The University of Idaho Faculty Senate unanimously passed an item for “equity, diversity, inclusion and social justice” at the Oct. 27 meeting.
The resolution states “equity, diversity, inclusion and social justice are core principles of the UI community… (and) diversity programs at Idaho universities are being challenged by members of the Idaho legislature,” so the university moved to extend support to equity offices on campus and support further diversity and equity education.
Jan Johnson, the chair of the UBUNTU committee, and Aaron Bharucha, the ASUI Senate pro-tempore, wrote the resolution. It was initially taken to Faculty Senate and discussed some time ago, but has since been revised, Johnson said.
Bharucha said they had been working on this for a year and had considered earlier Faculty Senate feedback to arrive at a “middle ground.”
Faculty Senator Raymond Dezzani supported the resolution, but said, “I’d like to see one conditional: that is the provision that we are open, not discriminating… provided they meet the admissions requirements of the university.” Dezzani said he feared someone could use the statement to weaken the admissions standards of the university.
“I worry about adding that sort of contingencies because it takes away, I feel, from the overall message of the resolution,” Bharucha said. He said it was unnecessary to highlight that the statement’s intent was not to accept people to the university, regardless of academic standing. “I think people will just assume that.”
The resolution was voted on and passed unanimously as it was written.
Faculty Senate also approved a departmental name change at the Oct. 27 meeting. The Department of Accounting will change its name to the Department of Accounting and Management Information Systems. Daryll Woolley, associate dean and interim Accounting Department head, said managing services faculty had recently moved from the Department of the Business to the Department of Accounting, so the department wanted to reflect the change in the name.
Cody Roberts can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @CodyRobReports.