questions posed in advance of and during the listening session

match the position we really want to fill. We certainly want the best person for a position butby writing a job description that is so academic we close the door to many outstandingpeople. Is there a plan to change how job descriptions are written and to align more withthe business world? We have an excellent pool of students who work in different areaswithin the University. Many of these students would be outstanding employees but we don'thave a process or system to retain these folks. Is there a plan to recruit from this potentialpool of student workers?Should we provide "mentors" of similar backgrounds and job classifications for the newlyhired staff members that can help them to acquire the knowledge of the University they needto have a more fulfilling experience?Having an HR background and having assisted in hiring decisions before, the hiringauthorities do not factor in gender when offering compensation--but people are still sayingwomen are paid less than men for the same/similar job--do you believe that, and what areyou going to do about that?We have an excellent pool of students who work in different areas within the University.Many of these students would be outstanding employees but we don't have a process orsystem to retain these folks. Is there a plan to recruit from this potential pool of studentworkers?What are your ideas for both hiring and retaining staff members from diverse backgrounds?Would you consider adding disability as a group that you would target for hiring as currentlythere are no hiring goals related to this population?What can our University do to become the employer of choice for professionals fromminority groups...among other things, how can we rethink recruitment, hiring, workenvironment and other retention issues? And in terms of these issues, how do we workthrough the tensions between "fairness" and "social justice?"What is being done (or the plan) to have more diverse staff at senior level (not just OEDareas)?What is being done to ensure staff and faculty of diverse and minority populations areafforded the same opportunities for promotion? Often times employment statistics will reportthat an organization is diverse based on the a particular geographic region; the number ofavailable members of diverse and minority populations (i.e., the University's employeepopulation is x% Hispanic which matches x% of available Hispanics in our geographicregion), however, often times when we look at the positions held and the salary range forthat particular population they typically hold lower-level positions with lower salaries thantheir Caucasian peers. The same can be said for women and those who identify as GLBT. I'dlike to know if the University has acknowledged this issue and if they have, where does theUniversity stand compared to our peers. If we are not meeting the mark, is Universityleadership committed and/or prepared to address the disparity?What is the most tangible way the U can hire and retain a more diverse workforce? Whatcan individuals units do to improve their hiring outcomes?What plans do you have to improve hiring of minority staff in higher positions andpromotional positions at the university? After the elimination of Form 17, it seems thatcolleges have no interest in promoting minority staff. They will hire minority staff at low levelpositions and will not do anything to promote them. Also, there are fewer and fewer minoritystaff especially at certain colleges.What, if any, recommendation do you have on adopting consistent HR language to promoteinclusivity in the recruitment and retention of diverse staff (including student staff)? Whatrecommendations do you have for individual colleges and departments to ensure thatdiverse staff are supported and have the necessary services available?Would love increased staff diversity. What efforts are being taken to achieve this? Howdoes affirmative action play in our efforts to increase diversity and equity in hiring? Thankyou for hosting this event. I really appreciate it.8