Photo by Chris Meyer
Cheryl Crouch, left, exceutive director of marketing, Auxiliary Services and Programs, IUB, and Bruce Jacobs, vice chancellor, stand in front of a poster created by the department to support diversity initiatives.
 “Project RESPECT” was kicked off in a series of six one-hour sessions. All full-time employees attended. The sessions included remarks by the campus chancellor and vice chancellor, a brief history of how “Project RESPECT” was created and time for discussions, questions and comments from the audience.
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IUB’s Auxiliary Services and Programs received the Golden Award from the National Association of College Auxiliary Services (NACAS) in recognition of its “Project RESPECT” diversity initiative. The award was presented at the NACAS annual conference in Colorado Springs, Colo.
ASP at IU includes more than 2,500 full- and part-time employees representing: IU Auditorium, IU Bookstore and Service Centers, Campus Bus, Conference Services, Indiana Memorial Union, Motor Pool, Residential Programs and Services, Marketing and Parking Services.
The Golden Award is named in honor of Edwin R. “Bob” Golden for his foresight in acknowledging the need for attention to issues of cultural diversity within university auxiliary services.
New strategies to promote diversity within the division and the campus began with an assessment committee of both staff and students. The committee developed and implemented a series of actions to proactively address issues of diversity. The initiatives included hiring an advocate to oversee and coordinate diversity activities; creating a diversity value statement for the division; centralizing the human resource function within ASP to assure communication and consistency for diversity issues; creating an orientation program for all ASP employees, including diversity in all professional development programs for staff and raising the general awareness of diversity issues throughout the division.
An action team then was formed to implement the new diversity initiatives. Under the banner of “Project RESPECT,” the team developed the ASP diversity value statement, which was given to each employee. The value statement includes a series of eight questions that each employee is asked to reflect upon each day in order to ensure that they are doing all they can to promote a diverse work environment.
All employees also received a “MagiCube.” The cube features photos of several employees and included eight personal assessment questions that had been included in the diversity value statement. Many employees keep the “MagiCube” on their desks, said Cheryl Crouch, executive director of marketing services for ASP. The Respect Cube, as it is fondly called, has been well received, she said.
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