Diversity

A group of state attorneys general is asking educators at all levels to have courage in the face of lost funding and lawsuit threats by the federal administration.

The Illinois House has approved a bill that would ban portrayals of Native Americans in school logos, names and mascots, and another bill that would force a Southern Illinois school to drop its use of the Midgets nickname.

The celebrated former TV journalist Garry Moore will give a presentation called “Why Black History and DEI Matter" tonight at the Laborers hall in Bloomington.

Heartland Community College's Workforce Equity Initiative teaches low-income people the skills needed to work higher-paying jobs.

The Illinois State Police do have a higher-than-average presence of women in law enforcement leadership, however. Women make up 14 percent of ISP’s leadership, according to an agency spokesperson. But the 30x30 Initiative, a coalition of law enforcement experts and agencies trying to diversify police forces across the U.S., reports that women hold just 3 percent of leadership positions across the country on average.

A kickoff event takes place Thursday at the Minority Business Development Center in Eastland Mall.

For this event-planning work and his other extensive community service, Tony Jones will be honored Nov. 9 as one of the 2023 Philanthropists of the Year by the Illinois Prairie Community Foundation.

Lab Schools director Anthony Jones says said one way to boost diversity is better communication with potential students during the application period early in the year.

Dakesa Piña becomes the inaugural vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion at the private, liberal arts university that enrolls 1,600 students. The breadth of her role includes embedding DEI in academic units, workplace culture and facilities, plus supervising the existing Office of Diversity and Inclusion.

State Farm's annual accountability report details efforts the Bloomington-based insurance giant is trying to make across three areas: sustainability in the environment, society, and governance.