Reigniting Our Strategic Directions

Goal 4: Promote Inclusive Excellence

Vice President Natasha Martin serves as the executive sponsor for Goal 4: Promote Inclusive Excellence. Under her leadership, Special Assistant Brooke Coleman, JD, serves as both a co-chair for the organizational development for Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI) and operational leader for the various dimensions of ODI’s work under this goal.

Because diversity, equity and inclusion are integral to our Jesuit and Catholic character, our values and to the excellent education we provide, we will strengthen our institutional Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) structures to ensure progress with impact. Through LIFT SU Goals 1-5 and the Supplier Diversification Program, ODI is well-positioned to serve the Seattle University community.

Finally, none of this work would be possible without our colleagues across campus who serve as working group co-chairs and members lending their thought leadership to these endeavors.

PROVOST FELLOWS

Joined in this effort are Goal 4’s Provost Fellows, announced in June 2022, Dr. Hidy Basta, Director, Writing Center and Associate Clinical Professor and Dr. Rashmi Chordiya, Assistant Professor of Public Affairs. The Provost Fellows program aims to center and embed faculty leadership and scholarly expertise throughout the planning and implementation of Reigniting Our Strategic Directions. Dr. Basta and Dr. Chordiya will assist in research and projects for all of Goal 4 but are starting their work with LIFT SU Goals 1 and 3, respectively. Provost Fellows: Hidy Basta and Rashmi Chordiya

Hidy Basta, PhD Director, Writing Center/ Associate Clinical Professor Rashmi Chordiya, PhD Assistant Professor, Public Affairs/Institute of Public Service

STRATEGIC INITIATIVES Develop a Multi-Year Plan for the Implementation of LIFT SU Goals

Reigniting Our Strategic Directions is a five-year plan that will impact every division in the institution. To integrate inclusive excellence and LIFT SU initiatives into a unified shared equity agenda within existing strategic and academic plans and systematically embedding DEI university-wide will take a collaborative and coordinated effort to be delivered year-over-year improvements for each dimension of LIFT SU. Co-Chairs: Natasha Martin and Brooke D. Coleman

Natasha Martin, JD VP for Diversity and Inclusion Brooke D. Coleman, JD Special Assistant/School of Law professor

LIFT SU Goal 1: Recruitment and Retention of BIPOC Students

The LIFT SU Goal 1 working group is co-chaired by Michelle Minjoe Kim-Beasley and Dr. Julie Homchick Crowe. To create an ecosystem where our BIPOC students thrive, this group will develop a full understanding of the recruitment and retention efforts across campus, as well as how we partner with communities to build relationships. In addition, this working group will develop recommendations and proposals, which may include a high-impact practices guide for retention efforts. Co-Chairs: Michelle Minjoe Kim-Beasley and Julie Homchick Crowe

Michelle Minjoe Kim-Beasley Director, Office of Multicultural Affairs Julie Homchick Crowe, PhD Assistant Professor Communication

LIFT SU Goal 2: Bias Prevention and Campus Care

Chaired by Natasha Martin and David Lance, the LIFT SU Goal 2 working group's first major deliverable—the development of the Campus Climate Incident Response & Reporting Protocol—was achieved. Adopted in July 2022, this protocol will centralize and coordinate our approach to campus climate incidents and mature our ability to track incidents and determine how to best prevent them. Looking ahead, this working group will continue to take a holistic approach to further initiatives that will enable our community to better respond, prevent and educate for productive engagement across campus. Co-Chairs: David Lance and Natasha Martin

David Lance, JD Associate Provost

LIFT SU Goal 3: Recruitment and Retention of BIPOC Faculty and Staff

Goal 3 of the LIFT SU strategic initiative, led by Dr. Colette Taylor and Dr. Frank Shih, relates to the recruitment and retention of BIPOC faculty and staff. The initial working group will deliver a structured formation protocol for all faculty searches including planning, search execution and recruitment, along with assessment tools and an implementation plan. Building on the work of this group, an additional working group focused on the recruitment and retention of BIPOC staff will be constituted in 2023. Co-Chairs: Frank Shih and Colette Taylor

Frank Shih, PhD President, Academic Assembly Professor, Mechanical Engineering Colette Taylor, EdD Leadership and Professional Studies Department Chair

LIFT SU Goal 4: Narrative Through Art and Symbols

Goal 4 of the LIFT SU strategic initiative aims to disrupt the dominant image of Seattle University culturally, visually and traditionally. Community informed and led, under this goal we will guide improvements to campus spaces through the addition of art and symbols. These visuals will represent a fuller narrative of inclusion. A working group will convene to move this goal forward in the fall 2022.

LIFT SU Goal 5: Build Capacity and Invest in Infrastructure

To lead the university-wide strategic direction to promote inclusive excellence across all divisions, we have begun to take steps to realize an infrastructure that reinforces the capacity of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion to lead the university-wide strategic direction to embed and infuse inclusive excellence across all operations and programs. Co-Chairs: Shane P. Martin, Brooke Coleman and Natasha Martin

Shane P. Martin, PhD Provost

REIGNITING OUR STRATEGIC DIRECTIONS

President Eduardo Peñalver

(l-r): Joe Cater, Assistant Vice President and Controller; Supplier Diversification Program Co-Chair Amelia Mackworth, Director, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center; Randy Massengale, SU RAMP-up; and Kent Koth, Executive Director Fr. Stephen Sundborg, S.J. Center for Community Engagement. Not pictured: Supplier Diversification Program Co-Chairs O. David Jackson, EdD, Albers School of Business Assistant Dean, Diversity Equity and Inclusion and Tony Goodwillie, Director, Procurement. REALIZING STRATEGIC INITIATIVES

President Peñalver offered thoughts on our approach to realizing our strategic initiatives: “Our commitment to inclusive excellence goes beyond this particular goal and pervades our thinking about every aspect of our strategic directions. Although Goal 4 sets out specific areas of focus and effort, our commitment to creating a university community that is diverse and inclusive reflects our deepest held values. Rooted in our Jesuit character, it is similarly foundational to how we understand ourselves as a university. This is a goal that we will always need to be working on. While we are committed to articulating clear and achievable metrics and to holding ourselves accountable for genuine progress over the life of this strategic planning effort, the work of creating an inclusive campus environment—one where students, faculty and staff from all backgrounds can develop a genuine sense of belonging—is (like all good strategic goals) work that is never fully complete. We are committed to doing that work and to creating a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.”

Supplier Diversification Program

In alignment with the initiatives of LIFT SU, the Supplier Diversification Program connects Seattle University’s values and mission with our spending through focused efforts to expand relationships and purchasing with diverse businesses. With a $750k grant from the JP Morgan Chase Foundation, this program is implementing a business practice that prioritizes Seattle University’s commitment to diversity through the intentional use of businesses whose owners are typically marginalized and historically underutilized.