When the Leadership Institute for Ethnic Minority Females makes its debut this summer, it will join a long line of professional-development programs aimed at giving ethnic minority administrators and coaches within the NCAA the skills to advance in their careers.

The newly established Leadership Institute for Women will follow in the footsteps of its highly regarded brother -- the Leadership Institute for Ethnic Minority Males -- which will complete a three-year run in June before retiring for three years while the female institute establishes itself.

The institutes and their counterparts -- most notably the NCAA Coaches Academy, which currently targets football coaches, and the NCAA Fellows program, which is designed to assist more experienced athletics administrators -- do more than provide skill enhancement. They are a key part of the Association's continued drive to promote diversity within the administration and leadership of intercollegiate athletics.

On top of the more than $4 million in NCAA resources currently being channeled toward diversity initiatives, objectives related to increasing diversity have found their way into the NCAA Strategic Plan as well as divisional strategic plans and are drawing a healthy portion of financial support from divisional budgets to fund grants, partnerships and other activities to increase diversity throughout the membership.

Two of the Division III strategic planning priorities for the next two years are in fact diversity-related outcomes, one of which calls for a 5 percent increase in the number of women and minorities represented in athletics administrative structures in Division III institutions. In addition, both Divisions II and III have established matching grant enhancement programs designed to encourage the increase of ethnic minorities in coaching and athletics administration throughout the respective divisions. The Association also offers diversity training workshops throughout the year that have attracted more than 12,000 participants since 1996.

With such commitments and resources in place over the last decade, one would think the number of ethnic minority administrators would have grown accordingly. But data from the 2003-04 Race and Gender Demographics of Member Institutions' Athletic Personnel Report reveal that the number of ethnic minority administrators in the membership continue to be low and their movement into leadership positions at member institutions such as director of athletics, associate or assistant director of athletics, senior woman administrator and head coach has been discouragingly stagnant since the baseline year of 1995-96.

What, then, constitutes success in terms of diversity programming? Should the Association evaluate the return on its investment of time, money and resources being directed toward those initiatives? Is success measured by the number of hires and the upward movement of ethnic minorities throughout the membership? Or is a more qualitative measure more telling and appropriate?

Ron Stratten, NCAA vice-president for education services, says the definition of success as it relates to ethnic minority programming has consistently been about filling the pipeline with qualified individuals -- identifying people with high potential, nurturing them, moving them along and telling the membership about them.

But playing the numbers game can be troublesome. It may give the impression that the initiatives are somehow failing to meet an unstated expectation on the part of participants that once they complete the programs, they will automatically, and quickly, move ahead. The reality is that there are only so many athletics director or head coaching
positions -- not to mention that ethnic minorities are a part of a much larger pool of candidates competing for advancement opportunities.

Stratten believes the Association will struggle with the question of what the return on investment is for diversity programming because not all of what comes out of the initiatives will be quantifiable.

"You can't say you expect the numbers to change immediately. It isn't as fast as people would like it to be, but we want people to be taken seriously and that means we've got to deepen their skills -- they've got to be experienced and they've got to have some success," he said.

Qualitative success

That is in part why Stratten believes that anecdotal information from participants and supervisors of individuals who have participated in the wide range of diversity programming also can provide important insight into how well the initiatives are working and, in this case, offer a more hopeful picture of progress.

George Bright, associate director of athletics at Lafayette College, was a member of the first class of participants to go through the Institute for Ethnic Minority Males. The 14-month institute is composed of a series of intensive workshops in the areas of leadership and administration, human resource management, finance and fund-raising, and media relations. The initiative has been widely heralded not only because of its comprehensive nature, but also because it has established a never-before-seen network of ethnic minority professionals within the membership.

Bright said he applied because he thought it would be a good challenge, as well as an opportunity to strengthen his professional development and a chance to learn how to become a more effective leader within his institution.

"I didn't know what to think going in, so I went in with an open mind to try to gain more knowledge and understanding," he said.

Bright walked away with increased knowledge and skills, which was the expected outcome, but he also carried away something more from the experience.

"I can tell you there was something special about that first group of 20 guys and we all knew it. We couldn't define it, but we knew we had something special going on," he said. "I also think we developed a very strong network of unique individuals who often share professional and personal experiences, which I didn't have before."

Beyond looking at the number of hires and surveying supervisors of participants of the institute, Bright thinks the return on investment for the institute -- and other programming -- is evident in the number of schools willing to involve their administrators at the school's expense (the cost of attendance is funded by the participant's employing institution). He also said there is significant value in the network that results from the institute and other initiatives.

"I think the institute's greatest value is the systematic attempt to fundamentally provide a network of qualified administrators and coaches of color who are capable of higher achievement in leadership positions," Bright said.

Joyce Wong, director of athletics at Eastern Connecticut State University and a member of the NCAA Division III Management Council and the Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee (MOIC), agrees that a combination of factors such as numbers and the quality of participants' experiences should be used to gauge the success of diversity programming efforts.

Wong, though, sees a shift in the success marker. In her opinion, earlier diversity programming initiatives focused on providing an educational environment and assisting in the promotion of females and ethnic minorities. Now there is more emphasis on looking at numbers of people in the membership or numbers of individuals who have succeeded in getting what may be considered high-profile jobs.

Charles Whitcomb, former longtime chair of the MOIC and a driving force behind the institutes as well as other diversity programming initiatives, believes that the best way to evaluate success is by looking at the strength of the pool of participants the programs produce. According to Whitcomb, part of the impetus behind the movement toward diversity programming was to provide a response to excuses given for why ethnic minorities continued to be denied leadership opportunities.

"I believe strengthening the pool doesn't guarantee success, but it takes away the excuses and says that now these people should be invited to the table to compete like anyone else," he said.

Better with than without

As the Association strives toward success -- whether that is defined in the numbers, anecdotally or a combination of both -- there does seem to be agreement on a related point: Without the current and steady stream of diversity programming, the numbers would be even worse.

"Were it not for these programs and an affirmative, active approach on our part to help develop and enhance the skills of minorities and women, we would be far, far less diverse," said Stratten. "If it weren't for us putting people in those places, I don't believe we'd be anywhere near where we are today."

"Without the diversity programs that are in place, I think we'd still be giving excuses," said Whitcomb.

Diversity programming not only has kept the Association from doing a dangerous backward plunge in terms of numbers, but it also has influenced the mindset of the membership. Now that the Association has started down this path, those close to the issue say it must continue the journey.

"I don't think it is a situation where we can stay where we are," said Augusta State University Director of Athletics and former NCAA Division II Management Council chair Clint Bryant, who points out that there is more at stake than having a less-than-diverse membership.

"I think it is important for our student-athletes -- male and female and of various ethnic backgrounds -- to see people like them advancing and contributing in a positive way. I think too many times our student-athletes have looked around the athletics departments and because coaches or administrators or deans are not diverse, they assume there might not be a place for them," he said.

Stratten said that continuing in the same pattern risks sending the message that ethnic minorities currently in the field can do nothing but stay put.

"I think people who are working very hard to grow but who do not feel they are included in the leadership will leave," Stratten said. "We won't see them in leadership because no one is investing in them."

Focus on hiring process

Thus far, much of the strategy for moving the Association forward on issues of diversity in hiring has hinged on programming that funnels well-prepared, polished individuals into a proverbial pipeline of qualified candidates for leadership positions. But as the number of top-level ethnic minorities within the Association continues to stagnate, the focus has, more and more, turned to ensuring that the hiring process is open and fair.

Bryant recognizes the important role that diversity programming plays in skill development and professional polish, but also feels attention should be placed squarely on the hiring process. He believes in doing so, the diversity issues currently facing the membership will work themselves out.

"I think Division I men's basketball is a prime example," he said. "The process has become more inclusive and open in the last 10 or 15 years in providing opportunities for people. Ethnic minorities are held to the same standard as their white counterparts. You have to produce on the fields and courts. I strongly feel what we should be evaluating is the process and showing that the process is open."

Wong acknowledged that each institution follows its own search guidelines and believes a better job needs to be done of educating administrators on unifying search processes within the institution.

A best-hiring-practices document recently developed by the Division II Presidents Council in conjunction with the Black Coaches Association and the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators does a good job of creating an easy-to-read road map. The guide, which will be made available to the Division II membership this spring, walks through each step of the hiring process, from assembling the search committee to building the job description to conducting the interview to making an offer and documenting the process. It also includes a best-hiring-practices checklist and references.

While Stratten agrees that attention should be paid to the hiring process, energy also should be devoted toward continuing the professional development of ethnic minorities.

"I think all of this needs to be approached simultaneously," he said. "What we have to do is assist the membership in getting more people in the pipeline, then educate and train the Association on how to make fair and just hiring decisions. Ultimately, our presidents and athletics directors must have the courage to make the hire."

In the end, there is evidence that progress has been made and that diversity programs have helped make important inroads into developing a more diverse membership. Ultimately, the hope is that the need for any kind of diversity programming will be minimal or, better yet, disappear and that access to opportunities at all levels of athletics administration will be extended to ethnic minorities naturally, without hesitation or prodding.

"We would hopefully get to the time when our programs are just there to help in the process, not to be the process," said Bryant.

To get to that point, Whitcomb believes more energy and attention is needed.

"I think we have more comfort than discomfort at this time. People think we have done a couple of things so we're OK and it's not that important anymore," he said. "If diversity is an issue, then put it as a priority, devise a plan that's going to change the culture and then create some measurable outcomes. A committed plan has got to be in place and we must stick to the plan. That's eventually how you effect change."

As the Association works to achieve its diversity goals, it will be difficult to ignore the deeper value that diversity-related programming holds in the experiences, the networking and the skill enhancement it provides to participants.

"I have not seen many people who have not been able to build on their experiences within our programs," said Stratten. "Is it an end all, be all, a key that will open up the door and you automatically become an athletics director or head football coach? No, but it does provide opportunity for skill development, experience and thoughtful consideration, which will help individuals move toward their career goals. A career in higher education is a lifelong journey, and valuing diversity adds richness to that journey for everyone on that road."