Above: From left, Philip Berry, the executive director of the Association of Diversity Councils, presents a Diversity Council Honors Award to UA's Lee Gill, Dr. Rosa M. Githiora, Dr. Julie Yuhua Zhao and Dr. William Hauser.
UA has the 18th best diversity council in the nation, according to the Association of Diversity Councils. The ranking — up two slots from 2011 — was revealed at the 2012 Diversity Council Conference on Oct. 4 in Washington, D.C.
UA was the only institution of higher education on the list, which included Boeing, FedEx, Comcast and several other Fortune 500 companies.
“It is an honor to be included on this list with such elite organizations," said Lee Gill, UA’s associate vice president for inclusion and equity and chief diversity officer, “especially with the limited revenue of a university to spend on programs and initiatives compared to the size of these organizations. Our representation is a testament to the hard work and commitment of those individuals who are driving the process.
"Our administration, faculty, and staff are second-to-none in fighting for inclusive excellence," Gill added. "We will continue to focus on students’ success and outcomes concentrating on the critical challenges of retention, graduation, and preparing our students for the global economy. Hopefully, next year our ranking will continue to improve.
Gill represented UA at the conference. He was joined by fellow Council members:
- Dr. Rosa M. Githiora, interim director, Women’s Resource Center,
- Dr. William Joseph Hauser, associate professor of marketing, and
- Dr. Julie Yuhua Zhao, director of the Increasing Diversity in Engineering Academics (IDEAs) Program
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