History of Diversity Database - University of Maryland

History of the Diversity Database

Brief History
In 1994, Lida Larsen, Coordinator, inforM on-line information system, of the Academic Information Technology Services (aITS) created the University of Maryland's Diversity Database in its present form. The Diversity Database was modeled on the highly successful Womens' Studies Database, which was implemented on inforM in 1991. From 1994-1995, undergraduate students working for inforM, the University of Maryland's (UM) campus wide on-line information system, maintained the database. In 1994, Gladys Brown, in role of director of the Office of Human Relations Programs, along with UM's Administrative Computer Center (ACC), College of Library and Information Services (CLIS), Academic Information Technology Services, and the university Libraries funded a full-time graduate assistant, jointly supervised by inforM and the OHRP, has edited the database, with the exception of the Womens' Studies, Sexual Orientation, and Disability Directories. The Database has expanded rapidly and continually, since the time of its conception. In 1996, a steering committee was formed to provide direction for the database. The Diversity Database Steering Committee is composed of faculty members and administrators, and is currently headed by Dr. Simon Richter.

In 1996, the Office of Human Relations Programs, along with the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), received a major grant from the Ford Foundation. The Diversity Database was a decisive factor in receiving the Ford grant. The Ford grant made possible the development of two new important web projects, DiversityWeb and the Diversity Newsroom.

A resource hub for Higher Education, DiversityWeb links colleges and universities that are working to engage the diversity of United States society in eduacational mission, campus climate, curriculum focus and connections with larger society. Diversity Newsroom is an editorial resource for the media on campus diversity issues that provides research, expert opinions, and news angles and stories about how campus diversity is transforming higher education, the workplace, and the community.

The Diversity Database not only offers information on general diversity topics, but also provides information about diversity progress at the University of Maryland and information pertaining to specific issues, emphasized by the UM's Diversity Initiative Program. These issues are:

Race
Class
Ethnicity
Religion
Gender
Age
Sexual Orientation
Marital Status
Disability
Political Affiliation
National origin

The database is organized into categories that reflect these specified issues. Many of these categories are broken down further into even more specific categories. For example, the categories of race, ethnicity, and national origin, which are combined to avoid confusion when confronting the issue of how certain groups desire to formulate their identity, are further divided into seperate databasessuch as the African American Studies Database, the Asian American Studies Database, the Latino Studies Database, etc...

One of the challenges that the Diversity Database editors have encountered due to the proliferation of these issue-specific categories is that one person cannot provide the content expertise for the wide range of topics now covered by the database. The database needs to be edited by content experts in each of the topic areas. This challenge can be met by dedicated faculty members, who are experts in academic fields that correspond to these specific diversity issues, and can provide editorial guidance for the issue specific directories. Using content experts will have the dual benefit of ensuring that the issue-specific databases are maintained at a level equal to the University of Maryland's standard of excellence and permitting the Diversity Database editor to concentrate on other areas of the database. Because we do not expect our content experts to be our technicians, federal work-study students that are extremely proficient in web and computer skills will provide conversion and posting assistance.

Purpose
The purpose of the University of Maryland's Diversity Database is

to provide diversity reference information, resources and information pertaining to the primary diversity issues;
to provide resources pertaining to diversity and multiculturalism as their own, independent subjects of study;
to offer access to diversity-related resources from other campuses around the world; and
to highlight the University of Maryland's own diversity programs, initiatives, and progress.

Audience
As with any form of communication, in the designing of web pages it is also important to consider the audience. The intended audience for UM's Diversity Database is primarily UM faculty and students interested in the serious study of diversity-related topics. By its high visibility on the World Wide Web, our secondary audience is faculty, staff, and students at other institutions similarly inclined.