Shining aL By Emily Wilson
This experience was shared anonymously by one of more than 250 College of Business students who participated in a survey that focused on racial equity challenges within CB. It was distributed during spring 2020 amid national social justice protests in response to the police killings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd. Other survey respondents described obstacles faced by students who speak English as a second language; a lack of resources and faculty and staff support around mental and physical health; and the difficulties of working full-time while balancing academic coursework. “[The survey] was a clear indicator that, while our student experience was probably on par with most of our peer institutions, our students were hurting … and that we needed to do more to support them,” said Dean Jeffrey Stinson. “Simultaneously, many of our students were engaged in the protesting and asking us as a college, faculty, and staff to explore our role in supporting equity, diversity, and inclusivity (EDI). We knew we needed to do more than just issue a statement. We needed to take action.” After reviewing the survey data, CB faculty and staff resolved to push past complacency and enact initiatives which would have positive and long-lasting impacts on the student experience, both emotionally and educationally. Under Stinson’s leadership, a new CB Diversity and Inclusivity Steering Panel was formed. Among its first tasks was designing and distributing an inclusivity workbook to faculty and staff. The College of Business Diversity and Inclusivity Workbook, which was released in September, consists of seven training modules, including Bias in the Classroom and Workplace, and Sustainable Diversity and Inclusivity. “You don’t want to rush this kind of work, and yet you also want to meet the needs of the moment,” said Erica Holley, associate professor of management and chair of the CB Diversity Committee. “Our goal was to create a meaningful training that would increase self-awareness and empathy, and, most importantly, would keep the challenges faced by our students at the heart of our work.” Self-awareness and empathy steered the development of the book’s structure, said Anderson Parks, Kuolt Distinguished Professor of Business.
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