Institutionalizing diversity and student success at the University of Delaware: College by college, department by department

In 2003, the Provost of the University of Delaware appointed me to the position of Assistant Provost for Student Diversity and Success, with the responsibility of starting and guiding a new university-wide initiative to further enhance and support compositional diversity. Compositional diversity refers to the racial and ethnic diversity of the undergraduate student body. The University-wide Student Diversity and Success Initiative is a collaborative effort to transform the University's colleges and departments into multicultural learning environments.; This Executive Position Paper describes the leadership actions---mobilization, implementation, and institutionalization---I took during the first year of the initiative. Mobilization included relationship and consensus building for effective communication and support of the initiative's vision. Implementation included establishing goals and obtaining constituents' buy-in. Institutionalization included establishing an infrastructure to create, enhance, and sustain diversity-generating practices and programs. This paper is a descriptive and reflective account of these leadership and administrative actions during my first year. Lessons learned from my first year experiences are discussed under the following categories: (1) Lessons that apply to the start-up of any university-wide initiative; (2) Lessons particular to intensifying a diversity initiative; and (3) Lessons about my own leadership skills, capacities, and limitations. This section concludes with a look to the future and the continuing leadership challenges that it presents.