I had the wonderful opportunity to attend parts of the UW-Madison Diversity Forum yesterday.  Vice Provost Damon Williams and Chancellor Martin gave thought-provoking talks, and other speakers helped us think about things that we should all be thinking about more. My favorite part was listening to Dr. Christopher Metzler from Georgetown University. His perspectives will help all of us stretch ourselves a little more as we work to further embrace diversity and inclusiveness on our campus and in our community.

One of the things that stuck with me most from Dr. Metzler’s talk was this.  We can all say that we are committed to diversity and inclusion, but what are we doing to demonstrate our commitment. As I thought about this, I started to imagine how this approach could be applied across our mission.  “Demonstration” of commitment is a very powerful concept.  It strikes up images of holding others and ourselves accountable, being relentless in our beliefs and actions, and being open to new ideas and concepts. So how can this be applied to other areas of service in our university community?

I have been spending considerable time lately about our commitment to safeguarding personal information on campus – October is Cyber Security Month.  We all say we are committed to security, but what is each of us doing to demonstrate that commitment.  We can all start by doing a few little things.  Make sure your virus protection software and firewalls are up to date.  Use strong passwords. Ask your IT professional about your department’s security set up. Delete data you do not need.  If you are a manager, understand the data the people that work for you have on their servers, desktops and laptops.  Encourage your staff to care for the data entrusted to them.

 I trust we all have some commitment to security.  Now let’s take it to the next level and demonstrate that commitment.

 Thanks to Vice Provost Williams for a wonderful event and thanks to those that helped us all think a little bit more about so many challenges we face.