Update From the Diversity Task Force

Update From the Diversity Task Force

By Bryan Carter, Tannya Gaxiola and Javier DuranChairs of the Diversity Task Force
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The President's Task Force on Diversity and Inclusion for the University of Arizona was formed in March and identified immediate, short-term, medium and long-term goals. Our immediate goals were to address the issues raised by students, many of which were identified in a 19-page demand letter, and begin categorizing those concerns as we simultaneously formed a task force made up of students, faculty and staff who are interested in forwarding our mission to enhance diversity and inclusion at the University of Arizona.

The task force met for the first time in March, and members joined one or more of the eight subcommittees formed by the co-chairs of the task force. The task force met three more times before the end of the school term, and those who were on campus during the summer continued working on short-term, medium and long-term goals as identified by each subcommittee.

Subcommittees met throughout the summer, and, although they were not fully staffed, a number of them made significant accomplishments on their short-term goals and began identifying medium and long-term goals that they would address when students returned in the fall.

Accomplishments to date include the following:

  • Enrollment Management engaged in efforts to enhance diversity and inclusion through recruitment at the University. The entering class for 2016-17 is the most diverse and academically qualified in UA history, with underrepresented students at 42.6 percent of freshmen, up from 41.1 percent last year. The overall grade-point average for first-time, full-time freshmen is 3.51, up from 3.38 last year.
  • Diversity and inclusion training for Resident Life staff was held throughout the summer, with an emphasis on resident assistants.
  • The Dean of Students Office created a bias incident reporting website where members of the University community can report bias incidents, anonymously if they choose. The website also provides additional reporting options, such as the UA Police Department's LiveSafe app, which directs reports to the police dispatcher. The senior diversity officer will be looped into the process as an added layer of support for addressing bias incidents.
  • Increases in space were allocated to African American Student Affairs, the Women's Resource Center and Students for Sustainability. Renovations to the cultural center facilities should be finished by the end of the semester.
  • The UA campus climate survey, which is done every five years, was conducted last spring. Results are being analyzed now and will provide additional information about the experiences of our diverse students.

One of the key needs identified by the students was the hiring of a vice provost of diversity and inclusion, a process that was already underway. On Aug. 1, Senior Diversity Officer Jesús Treviño officially started work and has been introducing and laying the framework for a systemic approach to campus diversity, an approach suggested by the Marginalized Students of the UA group. He is championing the concept of Inclusvie Excellence, the idea that diversity and inclusion must be embedded at the institutional level and in every unit and aspect of the University. The goal of Inclusive Excellence is to make diversity and inclusiveness a habit practiced by everyone.

During our first meeting of the Diversity and Inclusion Task Force on Aug. 29, several subcommittees reported additional accomplishments throughout the summer.

The Space and Facilities Subcommittee identified recommendations for key physical issues, which included increasing lactation rooms, space for religious expression and providing all-gender restrooms for each building by 2020.

The Classroom Experience Subcommittee developed suggested wording for inclusion into syllabi for sensitive information, content warnings and statements regarding safe spaces and respect for diversity and inclusion in the classroom. These suggestions went out to all faculty through Chair of the Faculty Lynn Nadel’s Chair Talk newsletter before the start of the fall smester.

The Student Support Subcommittee reported that director searches for the Guerrero Student Center and the African American Student Affairs Center are underway. These searches are to replace staff who have retried or left the UA. The subcommittee also drafted a common message to be used by all student support units.

The Diversity Task Force will continue to work on the the issues raised by the students.  The next meeting, which will be held on Sept. 19, will continue the discussion that began in this week’s meeting regarding the use of content warnings in the classroom.

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