June 2, 2009
By Alyssa Patti, Athletic Communications Student Assistant
Out of all the clubs, sports and activities at Penn State, it is the Athletic Council for Diversity and Inclusion (ACDI) that is attempting to create an equal and non-discriminatory environment for student-athletes, coaches, staff and administration.
About the ACDI
The process of becoming a more diverse and inclusive university began in 1994 when each academic college and academic support unit was asked to prepare a diversity strategic plan to promote equity for faculty, staff, and students. In 1998, Tim Curley put together a group of representatives from different levels of coaching, administration and staff, and created what is known today as the ACDI. He asked them to meet on a monthly basis in the fall and spring semesters to discuss their mission statement and goals in order to create a more diverse and inclusive university. The ACDI and the involvement of the other diversity councils around the university have made a significant difference in the lives of many faculty, staff, coaches, administration, and students.
In order to truly make a difference and foster diversity at Penn State, the ACDI creates a mission statement and establishes goals to fulfill that mission statement.
Their mission statement this year is to conceive and promote initiatives that facilitate the principles of diversity and inclusion. Their highest priority will be to establish a climate of mutual respect and support of individual differences where persons of dissimilar color, creed, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, physical/mental ability and ethnicity can maximize their full potential and function as a cohesive group, free of prejudice, discrimination and harassment.
The ACDI then creates goals they want to accomplish for the year. This year, the ACDI has three goals that will help them achieve a diverse and equal environment. The first is to recruit and retain a diverse staff that supports the various needs of our student-athlete population within the university and surrounding community. The second is to sponsor numerous and varied varsity, intramural, club and recreational programs that satisfy student interests and afford maximum participation by students and staff. The final goal is to initiate and support workshops, hiring practices, and operating procedures that focus not only on efficiency of intercollegiate athletic programming but focus on sustaining an inclusive environment.
Programs Brought In By ACDI
There have been many programs throughout the years attempting to achieve goals set by the ACDI and in the past year several speakers and their stories have helped to create a more diverse and inclusive community. Speakers range from Wally Triplett; Lance Allred; Pat Griffin; panel presentations by several ability athletes; a mentor's in violence prevention presentation; and many more.
To celebrate Black History Month, this past January, the All-Sports Museum hosted the series, `Breaking Barriers: The Story and Legacy of African-American Athletes at Penn State'. The speakers there included Diana Kenepp, Wally Triplett, and a panel consisting of Warren Colman, Don Ferrell, and Bob White. Diana Kenepp spoke about the timeline of firsts at Penn State and included Calvin Walker, the first African-American to enroll at the university, and Cumberland Posey Jr., the first African-American to compete in intercollegiate athletics. Wally Triplett also spoke during this series about his troubling experience in 1946 when a game against the University of Miami (Fla.), who wouldn't allow African-Americans to play at their university, would cause Penn State to set a new precedent. They canceled the game instead of leaving Triplett and his teammate Dennie Hoggard at home. Triplett was the first African-American to be drafted and then take the field for an NFL team. He was also the first African-American to start and earn a varsity letter for Penn State.
This past April, mentors in violence prevention educated Penn State's staff, administration, and coaches on gender violence. This group of former professional and collegiate athletes came together to motivate men and women to work together in order to prevent gender violence. They made it clear that it is the student-athletes and student leaders who play a "central role in solving problems such as, rape, battering and sexual harassment".
Lance Allred, the first deaf NBA player, also shared his compelling story in September of 2008. Allred, who started college at Utah, had a horrible time with his coach who allegedly made fun of his handicap and said he was using it to get ahead. Allred left Utah and went to Weber State, where he graduated and made it all the way to the NBA.
Members of the Ability Athletics team spoke at an ACDI event earlier this year. |
In February 2008, Pat Griffin, renowned writer of "Strong Women, Deep Closets: Lesbian and Homophobia in Sports", came to Penn State to speak about the discrimination that occurs in athletics. In that same month, ACDI hosted a panel of ability athletes, who are paralympic level athletes with physical disabilities, and their coach. Maggie Redden, Rohan Murphy, Kortney Clemons and coach Teri Jordan each gave their stories and experiences and after they spoke there was a complete question and answer session where anyone could ask them anything.
Success of the ACDI
"I think our program has been a success thus far," says Jennifer James, the Chair of ACDI. She believes that it was the foundation laid down by past chairs Mark Sherburne and Suzanne Isidor that has truly made the difference in the success of this program. "The restructuring that happened three years ago molded the ACDI to fit into the university's strategic plan, which is helping to make our corner of the university a better place that is more diverse and more inclusive."
According to a survey in 2002, there are more than 3,700 African American students, 1,944 Hispanic students and 3,500 international students are enrolled and representing about 140 countries, and 1,700 students university-wide are registered as having a disability. Besides those striking numbers women comprise 47 percent of the total university enrollment.
If you want to learn more about the ACDI or are interested in becoming a volunteer, you can go to the ACDI's website http://www.gopsusports.com/ot/acdi.html or you can contact Jennifer James at jqw7@psu.edu.