BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP)- University of Vermont administrators have disbanded a commission charged with improving cultural diversity at the school, leading to another dispute over the thorny issue.
Provost Robert Low dissolved the Commission on Racial Justice and Equality on Friday and replaced it with a new group in the midst of wrangling over appointment of an administrator to oversee the initiative.
Low*#180;s decision was made a day after the commission mailed an announcement around the university detailing why it had withdrawn from the process of searching for the new executive officer for cultural pluralism and equality.
The controversy is only the latest that has plagued UVM´s efforts to diversify. The commission that was disbanded was created after students occupied the president´s office in 1991 demanding that more courses on multicultural studies and more minority faculty and students be recruited to the university.
The position that Low and the commission are feuding over now is expected to be filled in the spring. The person who holds the job is the highest ranking member of the administration responsible for diversity at UVM.
"I´m very angry. I´m very upset," said Judy Ashley, co-chairwoman of the dissolved commission, which was supposed to serve for the school year. "I guess I´m getting a small taste of what it´s like for people of color on our campus."
The dispute between Low and the commission was on the accountability of the person hired for the diversity post. The commission wanted the officer reporting to its members, but Low rewrote the job description so the officer reports to him, Ashley said.
UVM issued a statement saying the new advisory committee would work on issues of diversity, equality, racial justice and multicultural affairs. Only one person who served on the abandoned commission was appointed to the new committee.
Leon Lawrence, assistant to the president for diversity, said the Low´s decision was necessary for the university to move forward on cultural diversity.
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