This comprehensive article from Business Officer magazine, makes the case for diversity as a strategic asset, then shares a scan of the current environment through the lens of CUPA-HR initiatives:

CUPA-HR's position statement is the foundation to a larger call to action, says Brantley. "Actions speak louder than words. Many institutions have done a good job of talking about diversity, but it too often doesn't go beyond that." Rather, says Brantley, diversity has to be embraced as part of the core culture of an organization. "It involves our willingness to invite different perspectives and surround ourselves with people different from us to make us better and more responsive to change."

Instead of thinking about diversity as an extra agenda item that will require additional time and resources to implement, Brantley suggests instilling the value of diversity into everyday activities and initiatives and communicating that it is the responsibility of every employee to promote a workplace that fosters inclusion of all its people and their ideas and encourages everyone to perform at their highest level. From a practical standpoint, how is this best accomplished? While the approach will no doubt vary from one institution to another, the key is to get started today along the journey of determining what diversity and inclusion mean for your institution, says Brantley.

Coming soon. In the next issue of Planning for Higher Education, which is themed "Change-Disruption," we are developing an article about integrating diversity planning with other institutional planning.