Donor Gift Launches Illinois Athletics Diversity and Inclusion Fund
November 13, 2020 | General, Academic Services, I FUND
News
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Thanks to a gift from 1992 Gies College of Business graduate Dan Shallman, the University of Illinois Division of Intercollegiate Athletics has launched a new Diversity and Inclusion Program Fund to help continue programming and education for coaches, staff and student-athletes.
"I am proud to support the DIA's Diversity and Inclusion Fund and commend Josh Whitman and his incredible team for their leadership," Shallman said. "The Fighting Illini community--all of us--will win when we promote a diverse and inclusive culture, work to eliminate bias, and encourage student-athlete activism against injustice. I strongly encourage my fellow UofI alumni to invest in this important effort."
The fund has been created to provide resources for diversity and inclusion education; professional development; community engagement; social justice awareness; voting advocacy; EMPOWER (Enlightened Minorities Pursuing Opportunities Where Everyone Rises), a student-athlete led group; Illini Allies, a safe space for the DIA community to engage in conversation surrounding sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression, and other issues facing the LGBTQ+ community within athletics; and mental health support.
"Our organizational culture is based on all perspectives being heard, valued, and included in decisions. We strive to ensure that diverse viewpoints and backgrounds are represented in all conversations concerning our staff, coaches, and student-athletes," Whitman said. "Inclusion is not only a goal; we believe it is necessary to create an environment within the Illini Family that supports and champions all of our people, thereby allowing them to achieve at the highest level. We are grateful to Dan and others like him who have joined us in this effort and invested in these important initiatives for Illinois Athletics."
Upon his arrival in 2016, Whitman formed a Diversity and Inclusion Committee, led by Senior Associate Athletic Director Keiko Price, which gathered a diverse group of DIA staff to work toward four goals: 1) to develop an inclusive culture within the DIA; 2) to help student-athletes navigate, learn and grow from current social issues; 3) to recruit and retain diverse staff; and 4) to diversity student spectatorship around athletic events.
"I want to thank Dan Shallman for his commitment to providing resources for our student-athletes to be agents for change," Senior Associate Athletic Director Keiko Price said. "With his generous support, DIA is better equipped to support our student-athletes and staff as they answer the call on social justice and equality."
Over the course of the past five years, the committee has made tremendous progress toward these goals with many of the below achievements:
- Facilitating creation of student-athlete affinity groups EMPOWER and Illini Allies;
- Staging the 2018 Diversity and Inclusion Summit;
- Hosting voluntary listening and diversity training sessions for DIA staff and student-athletes;
- Organizing conversations between local police and Illinois student-athletes;
- Planning and/or participating in social justice walks and a Day of Unity featuring I FIGHT Against Racism t-shirts;
- Partnering with campus cultural houses – International Student and Scholar Services, Native American Cultural House, Asian American House, and OIIR;
- Promoting awareness celebrations and storytelling for Black History Month, Hispanic Heritage Month, Indigenous People's Day, Pride Month and NCAA Diversity & Inclusion Week; and
- Participating in the Big Ten Anti-Hate, Anti-Racism Coalition and voter participation campaigns.
