Annual Meeting

Diversity Kansas’ annual luncheon was November 15 and featured a panel of leaders from regional institutions of higher education discussing “Valuing Diversity and Engaging Our Young Leaders.”

The panel included:
Mr. Ted Ayres,
Vice President, Wichita State University
Dr. Noreen Carrocci,
President, Newman University
Dr. Biff Green,
President, Friends University
Dr. Jackie Vietti,
President, Butler Community College

The panel challenged those attending to value diversity and find creative ways to promote inclusion in education, business, politics, and the community as a whole.

Nearly 160 city, political and business leaders attended the event.

Education leaders address value of diversity
by Christina M. Woods
The Wichita Eagle

Butler County College president Jackie Vietti said, " The job of any educator is to raise hard questions and then be diligent in find the answers." That includes figuring out ways to value diversity, she told about 160 city, political and business leaders Thursday at Diversity Kansas' annual luncheon at the Hyatt Regency

Among questions Vietti said she has pondered in her 12-year tenure at Butler: " How can we consciously create faculty and staff that look like the students we're serving?" And: "If we, as an educational institution, are to truly be of service to our region, do our student demographics mirror those of the region?" Minorities made up less than 3 percent of students 12 years ago, when the campus had less than 4,000 students, she said.

Now, Vietti said, the minority population is more than 25 percent and the campus population has grown to more than 9,000, "We must find ways to be inclusive of those students who look different from one another," Vietti said, adding that the definition of diversity needs to be expanded beyond skin color.

Her college's services, for example, encompass infants to senior citizens. Age, then, becomes a matter of diversity, she said. Vietti was one of four college leaders who spoke at the luncheon.

" I think it was great to see public servants give of their time to participate in a panel discussion, especially about young leaders," said Brent Depperschmidt, who works at Hawker Beechcraft.

Vietti said people can start valuing diversity by asking themselves how inclusive they are in their personal lives. Without being inclusive, Vietti said, "I don't see how we will build a world that's a far better place."