When you think of diversity, you probably think of several other colleges besides Fisher.

However, a group of professors, college administrators and even students want to change all of that with the Campus Diversity Advisory Board. The Board met April 12 to present the College’s state of diversity and to also generate ideas to help increase the amount of diversity on campus.

At the beginning of the address, Dr. Donald Bain said Arlette Miller Smith, dean of multicultural affairs and diversity, and he had planned for a long time to put together an overall general strategic plan for diversity at the college.

“I find the richness of the material in the report to date to be phenomenal. In one hand, no question, we have a long way to go,” Bain said. “I’ve seen the campus come an awfully long way in the many years I’ve been here.”

Smith said that the Board’s definition of diversity includes not only race, but age, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity and ability. Smith also added that the Board is interested in creating a safe, nurturing and supportive environment for all members of the Fisher community so that everyone can be treated equally. This includes increasing not only the diversity of faculty and students, but making sure educational excellence is provided to all students.

“When we talk about diversity work today, we’re not talking about a product, we’re talking about a process,” Smith said.

Smith said that in 1999, students took a diversity survey focused on the climate of the campus in terms of the amount of race and diversity. This survey served as a baseline for the board and studied race, social, academic and organizational environment.

“We have been able to use that study to jumpstart a lot of the Campus Diversity Advisory Board which we do today,” Smith said.

Mark Eckstein, director of institutional research, shared statistics from the last four years with the Board as well as students. These statistics showed the number of diverse students and faculty at Fisher from different ethnic backgrounds. These included the amount of diverse students enrolled in undergraduate programs, as well as masters and doctoral programs, the number of diverse faculty members, differently abled students, and the amount of students from different religious backgrounds. One fact Epstein shared was that over half the freshman class is Roman Catholic, while about a third of students practice other Christian religions and fewer practice other religions.

Toward the end of the meeting, attendees were allowed to ask questions to members of the Board.

Dan Edes, manager of Fisher’s  Barnes & Noble bookstore, asked how the College would attract more diverse students when the rising cost of tuition is unfortunately a barrier to certain diverse populations. Dr. Rick DeJesus, dean of students and associate provost, answered that, in addition to certain scholarships, the College needs to develop additional ways to provide financial support students from diverse backgrounds that need it.

Bain said one of the strategies to increase the amount of diversity on campus is to recruit students from various high schools, including those in the inner city, to even establishing summer programs on-campus, and even working with Wegmans’ Supermarkets’ current programs to attract prospective students to attend Fisher.