Diversity Resolution

The following resolution was passed by the Graduate Student Council on Wednesday, February 4, 1998.

THE MIT GRADUATE STUDENT COUNCIL AND BLACK GRADUATE STUDENT ASSOCIATION

GRADUATE STUDENT BODY DIVERSITY JOINT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS the nation's communities, schools and industries are becoming increasingly diverse; and

WHEREAS President Charles Vest has expressed his commitment to diversity and affirmative action, and the need to increase under-represented minority and women enrollment at MIT and universities across the country; and

WHEREAS graduate recruiting, admissions, and retention processes are decentralized to the department and sub-departmental level, increasing the difficulty of maintaining a consistent practice across all departments; and

WHEREAS the departments would benefit from the knowledge of recruiting techniques and admissions processes used by other departments.

BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED that it is the opinion of the Graduate Student Council and the Black Graduate Student Association, that the University would benefit by having all academic departments place maximum effort and knowledge into recruiting, matriculating, and maintaining the enrollment of under-represented minority and women students.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Graduate Education Office should coordinate a review of departmental admissions processes for the purpose of highlighting areas for possible improvement in minority and female representation, sharing information regarding successful recruiting strategies, and tracking the progress of under-represented minority and female recruiting within the departments.