University Leadership Council for Academic Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Racial Justice Initiatives
Committees
Data Collection Management Committee: This committee will serve a critical function given its natural intersection with all committees of the Council. Data will be needed by all committees to inform their decision-making about possible recommendations and provide them with support.
Equity Audit of Academic Policies & Practices: There have been anecdotal reports that such policies and practices may impact certain students disproportionately. This Committee will identify major academic policies and use an equity lens to assess their impact and determine whether such policies are serving the purposes for which they were established. The Committee will identify and select an appropriate framework for conducting the audit. The ultimate goal is to remove any barriers that impede full participation, access, and opportunity for all students to receive an equitable and excellent education.
Student Admissions, Recruitment & Retention: This committee will examine trend data across schools and programs to assess admissions and yield primarily by race and sex as well as other diversity dimensions, to determine whether traditionally underrepresented groups are gaining or losing ground. Given the recent establishment of the working group on DEI in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, this committee will explore working with that working
Diversifying Our Faculty: Preparing For the 2021-24 Hiring Cycle: This Committee will collaborate across schools to share success stories about hiring minority and women faculty, provide feedback on the very comprehensive Diversity Hiring Toolkit under development by IDEAA and report on training protocols on Hiring for Inclusive Excellence.
Undergraduate & Graduate Curriculum Transformation Committee: This Committee will develop a framework for transformational curriculum change, with a focus on content, course design and curricular structures, as distinct from but complementary to inclusive pedagogy. Among the questions to be considered are the definition(s) of curricular change and the principles for making and sustaining it, as well as the balance between academic independence and professional responsibility and the proper locus of accountability. This Committee will keep track of curriculum changes across departments and schools, identify promising practices and patterns, and work with all units to share the change process.
Cultural Climate Survey Committee: This Committee’s work includes reviewing school wide action steps to address survey findings that show the sharp contrasts between the experiences of students of different backgrounds and assess the degree to which such action steps will enhance a sense of belonging for those groups that lag behind the group with the highest level of belonging.
Institutional Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Strategic Planning Committee: This Committee will review and revise the framework for developing the Strategic Plan, review template for the content of such plans for consistency and ultimate inclusion in the University wide document.
Gender Equity Committee: The Gender Equity Committee’s primary purpose is to collaborate with the Campus Executive Vice Presidents to design meaningful actions to implement recommendations of the President’s Gender Equity Task Force, including prioritizing, clarifying, revising and interpreting the recommendations as needed.
