Campus diversity, academic excellence and future growth at the University of Delaware were among the topics highlighted at Provost Domenico Grasso’s most recent town hall meeting for the campus community on Monday, Oct. 24.

All students, faculty and staff were invited to the open meeting in the Trabant University Center Theater that offered an opportunity for the provost to hear comments or concerns from the campus community while also providing updates on current topics at UD.

“I am hoping for an honest and frank dialogue to encourage transparency,” Grasso said as he started the meeting.

He focused on diversity and inclusion initiatives that are building community and improving the campus climate at the University. He said plans for the current fiscal year call for the hiring of a new assistant vice president for Student Life Diversity and Inclusion who will lead efforts enhance multicultural initiatives and improve the campus experience for underserved student populations.

In addition, UD will hire a new senior associate director of the Office of Equity and Inclusion to manage the University’s bias and harassment/non-discrimination policy and to oversee education that strives to prevent such behavior in the first place.

Grasso also talked about efforts to recruit, develop and retain a diverse faculty and staff, including visiting named professorships that create opportunities for faculty from historically underrepresented groups to share their research and scholarship with the campus.

He said continued efforts to diversify the student body include an SAT-optional pilot program for students entering UD in the fall of 2017, and a pre-college scholars program serving first-generation and historically underrepresented and underserved students from Delaware. He also highlighted efforts to support student veterans, as well as students in the LGBT community.

In addition, Grasso offered some background information on Academic Analytics (AA), one tool used to gain greater understanding of research and teaching productivity as the University strives to enhance academic excellence. He said he wants AA to be used as a conversation starter and not in personnel evaluations or decisions.

And he addressed the goal of President Dennis Assanis to increase student enrollment by 1,000 students over the next five years, while adding 250 new faculty members during the same time frame.

There will be another town hall meeting scheduled for next semester.