Building an Equitable Future

By Elizabeth Hordge-Freeman

USF REMAINS RESILIENT, even as we face impending leadership changes, budgetary challenges and similar uncertainties that are impacting all national institutions of higher education. It is precisely because of the unpredictability of this current context that we have been intentional about engaging in an inclusive strategic planning and implementation process, involving internal and external stakeholders. These inclusive deliberations, led by an initial Strategic Advisory Committee (co-chaired by Charles Stanish and Sylvia Thomas) and a Strategic Implementation Committee (co-chaired by Pritish Mukherjee and Theresa Chisolm), culminated in the USF Board of Trustees’ approval of our new institutional strategic plan.

Of the priorities included in our institutional strategic plan, the fourth goal related to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) is most relevant to my role because it focuses on the need to: 1) recruit and retain diverse students, faculty and staff, 2) enhance academic programs and curricula, 3) create adaptable instructional and research workspace, 4) cultivate positive employee experience, and 5)foster community partnerships.

The power of this new USF strategic plan rests in its ability to codify the practices, policies and commitments that will ultimately empower leaders to promote diversity as our competitive advantage. In campus surveys, this goal was consistently ranked among the most important to stakeholders. This goal is not merely under the purview of one office but rather is the responsibility of all of us. Our newly formed DEI Council, which is composed of USF leaders across our campuses who have been appointed to formal and informal positions to advance diversity, will be further empowered to collaboratively implement our institutional commitment to DEI.

Though the specific metrics of the plan are not yet defined, USF leaders have not been idly waiting. For example, the USF Office of Admissions and Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Equal Opportunity organized the second annual Admitted Student Calling campaign. Last year, the campaign targeted underrepresented Black undergraduate students and contributed to the 16% increase in the enrollment of first time-in-college Black students. This year, the calling campaign has expanded to include Latina/o/x students and will enlist the assistance of Alianza Latina Faculty and Staff Association and the USF Status of Latinos Presidential Advisory Council. As an effort to address inclusive curricula, the USF Faculty Senate’s Council on Racial Justice passed a resolution to ensure that faculty are empowered to teach in the diverse areas that are aligned with their expertise, including those areas that address systemic inequities.

As it relates to community partnerships, the Muma College of Business has had a tremendous impact in national and global communities with record-breaking participation in its award-winning Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Workplace Certificate.

USF’s upward trajectory reinforces the notion that our success is directly linked to our collective and inclusive approach to our future. By continuing to engage in institutional self-reflection, update long-standing policies and practices, and leverage partnerships with internal and external stakeholders, we will develop the institutional capacity and agility necessary to thrive in this changing context. In sum, the arc of our growth is evidence of the veracity of a proverb that notes: “If you want to go fast go alone, but if you want to go far go together.”

Elizabeth Hordge-Freeman is an associate professor of sociology, interim vice president of institutional equity and senior advisor to the president and provost for diversity and inclusion.

USF is published quarterly by University Communications & Marketing and the USF Alumni Association for alumni, friends and members of the USF community.

Kim Hill, MBA ’18

Vice President and Executive Director Bill McCausland, MBA ’96

USF Content Editor Tom Woolf Design Editor Anne Scott Alumni Content Editor Penny Carnathan ’82

Rhea Law, ’77, President Kiki Caruson, Interim Vice President of USF World Paul Dosal, Vice President of Student Success Sidney Fernandes, MS ’00, Vice President of Information Technology and Chief Information Officer Paige Beles Geers, Acting Chief of Staff Kim Hill, MBA ’18, Vice President for University Communications and Marketing Karen A. Holbrook, Regional Chancellor of USF Sarasota-Manatee campus Elizabeth Hordge-Freeman, Interim Vice President for Institutional Equity and Senior Advisor to the President and Provost for Diversity and Inclusion Michael Kelly, Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics Charles Lockwood, MD, Senior Vice President of USF Health Carole Post, Vice President for Facilities and Public Safety Operations Nick Setteducato, Interim Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Angie Sklenka, Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer Gerard D. Solis, General Counsel Jay Stroman, Senior Vice President of Advancement and Alumni Affairs Martin Tadlock, Regional Chancellor of USF St. Petersburg campus Sylvia Wilson Thomas, Interim Vice President for Research Nick Trivunovich, MAcc ’02, Vice President of Business & Finance and Chief Financial Officer Mark Walsh, Vice President for Government Relations Ralph Wilcox, Provost and Executive Vice President

William Weatherford, Chair Michael E. Griffin ’03, Vice Chair Timothy L. Boaz Sandra Callahan Michael Carrere Julia Cunningham Oscar Horton Lauran Monbarren Leslie Muma ’66 Shilen Patel Rick Piccolo Rogan Donelly, MBA ’18 Melissa Seixas, MA ’96

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