Cleveland, Ohio – The Mid-American Conference (MAC) announced today that Bowling Green State University has claimed the MAC Diversity & Inclusion Institution Award for the first time in program history.
“Bowling Green State University is so proud to receive the Diversity and Inclusion Institutional Award, presented by the Mid-American Conference,” said Bowling Green State University President Rodney K. Rogers. “It highlights our continued work to ensure BGSU is a community where each person can belong, along with our efforts to support our students, faculty and staff to achieve excellence. I want to also add my congratulations to Taylor Jefferson for receiving the Diversity and Inclusion Administrator Award – it is such a great honor, which exemplifies the impact of our BGSU Athletics staff.”
As a department, Bowling Green’s goal has been to instill the value of belonging through inclusive leadership and civic/community engagement. By engaging within the BGSU athletic department, the campus and local community, they have been able to foster an environment for our student-athletes that values servant leadership.
“It is my honor to name Bowling Green State University as the winner of the Diversity & Inclusion Institutional Award,” said MAC Commissioner Dr. Jon Steinbrecher. “President Rodney Rogers and the entire athletic administration staff have provided BGSU with tremendous leadership in establishing a culture that fosters diversity, equity and inclusion.”
Department wide, BGSU’s staff and coaches were trained on LGBTQ+ inclusion by completing the Athlete Ally Champions of Inclusion Education program in the summer of 2021, as well as Mental Health First Aid training. In addition, BGSU Athletics currently has a 100/100 score on the Athlete Ally Athlete Equality Index (AEI), the highest in the MAC, and one of only 15 schools in the country to hold this distinction. BGSU Student-Athlete's completed 2,458 hours of community service, totaling $70,164 of local economic impact, highlighted by our MLK Jr. Day of Service, which saw many of our student-athletes participate in a poverty simulation.
The BGSU Administrative Staff Council award for diversity and belonging was developed in 2021-22 to acknowledge someone advancing a positive culture of diversity, equity and belonging at BGSU. Taylor Jefferson, Assistant AD for Marketing was the inaugural recipient of the award for his work in creating the Diverse Professionals Enhancement Program (DPEP) program. BGSU Athletics' (DPEP) also earned honorable mention accolades for the inaugural 2022 NACMA Unity Award. Kosciak, has been awarded the Deborah A. Yow Scholarship by the LEAD! Association. Kosciak is the first-ever recipient for the Deborah A. Yow Scholarship, which is given to a female senior administrator who strives to continue Debbie's legacy as a trailblazer in college sports.
BGSU continues to provide one-of-a-kind leadership programs. A cornerstone of their leadership programming that they offer annually to their student-athletes is the We Are One Team (WA1T), Team Player Program. This program is designed specifically for student-athletes to gain valuable skills to become inclusive leaders in their respective teams. In each session of the program, these studentathletes focus on topics that are crucial to inclusive leadership, including identity, intercultural communication, social norms, microaggressions, inclusive media literacy, social justice, and more. We had 14 student-athletes complete the program this past year and a total of 84 student-athletes participated in the program over the past five years.
In March of 2022, BGSU Athletics hosted over 55 guests for a panel discussion titled "Shatter the Glass Ceiling" with women who are at the top of the athletics administration profession. This panel discussion highlighted not only Title IX and the advancement of women within athletics, but also leadership principles that are applicable to all professions beyond athletics.
In the summer of 2022, BGSU Athletics launched its first ever coaches and staff leadership program, Lead It RIGHT: EQ Leadership Development program. 19 participants completed pre and post work surrounding an intensive three-day enrichment experience that helped to grow their emotional intelligence skills around self-awareness, self-management, social-awareness, and relationship management, with a focus on Leading it with Respect, Integrity, Grit, Humility, and Trust (RIGHT)!
“We are incredibly honored to be recognized by the Mid-American Conference for our efforts in diversity and inclusion,” said Bowling Green interim Director of Athletics Stacy Kosciak. “Receiving the MAC Diversity and Inclusion Institutional Award is a testament to the commitment of our coaches, staff, student-athletes, and members of our Diversity and Belonging Collective to creating opportunities of programming, education and awareness that create and promote a diverse and inclusive culture.”
In November of 2016, the MAC announced one of the most comprehensive Diversity & Inclusion Programs in Division I intercollegiate athletics to begin during the 2017-18 academic year.
The MAC Diversity & Inclusion Program has positioned the MAC as a leader within collegiate athletics. Through this program, the MAC is working to expand opportunities for minority candidates in coaching and administration with six specific and coordinated program initiatives.
These six initiatives include: establishing a Conference Diversity & Inclusion Statement, the commitment of 25 new annual internships across membership, a collaborative mentoring program, a bi-annual summit, the first of which was hosted by the MAC on Feb. 8, 2018, the creation of a resource webpage and the annual awards platform to recognize one institutional athletic department, individual administrator and student-athlete.
The MAC Diversity & Inclusion program provides career educational opportunities for a diverse pool of candidates, career entry and advancement opportunities, consistent support and career mentoring programs for all levels of professionals, and opportunities for collaboration on best hiring practices and cultural enhancements for member institutions.
In the Fall of 2015, MAC Commissioner Jon Steinbrecher instituted a 15-member working group comprised of university administrators, senior athletic administrators, and faculty athletic representatives to present to MAC membership recommendations for a comprehensive diversity & inclusion program. Steinbrecher charged the working group with: “Taking a solution-oriented leadership role in accelerating and growing the pool of minority candidates for collegiate job opportunities in coaching and administration.”
