Office for Equity and Diversity

WE HAVE REACHED $1,000!!! Please continue to spread the word. 

Who? 

The Office for Equity and Diversity is deeply committed to enhancing the success and enriching the educational experience of faculty, students, and staff who self-identify as African American, Latina/o or Chicana/o, Asian American, Pacific Islander, American Indian, members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning community, and women in underrepresented fields.

What?

The Office for Equity and Diversity and American Indian Resource Center (AIRC) is proud to present its first American Indian, non-major specific scholarship at the University of Utah. This scholarship supports American Indian students who are committed to working towards their educational goals and who demonstrate the ability to make positive changes in their community. The scholarship’s framework will create a lifecycle where students are recruited to participate in our Diversity Scholars Program, led through graduation and mentor as ambassadors to future students and community.

Why?

American Indian students do not have the same educational access and opportunity that is available to other students and currently at the University; non-major specific scholarships are not available to American Indian students, which increases the difficulty in addressing this discrepancy. Our immediate goals include recruitment, retention, financial support, ambassador leadership programs and a strong mentorship team. By creating a scholarship with a lifecycle focus, American Indian students will experience enrichment and nurturing as early in their educational careers as junior high, helping to lay a foundation and create opportunities that will positively impact individual lives and communities.

How?

Through the AIRC and Diversity Scholars Program, students will have access to resources, mentorship, one-on-one counseling, and community building projects. Upon completion of a collegiate degree participants then represent the program as ambassadors helping recruitment initiatives and feeding back tangible change into their communities.

The Diversity Scholars Program supports students through a personalized campus orientation, regular interactions with faculty and staff, academic advising, multiple mentoring relationships, and off-campus community engagement opportunities. Most notably, the program is implemented as a cohort model that includes traditional admitted students, sponsored students, and scholarship students.

This is a First-Year Program that has achieved outstanding academic accomplishments and retention rates.