New diversity task force makes first recommendations

Following up on an institutional priority most recently articulated in his opening convocation address, Western Washington University President Bruce Shepard has established a task force for equity, inclusion and diversity to review campus climate, recruitment and retention practices, curriculum and community outreach efforts to help Western more effectively embrace and reflect a truly diverse society.

During his convocation remarks, Shepard noted that the results of recent faculty and student climate surveys revealed that “experiences reported by women, racial and ethnic minorities, and by gays, lesbians, transsexuals, and bisexuals are different from the campus climate reported by majority counterparts ... in unacceptable ways. We need the help of everyone on campus in figuring out how to improve this situation.”

The results of a climate survey for professional and classified staff conducted this fall will be available early in 2013.

At its first meeting on Nov. 30, the President’s Taskforce on Equity, Inclusion and Diversity recommended that the university reimburse employees in same-sex couples for the federal taxation on same-sex partners’ health and wellness benefits; that any university form or policy that references “spouse/partner” also include an explicit statement that it applies to same-sex couples as well; and that the university should take steps to facilitate the ability for faculty, staff and students to change their gender marker and preferred name without going through the time and expense of legally changing their name and/or gender with other governing bodies.

For more information about the composition of the task force, its charges or further analysis of climate surveys to date, please see the task force webpage or contact Bill Lyne, the task force's coordinator, at william.lyne@wwu.edu or 360-650-3234.