Focus on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Year One of the President’s DEI Task Force Follows a Road Map for Change In January of 2021, the President’s Task Force on DEI was assembled to further FNU’s mission to become an antiracist University. The Task Force is Chaired by Dr. Geraldine Young and is charged with identifying, implementing, and evaluating initiatives that will address DEI and antiracism within our community. The goal of the Task Force is to enhance FNU’s Culture of Caring to make equity, respect, and belonging a reality. The Task Force works collaboratively with the community at large and includes members from the administration, faculty, staff, and students. The Task Force is specifically charged with creating a comprehensive action plan and facilitating the implementation of each item on the action plan. To accomplish its many action items, the Task Force implemented a roadmap structure which was used to establish a set of subcommittees. The Task Force identified and recruited chairs and cochairs for each of the subcommittees. Faculty, staff, and students were then recruited to join those subcommittees. Once the committee rosters were full, the subcommittees each began meeting on a regular basis and set about creating a work plan and structure. “The President’s DEI Task Force is intensely focused on evaluating Frontier’s current policies and practices, and identifying areas in need of improvement,” said FNU President Dr. Susan Stone. “Through data analysis and input from members of all factions of the FNU community, the Task Force and its subcommittees are making informed decisions to make immediate changes that will drive us toward our goal to become an antiracist University. In order for Frontier to fulfill its mission, this is a goal that we absolutely must and will achieve.”
As demonstrated below, each of the subcommittees has hit the ground running, defining goals and objectives that guide their current and future decisions and actions. The subcommittees take direction from the President’s DEI Task Force and report regularly to the Task Force on the progress toward the stated goals and objectives, many of which are already complete or in progress.
Subcommittee on Faculty, Staff, and Preceptor Development and Retention Purpose: In partnership with the
President Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Taskforce, the Faculty, Staff, and Preceptors Development and Retention subcommittee will: 1. Collaborate with the necessary stakeholders to plan and facilitate diverse training opportunities to foster diversity, equity, and inclusion at FNU. The training opportunities are to ensure that all FNU community members are informed and are poised to engage in equitable, safe, and brave dialogues related to DEI. 2. Provide a framework to guide faculty and preceptors on sound teaching principles on how to adopt an AntiRacist pedagogy in their courses.
Subcommittee on Curriculum and Learning Goal: Define, evaluate and refine the
components and barriers to an inclusive, diversity responsive curriculum, based on stakeholder responses.
10 Frontier Nursing University • Quarterly Bulletin
Objectives:
• Created a framework to guide the focus group discussions • Students, staff, and faculty focus groups hosted in the Spring 2021 term. • Evaluation of the identified themes from the focus group. • Evaluate the curricula for the identified themes. • Develop a plan to implement curriculum revisions. Who: Faculty, staff, students.
• Two sessions for each group [faculty (2), staff (2), students(2)] • Two different times for each group and hosted on two different days.
Subcommittee on Climate and Belonging Goal: Disseminate diversity, equity,
inclusion, and antiracism support throughout the University. Objectives:
• Determine the need for the most significant diverse Special Interest Groups (SIGs). • Create forum(s) held on anti-racism, diversity, equity, and inclusionrelated topics. • Provide diverse support groups and/or access to other educational programs through collaborative partnerships (local, state, and national organizations or SIGs). • Design and/or adopt climate surveys to assess for a safe culture of caring and belonging.
