Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Update

 

By Beth Paul, President, and Lisa Durant-Jones, Vice President for Community and Belonging

At the beginning of this Spring 2022 semester, we outlined our action-based, community-wide diversity, equity, and inclusion commitment. At that time we promised to be held accountable for results — to ensure that our DEI promises came to fruition. And so today, we share our progress — the important work done by members of our entire community — in advancing our movement and putting our plans into action. With gratitude for the efforts of our students, faculty, and staff in progress toward the DEI goals we all hold dear, we share the progress on these seven initiatives: 

• Nazareth Bias Response and Education Team (NBRET): New NBRET leadership disseminated a survey to all students to determine their awareness of Nazareth’s anti-bias commitment, and to gauge their interest in participating in professional development and other learning opportunities to support the work of NBRET. The results from this survey will be incorporated into planning for our next academic year. The NBRET end-of-semester report will be posted on the Community and Belonging and NBRET websites this summer.   
• Increase DEI in curricula and teaching practices: Conversations and specific actions to incorporate DEI into the curriculum are not new to Nazareth. This spring, there has been a renewed effort to identify the ways that DEI is intentionally integrated into the curriculum and pedagogical practices across campus. The Office for Diversity and Inclusive Excellence Education (ODIEE) is developing a new model for inclusive pedagogy that includes course design and delivery and will introduce this framework during an upcoming professional development event for all full-time and part-time faculty. A staff member from Community and Belonging will serve in an ex-officio capacity on select standing committees (e.g., assessment and curriculum) to provide content expertise in DEI as it relates to the committee’s work. Several new actions were taken by the Faculty Senate that included surveying academic departments for DEI courses and initiatives, discussions on creating a specific DEI Action Plan for senate consideration, and working with the Undergraduate Association and the Diversity Council to ensure student representation on standing committees as outlined in the faculty manual. In addition, the Core Curriculum Committee endorsed and will propose a new requirement for undergraduate students to complete a DEI-designated course prior to graduation. The Senate is committed to continuing this discussion next year and will expand its focus to include exploring how DEI can be integrated into the faculty year-end evaluations and how to engage part-time faculty more actively in DEI conversations. 
• The Shared Equity Leadership Team: The team met throughout the spring semester and partnered with the equity-mindset strategic planning working group. Their collective efforts to draft the Next Generation DEI Action Plan are well underway with an anticipated fall phase one completion. In addition, the committee has commented on a draft of guidelines for how to review policy through an equity lens. This resource will be available on the Community and Belonging webpage with the goal to engage the campus in adopting these guidelines as best practice.  
• Diversifying Faculty and Staff: Guidelines for inclusive search processes for staff hiring were revised to highlight the importance of and our commitment to DEI. Additionally, the employment application now includes a specific prompt and question that affirms the alignment of DEI with the mission and values of the Nazareth College workplace. Inclusive search processes are already in place for full-time faculty and will be expanded to part-time faculty next year. Information on the diversity of our faculty and staff can be found in the Diversity Scorecard.  
• Obtaining student input regarding DEI training curriculum for employees: ODIEE sent out multiple invitations to BIPOC affinity groups, BIPOC graduate students, the DEI student-athlete ambassadors program, as well as the Undergraduate Association (UA) including the UA diversity council to provide their thoughts on an educational curriculum. They were able to garner feedback from the small number of students who attended the session. It was a rich discussion with a general agreement regarding the approach. However, their primary concern was the authentic integration of knowledge-building into action and subsequently, a culture change. ODIEE staff assured students of their commitment to continue to work directly with students as both thought and action partners as well as an additional conduit to campus administration and resources. For example, ODIEE will be working directly with the UA diversity council on programmatic initiatives moving forward.  
• The Association of Faculty and Staff of Color (AFSC) held several meetings and social/networking events this academic year and new members have been welcomed to join the association throughout the year. In addition, faculty and staff offered to meet with students to advise and create affinity. The AFSC held multiple Zoom meetings open to BIPOC students to listen to issues and provide a space for dialogue. AFSC co-chairs have invited all incoming BIPOC students to attend the online portion of the Summer Start workshops and activities to build on the AFSC visibility on campus.  
• BIPOC Student Affinity Space: Throughout the semester, feedback was gathered from BIPOC club leaders and UA student leaders, as well as other campus stakeholders such as Student Engagement, Residence Life, and Academic Affairs regarding several potential space options. After weeks of site visits and discussion, people agreed that Colie’s (in George Hall) is the most viable option and will be thoughtfully re-purposed as a community-building space for BIPOC students at Nazareth. Additional conversations over the summer and early part of the fall semester with our BIPOC students in collaboration with Student Engagement will finalize logistics regarding fall opening and operations. 

Our College-wide progress extends beyond these collective goals, as many in our community have taken action to advance our DEI movement. Please visit the DEI initiatives page to see additional examples of our work. We look forward to the continued, unwavering energy and commitment throughout our campus to achieving our diversity, equity, and inclusion goals with action and dedication. This guiding principle began nearly 100 years ago and inspires us now as we carry on that legacy. We look forward to continuing to learn, develop, and put our work in motion with you, and we will continue to keep you apprised of our collective progress.