ACADEMIA Letters Increasing Diversity, Inclusion, and Intercultural Competence at a Historically Less Diverse Regional University Kelly Lemmons, United States Air Force Academy Introduction Research has shown that there are educational benefts associated with having a more diverse student population (Smith, 2020; Winkle-Wagner & Locks, 2014). Denson & Chang (2009) state that university diversifcation eforts generally fall into three categories: “structural di- versity (student body racial composition), curricular/co-curricular diversity (programmatic eforts that expose students to content about race/ethnicity), and interaction diversity (informal student-student cross-racial contact).” The regional university in question has made extensive eforts to improve their structural diversity. This regional university campus has an enrollment of approximately 10,000 students. In a 2006-2007 diversity climate survey (Talbani et al., 2008, p. 5) conducted by the university the report mentions “numerous anecdotal perceptions and experiences regarding diversity… For instance, anecdotal reports from minority students was that they feel isolated and feel a general lack of support from” the university. The report survey results found “minority stu- dents much less likely to believe that [the university] educational experiences are infused with diversity content or benefts relative to their white student colleagues” (Talbani et al., 2008, p. 7). The report concluded that the university “needs to take an aggressive proactive stance with regard to the climate of diversity” (Talbani et al., 2008, p. 15). The proactive push is demonstrated in the huge strides the university has made in diversifying its student population in the last decade. In 2005/2006 the university had an African American student enrollment Academia Letters, August 2021 Corresponding Author: Kelly Lemmons, klemmons@gmail.com Citation: Lemmons, K. (2021). Increasing Diversity, Inclusion, and Intercultural Competence at a Historically Less Diverse Regional University. Academia Letters, Article 3388. https://doi.org/10.20935/AL3388. 1 ©2021 by the author — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0