The new resources will also improve the search, selection and recruitment process, and help to meet the work-life needs of faculty members — such as providing child-care services to retain faculty.
The vice provost for diversity, working with the New York Academy of Sciences, is establishing a consortium of area universities, medical schools and industries with a view toward creating, among other options, a high-end job bank for science positions in the New York area. In addition, the vice provost's Task Force on Diversity in Science and Engineering has been tasked with finding ways to strengthen the pipeline bringing women and minority students into the university's undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral programs.
The investment also allows for continued expansion of university-sponsored events on diversity matters. In the coming academic year, the Presidential Advisory Committee on Diversity Initiatives will work closely with the provost and other departments to oversee the new investment, and work with the Office of Institutional Research to synchronize data collection for the Office of Equal Opportunity.
"If we are successful with this multi-pronged approach at Columbia," says Howard, "The university will be a better, more intellectually vibrant community. And, just as important, the academy as a whole will benefit enormously."
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