UM News

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (December 11,2015) — UM President Julio Frenk is taking concrete steps and adding new resources to ensure that all students, particularly students of color and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ) students, feel a climate of inclusion at the University of Miami.

In separate messages Frenk sent to the University community this month, the president reiterated his commitment to advancing policies and programs that will make the University of Miami a stronger, more welcoming community with a shared purpose built on diversity and a true sense of belonging.

In the first message, he announced the establishment of the University of Miami Standing Committee on Diversity and Inclusion, which, among its activities, will research, recommend, and promote educational and programmatic efforts that are consistent with UM’s dedication to diversity and inclusion. The standing committee will report to Executive Vice President and Provost Thomas J. LeBlanc.

In his second message, Frenk announced that, starting in fall 2016, a staff member and a space in the center of campus will be dedicated to the support of students of all gender identities/expressions and sexual orientations. Reporting through the Division of Student Affairs, LGBTQ support also will be addressed by the standing committee.

Both initiatives build on the recommendations of two task forces, the Presidential Task Force for Addressing Black Students’ Concerns, which began assessing the racial climate on our campuses in the spring, and the LGBTQ Task Force, which began assessing the level of services and support for LGBTQ students in 2013.

A number of the recommendations of both task forces have already been or are in various stages of implementation and others will be forthcoming next year.