Campus leader on climate, diversity issues to retire

Bernice Durand, a professor of physics and a campus leader in the areas of climate and diversity, has announced her retirement from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, effective at the end of June.

During a nearly 37-year career on campus, Durand has served on the faculty as a theoretical physicist who specializes in particle theory and mathematical physics. She has also served in key campus leadership positions, including, since 2003, as vice provost for climate and diversity.

Durand was the first person to take the position, responsible for boosting the recruitment and retention of minority faculty, staff and students as well as promoting a positive environment for living, learning and working.

Building diversity and inclusivity into the fabric of the campus is not easy work, but UW–Madison is making progress thanks to the work of hundreds of people, she says. She has become familiar with and enhanced coordination among many of those people and programs.

“More undergraduate students are succeeding, new and established programs are bursting at the seams, and conversations about diversity and climate are alive and spreading,” she says. “I have relearned every day something important that I already knew: this campus is populated in all areas by smart people of good will who generally give beyond the call.”

Provost Patrick Farrell credits Durand’s energy, leadership and personal commitment to the subject. He believes she will be sorely missed.

“Bernice has been able to turn a concept – campus-wide collaboration on diversity and climate – into a reality,” he says. “The result has been notable progress in our (Plan 2008) goals, and an increased appreciation for the importance of diversity as an element of excellence in everything we do.”

“While there are many people involved in creating what we are as a campus, few of them have been such a dedicated and persistent advocate of diversity as Bernice Durand,” agrees Michael Thornton, faculty director of the Morgridge Center for Public Service and former co-chair of the Diversity Oversight Committee. “She has helped plant the seeds for what we will become. Our task is to see that what she helped to start will provide a legacy we all can be proud of. She will be missed in so many ways.”

A search committee will be formed to fill the position later this year. Going forward, the position will become full time in the Provost’s Office.

“As Bernice has demonstrated, this position is extremely important to campus,” Farrell notes. “I am assembling a search team to work over the summer finding the right person to fill this role.”

Looking back, Durand says some of her most important efforts have been in reinforcing campus-wide infrastructure to support diversity and improve climate. Some examples include support of networking programs and providing pilot and bridge support to new or expanding programs.

One thing she hopes will happen in the future is that department chairs and other directors of units will enroll in existing campus workshops on department climate and learn to identify climate problems and work to solve them.

She also suggests that, before starting new programs or efforts, members of the campus community take time to consider issues of duplication of effort, resources, sustainability and assessment.

Earlier in her career, Durand played a key role in the development and implementation of Plan 2008, researching and drafting the plan and overseeing its implementation as a co-chair of its steering and oversight committees.

Among her other campus leadership positions have stints as chair of the Athletic Board and University Committee. She also chaired the search committee for the UW–Madison chancellor in 2000.