Diversity Profile

WVU Celebrates Diversity:

• The Academic Stars Program is a five-week academic and social program that helps first-year students learn about available resources and develops leadership potential. It has a 99% success rate of retaining African American students.
• The Center for Black Culture and Research was established to educate students, employees, and the community on the history of African people. It offers counseling and mentoring for students and sponsors cultural events. http://cbc.wvu.edu/
• Diversity Week is an annual event that includes lectures, performances, and events that highlight topics ranging from Japanese fencing to soul food.
• The National Pan-Hellenic Council sponsors events like the Spring Step Show, Party Walk Competition, and Black and Gold Pageant.
• The Office of Multicultural Program includes diverse populations in the WVU community and helps attain understanding, tolerance, and acceptance. http://studentlife.wvu.edu/office_of_multicultural_programs
• The McNair Scholars Program helps first-generation students and those from underrepresented groups prepare for and succeed in graduate school. http://mcnair.wvu.edu/
• The International House residence hall is a multicultural community for undergraduate students from around the world.
• Hispanic Business ranked WVU eighth on its list of top-ten best engineering schools for Hispanics.
• More than 80 local places of worship represent over 30 religious affiliations.
• According to The Education Trust, WVU made the most progress of any of the nation’s flagship universities in providing access for low-income and underrepresented minority students between 2004-2005 and 2007-2008.
• Over 350 student organizations, including the Society of Women Engineers, Hispanic Dental Association, National Society of Black Engineers, Latin American Student Organization, WVU Chapter of the NAACP, and Black Graduate Student Association.
• Early numbers indicate that in fall 2012, the number of domestic minority students in the freshman class rose 17% over 2011.
• One of the goals of WVU’s 2020 Strategic Plan for the Future focuses on diversity:
• Foster diversity and an inclusive culture.

Objectives:

• Become a model institution for the attraction and inclusion of diverse groups.
• Integrate diversity broadly into the curriculum.
• Create an integrated administrative infrastructure to promote diversity, inclusion, equality, and intercultural and intercommunity outreach.

Actions:

1. Deploy best practices to promote inclusive searches for staff and faculty, diverse hiring, and retention.
2. Utilize assessment tools to evaluate the impact of diversity practices and institutional climate, focusing on access and success, intergroup relations, curriculum, education and scholarship, and institutional viability and vitality, and use the findings to advance diversity at West Virginia University.

WVU Mission Statement:

As a land-grant institution in the 21st century, West Virginia University will deliver high-quality education, excel in discovery and innovation, model a culture of diversity and inclusion, promote health and vitality, and build pathways for the exchange of knowledge and opportunity between the state, the nation, and the world.