Short-Term EID Strategic Goals
2021-22
Equity, Inclusion and Diversity Mission
In order to achieve our institutional goals of educating a diverse student body, producing high quality research, and being a rewarding place to work, we must strive to create and maintain an institutional climate of equity, inclusion and diversity (EID). We must be intentional about EID as seen through commitment and behaviors, including:
- how we teach and train students
- how students live and learn
- how faculty, staff and students interact with each other
Commitment to equity, inclusion and diversity promotes experiences and fuels behaviors that support a welcoming and affirming environment for students, staff and faculty. Whether diversity is based on perspectives, life experiences, cultural backgrounds, social identities or other unique expressions, it makes for a better place to work, teach and learn, conduct research, and engage with our local community.
CHS’s goals closely align with several of VCU's Quest 2025 themes and goals:
- Theme I, Goal I.1: Transform the undergraduate curriculum to ensure we offer a 21st century learning experience.
- Theme II, Goal II.3: Achieve national distinction through our successful engagement with and graduation of diverse student populations.
- Theme IV, Goal IV.1: Advance institutional excellence through a commitment to diversity, inclusion and equity fostered through a culture of appreciation and respect.
- Theme IV, Goal IV.2: Build and sustain the infrastructure to enhance diversity, inclusion and equity at all levels of the university to support teaching, research, scholarship, creative expression and service.
- Theme IV, Goal IV.3: Establish diversity as an imperative in the development and implementation of strategies and policies and in decisions regarding resource allocation.
Short-Term Equity, Inclusion and Diversity Goals
The tables below outline equity, inclusion and diversity (EID) goals for the College of Humanities and Sciences for July 2021 through December 2022.
| Strategies | Metrics |
|---|---|
| Develop a system in which training and engagement in EID activities among faculty and staff can be reported by 12/2021. | Reporting system created for EID activities for staff and faculty. |
| Increase the number of EID committees in CHS units to broaden an understanding of underrepresented minority populations including (but not limited to) groups who are diverse by race/ethnicity, gender, sexual identity, disability/neurodivergent and military status by 12/2022. | 80% of units in CHS will have EID committees. |
| EID committees in CHS will meet regularly during the academic year, beginning fall 2021. | Regular meeting schedule established for EID unit committees. |
| Increase EID collaboration among units in CHS through units working together and with IDEC (Inclusion, Diversity and Equity Committee). | Regular meeting(s) schedule established for CHS EID units and IDEC. IDEC will conduct a brief survey in December 2021 of EID unit-level committees to gather data about unit-level EID events and initiatives. At least 25% of CHS units will have collaborated with IDEC or another unit on an EID event or initiative in the past year. |
| Provide funding (from Dean’s Office) for unit EID committees by September 2021. | EID budget established for each unit. |
| Review chair/director’s promotion of EID metrics in the unit as part of chair/director annual review, for CY 2022. | Departmental EID metrics will be part of the CY 2022 review and evaluation of chairs/directors. |
| Include sections on faculty annual review form for faculty to report EID activities in teaching, research and service beginning with the 2021 annual review as a way of tracking and highlighting EID activities. The faculty annual review should also include a section for faculty to discuss/comment on ongoing personal, unit or institutional EID issues that might affect faculty performance (if they choose to do so). Guidelines on reporting EID teaching, research and service activities will be distributed to chairs and faculty by November 2021. | Guidelines for reporting EID activities completed and distributed. Faculty annual report form will contain sections in which to report EID activities in teaching, research and service, along with an additional optional section for comments. |
| Complete assessment of racial equity in CHS by November 2021 in collaboration with Grace E. Harris Leadership Institute (GEHLI) leadership team. This assessment will be used along with institutional climate survey to provide baseline information. | Racial Equity Report received from GEHLI. |
| Strategies | Metrics |
|---|---|
| Implementation and evaluation of CHS’s Leaders in Inclusive Learning Program (LIL) and the HHMI Inclusive Excellence Initiative by 06/2022 (implementation) and 12/20/22 (evaluation). | Evaluation report(s) completed for LIL program outcomes. |
| Encourage faculty’s participation in training in inclusive teaching sponsored by the Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence and LIL program (ongoing). | 50% of faculty will have participated in training, consultation with LIL or other professional development activities in inclusive teaching by 12/2022. |
| Encourage faculty to have a diversity and inclusion statement on syllabus by 12/2022. Encourage faculty to use an inclusive syllabus by 12/2022. |
All faculty in CHS will have a diversity and inclusion statement on their syllabi. 50% of faculty will develop and use an inclusive syllabus. |
| Strategies | Metrics |
|---|---|
| Identify and increase accessibility of brief professional development activities for staff (e.g., topics such as navigating microaggressions at work; etiquette for transgender students/pronouns; implicit bias; diverse underrepresented minority groups) by 12/2022. | 50% of staff will participate in EID training and professional development activities at least once/year. |
| Provide staff opportunities to engage in EID activities that encourage culture change beginning September 2021. | Ongoing opportunities for EID engagement and training distributed to staff. |
| Improve messaging within the College to be more inclusive of staff (ongoing). | Communications (e.g., CHS newsletters, web pages) should include staff unless specific to employees in other positions. |
| Strategies | Metrics |
|---|---|
| Create opportunities for students to provide feedback on climate and inclusion by having regular CHS student town halls and administering a student survey (in collaboration with LIL) by December 2021. | Town hall with CHS students once a semester. Findings from CHS student survey administered by LIL. |
| Support (e.g., funding, acknowledgement, recognition ceremony) student organizations and individuals in the College that focus on diversity and inclusion (ongoing). | IDEC student organization award established, and awarded annually. Recognition of students’ involvement in EID activities by IDEC through special recognitions and scholarships. |
| Develop system to track student engagement with local and international communities by December 2022. | System to track student engagement developed. |
Increase student involvement with local community groups and organizations, especially those that represent underrepresented groups and communities by December 2022.
|
Increase in students involved with local community groups and organizations (e.g., volunteering, service-learning classes, research and other internships). See also CHS Strategic Focus Area I, Goal 2, Metrics. Appointment of faculty/staff to lead this effort. List of community organizations with which to collaborate. Plan for student, faculty, staff, and community collaboration. |
| Develop a ‘student engagement corner’ in the CHS newsletter or other place (e.g., CHS website) to highlight student-led EID engagement activities by March 2022. | CHS newsletter (or other source) will regularly feature student engagement in EID activities. |
| Increase opportunities for student engagement in study abroad programs since these programs increase appreciation for cultural differences. | Track number of students engaged in study abroad programs. |
| Increase students’ awareness of and participation in campus groups with a diversity and inclusion focus by hosting an open house with EID-focused organizations spring 2022. | Open house with various organizations that focus on EID efforts. |
| Establish Latinx student success group in CHS to support Latinx students. | Appointment of Latinx success group to include faculty, staff and students by December 2021. |
| Strategies | Metrics |
|---|---|
| Collaborate with CAPS council to include items related to equity and inclusion on staff surveys. | Questions about equity and inclusion on CAPS staff survey by December 2022. |
| Appoint more staff on CHS committees unless the committee is specifically charged with faculty beginning 01/2022. | Number of staff on CHS’s committees. |
| Develop and implement mentoring and personal development opportunities targeted at underrepresented minority staff starting spring 2022. | Personal development opportunities identified and disseminated for underrepresented minority staff. |
| Strategies | Metrics |
|---|---|
| Create a race and racism learning community of faculty interested in race, racism, and anti-racist scholarship in the College by November 2021. | Identification of leadership and members of the learning community. Regularly scheduled meetings. At least one talk, seminar, roundtable per year in CHS on race, racism and anti-racism. |
Committee Members
- Anita A. Nadal, School of World Studies
- Bernard Moitt, Department of History
- Charlene Crawley, Department of Chemistry, Interdisciplinary Science and IDEC
- Fernando A. Tenjo, Department of Biology
- Levi Burton, Department of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies
- Lucy R. Hudson, Department of Psychology
- R. Lee Franco, Department of Kinesiology and Health Sciences