by ***Per Ken Mather***
Cleveland, Ohio – The Mid-American Conference (MAC) announced today that the University at Buffalo has won the MAC Diversity & Inclusion Institution Award for the second consecutive year. Once again, Buffalo continues to offer a broad-based program to be inclusive of all the issues that face its student-athletes, athletics staff, campus and the greater Western New York community.
“We are truly honored to be the two-time recipients of this meaningful award,” said University at Buffalo President Satish K. Tripathi. “Diversity and inclusion are core institutional values that we uphold every day in the classroom, in the research lab, in the community, and on the field of play. That the MAC is again recognizing UB’s commitment to fostering a culture where all feel welcome, respected and empowered to achieve their full potential is a source of great pride for our university community.”
Buffalo athletics is committed to the advancement of diversity and inclusion. Each year the administration measures, evaluates and responds to the specific needs of their diverse student-athlete population via a wellness survey to evaluate student-athletes experience with multiculturalism.
Buffalo also created the Bystander Program with an emphasis of each individual’s responsibility to take care of others regardless of your own personal discomfort when approaching someone different than ourselves. This program revealed the courage for each individual to push through barriers that separate us and the awareness of our shared humanity strengthens our determination to seek unity by respecting our differences and emphasizing our commonality. Buffalo leadership also created special events that expanded diversity and inclusion discussion and dialogue.
Buffalo is also dedicated to diversity and inclusion with a diverse pool of candidates with its hiring practices, the continued development of the student-athlete Peer Mentoring Program and the demonstration of educational programming and initiatives such as the Chosen Name Policy, Transgender Committee, #Spirit Day, National Women and Girls in Sports Day, IAB Gender Sub Committee, team IMPACT, a student-athlete mental health action plan, town hall meetings and health promotion.
In addition, Buffalo expanded internships within the athletic department and also created a law school internship program and developed its first-ever Buffalo Athletics Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Plan.
“It is my honor to once again name the University at Buffalo as the winner of the Diversity & Inclusion Institutional Award,” said MAC Commissioner Dr. Jon Steinbrecher. “President Satish K. Tripathi, Director of Athletics Mark Alnutt and Senior Associate Athletics Director for Sports Administration and Senior Woman Administrator Kathy Twist have provided Buffalo with tremendous leadership in establishing a culture that fosters diversity and inclusion.”
“On behalf of the University at Buffalo athletics department, it is an honor to once again be recognized by the Mid-American Conference as the recipient of the Diversity and Inclusion Award,” said Buffalo Director of Athletics Mark Alnutt. “It is a true testament to the efforts of not only our staff and student-athletes, but the entire UB community as we all continue to strive to be recognized leaders of this very important initiative.”
In November of 2016, the MAC announced one of the most comprehensive Diversity & Inclusion Programs in Division I intercollegiate athletics to begin during the 2017-18 academic year.
The MAC Diversity & Inclusion Program has positioned the MAC as a leader within collegiate athletics. Through this program, the MAC is working to expand opportunities for minority candidates in coaching and administration with six specific and coordinated program initiatives.
These six initiatives include: establishing a Conference Diversity & Inclusion Statement, the commitment of 25 new annual internships across membership, a collaborative mentoring program, a bi-annual summit, the first of which was hosted by the MAC on Feb. 8, 2018, the creation of a resource webpage and the annual awards platform to recognize one institutional athletic department, individual administrator and student-athlete.
The MAC Diversity & Inclusion program provides career educational opportunities for a diverse pool of candidates, career entry and advancement opportunities, consistent support and career mentoring programs for all levels of professionals, and opportunities for collaboration on best hiring practices and cultural enhancements for member institutions.
In the Fall of 2015, MAC Commissioner Jon Steinbrecher instituted a 15-member working group comprised of university administrators, senior athletic administrators and faculty athletic representatives to present to MAC membership recommendations for a comprehensive diversity & inclusion program.
Steinbrecher charged the working group with: “Taking a solution-oriented leadership role in accelerating and growing the pool of minority candidates for collegiate job opportunities in coaching and administration.”
