On June 19, I will join members of the IU community in observing Juneteenth, celebrating the extraordinary achievements of African Americans and their contributions to our nation's cultural heritage, and reflecting upon our society's collective work toward equality and justice for all.
IU's commitment to diversity comes from its fundamental belief that a great public research university must be open to all people of ability no matter what their backgrounds or social origins and that the university is, in turn, strengthened by this.
Over the past several decades, IU has become a much more diverse university and has seen all of its individual campuses become progressively more diverse. Today, 28 percent of IU’s student body are minority students, a figure higher than the equivalent figure for the state. Last fall, IU welcomed the most diverse class in the university's 200-year history, with a record total of 23,401 students of color. This represented a remarkable doubling of students of color over the last 14 years since 2007. Furthermore, more than 50,000 degrees have been earned by students of color in the last 14 years, including a record of more than 5,400 during this past academic year, which is nearly 23 percent of the graduating class.
We are extremely proud to have these students on our campuses. We are also proud of the establishment in 2020 of a number of additional programs at IU, including the Pandemic Health Disparities Fund to fund programs that address issues arising from these pandemic-related health disparities and the Racial Justice Research Fund to fund research at IU that addresses social injustice and promotes diversity and inclusivity. Both funds have been over-subscribed, and many of IU's best researchers are engaged in new and innovative projects to contribute to racial justice in our communities and across the nation.
Nevertheless, we must continue to try to find further ways to improve diversity, equity and inclusiveness at IU and to always stand up to hatred, divisiveness, bigotry and intolerance in all its forms.
This Juneteenth we have an opportunity to come together to inspire our students and all members of the IU community to learn and to grow, to stand up for each other when racism or social injustice occurs and to commit to freedom, fairness, justice and inclusion for all.