Preface Oklahoma State University (OSU) has significantly strengthened its commitment to promoting and advancing diversity throughout its system during the previous five year period between 2005-2010. The evidence of this commitment has been, and continues to be, demonstrated through the establishment of a Division within the University which focuses solely on developing diversity-related programs and initiatives, as well as strengthening existing activities that are aimed at improving the awareness and presence of diversity among the students, staff, faculty, and administration at OSU. During the past two years, the University has been especially proactive in enhancing d i v e r s i t y awareness, as well as being aggressive in its efforts to recruit a more diverse student population. In 2005 OSU established the Division of Institutional Diversity in an effort to strengthen its commitment to supporting and advancing the value of diversity. In addition to establishing the Division, OSU began implementing several “best practices” related to strengthening the existence of diversity on university campuses across the United States. First, and foremost, OSU’s President, V. Burns Hargis, has expressed a strong and sincere
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commitment to supporting and advancing diversity throughout the system. Dr. Robert Sternberg, appointed as OSU Provost in May of 2010, has also made clear his commitment to strengthening the University’s support for and advancement of the values of diversity and inclusion. Other “best practices” that were implemented include integrating diversity into the institutional culture, as well as the creation of an institutionalized and publicly transparent measurement of the University’s progress in this area. In 2005, OSU drafted and implemented a new Strategic Plan, which identified diversity as one of OSU’s core values and as a top institutional priority. Additionally, the University also developed a Diversity Ledger, which makes virtually all of its indicators of diversity publicly available on the University’s website. This 5-year diversity report spotlights OSU’s commitment to diversity.