Fresno State Receives Commendation for Athletics Diversity
FRESNO, Calif. – A national study that examined athletics departments from every NCAA Division I-A program has found the Fresno State Athletics Department is among the national leaders in diversity.
Fresno State was recently informed it has been honored for its diversity by the Laboratory for Diversity in Sport at Texas A&M University.
According to Dr. George B. Cunningham, the director of the Lab at Texas A&M’s Department of Health and Kinesiology, the Award is designed to honor and recognize high achievements in athletics diversity.
“Consistent with the mission of the Lab, this Award is aimed at recognizing the athletics departments that excel in the area of diversity. While many reports underscore the negative diversity-related issues in athletics today, this Award is aimed at highlighting the diversity success stories.”
In determining the rankings, data was collected from each Division I-A institution for the 2006-07 academic year. The information gathered for the ranking system came from a variety of sources, including hard data from each institution and survey responses from each department. To rank the graduation rates, the most recent NCAA four-year graduation rates were used.
The report recognized 10 institutions unranked in the following categories:
· Overall Excellence in Diversity
· Title IX Compliance
· Diversity Strategy
· Employee Diversity: Race
· Employee Diversity: Sex
· Employee Diversity: Values and Attitudes
· Graduation Rates for African American Males
· Graduation Rates for African American Females
Fresno State was recognized as one of the 10 best athletic departments in the nation in two of the eight categories, graduation rates for African American male student-athletes and for the racial diversity of the athletics staff. Fresno State was one of 20 schools to be honored in multiple categories.
Diversity in Athletics Award Recipients for Employee Diversity: Race
University of California, Berkeley Fresno State Florida International University University of Hawaii Mississippi State University New Mexico State University San Jose State University Stanford University University of Texas-El Paso University of Tulsa
African American Graduation: Male Student-Athletes
Ball State University Fresno State University of Cincinnati Kent State University University of Louisiana, Lafayette University of Louisiana, Monroe Marshall University Northwestern University San Diego State University University of Southern Mississippi
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