The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education’s Board of Governors has adopted a new diversity plan, which links the elements of “diversity, quality and excellence.” The diversity plan is designed to complement Leading the Way, PASSHE’s strategic plan that was developed more than a year ago.

Cornerstone of Excellence, the new diversity strategic plan, represents a “collective effort by the Universities to enhance further the System’s mission to prepare students at all levels to succeed and contribute to the economic, social and cultural development of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the nation and the world.”

The plan is designed to provide a System wide framework to enhance diversity efforts over the next five years and incorporates the five core areas included in Leading the Way – student achievement and success, University excellence, Commonwealth service, resource development and stewardship and public leadership.

The plan adopted by the Board recognizes that diversity is a key element in the intellectual and interpersonal development of PASSHE students. It enhances academic quality, strengthens communities, fosters and promotes citizenship and respect and strengthens economic prosperity.

This is PASSHE’s fourth diversity plan; the most recent having been adopted in 1994. It calls for PASSHE to promote diversity on its campuses by:

· Enhancing the recruitment and retention of historically underrepresented diverse populations

· Encouraging more welcoming campus environments for students, faculty, staff and administrators

· Diversifying PASSHE leadership and management

· Monitoring the achievement of System wide diversity strategies through quantitative and qualitative accountability measures

The Universities will be expected to work with pre-K through 12^th grade schools to help build the skills of historically underrepresented students and to provide effective pathways for those students to move from other educational entities, especially community colleges, to PASSHE Universities. They will be encouraged to expand programs and services designed to enroll, retain and graduate non-traditional and historically underrepresented students, and to implement policies and practices that will enable those students to graduate in four years.

The Universities also will be expected to align human resources programs regarding hiring, supervising, developing, evaluating and rewarding faculty, administrators and staff to support diversity initiatives, and to support research and service projects for historically underrepresented faculty that develop their expertise, teaching skills and academic leadership. The schools will seek to increase the percentage of underrepresented tenured and tenure-track faculty and to expand opportunities for professionals at all levels to share their expertise and best practices related to diversity across the System.

Seeking to ensure that historically underrepresented students at all levels are prepared to enter the workforce, the Universities will expand the number of partnerships they have with business, industry, government, community and other educational entities. They also will promote business, community and cultural development activities designed to support diverse populations.

The new diversity plan was developed through a collaborative effort involving the University presidents and planning councils, Office of the Chancellor staff and a Diversity Strategic Plan Advisory Committee. Those involved met with a variety of campus groups, including University trustees and administrators and student government leaders during the process of developing the plan.

With more than 107,000 students, the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education is the largest provider of higher education in the Commonwealth. The 14 PASSHE universities offer more than 250 degree and certificate programs in more than 120 areas of study. More than 405,000 PASSHE alumni live and work in Pennsylvania.

The state-owned universities are Bloomsburg, California, Cheyney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Millersville, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock, and West Chester Universities of Pennsylvania. PASSHE also operates branch campuses in Clearfield, Kittanning, Oil City and Punxsutawney and several regional centers, including the Dixon University Center in Harrisburg.