If the Syracuse University Board of Trustees is scrambling to improve diversity, board members are hoping help comes from someone who’s scrambling on every play.

Donovan McNabb, a former Syracuse football standout and now a Pro Bowl quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles, was elected as an SU trustee at the board’s semiannual meeting on Nov. 1. Now, those in the community hope that the addition of McNabb — the 56th board member, but just the fourth black board member — signals the start to increased awareness about diversity among SU’s leadership.

“Not that we’re perfect, but we work very hard on improving our diversity,” said Joseph Lampe, chairman of the Board of Trustees. “We’ve always wanted to be a more diverse board, and I think we have been ever since I was elected (in 1987).”

Admittedly, diversity on boards is a problem at many schools, both private and public, Lampe said. Among SU board executives, all seven officers — including the chair, four vice chairs and two secretaries — are white.

“The board should be more diverse,” said Atikay Henry, an SU senior majoring in sociology and nursing involved with the campus branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. “A lot of other people are probably equally educated and equally worthy to be on the board.”

Recently, Lampe said, board officers are making a conscious effort to recognize that. At the first yearly meeting next May, the board will add Ross Love, a black CEO of a media and manufacturing business in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Still, Lampe was careful to say that the board refrains from making token hires simply because of race or gender.

“(Diversity) isn’t the only factor,” Lampe said. “Putting someone on the board just because they’re a minority or just because they’re a woman isn’t right. People have to be more than a quota. If we only filled quotas, then I wouldn’t chair this board.”

McNabb, who turned 26 last week, is the youngest member of the board. Aside from representing a younger generation, McNabb is unique because he can voice the issues of athletes and black students.

“Part of having a diverse board also involves ages and interests,” Chancellor Kenneth A. Shaw said. “There’s one other board member under 30 who had success in a different field. We’d like to see that kind of diversity, too, but a person has to be accomplished in their field (to be on the board), and it’s tough to do that at a young age.”

McNabb, though, certainly fits the bill. Among the National Football League’s highest-paid players, he made a $100,000 contribution to the Syracuse football wing on South Campus two years ago.

But that alone didn’t qualify McNabb for his spot.

The board, which helps to govern the university by overseeing the administration and managing finances, requires its members to attend at least half of its meetings. With football season still in swing during November, McNabb will always have to attend the May meetings. McNabb wasn’t added to the board until he made the commitment.

“This is not an honorary position,” Lampe said. “We look for someone who will be active.”

The question is: will McNabb be involved enough to voice the concerns that currently face younger black students at Syracuse? Shaw admitted that at least until McNabb retires, the quarterback will have a hard time playing an active role on the board.

Henry said she and other black students would like to see the board pay more attention to the financial aid needs of minorities at SU.

“I know that financial aid is a big issue,” Henry said. “There are a lot of minority students who don’t get the aid they need, so they either end up being here for a year and leaving or they have to take out loans. And that can put you in a debt that’s very hard to get out of.”

Published on December 2, 2002 at 12:00 pm