Attracting and retaining a diverse faculty, staff, and student body committed to our values of hard work and collaborative problem-solving is a top priority for our college. To achieve this goal, we have undertaken several initiatives and programs that promote diversity and inclusion.
The college remains committed to offering faculty and staff valuable learning opportunities to deepen their understanding of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. On September 22, 2023, the Faculty Innovation and Excellence (FIE) series, in collaboration with the CoJMC Staff Council, hosted a panel discussion titled "Diversity from the Student Perspective." This event provided a platform for current students to share their experiences with faculty and staff. Additionally, on March 22, 2024, the FIE workshop centered on resources for student success, ensuring every student has the opportunity to succeed.
In Fall 2022, the college's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee organized a book club for faculty and staff. The group read Community as Rebellion: A Syllabus for Surviving Academia as a Woman of Color by Lorgia García Peña, and met to discuss the book on November 29, 2023. In Spring 2024, the committee hosted a documentary screening and discussion of Look Like Somebody: The Ricky C. Simmons Story. This event, held on April 1, featured a post-screening discussion with Mr. Simmons himself.
On May 16, 2024, the CoJMC Staff Council hosted a lunch and learn presentation on Islam, providing staff with a more nuanced understanding of this world religion, its history and customs.
In addition to ensuring the continuing education of our faculty and staff, the college took steps to improve the education and experiences of our students inside and outside the classroom.
In January 2024, the Global Eyewitness program, which relaunched in the 2022-2023 academic year, embarked on its first international trip since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020. Deepe Endowed Chair in Depth Reporting, Chris Graves, and Buffett-Mangelson-Sartore Chair in Photojournalism, Shoun Hill, accompanied students to Vietnam for a three-week exploration of the Mekong Delta. Together, they produced compelling multimedia stories about the region's people. These stories were showcased at a public exhibition in Lincoln on May 10.
In Spring 2024, Dean Shari Veil and Associate Dean for Academic Programs Adam Wagler also travelled to Vietnam. During their respective trips, they visited several colleges to explore potential partner programs with Vietnamese Universities.
In Spring 2024, the college proudly launched the Multicultural Students in Media Club. To spearhead this initiative, the college engaged Drake Keeler, assistant digital editor at the Omaha World-Herald, as the Lynn and Dana Roper Visiting Lecturer from January to May 2024. Keeler, a 2022 graduate of the college, was a strong advocate for students of color during his time on campus. In 2020, he led an online project for the Daily Nebraskan that focused on telling Black stories on campus and helped establish the Daily Nebraskan Diversity and Inclusion Board. The new student organization aims to provide a space for underrepresented students to connect, build a diverse community and use their voices to drive change in media and mass communications.
In Spring 2024, the college revitalized its partnership with Bay High, a local high school known for its diverse student body and focus on digital content creation. As part of this enhanced collaboration, the college formally introduced workshops within a student club at the school. Additionally, the initiative was expanded to include CoJMC ambassadors serving as teaching assistants for the junior and senior journalism courses at Bay High, providing valuable support and expertise to the students.
The college launched what is believed to be the first student climate survey of its kind on campus. This survey aimed to measure student experiences across seven key areas: inclusion and belonging, climate and culture, discrimination and harassment, equity in education, access to support services, diversity in the classroom and safety and security. Open from April 1 to April 12, the survey garnered 143 responses. The results were published on April 21. Moving forward, this survey will be conducted annually to track and assess changes in the student experience.
Review of the Strategies
| Strategy | Status | |
| 1 | Attract and retain diverse faculty, staff and students committed to our values of hard work and collaborative problem-solving | In Progress |
| 2 | Offer faculty and staff training on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) | Finished |
| 3 | Assess curriculum to ensure clear focus on DEI issues | In Progress |
| 4 | Assess and redesign the Global Eyewitness program | Finished |
| 5 | Expand recruiting efforts for international students | In Progress |
| 6 | Explore partner programs with universities in other countries | In Progress |
| 7 | Increase faculty engagement in global experiences | In Progress |
| 8 | Develop a support structure that includes student involvement opportunities, academic mentorship and faculty connections for underrepresented and first-generation students | In Progress |
| Proposed Amendment | ||
| 9 | Establish a Multicultural Students in Media organization. | Finished |
| 10 | Develop partnerships with Nebraska high schools and student organizations with underrepresented populations that allows students to explore career opportunities in our industries | Finished |
| 11 | Establish a Summer Bridge Program or work with Big Red Camps to invite first-generation students and students from underrepresented racial/ethnic groups to enroll in a college transition program | Finished |
| 12 | Increase engagement with the Explore Center to encourage exploratory student enrollment in college ACE courses and involvement in The Circle | In Progress |
| 13 | Maintain undergraduate advising loads at or below the NACADA recommendation of 285:1 to allow for proactive advising and stronger relationship development | In Progress |
| 14 | Require all faculty to utilize Canvas for course management and grade reporting | Finished |
| 15 | Expand the JOMC 100 Mentorship Program by integrating the HS/Ambassador mentor pairs | Finished |
| 16 | Offer workshops for first-generation students on how to apply for continuing scholarships | In Progress |
| 17 | Engage Buoy and Heartland practicum programs in supporting and telling the stories of underrepresented communities | Finished |
Proposed Amendments
- Increase target 8, “the enrollment of students from underrepresented students who apply to the college” from 10% to 15%.
- Amend strategy 9 from “Establish a Nebraska chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists” to “Establish a Multicultural Students in Media organization.”
Review of the Targets
Target | 20-21 | 21-22 | 22-23 | 23-24 | 25-26 (goal) |
| 70% of faculty and staff will be enrolled in or have completed diversity, equity and inclusion training[i] | 70% | 82.6% | 85.42% | 100% | 82.6% |
| 90% of faculty will be utilizing Canvas for course management and grading[ii] | 95.9% | 97.8% | 96.0% | 96.4% | 90 |
| Increase enrollment of students from underrepresented ethnic/racial groups by 7% (blk, Hispanic, two or more)[iii] | 234 | 223 | 220 | 188 | 239 |
| Increase enrollment of international students by 10%[iv] | 48 | 39 | 33 | 26 | 45 |
| Increase enrollment of students in study abroad programs by 10%[v] | 26 | 13 | 22 | 19 | 29 |
| Increase the number of underrepresented and first-generation students participating in student involvement opportunities by 5% over a base rate established in the first year | |||||
| Increase underrepresented and first-generation students Husker Power scores by 10%[vi] | 37 | 59 | 38 | 33 | |
| Increase the number of first-generation who apply to the college by 10%[vii] | 125 | 131 | 155 | 141 | 138 |
Proposed Amendment | |||||
| Increase the number of underrepresented students who apply to the college by 15%[viii] | 119 | 128 | 131 | 135 | 137 |
| Increase the number of underrepresented faculty and staff candidates in short lists by 10%[ix] | 1 | 2 | 1.16 | 1.1 | |
[i] Number of faculty and staff who participated in three or more CoJMC all-college meetings during 2023-2024, where training is offered.
[ii] UNL-Undergraduate Analytics Canvas Corse Metris #3 2023-2024 report.
[iii] Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Analytics Total Headcount Enrollment by College, Major, Degree, Ethnicity, and Gender - Fall 2023.
[iv] Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Analytics Total Headcount Enrollment by College, Major, Degree, Ethnicity, and Gender - Fall 2023.
[v] Data provided by the Office of Education Abroad.
[vi] This survey has changed, and demographic data is no longer available. The data has been requested.
[vii] Academic Services and Enrollment Management Undergrad Funnel Reports 2024
[viii] Academic Services and Enrollment Management Undergrad Funnel Reports 2024
[ix] Data has been requested from Human Resources but has not yet been received.
