Criterion One: Mission and Integrity Core Component 1b: In its mission documents, the organization recognizes the diversity of its learners, other constituencies, and the greater society it serves.

---

	What UMKC students, faculty and staff say An electronic survey, designed by the Diversity Survey Team, was created to capture baseline information regarding internal constituent perceptions of how UMKC is living its core value of diversity. The survey was comprised of 50 questions, including five optional queries regarding demographic information.
In February 2006, the results of the 2003, 2004 and 2005 surveys and the goal for 2006 were published. The surveys’ five optional queries regarding demographic information included University Affiliation, Service at the University, Ethnicity, Gender, and Education. Using the 2003 survey as the baseline, a comparison of the 2003 and 2005 surveys showed that 3 percentage points more of the 2005 respondents (59 percent) believed that UMKC lived its core value of diversity as did the earlier respondents. However, more 2003 respondents (85 percent) than 2005 respondents (83 percent) felt that differences in backgrounds help UMKC find better ways of doing things. The largest increase in opinions between 2003 and 2005 surveys related to open conversations about diversity. In 2003, 47 percent of respondents said that UMKC people talk about valuing diversity, inclusiveness and respect. That percentage jumped to 69 percent in 2005. Diversity Survey Results UMKC’s external community In recognition of the diversity of the community beyond our campus, UMKC’s academic units and administrative divisions work to build and strengthen supportive relationships between UMKC and the city by establishing connections with local government, the civic community, business community, community organizations and the city’s educational institutions. UMKC faculty, staff and students engage in and support community activities that address the cultural, economic, environmental, social and urban challenges of diverse communities. [See Criterion 5 for a more thorough review of our outreach and community engagement activities.] UMKC has created ongoing communication mechanisms to inform our external constituents of our diversity-related initiatives and programs. The UMKC Black Community Partners [BCP], for example, was formed to facilitate open discusses about common goals, interests and concerns leading to jointly supported initiatives that encourage the success of our African-American students, staff and faculty. Likewise, the Hispanic Advisory Board [HAB] serves in an advisory capacity to UMKC Administration to ensure that the University is aware of the concerns and interests of the Hispanic community in relation to our role in higher education in Kansas City. A Memorandum of Understanding [MOU] that establishes a foundation of expectations and offers a tangible means for addressing racial issues within UMKC was signed on June 24, 2009 [News release]. This MOU, similar to one we signed with the Kansas City Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in April 2007, is the result of concerns expressed during discussions between UMKC representatives, including Chancellor Morton, and Hispanic representatives both on and off campus. The purpose of the MOU is to provide a framework for renewing the partnership between UMKC and HAB that “empowers the Hispanic community to attain educational excellence and to contribute positively to the fulfillment of the mission of UMKC.” Toward those objectives, a number of strategies were developed in Summer 2009, including increasing recruitment/admission of and financial assistance for students from under-represented minority groups; increasing numbers of minority faculty and staff; and increasing efforts toward recruitment, retention, promotion and award of tenure of under-represented minority faculty and staff. In addition to our initiatives to recognize and engage our racially diverse external communities, we also offer many programs that target other under-represented people. For example, UMKC’s Program for Adult College Education [PACE] is designed for students who have difficulty pursuing a bachelor’s degree due to job commitments, family responsibilities or other obligations. PACE provides a nontraditional method for earning a bachelor’s degree through courses in a special weeknight, weekend and independent study format. PACE courses are normally presented in 12-hour blocks, arranged by theme or issue, although several courses are offered through Internet, Web-assisted and eight-week courses. We also assist nontraditional students with the Bernard Osher Re-entry Scholarship Program, which is designed to offer scholarships to students – ideally between the ages of 25 and 50 – who have experienced an interruption in their education of five years or more and who want to resume their university studies at a four-year baccalaureate institution. The scholarship targets students who did not have the opportunity to complete their higher education at earlier stages in their lives. Another adult program, Communiversity, is sponsored by UMKC’s Student Life Office. Topics for classes, which are taught by volunteer teachers, range from cooking classes to financial planning seminars and belly dancing to holistic health. Approximately 8,000 people take Communiversity classes each year. Launched in 1970 and opened to the entire metropolitan area, Communiversity is the only all-volunteer program in the country offering this wide range of classes at such nominal prices. In Summer 2009, for example, the fees ranged from $11 to $18 per course, not including fees for supplies in some classes. In 2003 and 2007, UMKC funded and hosted the Sally Ride Science Festival, which brought hundreds of girls to the University for a day-long glimpse of the possibilities available for science, technology and engineering careers. Open to parents and teachers as well, the festival featured a chance to meet and listen to an inspiring talk by astronaut Sally Ride, America’s first woman in space. The festival also brought together dozens of local female engineers and scientists who shared their inspiring stories and entertained participants with workshops, which gave participants the opportunity to explore math and science through how-to and hands-on activities. In Fall 2008, the Office of Community and Public Affairs, in partnership with the divisions of Diversity, Access and Equity [DAE]; Student Affairs and Enrollment Management [SAEM]; and the Alumni Committee on Multicultural and Community Affairs, partnered with the YMCA of Greater Kansas City to launch the Young Achievers. The program is designed to empower minority teens (specifically African-American and Hispanic students) to set and pursue high educational and career goals. In its first year, the program served 50 youth, and for the 2009-10 session, 210 applications are on file. Faculty and staff from five academic units served as mentors and volunteers for the first year of the program. UMKC’s Institute for Human Development [IHD] is one of 67 national University Centers for Excellence on Developmental Disabilities [UCEDD]. Beginning in the late 1970s as the UMKC Institute for Community Studies, IHD works with a variety of partners to respond to needs at the local, state, and national level. Recognizing that many people with developmental disabilities are also members of other under-served populations, IHD has identified seven priority-need areas through which it organizes all activities and visions, which allows IHD to identify and serve needs across the entire lifespan. They are: Health and Wellness Promotion; Early Childhood and Youth; Individual Advocacy and Family Supports; Adult Community Living; Aging and Developmental Disabilities; Interdisciplinary Personnel Preparation; and Program, Organization, and Community Capacity Building. For a fuller and more descriptive of all of the programs under each of these seven areas list see the IHD Web site.
UMKC has more than 75 years’ experience at being an active partner and good citizen for Kansas City. Although we are always learning and adapting, we take great pride in what we have accomplished. Those accomplishments have been recognized in many ways, most recently with the announcement in February 2009 of a national award. The Corporation for National and Community Service honored UMKC with the Presidential Award for Service to Youth from Disadvantaged Circumstances. This is the highest federal recognition a college or university can receive for its commitment to volunteering, service learning and civic engagement. We were one of only three colleges and universities in the country to earn that distinction. This year is the third straight year UMKC has been recognized by the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, but it’s the first time we have received the top honor by the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation.