When the College of Agriculture announced its five-year strategic plan in 2003, increasing the diversity among students, faculty and staff was one of the college’s top goals.
According to Randy Woodson, Glenn W. Sample Dean of Agriculture, the vision of the college “is to create a climate that fosters and values diversity and welcomes and supports all students, faculty and staff.”

Over the past year, the College of Agriculture has hired 15 faculty members, one-third minority and one-third female.

And over the past decade, minority enrollment in the college has increased from 4 percent of total enrollment to almost 6 percent, while enrollment of international students has grown from just under 7 percent to more than 10 percent. But that is just a portion of the effort the college has undertaken to promote diversity. Among the highlights:

• The college, with the Colleges of Science and Engineering, has established a diversity workshop for all faculty and staff members.
• A Diversity Action Team in Agriculture assists in the implementation of the strategic plan.
• A unit exploring diversity has been added to the Introduction to Agriculture course, AG101, which is required for all first-year students.
• Diversity awareness training programs are scheduled for clerical staff in May and August.
• A 22-person Intercultural Action Committee for Extension has held three regional one-day workshops for Indiana Extension educators.
• The college has established links with a number of high schools with large minority populations and developed a summer camp for minority high school students.
• A USDA grant will pay to recruit and retain five multicultural student scholars.

“Diversity in the student body and in the faculty must be increased to help create an atmosphere where people of diverse backgrounds and views feel welcome and can contribute to the improvement of the entire college,” Woodson says.

“The college must facilitate opportunities for all students, faculty, staff and alumni to develop a shared understanding and appreciation of diversity’s importance and benefits. In addition, the college must continue to foster a climate of respect.”