Pursuing Racial Justice Theme Year
Social Work Increasing BIPOC Student Inclusion and Belonging in the School of Social Work through Anti-Racist and Trauma-Informed Strategies Initiative to develop new content and an enhanced process for faculty, staff, and students to support the educational development and cultural competence of each other, with an emphasis on BIPOC student inclusion and the intent to share these new resources for use by other CLAS departments. World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures Supporting Undergraduate Education in Translation Effort to create a new BA in Translation, the first of its kind and only the second such bachelors’ degree in the US, which will emphasize community outreach experiences and engagement with area high schools that enroll significant heritage speaker populations (students who learned a language other than English at home).
• In our “Pursuing Racial Justice” theme-year initiative, we grappled with critical questions about race and justice, through interdisciplinary lenses. • We considered how the UI’s history as a predominantly white institution has shaped the university and CLAS; the knowledge we produce and convey to students; the interactions among our community members; and the relationship of the university to Iowa City and the state of Iowa. • We welcomed more than 500 faculty, staff, students, and community members to fourteen virtual sessions throughout the academic year, featuring our own scholars as well as experts from outside of our campus. • Videos of these sessions are available at https://bit.ly/RacialJustice_CLAS .
Supporting Departmental DEI Committees
• The CLAS DEI Committee is currently evaluating resources for education, training, and best practices for departmental DEI committees to ensure the College provides optimal support to departmental committees. • Independently, departmental DEI committees have reported pursuing training on topics including implicit bias, gender bias, bystander intervention, intersectionality, inclusive teaching, mentoring, cultural competence / proficiency, and anti-racist work climates.
Student DEI Advisory Committee
• In Spring 2021, CLAS created a standing Student DEI Advisory Committee to collaborate with the College and its DEI Committee, keeping us informed of barriers to student success. • In Fall 2021, the Student DEI Advisory Committee was expanded from 11 to 15 student members, nominated by DEOs. (Students are listed on the back page of this report.)
SEAChange
• The College is joining SEA Change, a national initiative of the American Association for the Advancement of Science to effect sustainable change with regard to diversity, equity, and inclusion in STEMM at U.S. institutions of higher education.
EquityAudits
• The CLAS DEI Committee is working with the University of Iowa Human Resources team to pilot a process for UI-wide equity audits. • CLAS has volunteered to be the first college to undergo this benchmarking process. • The process is expected to begin in Spring 2022. Path to Distinction • CLAS implemented the evidence-based Path to Distinction process to enhance faculty searches and reduce implicit bias in hiring practices. • Path to Distinction processes are now standard procedure for faculty hiring college-wide. • The College is working on a plan to also implement Path to Distinction processes for staff hiring. • The Dean’s Office is working with UI Human Resources to establish a system for measuring and tracking our improvement over time.
TATraining
• Training for graduate students who teach general education classes in Diversity and Inclusion remains a priority, though the realities of the ongoing COVID pandemic have delayed implementation. • The Dean’s Office and DEI Committee will be working with the associate deans for undergraduate education and graduate education to assess how best to support faculty and teaching assistants in these courses.
Governance Committees
• The Dean’s Office has conducted a review of our college’s leadership and governance committees to evaluate the current state of representation by race and gender in these areas. • The CLAS DEI Committee is discussing strategy to build diversity and representation on committees college-wide, including language to encourage underrepresented faculty and staff to self-nominate.
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