ANN ARBOR—University of Michigan leaders and a number of special guests will engage the University in a conversation about the value of diversity during the 2006 Fall Summit on Diversity, 8:30-11:30 a.m. Oct. 9 at the Mendelssohn Theatre.

The summit will continue a dialogue started two years ago during a similar event. It will address the University’s ongoing leadership role nationally in showing the importance of diversity in education and beyond, says President Mary Sue Coleman.

“To regularly engage the campus in a conversation on the value of diversity within any modern public institution in this country–and private companies too, given the overwhelming support of corporate partners in our 2003 Supreme Court cases–is a responsibility and a necessity in today’s world,” Coleman said.

Along with Coleman, the summit will bring together Dennis Archer, former Detroit mayor and former state Supreme Court justice; Antonio Flores, president and chief executive officer, Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities; Eva Paterson, founder and president, Equal Justice Society; U.S. Rep. Joe Schwarz (R-Battle Creek); Dr. Kimberlydawn Wisdom, Michigan surgeon general; and U-M leaders Teresa Sullivan, provost; and Lester Monts, senior vice provost.

“The goal will be to create a vision for the University’s future that builds and sustains our commitments to diverse and democratic traditions on our campus,” Monts said.

Percy Bates, professor of education and director, Program for Education Opportunity, School of Education, says the President’s Diversity Council members thought an educational program for the University community would be useful, given the increased attention to issues relating to diversity and affirmative action as exemplified by Proposal 2, a constitutional amendment that seeks to end public affirmative action programs.

“The feeling was we have some responsibility to educate people about issues related to affirmative action,” Bates said.

“We decided the theme for this summit is going to be A Day Without, to put in the minds of people what it would be like if you had a day without the minority students and women on this campus” that was the backdrop of our planning,” he said.

Under Coleman’s leadership, a 2004 University Summit on Campus Climate and Community drew about 300 on campus as it explored the issue.” This was early on when we were looking around the campus, and there was a general feeling there needed to be some improvement in the campus climate,” Bates said.

“At that point President Coleman thought one way to approach that was to bring campus leaders together for a leadership-focused summit. If one assumes you’re going to get some change from the summit, you have to have your leadership involved.”

Building on the successful model of that gathering, campus leaders also will participate in small group discussions that will follow the public sessions.

Paterson will offer the keynote address at 9 a.m. A Web site for her organization, the Equal Justice Society, says it is ” dedicated to changing the law through progressive legal theory, public policy and practice.” Prior to forming the society in 2003, she served for 26 years on the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, providing free legal services to low-income individuals, litigating class action civil rights cases and advocating for social justice, according to the site.

In that capacity she was involved with a lawsuit against race and gender discrimination by the San Francisco Fire Department that resulted in a desegregation of the department. The Web site also says she co-founded and chaired the California Coalition for Civil Rights for 18 years, and was a leading spokesperson in the campaigns against Proposition 187 (anti-immigrant) and Proposition 209 (anti-affirmative action) and numerous other statewide campaigns against the death penalty, juvenile incarceration and discrimination against lesbians and gay men.