DEI campus conversations, information sessions planned

The following is an email sent Nov. 4, 2022, following a community forum.

Dear Campus Community,

Thank you for your continued engagement and participation as we move forward in building an inclusive campus that fosters belonging. We are grateful to all of those who were able to attend the community forum on Tuesday and especially to all the individuals who were brave enough to share their thoughts, feelings, and experiences.

As follow-up to the forum, below are the campus initiatives being planned for the remainder of the semester. Due to time constraints and the need for communication across divisions, some of these initiatives may extend into the spring semester. We will, however, make a commitment to communicate consistently with the community, sharing updates, progress on initiatives, and opportunities to discuss the broader concerns raised at the forum.

Our goal for these initiatives is to lay the groundwork for strengthening community relationships by building skills in interpersonal dialogue and facilitation while at the same time creating a blueprint for engaging with differences in thought, ideologies, and beliefs.

Fall Inclusive Community Initiatives:

Student Dins Dialogue (Sessions) 

• November 7: No Justice and No Peace: What is Justice?, 5-6:30 p.m., Watkins North Wing
• November 16: Fundamentals of Intergroup Dialogue, 5-6:30 p.m., Trone 208

Community Conversation (November 16, 3-4:30 p.m., Burgiss Theater)

• Opportunity for students, faculty, and staff to connect and engage with the concepts of: What is community, how do we foster community after controversy, and how do we acknowledge different communities?

Bias Incident Report Information Session (week of November 28)

• Session designed to provide students, faculty, and staff with information detailing what constitutes a bias-related incident, how to report a bias-related incident, the importance of reporting a bias-related incident, and how bias related incidents are investigated and resolved.

Restorative Practice Training (December 8 and 9, tentatively)

• 30 members of campus will be selected from the Senior Administration Team, DEI Committee, SGA, Dins Dialogue, and SDC to be trained as restorative practice facilitators.

Spring Inclusive Community Initiatives (dates TBD):

• Listening sessions/tours for climate survey response
• Belonging focus groups
• Dialogue opportunities for faculty and staff
• Campus safety information session
• Communicating during crisis information session
• Community Agreement conversations
• Dialogue series:
  • Living our values even when its’s challenging
  • The meaning of academic freedom and freedom of expression
  • How do we define harm and support those who have been harmed

Thank you again for helping us to work together to create a more inclusive and welcoming community. We look forward to continuing these important conversations.

Sincerely,

Franklin Ellis, Associate Dean and Director of the Center for Inclusive Communities

Cynthia King, Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusive Excellence