A message from the president
	President Karen Holbrook

University Colleagues:

When I speak before the meetings of the Board of Trustees, I typically focus my remarks on something that is of immediacy to the University or particularly relevant to events locally or nationally that impact the University. When I did that on Feb. 7, I chose to speak on the topic of diversity. I thought it was important and appropriate to share my views on the subject with you. Following are those remarks:

The tragic loss of Columbia last weekend (Feb. 1) focused the nation's attention on seven individuals who served as its crew. These individuals were a team that worked together in the exploration of space and the advancement of science with the passionate belief that what we could learn from the spaceflight would benefit mankind. That team was composed of men and women of different nationalities, races and disciplines. The diversity of this team was readily apparent and brought clearly to mind the connection between excellence and diversity.

I readily appreciate that diversity, like the diversity demonstrated by the Columbia crew, includes differences in people other than race -- socio-economic, geographic origin, intellectual, gender, religious, sexual orientation and physical status, for example. However, racial diversity is in the forefront right now as we celebrate Black History Month across the nation, the 33rd United Black World Month at Ohio State, and as we anticipate a future landmark decision from the U. S. Supreme Court on the two admission cases before them from the University of Michigan. This will be the first ruling of the Supreme Court in two decades regarding race-conscious admission decisions. In 1978, the Supreme Court ruled in the Bakke v. California case that race and ethnicity may be considered among factors aimed at assuring diversity in admissions as a "compelling interest." The two Michigan cases are of enormous national importance. They provide an historic opportunity to shape the future of higher education in our country and their outcome will affect all colleges and universities. What is at stake is the very quality of our universities and the ability to prepare students to live and work effectively in our diverse democracy and in the global economy.

Diversity is a value, and for Ohio State, achieving diversity among our population of students, faculty and staff is a goal. It is about fairness and justice to provide access to education for all citizens, and it is essential to prepare for life in the working world, for good citizenship, and for political leadership. With the changing demographics, our students must be effective and comfortable in their interactions with people who may not think in the same way they do. Employers expect students to work and interact with an increasingly wider group of people, to see the world as a community of interdependent people. Knowledge, understanding and acceptance of other people and cultures are essential.

There is a fundamental link between diversity and the educational mission:

• Diversity is an end to itself, a practice of educational value, not a way of remedying discrimination or adjusting racial quotas.

• Diversity adds to the learning experience, expands classroom examples, and improves communication, understanding and sharing of different life experiences.

• Diversity brings to light the fact that there are differences among people of different races and among people of the same race -- individuals cannot be stereotyped.

• Diversity fosters intellectual and social growth and forces students to change their assumptions and to learn. It simply provides a good learning environment for everyone.

In our institution, it is everyone's responsibility to foster a climate of respect, to increase and retain individuals with diverse backgrounds, lifestyles and cultures, to expand multicultural education, and to communicate our goals and the educational value of diversity.

Ohio State has a background of strong support for diversity, and our campus today is more ethnically and racially diverse than at any time in its history, at the same time that the academic quality and performance of our student body are at the highest levels ever.

Many students and faculty want to know the position of The Ohio State University in this situation, and thus I want to reaffirm and to state unequivocally that this institution is committed to promoting and supporting diversity of our community. To that end, I would like to be clear about Ohio State's position with regard to the Michigan cases. The University filed two amicus briefs when the cases were heard in the 6th Circuit Court. A few weeks ago, I sent a letter to President Bush in support of the Michigan case, affirming our belief that the Bakke case remains, and should remain, the law of the land. Thirty-four national associations of colleges and universities -- public and private -- have also joined forces to advocate on behalf of the University of Michigan to urge the president and thus the Supreme Court to reaffirm the 1978 decision. I sent an op ed to The Lantern on our position. Professor Deborah Merritt and her colleague, Bill Lann Lee, former assistant attorney general for civil rights, expressed their views in an op ed that will be published in the Washington Post, in response to President Bush's request that universities consider "life experiences" when admitting students. Merritt posits that race is a life experience. And, Dr. Mac Stewart published an eloquent piece in the Columbus Post supporting President Mary Sue Coleman at Michigan and describing the value of the Bakke decision.

Many of our students and faculty have urged Ohio State to send an amicus brief in response to President Bush's brief by the Feb. 18 due date on behalf of Michigan. Michigan's legal staff has requested that institutions, instead, ask their state attorneys general to sign onto a brief that is being prepared by the National Association of Attorneys General. We are in active consultation with Ohio's attorney general at present.

Let me close this section of my report with a quote from William Raspberry, the author of an editorial published in the Washington Post. He explains that how we argue for diversity publicly is reflected in whether we see it as an issue or a goal: "Issues, by their very nature divide. They force us to choose sides, to work against one another, to produce winners and losers. That is their political purpose. Goals, on the other hand can be shared -- even when we embrace different means for reaching them. There is, of course, no one way of producing the goal of diversity -- no way, including Michigan's, that is utterly without flaws. But doing nothing is an option only for those who think the goal isn't very important."

At Ohio State, we see diversity as a goal -- a very important goal.

University welcomes changes in college entrance exams

By Liz Cook, Media Relations

Applicants to Ohio State's freshman class of 2006 -- presently high school freshmen -- will be the first to provide a writing sample when taking college entrance exams.

In the 2004-05 academic year, the ACT assessment will include an optional writing section, an option which students planning to apply for admission to Ohio State will be required to take. The College Board will include a required writing section on its SAT assessment beginning in 2005.

Mabel Freeman, assistant vice president for Undergraduate Admissions and First Year Experience, said announcing the decision now will give students appropriate time to prepare.

"It is our intent to ensure that students who are beginning to examine their college choices are informed of the admission standards required by Ohio State," Freeman said. "It is important to us that both students and schools are given sufficient time to prepare for this change."

Roughly 84 percent of students admitted to Ohio State provide ACT scores. Freeman added that because the SAT change will be required, requiring the writing section from students who take the ACT is practical and fair.

Freeman said the Faculty Committee on Admissions unanimously approved the writing requirement in late January.

"The development of effective writing skills is critical to an individual's success in high school, college, and beyond," Freeman said. "Our requirement of a writing assessment is a reflection of our commitment to the importance of written communication in our society."

Both the ACT and SAT organizations, responding to concerns about the need to put a greater emphasis on writing skills, announced changes to their exams last summer. Ohio State joins the universities of Texas and Michigan, each of which plan to require the writing assessment from applicants taking the ACT exam.

Both ACT and Ohio State administrators plan to conduct validity studies once the writing assessment is introduced to determine the correlation between performance on the exam and performance in college-level composition courses. Such studies will allow ACT to adjust the writing section as appropriate for future testers and will allow the University to determine how best to use writing assessment scores in its admissions process.

According to the ACT, which also tests students in English, math, reading and science, Ohio is one of the top five states in the number of ACT-tested high school graduates. Illinois, Michigan, Texas and Florida are among the others. Nationally, more than 2 million ACT assessments were administered in 2001-02.

The College Board reported that in 2000-01, 2 million high school students took the SAT I exam, which assesses verbal and math skills.

Poet Giovanni reaches students through lecture

By Jo McCulty Poet Nikki Giovanni, right, speaks with a student after her lecture at the Hale Center Feb. 6. Freshman Renee Portis, center in hat, and sophomore Tia Twyman, second from right, listen in. Giovanni wears a Kente cloth, which originated in Ghana, Africa, as a gift usually bestowed on royalty, and which the Hale Center presents to its honored guests. Giovanni visited Ohio State as part of a collaborative effort between the Office of First Year Experience and the Thurber House. One of the most widely read American poets, Giovanni has written more than two dozen books, including volumes of poetry, illustrated children's books and three collections of essays.