A new perspective on diversity was embraced by Cornelia Butler Flora, one of the six college of agriculture dean candidates, on Monday at Curtiss Hall.

Flora serves as the director of the North Central Regional Center for Rural Development at Iowa State and Chair in Sustainable Agricultural Systems at the University of Minnesota.

“I think we have to help people understand, ‘Why diversity?'” Flora said. “It’s a thing that makes us better; we’re not just meeting a quota.”

Joan Cunnick, associate professor in microbiology, said Flora’s approach to diversity was in tune with the need for it in today’s society.

“She was really different in her diversity perspective from the other candidates,” Cunnick said, “and that’s what we need right now.”

Linda Ambrosio, associate professor in zoology and genetics, agreed with Cunnick.

“[Flora] had a broad perspective with the idea that diversity makes us better, and it allows for cutting-edge thinking,” Ambrosio said. “She believes that diversity is vital and that if are working with someone from a different background, then you can see different things that you wouldn’t see otherwise.”

Flora said the goals in teaching, research and outreach need to include a diverse outlook.

“I see diversity as critical for survival,” she said. “A diverse perspective in teaching, research and outreach is even more critical. It helps us see alternative ways to do things.”

Flora has worked in Latin America, and she said she’s noticed an increase of diversity in Iowa’s Latin-American population. “From 1992 to 1997, the Latino farmers have doubled in Iowa,” she said.

Another diversity concern for Flora is the Native-American population. Distance education, recruitment and collaborative projects are all methods Flora believes would create a more diverse university.

“We’ve tried to increase outreach to Native Americans in terms of rural development,” she said. “We can learn from them.”

Flora said the university also has a small but important African-American population, and ISU administration could do a much better job with outreach to the group.

“We can’t be a leading land-grant university if we aren’t diverse,” she said. “We have to allow people who are diverse to be different.”

As dean, Flora said her support for diversity would be to go above federal guidelines.

“My support is not just to meet federal guidelines,” she said. “We need it for excellence. As dean, I would like to help every department become excellent.”

Flora will be addressing the strategies she’d employ as dean today in an open forum, to be held from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. in Room 1204 of Kildee Hall. At 5:15 p.m., she will present her ICN presentation in Room 9 of Curtiss Hall.