The Torch. February 24, 2011

              Thursday, February 24, 2011
Valparaiso University's
Student Newspaper
e Torch
2007-2010 Indiana
College Weekly of the Year
PURSUING THE FUTURE
President Heckler's
more   sup-
University's
Lauren Edlin / The Torch
Valparaiso University President Mark Heckler will tour the Midwest to gain feedback from alumni and friends of the
university regarding VU's strategic plan, visiting cities such as Milwaukee, Minneapolis, the Chicago area and St. Louis.
Heckler prepares to
visit various regional
locations, feedback
aims to gain support
Chris Likeness
Torch Staff Writer
Looking to gain
port for Valparaiso
future strategic
plans, President
Mark Heckler is
looking to VU's
vast network of
alumni for help.
In the coming
months, Heckler plans to tour
the Midwest and
present VU's
strategic plans
to alumni and
other potential
supporters.
Organized
jointly by the Office of Institutional Advancement and the Integrated Marketing and Communications Department, the tour
serves as one of the first significant attempts to reveal the major
components of VU's strategic plan
such as the redesigned brand and
the anticipated building projects,
at a national level. Heckler also
described intentions to conduct
more of these presentations later
in the year.
"This particular tour will be
the first of what we expect will be
another year of touring all over the
country to let people know what
we're up to," informed Heckler.
Heckler stated that much of
what the presentations will consist of is information that people
in and around VU have heard
multiple times during the development of the plan.
"I'll be providing an overview
of each of the goals in the strategic   plan   and
how we got to
the plan," stated Heckler.
"Then (I'll)
describe what
the future will
look like after
we've achieved
some of these
goals."
However,
Heckler still
intends for
the primary
purpose of the
tour to be way to obtain support
from the alumni in the audience.
"We want to get people excited
about the direction that the university is going in," said Heckler.
"Ultimately, we'll be enlisting their
support. We'll be asking them to
volunteer, we'll be asking them
to donate money to help us fund
scholarships   to   attracted   great
See Tour, page 5
(The tour) is simply
intended to get
President Heckler out
in their cities. President
Heckler is a very
dynamic speaker and
gets people excited.
Nicole Siewin
Director of Alumni Relations
Policy proposal undergoes final philosophical changes
University Counsel
revises diversity
definition, affirms
campus viewpoint
Stephanie Truchan
Torch Staff Writer
Continuing its commitment
to making campus a more diverse place, the Diversity Concerns Committee and University
Counsel released a proposal for
a revised its definition of "diversity" that was initiated this past
January. The new definition goes
beyond race and ethnicity; it now
includes differences such as religion, sexual orientation, gender
identity, disabilities, socioeconomic status, national origin and
age.
This all-encompassing definition that was presented by the
Diversity Concerns Committee
to the University Counsel on Jan.
19 and was passed by the UC Feb.
23, is intended to aid the campus
community in  "pursuing  excel
lence in education, creating a just
campus community and preparing students to lead and serve in
a global society." The inspiration
for the revisions was taken from
changes other colleges and universities had made and from input
from the student body.
"I am really
happy with the
way this turned
out," said Tia Ko-
lasa, president of
Alliance.
"They were
worried that the
statement would
be a legally
binding document. Diversity
Concerns Committee was able
to change the
wording to make
this a statement
of our philosophy as a university,
without losing the meaning of diversity," said Kolasa. "I hope in the
future, Valpo adopts a more legally binding document, but this is a
really great start."
"The university doesn't really
have a process of updating the
document. There really isn't a set
way to do that. The statement is
just modified when the times
show that the wording is outdated," said Kolasa.
The wording of the document
clarifies VU's stance on diversity
and solidifies its commitment to
creating a com
munity that is
all-inclusive. It
also affirms the
ongoing commitment the
university has
to U.S. minorities that have
suffered from
"historic discrimination and
under representation in institutions of higher
education and
continue to be
disadvantaged."
It is fairly clear that VU does
what it can to ensure a safe and
tolerant community.
"This is going beyond tolerance,"   said   Allison   Schuette,
See Diversity, page 5
The philosophy
statement is about
being welcoming. It
is time for VU to start
practicing some of
what it says it values,
and this is a step in
the right direction.
Allison Schuette
Asst. Professor of English
How VU's Diversity Statement
Measures Up
11 i 1 1 i i 11 1 1 i 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 i i i
"The new definition goes beyond race and ethnicity; it now includes differences such as religion, sexual orientation, gender
identity, disabilities, socio-economic status, national origin and age."
Loyola both celebrates and promotes a safe and healthy community^
life for people of all races, religions, national origins, socio-economic
classes, gender identities and expressions, sexual orientations, physical ^
and learnining abilities, and ages .. "
Loyola
"... All components of our academic mission - teaching,
learning, scholarship, research, and creative acitivity -
are immeasurably enriched by students, faculty, and staff with diverse experiences."
"Creighton University ... welcomes a rich variety of (a) states of being, (b)
way of thinking, and (c) individual, group, and organizational behaviors
that are present in our community. Our intent... is to promote
inclusion, self-awareness,... and an open atmosphere of learning
Creighton
Lauren Edlin/ The Torch
VU's policy Is finalized after multi-phase process, which included the drafting of
the proposal that was initiated by the Diversity Concerns Committee in January.
Index A&E 11   Campus/Nation 5   Opinions 6
Announcements 2   Features 9   Sports 13
Calendar 2   Flicker 6   Weather 8
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