Noor Azizan-Gardner, interim chief diversity officer, told the Staff Advisory Council March 22 in the Student Center that the Board of Curators needs to render a decision on whether the University of Missouri System will support domestic partner benefits.
“This is pretty important for us to have closure on,” Azizan-Gardner said.
Her talk came at a time when the council is discussing whether Mizzou should make efforts toward formally supporting the benefits, which would extend employee health care benefits to same-sex couples but not to unmarried heterosexual couples.
Diversity workers are examining the projected funding differences of adding heterosexual couples to the domestic partner benefits package, Azizan-Gardner said.
During her Chancellor’s Diversity Initiative update, Azizan-Gardner said that Mizzou has launched a student ambassadors program and diversity training collaborative. It is also planning for a cross-departmental bullying steering committee and a diversity course via Blackboard’s online learning website.
The goal behind diversity education is to make MU the kind of campus that everyone feels comfortable on.
“It’s about everyone,” Azizan-Gardner said.