DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION
UPDATES 2021
Dear PLU Community,
An update on PLU’s various Diversity & Inclusion projects is well overdue, and we are excited to share the information below. Please know that — while the university has been navigating the challenges of the pandemic — work has continued to “make sustainable change in the experience of our community for our members who experience marginalization,” as Dr. Joanna Royce-Davis (Vice President of Student Life) shared at the University Assembly on June 17, 2021.
Diversity & Inclusion Strategic Plan
As previously reported, the university-wide Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) Strategic Plan was unanimously approved by the Board of Regents at their October 2020 meeting. Since then, members of the University Diversity Committee (UDC) have identified the year-one priorities for each of the plan’s four goals; these are listed below with a brief progress report:
- Climate: Articulate, in a consistent and direct manner, how diversity and inclusion are central to PLU’s identity and distinguishing educational advantage
- Progress — In alignment with the PLU Strategic Plan, Marketing & Communications is engaging in a university-wide voice and branding effort to effectively communicate PLU’s educational advantages to diverse internal and external audiences, with a particular focus on potential students and their families. The project goal is to create new voice and brand messaging that articulates PLU’s identity and distinguishes the university’s educational advantages and positioning.
- Access, Recruitment, & Retention: Develop data-driven and intentional retention efforts for students, faculty, and staff of color.
- Progress — Over 48% of staff completed the first Staff Climate Survey, administered by the Higher Education Research Institution. Data from the survey will be available to the institution by mid-summer. A team of folks from Administrative Staff Council, Human Resources, Institutional Research, and the University Diversity Committee, convened by the AVP for DJS, will then begin to analyze the data and make recommendations.
- Teaching & Learning: Continue to evaluate, update, and revise curricula for Black and Brown students to see and experience themselves in learning and in the community at PLU and to decenter whiteness as a default in on-campus life
- Progress — As the Dean of Inclusive Excellence collects models from other institutions, faculty members of the UDC along with students and others with specialized knowledge of pedagogy will explore the creation of a faculty- and student-led curricular task force. Additionally, the revision of the Core Curriculum will likely include redesigning the Diversity Requirement.
- Institutional Vitality & Viability: Create a sustainable D&I structure within the Board of Regents
- Progress — A preliminary draft of a Diversity, Justice, & Sustainability Committee for the Board of Regents has been completed. This will be finalized, along with a sustainable training plan, in conversation with board members over the summer so that it can be presented at the October 2021 meeting.
The UDC will hold a retreat in August to assess the progress made on the above priorities and establish a timeline, responsible parties, and key performance indicators for the plan’s remaining strategies.
Gardner Institute’s Equity in Retention Academy
A team of PLU staff, students, and faculty were recently selected by the Gardner Institute to participate in the Equity in Retention Academy. By participating in the institute, we “will acquire both a theoretical and practical background concerning equitable retention and student success, retention pathways, and a retention framework.”
PLU’s team is co-coordinated by Angie Hambrick (Student Life) and Kristin Plaehn (Center for Student Success) and includes the following individuals: Jen Smith (Provost’s Office), Mike Frechette (Enrollment Management), Neal Yakelis (Vice Chair of Faculty), André Jones (ASPLU), Mary Jo Larsen (faculty), Luke Ruiz (Diversity Center), & Austin Beiermann (Center for Student Success). The institute began on April 26th and will conclude on May 28th. We look forward to sharing lessons learned and engaging the PLU community in the plan we develop during the institute!
Staff Happenings
Staff and administrators participated in a variety of diversity, inclusion, and equity workshops this semester. Over 25 staff participated in four different reading and discussion groups throughout the academic year. Texts focused on oppression, racism, and white supremacy, and how these systems are deeply embedded in our professional and personal lives. Over 40 staff participated in Topics on Tap, discussing in community the My Language. My Choice: Words Mean Things Campaign, as well as the Diversity & Inclusion Strategic Plan.
Finally, eight staff participated in the inaugural Imagine Otherwise Seminar. Through a series of readings, discussion, and creative and collective thinking, the group explored tangible goals and strategies for equitable practices to implement in their specific units. The goals of the Seminar was to:
- Explore the history of US higher education and how it was established, profited, and thrived on slave labor and anti-Blackness structures
- Explore how the taken for granted culture and structures of higher education are linked to white supremacy
- Engage in creative and strategic visioning for unit and institutional change
- Co-construct tangible goals and strategies for equitable outcomes
- Build community for a coalition of change makers
Faculty Happenings
The move to online teaching this year, while disruptive to say the least, also provided faculty an opportunity to engage in conversations and professional development around pedagogy. To support this work, the Pivotal Pedagogy Program (PPP) and PPP+ were created by Dana Shreaves (Instructional Designer) and Jen Smith (Provost’s Office). These training programs were specifically designed to help prepare faculty for teaching inclusively in a blended format as a response to the pandemic as well as provide opportunities for peer support. Each topic covered in PPP and PPP+ — whether about assessment, learning activities, or structure & site design, among others — included a consideration of inclusive practices. Additionally, PPP included lessons devoted to universal design for learning and trauma-informed pedagogy. Over 175 faculty participated in PPP.
Related, the Inclusive Pedagogy Seminars continued through Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 with the fourth and fifth cohorts of faculty; a sixth cohort will begin the seminar in June 2021. Additionally, the second cohort of the Inclusive Curriculum Workshop began in Spring 2021 and will continue until December 2021.
In June 2020, the Provost outlined six areas of the academic division where work could be concentrated as part of its commitment to create an actively anti-racist and decolonial division: Teaching Feedback Forms; Assessment of Teaching, Scholarship, and Service; Leadership; Mentorship; Exit Interviews; and Grading Culture. To begin tackling these issues, the Dean of Inclusive Excellence (in conversation with Bridget Yaden, Faculty Chair) put out a call to faculty to participate in working groups that would create recommendations to pass along to the shared governance system. The three topics that garnered the most interest were prioritized for the 2020-21 academic year (Assessment of Teaching, Scholarship, and Service; Leadership; & Mentorship). While these groups had robust conversations during the fall, their work was suspended during the spring semester to account for the Faculty Joint Committee process. Restarting these groups is a definite priority for the 2020-21 academic year.
As a complement to this work, Jen Smith and Angie Hambrick co-facilitated a series of seven conversations for faculty to explore the fourteen features of White Supremacy Culture in Organizations during Spring 2021.
Diversity Statement
Given the current political and social climate, this is an excellent opportunity to engage with PLU’s Diversity Statement and create time and space to talk with students and colleagues about how it relates to the work we all do at the university. Questions to guide this discussion might be:
- What are the key terms in the statement and what do they mean to you?
- How do the statement and the three commitments that follow it relate to the work of your department/office at PLU?
- How do you understand your relationship to the statement, the three commitments, and your identity and specific role in the PLU community?
Keep in mind that you don’t need to be an expert to engage in these conversations; rather, being willing to have them, being humble and able to listen deeply, and being able to continue engaging even when hearing something that is difficult or that challenges your own perspective are key skills in unlearning what we “think” we know about diversity and learning about diversity from a systemic and anti-oppressive framework.
Looking Ahead
In addition to the above projects, we will be administering the Diverse Learning Environment (DLE) survey to students as well as the HERI Faculty Survey in the fall to continue to understand the climate for every member of our community, as well as to triangulate experiences and expectations among different constituencies. We will also continue onboarding new employees so as to introduce them to how Diversity, Justice, and Sustainability are core values of PLU, and institutionalizing diversity and inclusion trainings and workshops.
As always, if you have questions or would like to know more about any of the above activities, please reach out to Angie Hambrick or Jen Smith.
In solidarity,
Angie Hambrick, Associate Vice President of Diversity, Justice, & Sustainability
Jen Smith, Dean of Inclusive Excellence
DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION
UPDATES 2020
Dear PLU Community,
We are excited to provide you with another update on the various Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) projects underway at the university since our previous email distributed in the spring. Again, the list below is by no means comprehensive but representative of PLU’s commitment to engage in the continuous process of making our campus inclusively excellent.
Forums & Process for D&I Strategic Plan
The University Diversity Committee (UDC) has been hard at work developing a D&I Strategic Plan; this is the third and final charge that then Acting President Allan Belton outlined for us at the 2018 University Conference, having completed reorganizing the UDC and creating a university Diversity Statement. The next step in our process is to gather strategies and feedback from the campus community about the four areas where we plan to focus efforts: climate; access, recruitment, and retention; teaching and learning; and institutional vitality and viability. Two forums will be held in February: Friday, Feb 21st from 9-10am in AUC 133 & Tuesday, Feb. 25th from 4-5pm in the Regency Room. Additionally, information about the goals, strategies, and process–as well as a portal where community members can provide feedback–will be placed on the Diversity and Inclusion site. The completed plan will be presented to the Board of Regents at the May 2020 meeting. LEARN MORE →
LGBTQ Core and Gender Identity Training
In August, in partnership with Human Resources, we offered The Tacoma Rainbow Center’s LGBTQ Core Competency and Gender Identity Trainings. Over 60 PLU staff and faculty attended the half-day trainings, becoming equipped with current and accurate information about legal issues and terminology to increase their knowledge and advocacy for LGBTQ communities. Gender identity, gender expression, and pronoun usage were also covered.
Inclusive Pedagogy Seminar for Faculty
In Fall 2019, the Dean of Inclusive Excellence began hosting Inclusive Pedagogy Seminars for cohorts of up to 10 faculty to read about and discuss issues of power and equity in their classrooms and to develop skills to help create inclusive learning spaces. The Fall 2019 cohort consisted of the following faculty:
Mary Ellard-Ivey, Biology
Weiwei Liu, Languages & Literatures
Christine Moeller, Mortvedt Library
Shannon Seidel, Biology
Yingchun Song, Languages & Literatures
Amanda Sweger, Theater and Dance
Claire Todd, Geosciences and Environmental Studies
Giovanna Urdangarain, Languages and Literatures
Bridget Yaden, Languages and Literatures
They explored issues of race, ability and ableism, class, and intersectionality. The Spring 2020 cohort includes faculty from Computer Science, Religion, Sociology, and Communications, among others. Once faculty have completed the seminar, they are able to participate in an Inclusive Curriculum Workshop in which they redesign an entire course so that it centers inclusivity.
AAC&U Conference
A team of students, faculty, and staff will be attending the AAC&U Diversity, Equity, and Student Success Conference entitled The Power of Collective Action in March. Some key questions centered at the conference are:
How can we collectively and intentionally design institutions to be reflective of our mission, values, and beliefs?
How do we move beyond mission and value statements to actions and accountability structures that promote shared responsibilities?What are promising strategies for honestly acknowledging and examining the historical, social, cultural, and political contexts that influence our actions and decision-making, as part of providing students a high-quality liberal education
What are effective practices for authentically implementing culturally responsive pedagogy? How can we reframe faculty development as a process shared across programs and departments, rather than an individual and course-by-course change strategy?
How are we addressing unconscious bias and systemic and structural racism, sexism, ableism, classism, ageism, and heterosexism in our institutional policies and practices?
The PLU team will provide feedback to the University Diversity Committee on best practices and strategies for successful diversity and inclusion efforts that are aligned with the PLU D&I Strategic Plan.
Diversity Statement
A subgroup of the University Diversity Committee has been working on strategies and action steps to institutionalize the university’s diversity statement, approved by the Board of Regents in Spring 2019. Action items include increasing the statement’s visibility on university websites, including the statement in the university catalog and all university job announcements and postings, and integrating discussions about the diversity statement into new staff and faculty orientations. There are also efforts to feature the diversity statement on strategic walls throughout campus.
Looking Ahead
In addition to the above projects, work continues to revise hiring processes to recruit and retain a more diverse faculty and staff; provide Inclusive Curriculum Workshops for faculty to diversify their course content and pedagogical practices; consistently onboard new employees so as to introduce them to how Diversity, Justice, and Sustainability are core values and practices of PLU; and institutionalize diversity and inclusion trainings and workshops.
Questions?
As always, if you have questions or would like to know more about any of the above activities, please reach out to Angie Hambrick (Associate Vice President of Diversity, Justice, and Sustainability) or Jen Smith (Dean of Inclusive Excellence.)
DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION UPDATES
Dear PLU Community,
Please find below an update on Diversity and Inclusion projects underway at the university since our previous email distributed in the fall. Again, the list below is by no means comprehensive but representative of PLU’s commitment to engage in the continuous process of making our campus inclusively excellent.
University Diversity Statement
Beginning in spring 2018, a subcommittee of the University Diversity Committee convened to begin the task of drafting a University Diversity Statement. Throughout the 2018.2019 academic year, the statement went through various drafts based on faculty, staff, student, and alumni constituent feedback The final statement was recently unanimously endorsed by the Board of Regents.
Diversity is “the condition of difference necessary to all life and creativity.” Martusewicz, Edmundson, and Lupinacci, 2011
At PLU, diversity is intrinsic to the vitality of learning, resilience and growth.
Thus, we will:
- Be responsive to how intersections and context impact how power is experienced
- Act upon the fact that diversity and inclusion efforts must address and account for all differences born out of power and oppression
- Collectively reimagine models and practices to create inclusive environments where all members of the PLU community can learn, live, work, and–most importantly–thrive.
Supporting documents, such the Strategic Enrollment Management Plan, Diversity & Inclusion Strategic Plan, and Lutheran Higher Education will be linked to the Diversity Statement as additional means of framing, action, and accountability. In the coming months, we will strategize various methods for cross-constituent distribution of the Diversity Statement, including visible web presence, university publications, and recommendations for how the Diversity Statement should be integrated into and guide our work at PLU.
Diversity & Inclusion Strategic Plan
Four priorities have been identified for the emerging Diversity & Inclusion Strategic Plan:
- Climate: Actualize a campus community that invests in the development and maintenance of the physical and psychological well-being of all its members
- Access, Recruitment & Retention: Create and sustain environment and resources to attract and retain diverse constituents to the PLU community
- Teaching and Learning: Support innovative and inclusive teaching, curriculum, and scholarship
- Institutional Vitality & Viability: Develop structure, support, and accountability for sustained diversity and inclusion work
University Diversity Committee Restructure
At February’s meeting of the Faculty Assembly, faculty voted to approve the following roster for the newly reconfigured membership of the University Diversity Committee.
Co-Chairs
Assistant Vice President of Diversity, Justice & Sustainability
Dean of Inclusive Excellence
Membership
Dean of Enrollment Management & Student Financial Services
Associate Vice President of Human Resources
Associate Vice President for Advancement
Associate Vice President for Marketing and Communications
Two Faculty appointed by the Faculty Executive Committee
Two Staff/Administrators appointed by President’s Council
Representative from the Core Curriculum Committee
Executive Director of the Center for Student Success
Diversity Director for ASPLU
Social Justice Director for RHA
Two Alumni
One Member of the Board of Regents
This membership enables the committee to more effectively implement macro-level initiatives like strategic planning, conducting assessment, and establishing policy. The UDC will be complemented by a University Diversity Advisory Council that will include members with expertise and experience in specific priorities.
Diverse Learning Environment Survey
In October, all undergraduate students were invited to complete the Diverse Learning Environment (DLE) survey. The instrument captures students perception regarding institutional climate and experiences with faculty, staff, and peers, among other topics. Our response rate of 7.5% of the student body is not statistically significant, however, it provides us with a guide to use other means of data collection to explore areas identified for improvement. These areas include campus support for minoritized students and confidence in leadership. All data collected will also inform the development of the Diversity & Inclusion Strategic Plan as well as shape future trainings and professional development opportunities.
A survey summary will be developed and posted on the Diversity & Inclusion website in the summer.
CIC Institute on Diversity, Civility, and the Liberal Arts
PLU has been selected to send a team to participate in the Council of Independent College’s 2019 Diversity, Civility, and the Liberal Arts Institute taking place in Atlanta, GA on June 2nd-5th. PLU’s team includes Joanna Gregson (Provost & Sociology), Jordan Levy (Anthropology), Adela Ramos (English), and Jen Smith (Dean of Inclusive Excellence & WMGS).
As described on CIC’s website: “Participants will come together with peers from other colleges and universities and a group of highly distinguished scholars to explore significant trends that are reshaping the 21st-century campus and learn what leading scholars consider to be basic understandings about race, gender, and other identities; social justice; social and political change; the hidden effects of stereotyping; inclusive pedagogy; and free speech issues; [and] develop realistic plans to enable their institutions to strengthen diversity and civility on campus, both inside and outside the classroom.”
The team looks forward to sharing the resources and lessons from the Institute with the campus, particularly to inform the Diversity & Inclusion Strategic Plan, and engaging in continuing the work of creating an inclusive campus!
Looking Ahead
In addition to the above projects, work will continue on revising hiring processes to recruit and retain a more diverse faculty and staff; onboarding new employees so as to introduce them to how Diversity, Justice, and Sustainability are core values of PLU, and institutionalizing diversity and inclusion trainings and workshops.
As always, if you have questions or would like to know more about any of the above activities, please reach out to Angie Hambrick (Assistant Vice President of Diversity, Justice, and Sustainability) at hambriaz@plu.edu or Jen Smith (Dean of Inclusive Excellence) at jennifer.smith@plu.edu.
Angie Hambrick, Assistant Vice President of Diversity, Justice, and Sustainability
Jen Smith, Dean of Inclusive Excellence
DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION UPDATES
Dear PLU Community,
As part of PLU’s commitment to create an inclusive campus, we pledge to provide regular updates on diversity-related projects. These updates will occur around the midpoint of each semester. Our hope in doing so is to increase transparency, investment, and accountability so that every person at PLU feels included in this important work.
The list below is by no means comprehensive but representative of PLU’s commitment to engage in the continuous process of making our campus inclusively excellent.
Highlights of Fall 2018 To Date:
- Faculty Fall Conference: On Thursday, August 30th, over 140 faculty members participated in a three-hour training about microaggressions that was facilitated by Ilsa Govan, co-founder of Cultures Connecting in Seattle. The training, titled “Building an Inclusive Community through Awareness: The Impacts of Bias on Individuals and Organizations,” focused on increasing participants’ self-awareness and knowledge of racial microaggressions and other common, sometimes well-intended, comments that are laden with unconscious bias.
- Implicit Bias Training: As part of our effort to diversify the faculty, all members serving on search committees seeking tenure-track faculty have received a two-hour training on implicit bias and its impact on the search process. Additionally, four searches are participating in an informal cluster hire, which indicates their interest in hiring someone with expertise in race, ethnic studies, gender, and/or sexuality.
- President’s Council Retreat: During a summer retreat, we facilitated conversations based on readings from the book Strategic Diversity Leadership by Damon Williams about white supremacy culture and how it impacts higher education. President’s Council then assessed the state of the university according to metrics provided in the text and provided feedback on initial goals of the Diversity & Inclusion Strategic Plan. Plans are being made to revisit these conversations in the spring term.
- Training with Admissions, Student Financial Services, Academic Advising, Registrar’s Office, Student Life Council, Career Connections, and Alumni & Constituent Relations: A variety of offices requested and received training related to implicit bias and structural inequality. These trainings occurred just before the fall term began and are part of an ongoing commitment to continue improving services to students and to create a more inclusive office environment.
- Board of Regents Session: The Board of Regents invited us to facilitate a session about diversity and inclusion during their most recent Board meeting (Oct. 5th-6th). During the two-hour session, board members engaged in conversations and learning about culture, power, and sense of belonging and pledged to continue to learn about these and other topics related to diversity and inclusion in future meetings. At least one Board committee also reviewed and provided feedback about the draft Diversity Statement.
- Diversity Statement: Throughout the fall semester, members of the University Diversity Committee have been meeting with students, staff, and faculty to gather input on the creation of a Diversity Statement. Additionally, on the President’s Office webpage any member of the PLU community can read the current draft and provide input anonymously. The form will remain open until Friday, Dec. 21st. The finalized Diversity Statement will be approved by President’s Council in Spring 2019 and endorsed by the Board of Regents at their May 2019 meeting.
- Diverse Learning Environments Survey (DLE): In October, all undergraduate students at PLU were invited to complete the DLE. This survey instrument captures student perceptions about the institutional climate and experiences with faculty, staff, and peers, among other topics. The results of the survey will be shared widely and will directly inform the development of the Diversity & Inclusion Strategic Planning process that will begin in Spring 2019.
Upcoming Projects
Additionally, we are working with Marketing and Communications to revamp the Diversity & Inclusion website, which should be ready to launch at the end of the current semester. The graphic featured at the top of this email is part of the new site. In Additionally, Spring 2019, we will be engaging the campus community in the creation of a Diversity & Inclusion Strategic Plan and continuing the reformulation of the University Diversity Committee, among other projects.
If you have questions or would like to know more about any of the above activities, please reach out to Angie Hambrick at hambriaz@plu.edu or Jen Smith at jennifer.smith@plu.edu.
In solidarity,
Angie Hambrick, Assistant Vice President of Diversity, Justice, and Sustainability
Jen Smith, Dean of Inclusive Excellence