Diversity

The Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Delaware Minority Supplier Development Council , the Philadelphia affiliate of the National Minority Supplier Development Council, has elected the following to its board: Jessica Choi, director of supplier diversity at Aramark Strategic Assets; Rajil Chopra, manager of supply operations at Peco Energy Co.; Sherry Nacci, diversity manager at Skanska USA Building Inc.; Sherry A. Robison, supplier diversity program...

In the earliest iteration of the Third Reich's Nuremberg Laws, people with three or four Jewish grandparents were classified as Jews and stripped of their livelihoods and property. Individuals with one or two Jewish grandparents were deemed to be "crossbreeds" who were entitled, under certain conditions, to less discriminatory treatment. Terrible? Of course. But recent events have demonstrated that America's academic community operates under an even more precise and exacting racial code.

TO LETTER-writer Todd Cohen: I hear your complaints about your new minority neighbors. As an American of African descent, I truly understand, crystal clearly, your feelings and experience. However, the people that I suggested to move into communities, such as the Northeast, to cure the "white-flightitis" are the ones with a mentality like Tiger Woods, Larry Elder, Michael Nutter, the late Fred Rogers, Mother Teresa, and even syndicated radio host Delilah. These individuals would respect the properties, neighbors (like you and I)

PHILADELPHIA is known for many things - birthplace of our country's independence, home of the Liberty Bell, world-famous cheesesteaks, to name a few. But what doesn't get as much attention are the great things corporations are doing in Center City to help build a future for our youth. Yesterday, Comcast hosted over 60 minority students from all backgrounds and walks of life. Some are working at our headquarters in Center City this summer, others in regional internship programs funded by Comcast.

ANYONE who reads Michelle Malkin's diatribe regarding diversity in the media and does not conclude that she is as crazy as a loon is in the same boat as she is. Her media-diversity test exposes her as an intellectual lightweight. Her list of 20 questions to determine your cultural and ideological viewpoint on diversity does nothing more than stereotype the people she is trying to elevate. Ms. Malkin tries to position herself as the arbiter of all things "diverse. " Yet her column seem to be excluding her from participating in her chosen profession.

Temple is one of 10 Division I-A institutions to earn the overall excellence in diversity award bestowed by the Laboratory for Diversity in Sport at Texas A&M University, Temple officials announced yesterday. The award recognizes the NCAA Division I-A athletic departments that excel in diversity. "I am extremely pleased that the Temple athletics department has received this recognition," Bill Bradshaw, Temple's director of athletics, said in a statement. "This is an area that Temple University takes pride in, not just in athletics, but in all areas of the university.

Diversity should not be a factor in admissions Diversity is being distinct or unlike others; it is having variety in form. Diversity is a difference and variation in the population. Typically, when people think of what makes a body diverse, they think of having people of different races, genders, ethnicities and religions. Colleges and universities often strive to create environments that encompass such a student body. In my college experience, I have seen a moderate amount of diversity.

In his op-ed piece ("Rutgers hire is a shill for race-based admissions," Jan. 12), lawyer Greg Sullivan criticized Rutgers University's appointment of Jonathan Alger as general counsel on the basis that Alger played a prominent role in defending the University of Michigan's admissions policies in the Grutter v. Bollinger and Gratz v. Bollinger cases. I will not and need not defend Rutgers' hiring of Alger, an immensely talented lawyer nationally recognized for his expertise on a wide range of issues important to higher education, including academic freedom, intellectual property, media rights and distance education.

The agenda of the American newspaper ordinarily is obvious enough to its readers, consisting of such conventional stuff as crime, politics, gossip, the price of eggs and the foreign policy crisis of the week. Internally, however, our larger newspapers are preoccupied these days with something else: race and the "diversity" of their labor force. For years we were in the hypocritical position of promoting civil rights, equal opportunity, racial integration and the women's movement in all walks of life except our own. As recently as 1978, when Mississippi classrooms were fully integrated, our newsrooms were 96 percent white.

So, you might wonder in the wake of the Dad Vail Regatta flap, do other city-supported special events have to worry about their ethnic or racial make up? Will the Greek Picnic, a gathering of African-American fraternity students, or the Steuben Day Parade have to show diversity to get a permit? Nope, at least not yet. "We don't exclude anybody from the process," said Acting Managing Director Joe Certaine, "whether they're minority, majority, whatever, we don't get into that.

Urban Outfitters Inc. is facing three resolutions put forth by investors seeking to change corporate governance practices at the Philadelphia retail chain. The first wants the board of directors (currently all white men) to commit to considering diversity when picking board candidates. The second urges the company to switch from a "plurality vote" to a "majority vote" standard. And the third seeks to "declassify" the board so all directors face election annually. Naturally, Urban Outfitters' board recommends shareholders vote against all of those proposals when they gather at company headquarters at the Navy Yard at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday.

In the earliest iteration of the Third Reich's Nuremberg Laws, people with three or four Jewish grandparents were classified as Jews and stripped of their livelihoods and property. Individuals with one or two Jewish grandparents were deemed to be "crossbreeds" who were entitled, under certain conditions, to less discriminatory treatment. Terrible? Of course. But recent events have demonstrated that America's academic community operates under an even more precise and exacting racial code.

Revel, Revel, Revel . . . . That's all the noise one hears these days coming from the Jersey Shore - especially when it concerns new prospects for dining. Granted, the gleaming $2.4 billion tower of Atlantic City's latest casino resort is hard to miss. And with more than a dozen restaurant concepts involving some very big names, its spring debut has no doubt been the biggest food news to hit this casino town since the Borgata began A.C.'s high-end remake. Jose Garces should have Philadelphians' attention right off the bat with three restaurants: an outsize version of Amada with ocean views and flamenco; a jumbo Village Whiskey clone for gourmet burgers and booze; plus Nuevo Mex concept with a Distrito Cantina serving margaritas and a replica Guapo's Taco truck.

Friday was the Springfield School District's eighth Diversity Day — a chance for students in the Montgomery County community to learn about different cultures, interests, and ethnicities. But this one was different — and more heartfelt: It was a celebration of the life of James Taylor, a Diversity Day founder and Springfield High French teacher for 25 years, who died last summer of cancer at 52. Taylor was also an adviser to the Montgomery County school's multicultural club and helped start Voices of Excellence, a leadership group for African American students.

HARRISON, Ark. - When a black man supposedly broke into a white man's home in 1905, a mob ran most black people out of town - and instantly gave this community a lasting reputation as being too dangerous for minorities. More than a century later, only 34 of the nearly 13,000 residents in Harrison are black. But the town desperately wants to overcome its past, hoping a better image will attract more residents and businesses. So leaders are advocating for diversity in a way rarely seen in overwhelmingly white places: creating a task force on race relations, printing posters about the city's ugly history, and bringing in a civil rights speaker.

AN EXCITING transformation is taking place at Temple University, as an increasingly residential student population is drawn to Philadelphia's dynamic urban environment. As part of that transformation, Temple has committed to grow and develop within its current footprint, bringing new and improved facilities to its main campus and enhancing economic opportunities in our community. Perhaps the most prominent of our current projects is the student residential complex on Broad Street, one block north of Progress Plaza.

Democrats demanded "diversity" from Republican Gov. Christie in picking two new justices for the New Jersey Supreme Court. And he obliged, several times over, checking off these diversity boxes with just two nominations: African American and gay; Korean American and immigrant. One of those appointees, Chatham Mayor Bruce Harris, who is black, gay, and Republican, gets his first Senate hearing soon. But the other, Phillip Kwon, a Korean American immigrant who would have been the court's first justice of Asian descent, has been rejected by the Senate judiciary committee - thanks largely to questions over his family's business dealings - in an unprecedented rebuke of Christie.

AS ONE WHO believes that in politics, as in life, nothing is ever as good or as bad as it seems (and often not even what it seems), here are some thoughts on voter ID, which is expected to pass Wednesday and quickly get signed into law. It is not, as Republicans assert, designed to protect and enhance democracy. It is a spoil of victory, the result of elections lost and won, and a way to, in some measure, help the GOP in the future. It would be refreshingly honest if Republicans such as Gov. Corbett, Senate boss Dominic Pileggi and House Majority Leader Mike Turzai simply said so. It is, after all, a GOP initiative.

Orlando R. Barone is a freelance writer in Doylestown A recent study by the Pew Research Center reveals that interracial and interethnic marriages have risen quite a bit in recent years. I'm guessing it's the food. When I was a child, our traditional dinners were a tumultuous festa of antipasto, wedding soup, ravioli (served in a huge dish that only my mother could lift . . . and we had four adult males in the family), braciole . You get the picture. Any course of which would have sufficed as a very complete meal.

By Scot Lehigh Although Rick Santorum says he's not running for pastor-in-chief, the Republican primary campaign has revealed a candidate too governed by faith to lead a diverse country. That's not because the former Pennsylvania senator is Catholic. Rather, it's because his ultraconservative religious beliefs so inform his life, his values, and his worldview that he would not be able to separate that perspective from public-policy questions, or to decide an issue on the facts rather than faith, even if he wanted to. Not that he does want to, of course.