Staff Diversity and Equity Committee
The University of Utah Staff Diversity and Equity Committee (Staff Diversity Committee), sponsored by Human Resources, reports to Loretta Harper, Vice President for Human Resources. The committee is lead by Chris Bone, Director of Employee Relations, and the recording secretary is Laree Mecham. The Committee is comprised of staff members from across the University and from Human Resources. Contact Chris Bone at (801) 587-9564 if you have any ideas or suggestions, or to express interest regarding this committee.
Organization of the Committee
The Diversity Committee has been very active in meeting the staff diversity and equity challenges that we have identified. In particular, we have formed three subcommittees:
The Recruitment Subcommittee
This subcommittee is chaired by Greg Hughes. Their task is to provide strategies and support hiring managers to improve the number of underrepresented groups in positions throughout the University. Examples include forging partnerships with University and Community organizations to attract a more diverse applicant pool. Greg Hughes can be contacted at (801) 581-6033 or gregory.hughes@utah.edu.
The Career Mobility Subcommittee
This subcommittee is chaired by Lane Crisler. A disproportionate percentage of minorities at the University are in our entry level positions. This group will identify ways to help these staff members develop skills and experience necessary to support their career development. This may be accomplished by making them more aware of existing resources within the University, as well as potentially developing new resources as appropriate. Lane Crisler can be contacted at (801) 585-9144 or lane.crisler@utah.edu.
University Partnership Subcommittee
This is a Subcommittee chaired by Tadd Helquist; their primary function is to forge lines of communication and partnerships between Human Resources and campus/community groups that address issues related to sexual orientation, gender identity, veterans, and people with disabilities. Tadd can be contacted at (801) 585-0976 or tadd.helquist@utah.edu.
If you have suggestions or would like to be involved with the work of a subcommittee please contact the appropriate Chair directly.
Current Members
The Committee is comprised of staff from the larger Campus community:
- Mary Anne Berzins, Assistant VP for Human Resources
- Chris Bone, Director, Employee Relations, Human Resources
- Lane Crisler, Human Resources Representative
- Dianne Cunningham, Director, Katie Dixon Women and Girls Leadership, College of Social Work
- Laura Eady-Popwell, Human Resources Representative, UTEMPS
- Tadd Helquist, Human Resources Representative—Benefits, Human Resources
- Greg Hughes, Coordinator—Recruitment, Human Resources
- Cathy Martinez, Director, LGBT Center, UUSC Representative
- Laree Mecham, Human Resources Representative
- Lora Mortensen, Administrative Assistant, Plant Operations
- David Quinlivan, Associate Director, Plant Operations
- Octavio Villalpando, Associate VP for Diversity, Academic Affairs
