University of Pennsylvania
PAE-8: Support Programs for Underrepresented Groups

Currently there are six cultural resource centers at Penn targeting underrepresented groups: -The Greenfield Intercultural Center fosters intercultural understanding at Penn through cross-cultural activism, reflection, and dialogue. -La Casa Latina, Penn's Center for Hispanic Excellence, promotes awareness of Latino issues, culture, and identity. -Penn's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Center supports the University's LGBT communities through mentoring, workshops, advocacy, and special events. -Makuu, the Black Cultural Resource Center, is a nexus of advising, leadership development, and programming for Penn students interested in Black culture and the African Diaspora. -The Pan-Asian-American Community House is a hub of academic, personal, and professional growth for Penn students interested in Asian-American culture and the Asian American Diaspora. -The Penn Women's Center strives to understand and address the evolving needs of Penn's women through programming, advocacy, and community. Penn has numerous religious organizations, arts organizations, councils, advisory boards, and student affairs affinity groups available to students from various backgrounds, as well as school-affiliated organizations within Penn's 12 schools. A full listing of these resources, with links to each organization's web page, is available on Penn's diversity website. http://diversity.upenn.edu/resources/

Penn's Action Plan for Faculty Diversity and Excellence outlines the initiatives, both new and in progress, that will help the University recruit, retain, and mentor an ever more distinguished and diverse faculty. The Plan's three-pronged approach involves increasing diversity recruitment, creating programs to foster faculty development, and expanding the pipeline of existing diversity programs. Recruitment Numerous programs and initiatives support diversity throughout the University. Both the Perelman School of Medicine and the Wharton School offer a variety of resources to search committees to help them broaden applicant pools. The Target of Opportunity Committee of the School of Arts and Sciences identifies excellent scholars from underrepresented populations and brings them to the attention of appropriate departments. The Provost’s Office provides, through the Faculty Opportunity Fund, a partial two-year subsidy to individuals who enhance the academic strength and diversity of the faculty. In the last five years, this program has supported 88 such candidates. The Dual Career Program has offered substantial help to departments that need to find a position for the spouse or partner of a desired recruit. When the first and second proposed hires are located in different Schools, Deans can request cost sharing from the Provost’s Office to supplement support from the two sponsoring Schools. Since the majority of Penn faculty have an employed partner, many of whom are academics, this program offers an important resource for hiring and retaining faculty. Additionally, the Vice Provost for Faculty educates search committees about best practices. While each of these programs has helped to build a more diverse and inclusive faculty, they can be improved and expanded. Faculty Development In recent years, Penn has implemented a variety of programs designed to help faculty reach their full potential. Penn’s family-friendly policies include reduction in teaching duties after the birth or adoption of a child, extension of the tenure probationary period for primary caregivers, adoption assistance, and back-up childcare. These policies help faculty combine their professional and personal obligations, and we will maintain and expand them. In 2006, Penn also established guidelines to help ensure that all junior faculty receive effective mentoring. These programs, which have been established in all 12 Schools, link junior faculty to senior colleagues who can provide guidance. In addition, the Penn Fellows Program provides leadership training to a small group of outstanding mid-career faculty, while building a cross-campus, interdisciplinary network to help support and advance their development. Other community-building programs, such as the Forum for Women Faculty and the Perelman School of Medicine’s FOCUS Initiative, provide networking, mentoring, and leadership training for female faculty. For faculty of color, this function has been fulfilled largely by cultural studies programs and by initiatives such as the Minority Faculty Development Program in the Perelman School of Medicine. Expanding the Pipeline Multiple programs overseen by the Vice Provost for University Life encourage students from underrepresented populations to consider graduate education and careers in the professoriate. Initiatives such as Advancing Women in Engineering, the Ronald E. McNair Scholars Program, and the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Program provide mentoring, research support, and networking opportunities for talented young people at Penn. In 2008, Penn recruited an Associate Vice Provost for Access and Equity to further strengthen existing programs and to recommend new strategies and partnerships. At the graduate level, the Fontaine Fellowship Program provides financial support and mentoring for approximately 200 students each year from groups underrepresented in the academy. Recently, additional funding support has enabled Penn to increase the number of Fontaine Fellows, who have gone on to faculty positions at leading universities across the country, including Penn. The Office of the Provost will work with the Deans to enhance Penn’s support of this successful initiative and to recruit more of these excellent emerging scholars to Penn’s faculty. This summary only describes a portion of the initiatives covered in the Action Plan. The document can be read in its entirety at the following addresses: http://www.upenn.edu/provost/images/uploads/Faculty_Diversity_Plan.pdf http://www.upenn.edu/almanac/volumes/v58/n02/diversityplan.html

In October 2004, at the inauguration of President Amy Gutmann, the University of Pennsylvania launched The Penn Compact, of which one tenent is engaging locally by providing opportunities for local individuals and businesses to participate in the economic activity of Philadelphia’s largest private employer. At the heart of this strategy is the Penn’s Economic Inclusion Program. Through this effort, Penn collaborates with local communities to: - Increase employment opportunities by improving job skills and workforce capacity - Support small businesses through the procurement of locally provided products and services - Ensure that a percentage of minority and women-owned construction vendors participate in campus development projects over $5 million. Penn strives to provide a working environment that welcomes and celebrates diversity. A varied workforce maximizes the University's talent pool, inspires creative thinking, and encourages a culture in which different views are appreciated and respected. As the largest private employer in Philadelphia and the second largest in Pennsylvania, Penn is able to offer a multitude of job opportunities for local residents as well as minority and female workers. Since the inception of the Economic Inclusion program, Penn’s workforce has become increasingly diverse. Statistics from 2007 illustrate that 61% of the University's regular staff is female, nearly 33% is of color, and 15% is from West/Southwest Philadelphia. Penn's hiring practices and partnerships encourage the recruitment, retention and development of a highly qualified, committed, and diverse workforce. The University has established strong affirmative action principles for its faculty and staff, and tracks the composition of its workforce to regularly identify under-represented populations for targeted recruitment efforts. Penn provides skills development opportunities for its diverse employee base, and has established several programs and partnerships to further its diversity goals, including: Lucien E. Blackwell Apprenticeship Program At Penn Launched in September 2007 with an inaugural class of 50 West/Southwest Philadelphia residents, this program provides minorities and women in the labor and skilled trade professions with the training needed to enter into the trade unions in Philadelphia. Upon reaching apprentice status, participants will be assigned by the unions to construction projects at the University of Pennsylvania. Citizens Bank is sponsoring this unique partnership, in which the Building Trade Council of Philadelphia’s Diversity Apprentice Program provides the training and the Greater Philadelphia Urban Affairs Coalition conducts the recruitment of men and women into the program. Unique Advantage Unique Advantage, a women- and minority-owned company, has been Penn’s exclusive provider of temporary staffing services since 2002. Among other things, Penn works closely with Unique Advantage to recruit local candidates for employment. Through Penn's partnership with Unique Advantage, the number of West/Southwest Philadelphia employees at Penn and the University of Pennsylvania Health System (UPHS) has increased significantly within the past few years. KRA Corporation Penn and Unique Advantage work with KRA Corporation to provide assistance to welfare recipients looking to move from welfare to work. KRA provides intensive case management, work activities, job placement and retention, and supportive services to these individuals. Pipeline Development UPHS instituted a “Pipeline Development Strategy” to provide current employees with the training and coaching to help them advance their careers in clinical areas where severe shortages exist. This program has been successful in providing opportunities for career development to residents of the West/Southwest Philadelphia community, with 14% of the enrollees residing locally. High School Paid Employment Program UPHS hosts a program that offers paid employment opportunities for high school students, providing both after-school and summer positions at UPHS entities. A very interactive experience that includes a mentoring relationship with staff members, this program seeks to assist the students with long-term life goals. Of the students currently participating, 91% of them are from the West/Southwest Philadelphia area. Outreach Activities Along with our partner agencies, Penn takes part in many activities during the course of the year aimed at reaching out to local residents as well as minorities and females. These activities include: participation in career fairs sponsored by organizations such as the NAACP, Council of Spanish Speaking Organizations (Concilio), Philadelphia Community College, and the Office of the Mayor’s office; presentations at meetings sponsored by groups such as Penn’s African American Resource Center; outreach to local religious leaders; and attendance at ceremonies such as Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds’ “Women Making a Difference” awards. The entire report, Creating an Enterprising Community: Economic Inclusion at the University of Pennsylvania, can be accessed at the following link: http://www.evp.upenn.edu/docs/Ec_Incl.pdf

Student Resource Centers http://diversity.upenn.edu/resources/affiliated_with_resource_centers/ http://www.admissions.upenn.edu/life-at-penn/our-diverse-community/cultural-resource-centers Action Plan for Faculty Diversity and Excellence (2011) http://www.upenn.edu/provost/images/uploads/Faculty_Diversity_Plan.pdf http://www.upenn.edu/almanac/volumes/v58/n02/diversityplan.html Creating an Enterprising Community: Economic Inclusion at the University of Pennsylvania http://www.evp.upenn.edu/docs/Ec_Incl.pdf http://www.upenn.edu/almanac/volumes/v54/n23/diversity.html Penn Compact http://www.upenn.edu/president/penn-compact/penn-compact-landing