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Students' Diversity Task Force Works to Enhance the Caring Community on Campus

By Andy Elder, Student Affairs Writer

Penn State has always prided itself on offering something for everyone. No matter what your origin or interest, there is always a place to call home on the sprawling University Park campus.

Even with the vast array of groups and organizations, there’s always room to improve, to foster a more caring and nurturing environment.

With that thought in mind, Vicky Triponey, Vice President for Student Affairs, helped form the Penn State Students' Task Force on Diversity.

The task force is comprised of key student leaders and select Student Affairs staff and administrators.

In her original charge letter, Triponey explained the origin of the task force:

“Several key student leaders have expressed a desire to develop a roadmap and a set of forward thinking and viable recommendations that will empower us to create a more caring, civil and inclusive community within student organizations at Penn State.”

According to Triponey’s directive, the task force was to strive to meet five goals:

1.) Draft a roadmap to guide collaborative and voluntary efforts within Penn State student organizations to enhance the climate to embrace and support diversity.

2.) Propose specific recommendations for student government organizations and offices that work with and oversee Penn State student organizations and student fee allocation processes.

3.) Advocate for widespread endorsement of the roadmap and recommendations developed by the task force.

4.) Provide guidance for Penn State student organizations regarding their role, opportunity and responsibility in providing a welcoming and inclusive environment for all Penn State students and cultivate voluntary engagement in those efforts.

5.) Consider strategies and mechanisms (and perhaps policy changes) that will enable student government agencies of Penn State to reward student organizations for their efforts to create a climate for diversity in their ongoing endeavors.

Judy Albin, Senior Associate Director of Unions and Student Activities, is one of the administrators who has served on the task force. She said the task force has made headway, but is still fine tuning the report.

“Actually, some of the committee met with Dr. Triponey and we will be going back into committee to rework some of the report,” Albin said. “She (Triponey) had some suggestions and concerns that she wanted the task force to address. So we will try to work on those via e-mail and some meetings.”

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