Rodin commits funds for minority premanence

$5 million earmarked for recruitment and retention of minority faculty and students University President Judith Rodin released several financial initiatives yesterday aimed at increasing the number of minority faculty and students at the University and to make Penn a more attractive place for minorities. "Minority permanence is an institutional goal in the overall Agenda for Excellence," Rodin said, referring to the five-year plan released last fall that first made minority permanence a strategic goal. Under Rodin's new proposals, the University will earmark $5 million for the recruitment and retention of under-represented minority faculty and students. Every dollar given to an individual school within the University must be matched by that school, bringing the University's overall financial contribution toward the plan up to $10 million. Rodin is not designating any specific programs to utilize those funds at this time, she said. Faculty and student groups will need to apply to Provost Stanley Chodorow to receive money. In addition, the University will undertake a $20 million fund raising effort in the next five years to establish an endowment that will provide long-term funding for recruitment, retention and minority programs. The plan also calls for a search for $250,000 from foundations to fund faculty and student research on the benefits of a diverse educational setting. Rodin said she will appoint a standing faculty member to serve as a special advisor on minority issues. The new advisor will be chosen by next month, Rodin said. "If we are really serious about saying we're training the leaders of the future, we want a community on campus that represents the diverse society that we think these current students are going to be leading, otherwise what are we doing," she said. The new plans do not set any quotas for future minority hirings within the University. "The University doesn't have any quotas. Quotas are imposed upon you," said Affirmative Action Director Anita Jenious. "The University imposes goals upon itself." Jenious said the University needs to clarify its goals regarding minority permanence. "It needs to be made clear from the top that Penn is a place where diversity of ideas is valued," she said. Although these initiatives are meant for all minorities, they specifically target blacks and Hispanics, who are considered under-represented minorities at the University, Rodin said. "We need to redouble our special outreach in [those ethnic groups] to make sure that we don't slip," Rodin said. Minorities account for 33 percent of this year's freshman class, according to statistics compiled in May. Rodin this year's class has fewer representatives of under-represented groups than last year's did. Rodin said the new financial commitment should lead to programs that encourage more minorities to pursue jobs in higher education, thereby eventually increasing the number of minority faculty. "No institution is going to gain if all we do in America is steal the same 10 superstars from one another every five years," Rodin explained. "We need to be creative." One possible way of increasing minority faculty on campus involves the development of a program that would help post-doctoral students in making a direct transition into faculty positions.