Following the controversy over a racist video, the University of Oklahoma has hired a diversity officer.

Jake New of Inside Higher Ed reports.

About Time?

The speed and forcefulness with which David Boren, president of the University of Oklahoma, moved to punish members of Sigma Alpha Epsilon after they were caught singing a racist song this month earned the praise of many on campus and across the country, including President Obama. The following week, Boren drew similar praise for announcing that he would soon hire a vice president to oversee diversity and inclusion efforts on campus.

But the announcement also left some students with a lingering question: Why did it take Boren, who has been president of Oklahoma for two decades, so long to create a position that already exists in some form at hundreds of other colleges?

“We’re really excited that this is happening,” said BerThaddaeus Bailey, director of diversity for Oklahoma’s Student Government Association. “We do wish that it would have happened yesterday, or the day before yesterday, or the day before that. You do have to ask, ‘When would the role have been announced had this situation not happened?’”