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Category: Race & Equity

The diversity blueprint: From planning to action

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“Attract, retain and graduate a diverse and excellent student body” is one of six goals in the Diversity Blueprint. Photo: University Marketing & Communications.
“Attract, retain and graduate a diverse and excellent student body” is one of six goals in the Diversity Blueprint. Photo: University Marketing & Communications.

The University of Washington is an enormous — and complicated — organization. As such, any high-priority campus-wide goals require flexible plans; a one-size-fits-all model simply won’t do. In terms of diversity, every unit on campus — from academic programs to administrative offices — has its own priorities and resources. That’s why the new Diversity Blueprint is structured as a framework of goals that allows each unit to tailor its own action plans, and to approach those goals in individualized ways.

Compared to plans that hold all participants to the same metrics, framework models are flexible and spark the local conversations needed for measurable progress across such a large organization. The focus moves to, “what will it look like to achieve this goal in our unit?”

“That was a lesson we learned from the previous Diversity Blueprint,” says Chadwick Allen, associate vice provost for Faculty Advancement, who explains that more localized and more flexible plans can lead to more meaningful accountability. “Unfortunately,” he adds, “when everyone is considered responsible, no one is really responsible.”

A flexible framework

“We want to ensure [the Blueprint] is grounded in everyone’s reality.”

— Chadwick Allen, associate vice provost for Faculty Advancement

When the time came to draft a new five-year Diversity Blueprint for the UW, Allen, who co-chairs the UW Diversity Council, knew the plan could benefit from a modified approach. Ultimately, the council developed the current framework which still lays out big-picture goals with recommended actions but leaves the individual methods and metrics up to each unit.

Chief Diversity Officer and Vice President for Minority Affairs & Diversity, Rickey Hall, joined the UW in 2016 during the final stages of the drafting process and now co-chairs the new blueprint’s adoption going forward.

“The Diversity Blueprint is a framework model, which I prefer to a more prescriptive plan,” says Hall. “This way, everyone can see themselves in it.”

Hall points out that the ultimate success of the blueprint relies on inclusivity, buy-in and open communication across multiple stakeholders. “These issues are complex, often emotionally laden, so it takes time,” he says about the difficult conversations that are part of diversity planning.

Guiding a shift in culture
The Diversity Blueprint allows more space for individual units to make decisions about priorities and actions.

“We all know it’s important to have leadership buy-in from the top, but we also know people don’t like being told what to do,” says Allen. The plan should help units to “think across goals,” he says, and to take ownership of ensuring diversity throughout their programs. For example, a college that has made progress on student diversity may still struggle with faculty diversity. By considering how faculty diversity relates to larger pipeline issues, that college could prioritize plans to create a more inclusive pipeline for future faculty.

Diversity Blueprint Goals | 2017-2021

Goal 1: Cultivate an inclusive campus climate
Goal 2: Attract, retain and graduate a diverse and excellent student body
Goal 3: Attract and retain a diverse faculty
Goal 4: Attract and retain a diverse staff
Goal 5: Assess tri-campus diversity needs
Goal 6: Improve accountability and transparency

Broad input and representation
The blueprint was developed by the Diversity Council, which is made up of two representatives from each school, college and administrative unit, as well as the Bothell and Tacoma campuses. Multiple student and faculty representatives also sit on the council.

The UW charged the council with soliciting ideas from across campuses about goals and priorities, and consulting with experts in the field and at other universities. Over the course of the 2015-2016 academic year, the council developed, revised and reviewed the Diversity Blueprint, which was endorsed by the president and provost. The blueprint received approval from the Board of Regents in January 2017. “Part of why we asked the whole Diversity Council for their input rather than, say, simply have the chief diversity officer write it on his own, is because we wanted to ensure it’s grounded in everyone’s reality,” says Allen.

Workshops for next steps

““The new blueprint represents a more tricampus effort than we’ve ever had in UW history.”

— Terryl Ross, director of Diversity at UW Bothell

To guide units through the planning and action phases of implementing the blueprint, the Diversity Council has organized a series of workshops for unit leaders. Each session focuses on practical ideas for developing concrete plans under a specific goal area, as well as for identifying relevant metrics to track.

“The flexible framework provided by the Diversity Blueprint will help all of us in setting both near-term and long-term priorities for improving diversity in our units,” says David Eaton, dean of the Graduate School. “The support of workshops and resources allows each of us to determine plans for action in a way that is right for our area and the university as a whole.”

By helping to personalize priorities, the workshops are intended to empower and support each unit and campus in creating its own plans.

Staying nimble for the future
The Diversity Blueprint has a specific five-year time frame because, as Allen points out, “things can change, so it doesn’t make sense to create plans to enforce for the next decade.” The cyclical process allows the UW to self-reflect and adjust more regularly. Although it can be challenging for such a large institution to be nimble over a relatively brief five-year period, UW leaders believe the effort will pay off as the culture keeps shifting towards greater accountability — and dedicated action.

Forging An Inclusive Tri-Campus Vision

UW Bothell and UW Tacoma representatives on the Diversity Council helped write the UW’s overarching Blueprint and developed customized campus action plans that reflect individual campus priorities around diversity.

In Bothell
Director of Diversity Terryl Ross is helping the campus to finalize its current Diversity Action Plan and to reassess future steps to align with the UW’s Diversity Blueprint. In the next planning cycle, Ross recognizes the importance of balancing autonomy with a shared tri-campus vision. He also highlights the Diversity Council’s inclusive structure as a place to coordinate, advise and share best practices. “For me, the most important thing is that we [as diversity officers] have a common place to go with more of a tri-campus effort than we’ve ever had in UW history,” says Ross.

In Tacoma
A coordinating committee of representatives from across the Tacoma campus developed Strategic Impact Goals in light of Chancellor Mark Pagano’s priorities for diversity, community feedback and the UW’s Diversity Blueprint. “We identified six ‘wildly important’ goals that consider the needs of our student body, community, culture and growth,” says Sharon Parker, then assistant chancellor for Equity and Inclusion at Tacoma. The process included creating a committee with representatives from across the Tacoma campus who solicited ideas and input and led the work towards each goal, and who now track progress. “We’re educating the campus,” says Parker. “We’re at the point where we’ve succeeded in seeding issues of diversity and equity throughout campus, and now we’re looking at specific ways to implement plans.”

Fostering excellence: Faculty recruitment and retention

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The University of Washington makes it a priority to recruit and retain faculty whose research, teaching and service enhance diversity, and in turn bring excellence. Already, schools and colleges across the three campuses recognize the importance of diversity in prioritizing faculty recruitment and advancement, and overcoming external and internal barriers to hiring.

Rickey Hall, vice president for Minority Affairs & Diversity and chief diversity officer
Rickey Hall, vice president for Minority Affairs & Diversity and chief diversity officer

“We are living in an increasingly global, multicultural world and it’s important to see people of color in many different positions within an organization,” says Rickey Hall, vice president for Minority Affairs & Diversity and chief diversity officer. “It’s especially important for a research-intensive institution.”

Hiring and retaining a diverse and inclusive faculty is a complex undertaking that does not occur in a vacuum. It is influenced by national contexts, including pipeline issues, applicant pools and fierce competition for top candidates, as well as internal search processes and implicit biases.

The hiring process, if left unexamined, can be stuck in ways that perpetuate institutional racism. Creating a welcoming climate that encourages potential candidates to accept an offer and stay at the UW takes continual commitment and work — but our students demand it, our faculty want it, and it’s the right thing to do. This commitment is also paying off in the progress made across all three campuses to increase diversity through past investments from the Faculty Advancement Initiative and other efforts. 18 faculty whose research, teaching and service contribute to diversity were hired in 2015-2016, for a total of 47 new faculty members over the last four years.

See Infographic: How Does a Faculty Member Get Hired?

While we cannot change the faculty’s composition as rapidly as students, faculty and administrators would like, academic units can access existing tools to ensure consideration of diverse candidate pools, mitigate implicit bias in the hiring process and foster welcoming climates that ultimately encourage new hires to stay.

Taking advantage of the Office for Faculty Advancement

Chadwick Allen, associate vice provost, Faculty Advancement; Norma Rodriguez, director, Faculty Advancement. Photo: Leilani Lewis.

As a federal contractor, the UW is obligated to use best practices that increase the diversity of candidate pools for all hiring opportunities — and our commitment remains strong. This work stems from a nearly 50-year legacy of leadership, catalyzed by student demands in 1968 that led to the formation of the Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity (OMA&D). Faculty advancement efforts have been moved forward through the decades by Samuel E. Kelly, the first vice president for Minority Affairs; Luis Fraga, the first associate vice provost for Faculty Advancement; and many unsung heroes at all levels of the UW. In 2012, the Office of the Provost began directly investing in improved recruitment processes by offering supplemental funds to units recruiting faculty whose research, teaching and service contribute to the UW’s diversity profile. Today, student activists have reenergized the call for inclusive hiring. President Ana Mari Cauce and Provost Jerry Baldasty are joining staff, faculty, department and dean leadership by renewing the University-wide commitment to faculty diversity. This includes additional funding to bring the Office for Faculty Advancement’s budget up to $1 million for recruitment and retention efforts.

The Office for Faculty Advancement also works with colleges, schools and campuses on long-term planning that considers the changing demographics and research interests of academic fields, and, in departments, teaching and research needs and anticipated retirements.

Using existing tools to recruit and assess applicants

The University stands ready to assist units in meeting the challenge of diversity in recruitment and retention. Key things to consider include the following:

  • Search committees can create opportunities for reflection on their unit’s hiring processes before recruitment begins, by asking: “Are we advertising where diverse candidates look for jobs and tapping into the right networks? Is there a plan for personal outreach to highly qualified candidates whose academic work, mentoring and outreach reflects the diverse issues and ideas that will benefit our unit?” Faculty Advancement can help guide committees through these considerations to ensure the best possible recruitment process.
  • Combat implicit bias in hiring by using tools in the Handbook of Best Practices for Faculty Searches located on the Faculty Advancement website, including recommendations for creating job descriptions that appeal to diverse faculty applicants, and many other new online resources.

“We know that student demographics will continue to be more diverse over time,” says Chadwick Allen, associate vice provost for Faculty Advancement. “As a university, we need to regularly ask ourselves: Are we meeting the needs of the students we have now and, as important, those we hope to recruit in the future? We’re always striving toward that goal.” Faculty diversity is an important part of creating a culture that is more welcoming to students, so Allen and the Office for Faculty Advancement recommend using multiple strategies to attract highly qualified faculty candidates.

Strengthening your offer beyond the benefits package

Often, highly rated prospects field multiple offers from institutions across the nation, including private universities that can bring more financial incentives to the table. In this context, it’s imperative to assemble a hiring package that explicitly recognizes the candidate’s broad needs and how the UW can address them.

  • Share specifics such as the UW’s Diversity Requirement, Diversity Blueprint and unit-level diversity commitments to demonstrate that candidates will be working in a supportive, connected and collaborative environment.
  • Identify the prospective hire’s allies on campus — and across all three UW campuses — to show visiting candidates that networks of support already exist. This may include offering faculty mentorship, resource support, coaching and clear prospects to work with faculty from other departments who share similar research interests. Faculty Advancement and OMA&D can work with committees to identify and articulate these opportunities.
  • Request supplemental funds from Faculty Advancement to make a more attractive offer and strengthen the potential for innovation and interdisciplinary scholarship. These Faculty Recruitment Initiative funds also provide symbolic support by showing candidates that the University and provost are invested in their hires. Since becoming available four years ago, the funds have contributed to 47 successful recruitment efforts in 30 units across the three campuses.

Maintaining a continuous cycle of recruitment and retention

“The Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity and Faculty Advancement want units to think not only about recruitment, but also about how to create an environment that supports retention,” says Norma Rodriguez, director of the Office for Faculty Advancement.

Once hires are made, the work to promote diversity and inclusion must continue. Retention requires ongoing effort, especially since competing universities will notice the work of talented junior faculty members. The best defense against poaching is showing commitment to faculty by proactively identifying and building connections to ensure the UW is a supportive environment where all faculty can thrive.

Faculty Hiring graphic REI3View “How does a faculty member get hired” as pdf

Committing to inclusive teaching at UW Tacoma

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Making a positive impact on an inclusive campus climate often begins in individual classrooms. Yet, as instructors well know, adapting teaching practices to meet the needs of a diverse student body is sometimes easier said than done. Such work involves critical self-reflection and attention to forms of systemic oppression, such as racism or sexism, that impact the learning and retention of so many students. At UW Tacoma, faculty recognized the need to learn about and adapt practices toward anti-bias instruction for their increasingly diverse students, and in 2015, launched the Strengthening Educational Excellence with Diversity (SEED) Teaching Institute.

Better supporting students through faculty development

Sharon Parker, assistant chancellor for Equity and Inclusion, UW Tacoma
Sharon Parker, assistant chancellor for Equity and Inclusion, UW Tacoma

The annual institute kicks off with a four-day summer residency, immersing a cohort of faculty participants in the study and practice of inclusive teaching. The participants develop action plans to “increase access, rigor and engagement of students through inclusion and anti-bias education,” says Assistant Chancellor for Equity and Inclusion Sharon Parker. She and other UW Tacoma faculty facilitate the institute.

The goals and values of SEED are built around four cornerstones: developing student voice, creating an inclusive classroom, enhancing critical thinking and analysis, and nurturing personal cultural competency.

To implement those goals, participants work together to critically examine and redesign their pedagogy including everything from syllabus construction to curriculum choices and grading criteria. For example, the 2015 cohort of 15 faculty developed strategies to incorporate student input into assignment design, integrate diversity into course discussions and select course texts from diverse authors. “I always understood most of the ‘why’ behind incorporating inclusive excellence,” notes one participant of the institute’s action-oriented approach. “But I was stumped on the ‘how,’ and that is what I learned from SEED, from both presenters and peers.”

SEED participants learn to:

  • develop student voices
  • create an inclusive classroom
  • enhance critical thinking and analysis
  • nurture personal cultural competency

Participant-driven model is critical to success

The success of SEED is largely due to its emphasis on self-reflection, feedback and accountability. During the summer residency, faculty regularly reflect on their learning and their own biases to develop personal cultural competencies. The group shares and receives input on their work every day, and contributes feedback to the program to benefit future cohorts of faculty. That these activities are mostly led by UW Tacoma faculty with expertise in anti-bias teaching increases the impact of the institute. The peer-driven model contributes to participant buy-in.

Activities in the institute are also designed to bring awareness to forms of systemic oppression that affect students — and to then turn that awareness into action. For example, two faculty changed their assessment strategies after reflecting on the potential for bias in grading. They redesigned their curricula to de-emphasize grades and place more value on course learning outcomes. As the instructors implemented the new practice, they found alternative grading allowed for more equitable, holistic student assessment.

Building a community with lasting impact

SEED’s intensive summer residency impacts faculty teaching — and by extension, UW Tacoma students. Faculty share the progress of new curricula and have the opportunity for more peer feedback at a September showcase. Later in the fall, they reconvene for an assessment session to report the impact of revised practices on student learning. The group then attends quarterly check-ins throughout the year to extend opportunities for collaboration, mentorship and input. As many participants reported, one of the primary values of SEED lies in its creation of a professional learning community, which continues to build over several quarters. The institute also fosters connections across cohorts. The 2015 group created a final showcase to inspire and encourage the incoming 2016 faculty.

Participants in the SEED Teaching Institute redesign their courses during a four day residency to meet the needs of the increasingly diverse UW Tacoma student body. Photo: UW Tacoma.
Participants in the SEED Teaching Institute redesign their courses during a four day residency to meet the needs of the increasingly diverse UW Tacoma student body. Photo: UW Tacoma.

SEED is now in its third year. It is led by an interdisciplinary steering committee that is comprised of Parker; Julia Aguirre, associate professor in Education; Ariana Ochoa Camacho, assistant professor in Ethnic, Gender & Labor Studies; Linda Ishem, senior lecturer in Urban Studies; Nita McKinley, associate professor in Psychology; and Sushil Oswal, associate professor in the School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences. SEED’s organizers remain committed to the institute’s cornerstone values, as well as to continued adaptation. The 2016 summer residency was restructured toward an even more comprehensive approach to anti-bias instruction.

For Parker, a major goal of the UW’s Race & Equity Initiative is that as soon as students enter UW Tacoma, they know that they are welcomed, respected and valued. This means deliberately creating an inclusive campus climate — beginning in the classroom.

Curriculum transformation: Fostering inclusive classrooms

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Curriculum transformation is a process that asks faculty members to take a critical stance on power and difference in the classroom, interweave multiple perspectives and integrate student voices and knowledge into the learning process. “The Diversity Blueprint and the Diversity Requirement set goals for change at the university level, but within each classroom, curriculum transformation is an opportunity for each instructor to create a thoughtful and equitable space for learning, with support from instructional experts,” says Ed Taylor, vice provost and dean of Undergraduate Academic Affairs.

Curriculum transformation has a long history at UW, including the Center for Curriculum Transformation which aided faculty from 1993 until 2013, largely under the Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity. Today, the Center for Teaching & Learning in offers guidance in areas of inclusive teaching and other best practices.

Now, as then, academic units come to curriculum transformation with different needs and levels of understanding. Individual professors may vary in how comfortable they feel discussing racial equity or connecting it to their course topics. There are many ways to enact real change on a departmental level. As the School of Public Health and the iSchool demonstrate, open communication and mutual respect are key ingredients.

The School of Public Health: Adding a core competency on race and equity

In 2016, the School of Public Health passed a new school-wide competency specifically addressing the effects of racism on public health. India Ornelas, assistant professor of Health Services and chair of the School of Public Health Diversity Committee, dates the origin of this competency to a 2014 workshop that challenged participants to undo institutional racism. Many began looking critically at the school’s curriculum.

India Ornelas (far right), chair of the School of Public Health’s Diversity Committee, says that passing the new core competency was a collaborative effort involving many meetings, presentations and informal conversations to communicate the importance of the proposed addition. Photo: Filiz Efe McKinney.
India Ornelas (far right), chair of the School of Public Health’s Diversity Committee, says that passing the new core competency was a collaborative effort involving many meetings, presentations and informal conversations to communicate the importance of the proposed addition. Photo: Filiz Efe McKinney.

The first result was a one-credit course that addresses the effects of race, power and privilege on public health — which remains popular, with a wait-list every quarter. Soon it became clear that a greater commitment was needed as Public Health students in the course advocated that the concepts in the class were equally vital to the school’s broader curriculum.

For more than a year, multiple committees vetted several draft proposals of the new competency. The process required stakeholder involvement at every level. In a coordinated leadership effort, the school-wide Diversity Committee and Curriculum Committee worked together for the first time.

“The big leap was going from something that was voluntary and largely master’s students to having all degree plans required to meet this [competency],” says Ornelas, who cites three key factors that helped the School of Public Health approve the competency.

Earn departmental buy-in by listening, educating and asking questions:
“It’s really important to bring people in from the beginning, and get the whole community behind you,” says Ornelas.

The school needed approval from all departments to pass the competency. Diversity Committee members met with departments, committees and individuals at every unit level.

Ornelas says, “We talked through all of these issues and asked departments, ‘Do you want your students to be able to work across difference? Do you want them to be able to understand racism as a social determinant of health? Do you want them to be able to work with diverse research teams?’ No matter what environment you’re working in, race and equity issues are happening, and your students will have to understand how racism works.”

““Recognize the means by which social inequities and racism, generated by power and privilege, undermine health.”

— School of Public Health new core competency

Involve students leaders as activists and counselors:
Students drove the work at all levels. Schoolwide activism helped push the competency forward, while individual student representatives advocated within department committees. In addition to higher-profile actions, many students provided feedback in discussions with staff and faculty.

Communicate about progress:
With five departments, the school’s approval process can be long and cumbersome. Ornelas recommends designating a web page to regularly update internal stakeholders. Colleges and schools undertaking similar efforts can provide transparent communications in-person and online to build trust in the process.

In the end, the school became one of the nation’s first public health programs to enact such a requirement. “I’m very proud of the stand that people in the curriculum committees and diversity committees took, saying that the importance here is naming racism, power and privilege,” says Ornelas.

Creating a National Impact

The work done in the UW School of Public Health influenced the Council on Education for Public Health, the accrediting body for schools that offer the master of Public Health degree. Now, as a requirement, all graduates of accredited schools will be able to “discuss the means by which structural bias, social inequities and racism undermine health and create challenges to achieving health equity at organizational, community and societal levels.”

The iSchool: Partnering For Inclusive Teaching

Cynthia del Rosario, diversity, equity and access officer, and leader of the iSchool’s Curriculum Transformation Project
Cynthia del Rosario, diversity, equity and access officer, and leader of the iSchool’s Curriculum Transformation Project

Cynthia del Rosario, diversity, equity and access officer, leads the iSchool’s Curriculum Transformation Project. Undoing institutional racism requires honest self-reflection. Del Rosario knew that faculty would need trusted partners to turn to for support. As a result, she based the program around fostering mentoring relationships.

The project builds partnerships between faculty and community members who have expertise in diversity practices, using the iSchool’s alumni and network to identify potential experts. Each quarter, del Rosario recruits three to four experts who can help faculty integrate diversity into curricula, and she matches each expert with one or two faculty members based on areas of expertise and compatible learning styles.

Over the quarter, expert partners support faculty in planning and implementing ways to diversify their curriculum and make their classrooms more inclusive spaces. “We try to keep partners consistent [from year to year], so they understand our culture,” says del Rosario.

To create supportive partnerships:

  • Get everyone on the same page: Del Rosario schedules time for people to connect before the quarter and organizes activities to introduce concepts of microaggressions and privilege. This helps everyone develop shared understanding and common ground, even if participants have been through the program before. Then, instructors meet with their partners to look at how syllabi, course content, pedagogy, assignments and evaluation can be more inclusive. Together, they create an action plan and discuss potential challenges and opportunities.
  • Offer regular feedback: Partners observe the faculty twice, near the beginning and at the end of the quarter, and sometimes participate in class if the instructor agrees it’s appropriate. Throughout the quarter, partners are available to answer questions or discuss emerging situations. “If something happens in a class, the partners already have context,” says del Rosario, and together with the faculty member they can discuss issues that arise. That it’s a consistent partnership means that “if something happens in a class, the partners already have context.”
  • Reflect on lessons learned: At the end of the quarter, the partners and instructors discuss lessons learned. They can base their reflection around guidelines del Rosario developed, but she emphasizes flexibility and freedom. “We say: ‘Do it how it’s going to work for you.’ It’s not about what it looks like on paper, it is about how the partners can best work together to create a learning environment that engages diversity and fosters inclusive thinking.”

Workshops and trainings at the UW: Answering the call for change

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Conversations sparked by the launch of the Race and Equity Initiative in April 2015 found faculty and staff across the three campuses looking for ways to learn more and make positive change. As part of its objective to “confront individual bias and racism,” the initiative has worked to provide opportunities for self-reflection and personal learning.

Jeanette James
Jeanette James, project manager, Race & Equity Initiative

A working group was tasked to develop a training program that would provide education and tools around cultural fluency, cross-cultural communications, systemic racism and bias. A pilot launched in spring 2016, and right away the demand exceeded capacity, with more than 450 staff and faculty participants. The planning group for the pilot then incorporated feedback and lessons learned into the next phase of workshops and trainings, designed to serve a greater number of faculty and staff in 2017.

“Our goal is to support staff in enacting changes in their own behaviors and in their own units, such as developing outreach and hiring practices that use this work, and to really be able to use this knowledge to make change wherever they are,” says Jeanette James, Race & Equity Initiative project manager.

Over 700 attendees this year

“We listened to a lot of students, faculty and staff who expressed a need for more education on these issues,” says James. “We want to be responsive to the needs of people who want to deepen individual learning.”

Student-support units that work most closely with students were offered the pilot program first. The trainings were created in partnership with Professional & Organizational Development, a unit of Human Resources, to tap into their training expertise. This allowed the program to offer more workshops at scale with an eye towards ensuring this expanded professional development work can be sustained through future Human Resources courses and offerings.

In total, 24 workshops were held across all three campuses between April and July 2016, and 22 more were conducted throughout winter and spring of 2017. Nearly 1,100 faculty staff will have been served by these trainings since the launch of the program in 2016.

All of the workshops are led by local experts in equity, diversity and inclusion. The trainers bring experience in working with the education and public sectors on topics such as cross-cultural communication, cognitive dissonance and implicit bias.

Meeting participants where they are — and inspiring action

The trainings were designed to appeal to those who are just entering the conversation while offering everyone, no matter their level of expertise, different opportunities to engage in fresh ways.

A variety of trainings are being offered for faculty and staff. Workshops are designed to appeal to those who are just entering the conversation while offering everyone, no matter their level of expertise, different opportunities to engage in discussions of equity, diversity and inclusion in fresh ways.
A variety of trainings are being offered for faculty and staff. Workshops are designed to appeal to those who are just entering the conversation while offering everyone, no matter their level of expertise, different opportunities to engage in discussions of equity, diversity and inclusion in fresh ways.

“Rosetta Lee’s session on cross-cultural communication was excellent,” says Justin Wadland, head of Media and Digital Collections at the UW Tacoma Library. “The training blended together research and scholarly literature, drew on various conceptual models and incorporated her personal experience.” Participants were introduced to key frameworks, terminology and concepts in order to evaluate their own biases and engage with honest personal reflection.

To help people open up, trainer Caprice Hollins wove personal narratives with history. This inspired thoughtful reflection through the lenses of race, class and other factors that shape our perspectives and biases. “If we aren’t identifying the ideas and unconscious biases we bring from the dominant culture’s norms and beliefs, we are not guiding students in ways that help them be effective in their field,” says Hollins. By the end of the training, faculty and staff reported feeling more confident in being able to recognize implicit bias, an important first step. “We have to begin to interact differently,” says Hollins.

Wadland took Hollins’ call to action to heart as he reflected on his experiences working with students in the UW Tacoma libraries. “I feel like the training helped me continue to see how, in my own position, I have an opportunity to learn from other people of backgrounds that are not my own,” he says. “The trainings work through misunderstandings and even conflict.”

More training options in person and on demand

  • Bias in systems: The planners behind the pilot program developed the next iteration of trainings and resources that was launched in February 2017, this time expanding the focus to explore how bias operates in larger systems as well as at the individual level. “We’ve received requests to focus not just on interpersonal issues, but on understanding institutional and systemic bias as well. So now in this next series we are bringing in trainers who are skilled at addressing the broad institutional issues,” says James.
  • On-demand resources: The new series was built upon the pilot’s earlier learning objectives by providing a deeper understanding of interpersonal and structural bias and emphasizing a shared language about bias and racism. Plans are also underway to expand the delivery methods to meet demand without being limited to the scheduling and physical constraints of an in-person workshop: videos, brown bag discussions and other accessible online resources will be added to help faculty and staff understand the issues.

Campus leaders learning from trainings

Jeanette James (right) meets with members of the Race & Equity Initiative subcommittee that coordinates workshops. Photo: Filiz Efe McKinney.
Jeanette James (right) meets with members of the Race & Equity Initiative subcommittee that coordinates workshops. Photo: Filiz Efe McKinney.

Recognizing the impact of individual leaders on institution-wide decisions, UW leaders are pursuing a broad range of trainings to deepen their knowledge at both the individual and structural level and reinforce the values of a diverse, inclusive university. Among those who have attended trainings are the Race & Equity Initiative steering committee, faculty leaders and facilitators, as well as University Advancement leadership. Plans are underway for more leaders and staff to participate in the coming months.

Considering the ultimate goals of the trainings, James says, “Individuals can’t change what they don’t know. The goal is to help people take the blinders off and let them see that they do have the power to make change. Then the question becomes, ‘how do we take what we know as leaders within organizations and make change that’s impactful across our three campuses?’”

The workshop and training organizers developed the series to empower staff and faculty. People can use this knowledge to make positive change wherever they are affecting outreach and hiring practices, reviewing policy, understanding our diverse student body or resolving interpersonal issues.

Learn more about trainings and additional learning resources on the leadership workshops page. Contact equity@uw.edu to request information about hosting a unit or departmental leadership workshop.

Talking about equity, difference and privilege

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Congressman John Lewis urges the UW community to persevere

Rep. Lewis shared his story — now protrayed in the graphic novel “March” — with the UW community in February. Photo: University Marketing & Communications.
Rep. Lewis shared his story — now protrayed in the graphic novel “March” — with the UW community in February. Photo: University Marketing & Communications.

The UW had the distinct honor of hosting U.S. Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) at the Seattle campus, Feb. 23, 2017. Says Vice Provost and Dean Ed Taylor, “Lewis’ personal journey from a student-activist to congressman inspires us, as leaders, to maintain that same passion for addressing race and promoting equity that we developed as students, and to look to our students whose passions push this work forward.“ Rep. Lewis, talking about building the Civil Rights Movement, said, “There is nothing more powerful than the marching feet of a determined people.” He urged students to “stand up, speak up, be brave, be courageous, be bold and help create the beloved community.” The Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity hosted the event, with special thanks to the Office of the President.

Watch and Read More:

The Graduate School’s Public Lecture Series prompts discussions of race and privilege

Pedro Noguera, professor of Education at UCLA, discussed strategies for equitable student achievement at Kane Hall on Jan.10, 2017. Photo: University Marketing & Communications.
Pedro Noguera, professor of Education at UCLA, discussed strategies for equitable student achievement at Kane Hall on Jan.10, 2017. Photo: University Marketing & Communications.

Continuing last year’s successful Equity & Difference Public Lecture Series, the Graduate School, in partnership with the UW Alumni Association, focused this year’s talks on privilege. Distinguished speakers from the UW and around the world discuss the role of privilege within politics, education, history and the environment — and how privilege can be more equitably shared.

The Graduate School also developed a companion course series to address the themes of its public lectures. The courses engage participants from diverse backgrounds and disciplines in topics such as racism, power and privilege; transgressions and microaggressions; and how structural factors sustain oppression of minority populations. Offered on all three campuses to graduate students, faculty and staff, these courses have been transformative for participants and for their work as members of the university community. As one student noted, “The more I build upon my own learning of issues with equity and oppression, the more I can both contribute to my existing community and add to it.”

This spring

May 3, 2017 — History, Conflict and Promise: Civil Rights at the UW

Nearly 50 years after UW students organized by the Black Student Union occupied the offices of President Charles Odegaard, a panel of UW alumni civil rights leaders reflect on the legacy of the occupation and the state of the University’s ongoing commitment to equity and justice for all.

The Uw’s Three Campuses Explore Complexities of Free Speech

What does the First Amendment mean in the context of a public university? How can we promote equity and diversity in ways consistent with protecting free speech? The UW community explored these and other questions about speech through events and forums on all three campuses.

Freedom of Speech: A Fundamental Right?

FreeSpeechTalk Flyer Jan2017-final

Jan. 23, 2017, William W. Philip Hall, UW Tacoma

The UW Tacoma community was invited to an interactive dialogue with panelists on a range of experiences with free speech in a range of contexts from education to activism to the arts. The event was part of the Chancellor’s Discussion Series: Standing Together for Justice in Hope and Determination.

Panelists:

  • Susan Balter-Reitz, professor of Communication and Theatre, Montana State University Billings
  • Chris Demaske, associate dean of Faculty and Student Affairs; associate professor of Communication, UW Tacoma
  • Christopher P. Jordan, Tacoma artist/activist
  • Cathy Nguyen, Tacoma poet laureate

Speech & Counter Speech: Rights & Responsibilities

Jan. 10, 2017, wǝɫǝbʔaltxʷ – Intellectual House

The Race & Equity Initiative hosted three First Amendment lawyers and educators for a structured dialogue exploring how First Amendment law is applied in a university.

Speech & Counter Speech Panelists:

  • Ron Collins, Harold S. Shefelman Scholar, UW School of Law
  • Michele Storms, former assistant dean for Public Service; executive director, W.H. Gates Public Service Law Program at the UW
  • Nadine Strossen, John Marshall Harlan II Professor of Law, New York Law School; Immediate past president, American Civil Liberties Union (1991-2008)

    • How Do We Define Hate Speech vs. Free Speech within an Academic Community?

    Nov. 17, 2016, North Creek Event Center, UW Bothell

    UW Bothell community members attended an interactive forum facilitated by Kari Lerum, associate professor of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences, and Terryl Ross, director of diversity, to discuss how to navigate difficult conversations inside and outside the classroom, specifically, on what constitutes “hate speech” and “free speech” within the context of commitments to academic integrity and campus diversity. Campus inclusion values and conduct codes were examined, followed by break-out sessions for participants to share ideas.

    Developing new means for reporting and addressing bias

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    A critical step toward addressing bias at an institutional level is understanding exactly how individual students, faculty and staff experience bias, and in what ways. In early 2015, Denzil Suite, vice president of Student Life, and Sheila Edwards Lange, former vice president for OMA&D created a task force to assess how bias affects campus community members. The task force, chaired by Q Center Director Jen Self, proposed creating a tool for reporting and addressing incidents efficiently. Based on their proposal, Student Life, OMA&D and Undergraduate Academic Affairs collaborated to launch the Bias Incident Reporting tool in 2016.

    The tool allows users to report incidents through an online form, which is reviewed within two business days by a member of the Bias Advisory Committee, a group of representatives from multiple units, including students. The form asks for details on the incident and allows for relevant uploads such as screenshots or videos. Users can either submit anonymous reports or provide an email address to which the tool automatically sends an acknowledgment. Depending on the particulars and the wishes expressed by the reporting individual, unless anonymous, the committee then reaches out to that person to provide resource and support information. Committee member Ellen Taylor, associate vice president for Student Life, says the tool is a “mechanism for thoughtful institutional approaches, enabling us to accurately and compellingly capture the impact of bias incidents.”

    HATE HAS NO HOME HERE

    여기에 미움을 위한 집은 없다

    មិន មានការស្អប់ខ្ពើមនៅទីនេះទេ

    LA HAINE N’A PAS DE PLACE ICI

    仇恨在这里没有立足之地

    שנאה לא יכולה לחיות פה

    EL ODIO NO TIENE HOGAR AQUÍ

    To report a bias incident, please visit: https://report.bias.washington.edu

    Responses to reports vary by case, Taylor says. “Some bias incidents are crimes, some are violations of university policy, and some are neither. The committee’s goal is to gather information about bias incidents on both sides of those lines and support members of the community in making an official report to police, when relevant, or in addressing the incident in other ways.”

    Taylor emphasizes that hearing from multiple perspectives is crucial to both understanding and addressing bias on campus. The tool alerts UW leadership to the frequency, form and impact of bias events. And the tool and the advisory committee rely on interdepartmental problem-solving and partnership. “Bias affects everyone and our goal of creating an increasingly inclusive campus environment requires an across-the-board commitment,” says Taylor. How the committee incorporates and balances diverse voices is, she notes, “an example of the kind of culture we want to foster: one where differences are respectfully and openly aired and common ground is sought.”

    Report Bias Incidents

    Seattle: https://report.bias.washington.edu/submit
    Tacoma: https://www.tacoma.uw.edu/reportbias
    Bothell: www.uwb.edu/studentaffairs/care-team

    New and noteworthy

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    The president’s new advisory committee to work with campus police

    Part of the Division of Student Life, UWPD plays a vital role in establishing and maintaining a safe and welcoming campus environment. UWPD staff have standing partnerships with the Q Center, Housing and Food Services, Fraternity & Sorority Life, Intercollegiate Athletics, Health & Wellness, Health Sciences Administration and ASUW’s Student Safety Advisory Board.

    In addition, a new advisory committee on campus policing will advise the president on campus safety, specifically as it relates to policing. The main goal is to support UWPD’s vision as a collaborative partner and leader in innovative campus public safety practices, adhering to values of professionalism, respect, integrity, diversity and excellence.

    Members of the new committee will be appointed by the president, with consultation from the university governing and advisory entities. Careful consideration will be given to selecting members from diverse backgrounds and perspectives.

    The committee will begin meeting in spring 2017.

    Growing support for minority-owned businesses

    Last year, 39 percent of UW funds spent on goods and services went toward diverse businesses, including small, minority and/ or women-owned businesses. That figure eclipsed a previous business equity goal of 15 percent of the annual budget for UW procurement.

    Fifteen percent of major capital planning and development projects now contract with small, minority and/or women-owned businesses, up from roughly 1 percent in previous years. This increase is due both to more inclusive business practices and a change in policy that enriches the pool of eligible diverse business contractors and subcontractors.

    Through strategic spending, the UW’s three campuses are working to increase the opportunity for diverse businesses within our local communities through our equitable business practices — and ensure the UW contributes toward a more inclusive state economy.

    Recent books by UW scholars address race and equity

    Recent works by UW faculty address race and equity in the workplace, education, the historical record, medical research, pop culture and more.

    Untitled-1
    Authors from left to right: Sareeta Amrute, Anthropology; Alexes Harris, Sociology; Asao B. Inoue, Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, UW Tacoma; Erasmo Gamboa, American Ethnic Studies; Juan C. Guerra, English and American Ethnic Studies; Bettina Judd, Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies; Suhanthie Motha, English; and LeiLani Nishime, Communication.

    A new regents’ committee on equity and inclusion

    Equity and inclusion are clear UW priorities, reflected at the highest levels. The Board of Regents — the governing body made up of community members appointed by the governor to supervise and manage the University — hold UW leadership accountable to its values and to the public.

    A new diversity, equity and inclusion advisory committee, established in 2016, empowers regents to more directly support and advance the University’s goals on equity: for example, by prioritizing diversity in procurement and contracting.

    New events and opportunities at the Center for Communication, Difference and Equity

    Ralina-Joseph

    The Center for Communication, Difference and Equity, run by Director and Associate Professor of Communication Ralina Joseph, has grown into a vital educational, research and community space for students and faculty on campus. In May, the center will produce a conference on racial ecologies, an event that will bring local scholars and activists together with scholars from across the country to exchange ideas, information and support. In addition, the center has organized a StoryCorps event for May to generate conversations on the theme of “the first time” experiencing racial discrimination. The center will make the digital archives available to UW scholars who are interested in issues of race, identity politics, inequity and storytelling.

    The center will continue to provide educational, research and activist opportunities for students, faculty and community members to better understand and challenge how difference and equity shapes our world.

    Provost SEED Funding for New Programs

    UW schools and colleges are working toward their goals for diversity and inclusion with support from the Race & Equity Initiative. The Office of the Provost recently granted funds ranging from community projects to equity trainings, from actions that address implicit bias to workshops on inclusive leadership, and more.

    The 12 schools and colleges that received funding to bolster equity-focused programs and events are:

    • College of Arts & Sciences
    • College of Built Environments
    • College of Education
    • College of Engineering
    • College of the Environment
    • Evans School of Public Policy and Governance
    • Graduate School
    • Information School
    • School of Dentistry
    • School of Law
    • School of Medicine
    • School of Social Work

    Seed-funding has already been put to impactful and innovative use by schools and colleges. Projects include:

    College of Built Environments
    The Building Common Understanding conversation series is designed to support community among students, faculty and staff.

    iSchool
    The iDEA Project takes an integrated approach to research, curriculum transformation, professional development and outreach around themes of

    Teaching Resources

    Since the 2016 presidential election, the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) has been providing resources and venues of support for instructors, staff and students.

    According to CTL Director Beth Kalikoff, faculty, staff and graduate student instructors are voicing a common concern: how to manage course topics and discussions so that all students feel welcome, respected and safe. In a charged political climate, instructors want to create classroom environments that are inclusive of diverse voices and perspectives — and at the same time protect students against bigotry and hate speech.

    In addition, skills common to so many disciplines — such as research, discourse, evidence analysis and critical thinking — take on renewed relevancy. “Helping students to learn these skills has always been part of the instructor’s charge,” Kalikoff says, “but now more than ever.” Of course, how faculty and staff instructors approach these challenges depends on goals and topics, instructor, discipline and student population. To address varying teaching contexts, the CTL has created new venues and resources for support:

    • Web resources: The CTL website now includes a post-election support and resources page, offering information on upcoming events and relevant articles, blog posts, teaching resources from other institutions and campus resources for students.
    • Events: The CTL is hosting peer-facilitated community conversations on “teaching after the election,” “teaching race after the election” and “teaching as a person of color after the election” — each session open to all instructors, but some are geared toward the distinct needs of faculty, teaching assitants or staff educator groups. Supplementary sessions have been added in response to high demand.
    • Departmental sessions: The CTL has designed sessions on discipline-specific questions, concerns and discussions.

    While teaching contexts vary, Kalikoff says, “UW teachers are all united in their desire to provide students with the resources they need, and to use approaches that honor the course learning goals and the students in the classroom.”

    Understanding and Supporting Undocumented Students at the University of Washington

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    An interview with Gabriel Gallardo and Marisa Herrera outlines challenges undocumented students face, support available and how faculty can help

    Gabriel Gallardo and Marisa Herrera at the Leadership Without Borders Center.
    Photo: Jill Reddish.

    An interview with Dr. Gabriel Gallardo, Interim Vice President for Minority Affairs and Interim Vice Provost for Diversity, and Marisa Herrera, Executive Director of Community Building and Inclusion, Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity:

    Q: How many undocumented students are at the UW, and what are their needs?

    Gabriel Gallardo: There are probably 150-200 undocumented students at the UW. A student is considered undocumented if he or she is not a legal permanent resident and does not possess a current green card, visa or other form of legal documentation. Our exact population is difficult to pin down because there are many challenges in getting accurate information. Since 2003, when House Bill 1079 became state law and allowed eligible undocumented students to pay in-state tuition, the UW became home to even more of these students.

    Undocumented students face a lot of fear and remain one of the most underserved populations at colleges and universities across the country. They don’t share their status with faculty or advisers and sometimes they won’t even tell their peers. This can be terribly isolating, and they remain unaware of the resources we have to help them. This group of students is one of our demographics. Excellence by definition is inclusive, and so our goal of “inclusive excellence” includes working with and for our undocumented students.

    Terms to know:

    • Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA): Effective 2012, allows qualified undocumented students to apply for a work permit
    • Real Hope Act: Effective 2014, allows eligible undocumented students to access the State Need Grant program
    • WASFA: The form undocumented students fill out to apply for the State Need Grant

    Q: How does the UW provide support?

    GG: Supporting this population requires faculty and staff who have access to a large variety of information and resources paired with a fundamental awareness of how to be an effective and sensitive ally for these students. So we take a holistic approach — from training academic support staff in access, retention and financial aid to connecting students with housing services, health and wellness, and peer support groups.

    Marisa Herrera and Magdalena Fonseca from the Samuel E. Kelly Ethnic Cultural Center have been spearheading this work for over 10 years, but until recently, much of it was under the radar — understandable, given the importance of protecting the identity of undocumented students.

    In April 2015, UW leadership wrote a letter for the National Institutions Coming Out Day affirming support for the right of undocumented youth to seek education at our state’s public universities. We as a university took a significant step towards making public our support and commitment for undocumented students — and to provide faculty and staff with the necessary training and resources to fully support this population.

    Q: What is the Leadership Without Borders (LWB) Center and what happens there?

    Marisa Herrera: The LWB Center offers undocumented students a defined space on campus where they can feel they belong, whether they are doing homework, using our textbook lending library or just hanging out. It’s where students can go for referrals and information about services, or simply talk to someone about their worries and concerns. We are even starting quarterly leadership development workshops specifically for this population, which makes this model unique in the nation.

    Our goal is to build a comprehensive pathway to support undocumented students so that as more students are receiving aid and deciding where to enroll, they will see the UW as a worthwhile investment and feel confident about coming here.

    Q: What role do faculty play? What can faculty do to help?

    MH: Many times, faculty are the first point of contact between the UW and a student, and a lot can depend on just one interaction. Think about an undocumented student who wants to go to medical school and who asks a professor for advice. If that faculty member isn’t well-resourced in campus support for undocumented students and how to navigate it, an opportunity has been lost for that student. We’re trying to prevent missed opportunities, so we work with faculty and staff across campus to raise awareness about where to direct students to the resources that can make all the difference for them. Faculty can also take our Undocu Ally training or donate books to our LWB Textbook Lending Library.

    Q: What creates an unwelcoming environment compared to a welcoming one?

    MH: Everything from the language used in an application or a syllabus to having a sticker on your wall that says this is a safe space. It’s important for our students to know that they don’t have to be in the shadows and that, whether they choose to disclose their status or not, they will be supported. For example, we’re conscientious about circumstances where a social security number is required. Graduate Opportunities & Minority Achievement Program (GO-MAP) worked with The Graduate School so that undocumented students can fill out that application in a manner appropriate for their status. We’ve also had a student tell us how empowered she felt when one of her professors had a non-discrimination clause in the syllabus that included “national origin and citizenship status.” That requires a small effort but can potentially make a big difference for a student, both inside and outside of the classroom.

    GG: We want to increase awareness, especially about terminology. We don’t expect everyone to become an expert in the complex politics or changing realities of undocumented students and their families, but we are here to provide guidance. These students are talented and do the work. We know they can succeed if they have the access and support they need.