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University Housing & Dining Services

UHDS Diversity Initiative

Carrie Halsell Ward - First Student of Color to Graduate from OSU


The Premise


Since 1) UHDS houses approximately 75% of the first year freshmen attending OSU, and 2) since the first year is the most vulnerable year for students transitioning to college, and 3) since historically underrepresented students have additional transitional obstacles when attending a institution with an overwhelming percentage of the dominant culture...What potential impact could UHDS make if we could focus our existing efforts to make UHDS environments increasingly safe and nurturing for students from historically underrepresented communities? The UHDS Diversity Initiative is intended to increase the level of comfort, satisfaction, and academic success for students from historically underrepresented communities and thereby increase the student recruitment and retention.

An Inclusive Environment


University Housing and Dining Services staff members foster, support, and advocate for an increasingly inclusive environment and community through understanding, enhancing, promoting, and celebrating the uniqueness of our student residents and department staff.

    Greater diversity is a strategic goal for UHDS due to:
    • Equity issues: All students, staff, and faculty should rights to the same opportunities without regard to their cultural/ethnic background.
    • Accessibility issues: Students many times face barriers to access of the institution and its services.  These have historically impacted students from underrepresented groups at disproportionate rates.
    • Retention issues: Students from traditionally underrepresented groups have historically had a lower retention rate than students from the dominant culture.
    • Educational development and environment issues: As the university is responsible to help create an educated citizenry, students who understand themselves and other, and have the ability to work and thrive in a diverse environment will be better equipped to face the opportunities and challenges of the next generation.
    • Enlightened self-interest:  The demographics are changing and will continue to change.  The customers and clients of tomorrow will not look like, think like, or be like the customers of yesterday and today.  If we hope to be relevant to the new population, we need to be in tune with their unique and common needs.
    • The ITRTTD Factor: It’s The Right Thing To Do!

Diversity Action Plan 1.0


The UHDS Diversity Action Plan 1.0 is intended to be a dynamic document that represents the initial thinking and effort around creating a more welcoming and inclusive environment. We have intentionally begun with a focus on African-American Students, Latino(a) Students, and International Students. This allows for us to 1) address issues with students whose population is growing in the community and at OSU, 2) gain some traction by not spreading our thinking/research/effort too thin too quickly.

Feedback on the UHDS Diversity Action Plan 1.0 and/or process are welcome.