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And this morning we hear from President Mote on the matter of diversity… (full email appended for those of you not on the list.) But let’s review: did he really just say that we promote diversity in the very fabric of our community by protecting special interest groups (that are very non-diverse)?

Reassigning Cordell Black and then coming out with a “look at my track record!” press release on diversity is, how you say, ‘wrong order.’

Date: Mon, 16 Nov 2009 06:16:34 -0500 (EST)
Sender: “President C. D. Mote, Jr.”
From: “President C. D. Mote, Jr.”
To: “University of Maryland Family”:;
Subject: Diversity is in the fabric of the University

Dear University of Maryland Family:

Over recent days our campus commitment to diversity has been questioned
by some in our community. This is a most serious question that calls
for a response.

Our long-standing goal for the University of Maryland remains to build a
great university with diversity woven into its fabric. The diversity of
the campus is a foundational issue; it is neither a project nor an
office nor one of many goals in a plan. Every program, operation and
recruitment across the university must respect and reflect our
commitment to a diverse culture. This commitment is not only right,
just and necessary in a free community that values individual
excellence, learning and civil dialog on important issues, but it is
essential for a university committed to educating people to live, serve
and prosper in a globally connected world where diversity is imbedded in
virtually all issues, be they educational, social, business,
governmental or cultural. Whether we think in humanistic terms or
simply in pragmatic ones, there is no other course for us to follow if
we are to succeed in building a great university today. Rarely in my
life has an issue been so clear. My record over the past eleven years
reflects this belief.

When considering diversity, committing to its breadth is necessary.
While racial and ethnic diversity are clearly important, so are
diversity issues around culture, sex, gender identity or expression,
sexual orientation, national origin, religion, disability, age,
socioeconomic status and others.

Our foundational commitment to building a diverse campus culture does
not mean that everything is fine. That is never true. There are always
things to fix in a complex community even when much of it is working
well. We commit to doing our best to fix problems when they arise, as
we have in the past for many issues affecting our diverse communities.

Finally, over the next decade our community must balance two ideas about
diversity that seemingly conflict on the surface but must work together
for us to succeed. One idea promotes diversity through common-interest
groups. These familiar groups are brought together by the needs for a
collective voice and collective support. The other idea promotes
diversity of the entire campus, across groups, to broaden understanding
of diverse issues and enrich education of the whole community. Both
must exist, be embraced and work together if we are to benefit fully
from the diversity of our campus. The call for inclusion in our
strategic plan, the need for all our people to feel that they belong to
our community, speaks to this issue. The diversity plan steering
committee has the opportunity to highlight diversity outcome goals for
the next decade and to identify ways to balance these two ideas about
our diverse community so they can be developed and work together to our
great benefit.

In closing I assure you that our commitments to diversity and inclusion
are absolute and foundational. We will do everything in our power to
promote them and the success of all members of our community.

Yours sincerely,

C. D. Mote, Jr.
President