University of Southern Maine

Diversity Plan: 2003 - 2005

Office of Finance & Administration

GOAL I: Climate

USM continuously strives to make the campus a welcoming climate of inclusive in its understanding and integration across multiple dimensions of diversity, including, but not limited to, diversity based on race and ethnicity, gender, disability, sexual orientation, age, gender expression and identity, religion and class.

• The Office of Finance & Administration will request all staff members to attend training and workshop sessions offered for diversity awareness.
  
  
• OFA strives to be a welcoming environment for all faculty, staff, and students.
  
  
• OFA will promote to its departments to work cooperatively with all university departments in attaining this goal.

GOAL II: Academic Experience

The USM academic experience, which includes both curricular and co-curricular activities, increasingly reflects the multiplicity and diversity of communities and cultures locally, nationally, and globally.

• OFA will foster and participate in the development of the academic experience to include diversity in in both the curricular and co-curricular activities offered by USM, including credit and non-credit activities.
  
  
• OFA will examine its role on this goal in cooperation with its departments throughout the year to make sure that all its activities in this goal are inclusive of multicultural and diverse populations.

GOAL III: Student Recruitment and Retention

USM strives to increase the diversity of its student body through active outreach and recruitment. USM increasingly works to develop structures and mechanisms that support the retention of all students, particularly students of color and other underrepresented populations.

• OFA will work cooperatively with all USM departments and divisions in this goal to recruit and retain all students including those of multicultural and diverse populations.
  
  
• The Division of OFA will promote in all of its departments programs, brochures, written materials, and web sites a welcoming and comprehensive format to all students and employees at USM.

GOAL IV: Faculty and Staff

USM strives to increase the diversity of faculty and staff, particularly faculty and staff of color, but inclusive of other underrepresented populations as defined in Goal I.

OFA will promote diversified hiring through such avenues as:

• identify funds for advertising venues not currently utilized to attract diversified candidates
  
  
• strengthen its commitment to a thorough and complete search process
  
  
• train personnel to be cognizant of all multicultural populations in all work aspects
  
  
• extend diversified awareness to all published documents
  
  
• support USM's mentoring program for all staff

Including the above bullets, it is the intent of this division to meet this goal in unison with all USM departments and divisions by incorporating the diversity plan into our daily operations. All four goals outlined in this plan are important and cannot work without the cooperation by all divisions and departments. These goals can work only if the community embraces them into their lives at USM. Each area is linked by people, students, faculty and staff. It is these very same people that complete the link and the goal to make it happen.

Office of Finance and Administration includes the following departments:

• Facilities Management
• Environmental Safety and Health
• Telecommunications and Campus Card Services
• Management Information Services
• Financial Resources
• USM Bookstores