coe-staff: COE Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee Winter Update

[Dianna Carrizales-Engelmann]

Dear COE Faculty and Staff,

The COE DEI committee has been meeting this fall and winter to identify some short-, mid-, and long-term action-oriented items dedicated to the continually improving the climate in the College of Education, as it pertains to Equity and Inclusion. Their work is ongoing and stepwise but in the interest of sharing some of the committee's progress with you, we are using this email to let you know about a few updates and will also share a few additional updates this Friday March 12th.

The COEDEI committee has identified an initial Equity and Inclusion portfolio of activities for 2021 that is intentionally measured in its pace and scope (see attached summary). The committee believes that making gains in these initially identified areas will facilitate the future changes necessary for the ongoing systemic work necessary to foster and continuously improve the climate of equity and inclusion in the college. The committee has begun evaluating this portfolio of 2021 activities and will be submitting recommendations to the college dean and/the college for action.  Where possible, the committee will engage in supporting these efforts as stated in our charge and described in our statement of principles.

In considering these areas within our college and the work of the committee, the committee developed the following draft statement of principles to guide their / our work.
COE DEI Committee Draft Statement of Principles
The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee is advisory to the Dean of the College of Education. This committee is charged with developing and supporting an action-oriented equity framework that supports and mobilizes expertise in the college community towards improving the climate for all* and ensuring that students, faculty, and staff from typically underrepresented populations have access to supports, mentorship, and advocacy that is free from discrimination. To this end the committee will be responsible for soliciting information, providing recommendations, and supporting the success of the following critical elements in our college's infrastructure:

  *   Discourse / Conversation: Educational programming and resources that train COE personnel to confront issues of equity and that assist in providing insights into diverse perspectives (e.g., speakers, professional development opportunities, common readings).
  *   Inclusion: Opportunities for faculty, staff, and students from underrepresented populations to have their voices included on general college-related issues and to see their ideas represented in solutions.
  *   Addressing Past Inequity and Promoting Achievement: Intentional supports dedicated to reinforcing the academic success, professional success, and empowerment for students (and faculty, and staff) from typically underrepresented populations.
  *   Visibility, Celebration, and Pride: An equity framework for COE cultural visibility, celebrations, and elevations of diverse cultures. Regular publicizing of information about a diverse array of events and experiences within the college and across campus.
  *   Evaluation (Accountability):  An infrastructure of accountability, evaluation, and measurement of the equity-related markers identified by the college of education.
  *   Addressing Ongoing Inequity: Fair and timely resolution of past, present, and potential barriers related to equity and inclusion for students, staff, and faculty

*All refers to: Race, color, ethnicity, Indigeneity, proficiency in English, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, disability, economic status, marital status, and age, as well as to the array of varied elements that contribute to an individual's experience or identity.

The committee aims to use these principles when advancing recommendations in the college's annual equity and inclusion portfolio. The intent is to provide recommendations to the college that can be enacted short-, mid-, or long-term to drive change in these areas. Some of the recommendations will be quick and small but we believe impactful, others will be extended and systemic and will require effort from all of us. We are encouraged though that all of the recommendations will drive discourse, which is the first item listed in the committee's statement of principles.

Recommendations that go to the dean may warrant further discourse or may generate immediate activity. In all cases, we urge our colleagues to continue to engage in the various ways you have been engaging. We will provide ongoing updates such as this one, and hope to gain more visibility in the coming weeks with the completion of a website that provides insight into the activities we are engaged in and describes critical points of intersection with the COE community. We anticipate many.

In addition to the website, and in the interest of driving discourse in the college, one of the early recommendations is that the college faculty and staff first be provided the opportunity to turn to local and college experts when considering facilitated discourse in the college.

To that end, in addition to the book clubs, self-development, and resource-sharing that we know is ongoing in the college, we propose additional and systematic opportunities for discourse in the college according to an individual's level of readiness.

The college hopes to propose a menu of options that include the following:

*         Institution of ongoing "Courageous Conversations" hosted within the college.

*         Expansion of the University-wide Implicit Bias trainings to include all interested faculty and staff (these trainings have previously been dedicated primarily to individuals who are on search committees).

*         The consolidation of university-offered and other related institutional training opportunities.

*         "Readiness-based" opportunities to learn with and from a COE community member in a community with others. (This Readiness-based* opportunity is borne from the recommendations of numerous COE community members following our September orientation. Numerous faculty suggested that we embrace and recognize the expertise present within the college when engaging in this work.)

*To establish this last item, faculty or staff with expertise, experience, and interest are encouraged to indicate interest in leading a group in the college via the following Qualtrics link COE Survey of DEI Resources and Expertise<https://oregon.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bIWneC2MNGCyxWC>.

The Qualtrics survey questions provide additional detail about the parameters, but in general we hope to use this as a forum to identify local expertise available to support to the college according to a multitude of frameworks such as:


*         Structured book clubs

*         Individual colloquia

*         Professional development sessions

*         Ongoing training and discussion groups


Additional details are available in the COE Survey of DEI Resources and Expertise<https://oregon.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bIWneC2MNGCyxWC> questionnaire. Please keep in mind that facilitating discourse in the college is only one of the committee's identified principles and is intended to assist in creating a foundation for ongoing and collaborative engagement in this work according to each individual's readiness. The committee is engaging in conversations with HR and university offices to determine the best way to establish institutional equity around supporting this work in individual colleges and between colleges across campus. We will keep you informed as that information develops, however, we thought it would be important to proceed with this query in tandem with those conversations. We are committed to establishing ways to support this work inside the college. The survey is open now and will remain open through Friday April 9th to determine initial interest.

Qualtrics information: Submissions will be selected from among COE faculty and staff with a confirmed background (research, instruction, or other confirmed professional role) in providing service in the area of Equity and Inclusion.

This is an experimental process in the college. We welcome your feedback as we bring it to life. For comments and suggestions, please contact Dianna Carrizales-Engelmann dcarriza at uoregon.edu<mailto:dcarriza at uoregon.edu>


Dianna


UO Equity and Inclusion Resources. Listen. Learn. Act. https://around.uoregon.edu/listen-learn-act
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Dianna Carrizales-Engelmann, PhD
Assistant Dean for Administration, Director for Equity and Inclusion, College of Education
dcarriza at uoregon.edu<mailto:dcarriza at uoregon.edu> | 541-346-5407
1215 University of Oregon | Eugene, OR 97403-5277

I support all students regardless of immigration status or country of origin. As a Dreamer Ally, I support Dreamer students and promote their sense of belonging and safety as they pursue their higher education goals. For more information and resources please visit our Dreamers<https://www.uoregon.edu/dreamers> page and the Immigration FAQs<https://international.uoregon.edu/immigration_faq> page. I commit to not sharing your status with anyone if you reveal it to me, but also remind you that when interacting with faculty, staff, and offices around campus you are never required to reveal your immigration status.
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