Dereck Rovaris Sr. will leave his current position at the LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans on July 1 to become the University’s new vice provost for diversity.
University Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Stuart Bell said the University does well with diversity but has room for improvement.
“Diversity broadly includes any of the differences amongst people,” Rovaris said. “We are responsible for increasing diversity and setting up a supportive environment.”
Rovaris said diversity may include, but is not limited to, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender and religion. His position at the University will allow him to oversee the Office of Multicultural Affairs, the African-American Cultural Center, the Women’s Center and the Community University Partnership as well as work with other University organizations toward common goals.
“It is important to remember that we are more alike than we are different,” Rovaris said.
The University has had several accomplishments recently on the diversity front, including a publication in the Journal of Chemical Education. According to a news release, the study found an 11 percent increase in chemistry doctorates awarded to underrepresented minority groups from 2005 to 2009.
“Compared to a lot of universities, especially in the South, LSU does a good job of embracing diversity initiatives,” said LaKeitha Poole, coordinator of African-American Student Affairs.
Poole said the University’s positive attitude toward diversity as an institution shone through with the decision to renovate the African American Cultural Center and the Women’s Center.
They could have discontinued to maintain the Women’s Center, as women outnumber men at the University, but they recognized its importance, Poole said.
Rovaris and Poole said creating a diverse faculty can pose a challenge as demand is high across the academic community to do so.
“Students need to see people who look like them in their programs,” Poole said.
Bell said Rovaris’ position will serve the specific purpose of increasing faculty and student diversity.
“I want him to focus on that,” Bell said.
Diversity is not a “one size fits all” issue, Bell said, and diversity issues do not just exist in graduation and faculty data — such matters may arise during individual student’s experiences.
During his time as a graduate student at the University of Illinois, Rovaris said peers would sometimes ask him to provide an opinion on behalf of black students and people from the South.
“A student shouldn’t have to be a spokesman for a group or forced to hold up a banner,” Rovaris said.
Rovaris said a conversation along those lines should be initiated by the student, not a peer or faculty member.
“We have to make sure a campus is a safe, friendly environment for all students,” Rovaris said.
Poole said students should be encouraged to be themselves and not blame themselves for someone else’s misunderstanding.
Rovaris said minority representation increased in all six departments at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans while he was employed there, and he hopes to continue such increases at the University.