The UOAA sponsors a number of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs to serve individual communities within the larger alumni body and to ensure that all alumni feel welcome at all of our events.
Ethnicity Statistics
Over half of all alumni have self-reported ethnicity data to the university, but much more data are available for recent alumni, and recent classes are far more diverse than earlier ones. Because of this, alumni with unknown ethnicity are generally from earlier, less diverse classes and are presumed to be primarily White/Non-Hispanic.
The UOAA is committed to supporting all alumni and wants to see lifelong relationships flourish within all groups. One of the key ways this connection takes place is with recognized affinity chapters, where alumni who share an identity or shared cultural background can come together.
Groups support student groups, raise scholarships, mentor students and recent alumni, promote civic and philanthropic involvement, and engage in programming to create a strong alumni network and to continue a commitment to lifelong learning.
All affinity and cultural groups are approved by the UOAA board of directors and are managed by alumni volunteers. Many groups grow out of corresponding UO student organizations, though that is not a requirement. If you would like information on how to request a charter for a new alumni group, the UOAA staff would be happy to work with you.
We commit to the following goals, which are incorporated into the 2020-2024 UOAA Strategic Plan:
Recruit, retain, and promote into leadership positions a high-performing staff that reflects the diversity of the communities we serve.
Recruit, support, and promote into leadership positions a cadre of alumni volunteers that reflects the diversity of the communities we serve.
Feature speakers, panelists, and honorees that reflect the diversity of the communities we serve.
Develop content and programming that highlight the research at the UO and campus and alumni stories around issues of diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice.
Represent and communicate the voice of the university to its alumni and the voice of alumni to the university.
Promote support of scholarships that increase student access to education at the UO.
Empower alumni to opt in to affinity group communications that interest them.
Adopted October 2020
As recent events have again laid bare the racial injustice in our country, the UOAA is taking a deep dive into its diversity commitment. The UOAA believes it is essential that we communicate a vision that not only values equity and inclusion but also allows for the board of directors, fellow alumni and the university community to be true to our goals and directives. The board of directors will ensure our vision for these challenges is not merely an exercise that will fade over time, but an effort that will utilize our strategic plan to ensure the UOAA is accountable in its execution.
Adopted June 2020
The UO Alumni Association Board of Directors is committed to supporting and strengthening relationships with communities of color and underrepresented alumni in order to serve all alumni of the University of Oregon. As a board of directors that represents more than 180,000 living alumni of the UO, it is vital that equity and inclusion initiatives of the University are intertwined in all alumni relations and efforts.
Our priorities include:
Celebrating diversity
Being inclusive of all alumni
Treating alumni equitably
Helping recent graduates from diverse communities with mentoring and networking opportunities
Providing support for affinity and interest groups
Reconnecting alumni to campus via the Multicultural Alumni Reunion and other events
Diversity, as the University of Oregon Alumni Association defines it, is differences based on age, race and ethnicity, national origin or citizenship, gender, religious affiliation or background, sexual orientation, gender identity, economic class or status, political affiliation or belief, and ability or disability.
Adopted May 2013
Testimonials
My experience at UO shaped my career in two big ways: I learned about the Mark O. Hatfield (congressional) fellowship at the UO... If not for the UO, I may not have found the opportunity. As an alumnus, I had a built-in network when I arrived in D.C. without knowing anyone. Some of the alumni I met are close friends, colleagues, confidantes, and mentors.
Dennis Worden, BA '06
Director of Global Regulatory Monitoring and Enforcement, Fortune 500 Company
Being multi-racial and from a small town, this was the first time in my life where I got to explore and learn more about myself.
Ricky Almeida, BEd '07
School Counselor
We're human beings. We come in different shapes, colors, orientations, heights…We breathe. We want to achieve. We want love, or respect, or to have access. And it takes people getting into the writing rooms and positions of power, like production show running, to get those stories and those people seen.
Marc Anthony Samuel, BA (telecommunication and film)
I’ve been really proud of the way the UO has been trying to recruit more students of color and setting up programs that aren’t driven entirely by cost, instead applying an equity lens. I see the UO spending dollars in providing resources in a way that other institutions have not been able to figure out how to do financially. The UO is providing those scholarships, is providing those wrap around services and is thinking about bringing more diversity to the business school and hiring recruitment faculty. To me, that’s really important.
Emma Kallaway, BS ’10 (business administration)
Government Relations Director, Portland Community College
Through my experience at the UO, I think the biggest takeaway is the relationships I've cultivated. I was involved in a lot of student unions – the Multicultural Center, the Asian and Pacific American Student Union, and Kultura Pilipinas. I also worked at UO Catering, so I had a broad experience in different areas of campus. I met some of my best friends at the UO, and after 20+ years, I still have strong relationships.
Jason Cummings, BA ’05
National Account Exectutive, Cost Segregation Services Inc.
UO was so critical to who I am today. It was where I discovered who I was, along with my Asian American identity. As a student, I became an advocate for diversity, including advocating for more ethnic studies classes and more professors of color. It was also where I discovered my passion for learning, growing, and developing people and relationships – all skills that have helped me in my professional career and running my own business.
Joesph Wahl, BA ’80
Founder and CEO, Wahl and Associates LLC
We are tearing down the assumption that all women of color are the same, that all women from a specific community are the same, and saying that every single woman is different, every single woman has her own story, and providing space for them to share that.
Hanin Najjar, BA ’21
Co-founder and editor-in-chief of Parachute Media. Photo courtesy of Hanin Najjar
“I went into Carson [residence hall], the 4th floor specifically, because it was the gender-inclusive floor. In the Carson building, the second floor was dedicated to the Diversity Excellence scholars... that was really cool that even though I was not a diversity scholar, I was interacting with people on that floor. So I would hang out with people on both floors. That’s where I met my first friends at the University of Oregon.”
Event Spotlight: Representation Matters: Ducks in Entertainment
Actors of color and in the LGBTQ community are calling for changes in casting practices, storylines, and depictions of their characters on screen. While decisions about who is represented and how come from the top down, three Ducks are helping lead the way in solving one of Hollywood's most pressing issues.
