New Diversity Task Force Sets Short-Term Goals

A small team is working with Adnan Husain, the University’s new Director of Educational and Equity Pojects, to develop a strategy for achieving equity and diversity educational goals on campus. This includes establishing a plan of action for supporting the Queen’s community in implementing recommendations offered in university reports as far back as 1991.

“Our excellence as a university is critically connected to our ability to ensure that we recruit diverse faculty, staff and students and foster a climate where everyone feels challenged and included,” says Dr. Husain. In addition to conducting an inventory of diversity and equity programs, projects, and measures at the university, the Diversity and Equity Task Force will employ comparative research commissioned by the Senate Educational Equity Committee to determine the best equity and diversity programs and practices at Canadian universities. This information will guide their deliberations when assessing recommendations from the PAC Report (1991), the Henry Report (2004), The Harassment/Discrimination Complaint Policy and Procedure or Norton Report (2007), the DARE Panel Report (2009) and the Employment Systems Review or Breslauer Report (2009), among others. Many of these reports are or will soon be available at www.queensu.ca/vpac/det The task force will also be consulting widely across the university to devise a strategy for implementing best practices and policies that will enhance diversity and improve educational and employment equity.

“We intend to develop a plan of action that identifies recommendations that can be easily implemented in the short term and prioritizes remaining recommendations, assessing the needs and resources for longer term implementation of programs and measures,” says Dr. Husain. The task force, which meets weekly, currently includes Gordon Smith, Chair of Council on Employment Equity and Associate Dean Arts and Science; Arig Girgrah, Assistant Dean, Student Affairs; as well as individuals from the Office of the Principal, Office of the Vice-Principal (Academic), and the Equity and Human Rights Office. If you have questions about the task force or the work it is undertaking, please email det@queensu.ca  or consult the website .