“Excellence in academia is achieved through diversity.”
In fall 2007, UNC enrolled its fourth class of Carolina Covenant Scholars. The Carolina Covenant offers a debt-free education to low-income students.
Through spring 2006, UNC has awarded more than 900 scholarships. In addition, the university has launched a mentoring component of the program that matches students with volunteer faculty. Last year, the mentoring expanded to include peers offering support to the incoming Covenant Scholars.
- UNC has a higher percentage of African-American students
in its first-year class than any other highly ranked university for the fifth
time in the last seven years, according to a report in The
Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. The journal compiled admissions statistics from the 30 universities
that were ranked the highest by U.S. News & World Report.
- UNC is 41st among "The Top 100 Global Universities" according to Newsweek magazine's international edition in August 2006. It is based on a ranking taking into account openness and diversity as well as distinction in research. Measures include highly cited researchers in various academic fields, articles published in Nature and Science, percentage of international faculty, percentage of international students, and library volumes.
- According to The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, UNC ranked 1st among major U.S. universities for the 6th time in 8 years in the percentage of African-American students in the first-year class. The 470 black first-year students enrolled at UNC in fall 2006 marked a 13 percent increase from 2005. At 12.3 percent of the total class, this was the second-highest percentage reported by the Journal since its annual survey began in 1993.
- UNC health affairs hosts an annual Minority Health Conference
to address the health care needs of underserved population. This annual tradition
began in 1977 and has been held almost every year since.
The School of Nursing promotes
a School-wide environment that embraces racial, ethnic and cultural differences.
Through our Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA), the School fosters cultural
sensitivity in teaching, learning, practice and research.
Imbedded in the School’s mission and culture is the commitment to design,
implement and evaluate recruitment and retention programs for faculty, staff
and students from groups underrepresented in nursing and/or from disadvantaged
backgrounds.
In 2005-2006, persons of ethnic/racial diversity comprised:
- 23% of BSN students
- 23% of MSN students
- 40% of PhD students
- 9% of faculty
- 28% of staff
Males comprise:
- 10% of BSN students
- 8% of MSN students
- 13% of PhD students
- 6% of the faculty
- 18% of staff
Recent Highlights:
- The OMA continued its book club to increase cultural awareness,
sensitivity, and competency through the appreciation and acceptance of differences
in students,
faculty, staff, and the clients that it serves. The book club concept is based
on critical literacy theory. Discussions provide an open, non-threatening forum
for talking about issues of diversity that are relevant in today's society.
- As a part of the PRIDE (Partnerships for Recruitment, Involvement, Diversity and Excellence in Nursing) grant advisory board, the OMA director, Rumay Alexander, helped create a survey instrument to help schools of nursing better understand how faculty and staff perceive a school's attitudes, actions, and effectiveness in addressing diversity issues.
- The OMA sponsored the Minority Visiting Scholar Lecture series. The MVS series was established to highlight the research and contributions of minority nurse scholars. This year, the OMA welcomed Dr. William L. Holzemer. Holzemer is a professor and associate dean for international programs in the department of community health systems at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Nursing. He is also a member of the Institute of Medicine, a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, a member of the Japan Academy of Nursing and on the board of directors for the International Council of Nurses, Geneva.
- The SON awarded Meredith McGee, BSN Class of 2007, the third annual Kindred Spirits Award for Excellence in Multicultural Scholarship for examining diversity in care through sensitive, creative and original
coursework. The award recognizes an undergraduate or graduate student in the SON whose course work examines its subject using the lenses of race/ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality,
The
and culture to analyze work in any discipline, or focuses on the contribution of women and men of all colors to society, history, culture, or thought in any area of study.
- School's Courageous Dialogues sessions this year have focused on stereotyping, welcoming and joyous work environments, and classroom discrimination.
- The SON is home to the Center for Innovation
in Health Disparities Research, a partnership between UNC CH and Historically Black Colleges and Universities—Winston-Salem
State University, North Carolina Central University—aimed at increasing
the capacity for culturally competent nursing research.
