 Community leaders gathered on the Bemidji State University campus today to discuss ways to improve the diversity and inclusion at the school. I'm sure all more has a recap of the vision meeting. Bemidji State University's current diversity and inclusion plan is set to expire this May. So to generate ideas on what to strive for next, dozens of staff, students, and community leaders were recruited into the conversation. We're looking to think forward about what we want to do over the next five years. What do we want Bemidji State University to look like and to be related to diversity and inclusion? And so people were invited to come. We have the sheriff. We have the superintendent of schools. We have the United Way director. The vision meeting lasted four hours and used various different strategies to determine BSU's current strengths and weaknesses. As we think about the plan for diversity and inclusion, it goes much more beyond, okay, let's have another cultural event. It goes really into the way that our mindset is and how we are embracing of diversity and a variety of opinions. Before today's meeting, officials actually sent out a survey to students, staff, and faculty members to see what they wanted to see in the next diverse strategic plan. Next, the committee will take what they learned from this survey and what they learned from today's meeting and put it all together for the next diversity strategic plan for the next five years. I personally hope that we can take steady steps to make everything we put into the strategic plan in action. Yeah, and then that is definitely a required collaboration from faculty, staff, and students. At the end of the meeting, the group had acquired dozens of goals. Common themes included becoming a destination university for American Indian students as well as exceeding current diversity requirements. It was opportunity for me to be reaffirmed around some of the areas where we need to go. I'm looking at some of our areas of focus, looking at our American Indian students, looking at what plans and strategies that we have for recruiting faculty and staff of color and American Indian students and faculty as well. Reporting in Bemidji, Sheryl Moore, Lakeland News. The new BSU diversity and inclusion plan will be completed by the start of the next academic school year. If you enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Lakeland PBS.