Equal Opportunity

Equity Initiatives

In 1962, President John F. Kennedy signed Executive Order 10925 requiring all federal contractors to adopt diversity programs in an effort to help end segregation. This Executive Order provided the legal foundation for affirmative action programs in higher education.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 bans discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. To ensure compliance with this law, federal funds can be denied to those institutions that violate this mandate.

In 1965, by Executive Order 11246, the federal government created the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) to review, monitor, and enforce affirmative action plans for institutions, including institutions of higher education.  The OFCCP regulations state that each employment agency is responsible for designing an "acceptable" affirmative action program, which "must include an analysis of areas within which the contractor is deficient in the utilization of minority groups … and further, goals and timetables to which the contractor's good faith efforts must be directed to correct the deficiencies, and thus to achieve prompt and full utilization of minorities … at all levels and in all segments of its work force where deficiencies exist" (41 C.F.R. Sec. 60-2.10).

In accordance with federal law, please find OSU’s affirmative action plan and OSU’s plan for veterans’ and persons with disabilities at the link below.

Affirmative Action Plan - Minorities and Women

Affirmative Action Plan - Veterans and Individuals with Disabilities

Appendices - Documents may be reviewed at the Office of Human Resources, Administration building 212.