider it at a future meeting.

In other business, council members returned to a discussion about the proposed Compassionate Leave policy and reviewed the pilot program at UNH. Ten individuals sought compassionate leave and all were granted it.

“It’s a one-to-one program,” said Tracy Boyle, District 2. “There is no pool.” Co-workers donate directly and anonymously to a colleague in need once approved by the worker’s supervisor and human resources.

Council members unanimously accepted the policy as written.

The Family Leave proposed policy for exempt staff, if approved by the Board of Trustees, will likely go into effect July 1. The proposal provides a path for staff meeting the criteria to utilize sick leave to care for an ill family member or for extended bereavement leave.

The council continued their discussion about the system’s review of the Additional Retirement Contribution (ARC) and Medical Complementary Plan (MCP) and how this might be mitigated for those who did not chose the pre-retirement additional 1% contribution to their retirement over a post-retirement health insurance option.

The Nominating Committee is working to develop an online election process.

The Professional Development Committee reported that next year’s theme for the council breakfasts will be “Taking Care of Business,” covering a variety of money, business and benefits topics.

The PAT Council has been asked to advise the university regarding how to contain the escalating costs of benefits, which are primarily in the health insurance area. One proposal coming before the System Personal Policy Committee May 17 is a 2 percent increase in the employee contribution for the coming year.

“The System’s hands are tied as they need to look at the issue as a whole state and not by regions,” said Hammond as he explained how the number of people in a plan affects the overall cost. “There is talk about exploring a consumer-directed health plan, but for now, we are just focusing on what to do for calendar year 2006.”

The next PAT Council meeting takes place Wednesday, June 1, at 1:15 p.m. in the Alumni Center.