College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois
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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Academic Programs
Diversity Programs

The College of ACES seeks to encourage diversity and multiculturalism among its faculty, staff and student body. To this end, the College has committed itself to the following four goals:

GOAL ONE - To increase the cultural diversity in the undergraduate student body.

Traditionally under-served groups underrepresented in the food and agricultural sciences are being targeted through several efforts:

  1. A career awareness experience for high school freshman and sophomore students, Research Apprentice Program I;
  2. A hands-on laboratory mentorship for high school juniors, Research Apprentice Program II;
  3. A post-high school academic experience involving classroom instruction and skill development for entering freshman and community college transfers, Young Scholars Program;
  4. Special visits and programs at both urban and rural schools across Illinois and targeted schools nation-wide.

GOAL TWO - To create a college environment that values differences among students, faculty and staff.

  1. Placing emphasis on cultural diversity through our policies, procedures, and practices;
  2. Encouraging courses that place emphasis on readings and discussions that focus on diversity and pluralism, such as the campus cultural studies requirement, ACES 100, and efforts by faculty to promote cultural understanding through their courses;
  3. Providing opportunities for faculty, students and staff to fully participate in workshops, seminars, and individual discussions that promote understanding of differences;
  4. Encouraging all student clubs to engage in activities that promote multiculturalism and pluralism, and provide special support to ACES Student Council, Student Advancement Committee, and Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences as a key to leadership for college-wide student diversity;
  5. Providing more opportunities for all students to participate in a variety of experiential learning activities which provide an understanding and appreciation of other cultures.

GOAL THREE - To strengthen the human expertise of the food and agricultural sciences through cooperative relationships between ACES departments with other colleges and universities, government agencies and industry.

Promote institutional collaborations that would have the most immediate impact to strengthen human expertise development, i.e., create productive and cooperative long term relationships and interactions between ACES faculty and other faculties, and increase the pool of minorities and women pursuing degrees as scientists and educators. (See Summer Research Opportunities Program (SROP), Ronald McNair Scholars Program, Southern Food Systems Education Consortium - SOFSEC, University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez Campus)

GOAL FOUR - To increase the number of minority and women faculty and staff.

An institutional diversity emphasis through the representation of more minority and women faculty and staff is a goal of the College of ACES. Institutional cooperation, especially with the CIC Institutions producing minority Ph.D.s in the food, agriculture and related sciences, as well as selected universities nation-wide, provide an important means for identifying individuals for faculty and staff openings. Campus programs, such as Targets of Opportunity Program and Faculty Excellence, as well as coordinated searches which seek to create a diverse pool of qualified candidates for all openings provide a means of active recruitment for such faculty and staff. Goals one and four are long term solutions to identify and encourage underrepresented students to pursue advanced degrees with teaching and research as a career goal.