Retiree: YSU falls short on diversity

University officials said progress has been made over the past five years.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The former coordinator of diversity initiatives at Youngstown State University said the university must do more to bring more black staff and faculty to campus.
Leon Stennis, who retired from YSU in August, spoke Thursday before the YSU Board of Trustees' Internal Affairs Committee, saying that his research shows YSU lags behind all other Ohio state universities in terms of black employment.
YSU has no upper-level black managers, only 15 black full-time faculty members and only 6 percent of the university's 1,200 employees are black, yet more than 50 percent of the city of Youngstown's population is black, he pointed out, suggesting that the university is resistant to change.
Surveys
Two surveys done by the YSU Diversity Council showed that black students, faculty and staff are frustrated "with the culture of racism that exists at YSU," Stennis said.
The university also was cited for a lack of sufficient racial diversity among faculty and staff during its last overall national accreditation nearly a decade ago, he said.
"Times have changed, but more things need to change," Stennis said, urging the board and administration "to do the right thing."
"I think the university is doing what it can to increase diversity," said Jimmy Myers, YSU's director of equal opportunity and diversity.
He said YSU isn't last among Ohio's 11 major state colleges and universities in terms of black employment, but ranks seventh or eighth.
Myers, who is black, noted that every job posting or job search must be reviewed and approved by his office to assure that diversity is a consideration.
"There is no plan in place [at YSU] not to hire African-Americans," he said.
Progress
Dr. Thomas Maraffa, special assistant to the president, acknowledged that more needs to be done, but he pointed out that YSU has made progress in bringing diversity to campus over the past five years.
He gave the board a report showing that the percentage of black employees among the ranks of full-time faculty, classified staff and administrative professional staff rose from 7.6 percent in fall 2000 to 9.2 percent in fall 2005.
There was a 33.7 percent increase in the number of black employees over that period, from 69 to 104, the report said.
The number of black full-time faculty rose from 15 to 21 over the five-year period while the number of black classified employees rose from 34 to 51 and the number of black administrative professional employees rose from 20 to 32, the report says.
Further, the Strategic Hire Program initiated in the Academic Division this year has recruited three additional black faculty for this fall, said Dr. David C. Sweet, president.
Maraffa pointed out that the job turnover rate at YSU is low, making adjustments to improve employee diversity a slow process.
gwin@vindy.com