Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Goals 2018 - 2022 Recognizing the impact of diversity, our mission is to foster an environment which respects, embraces and promotes cultural competence, civil discourse and active engagement in developing an inclusive and vibrant community of scholars who act as transformational agents of change and who will become responsible citizens of the world. We are committed to fostering a campus culture of respect, equity and inclusion and believe it is the responsibility of every member of our campus. Thus, the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Plan sets forth campus-wide goals and strategies to help us build community and integrate EDI best practices into our work. The plan has been established as a five-year plan to align with the College’s strategic plan, ECC Excels 2015 and The Racial Equity Impact Analysis (REIA) Training and Action Plan. (see appendices)
Goal 1: Employee Development Engage in professional learning to build an inclusive campus community: • Establish partnerships with organizations that have demonstrated success partnering with colleges to develop diverse candidate pools. • Apply annually for SUNY’s Promoting Recruiting Opportunity, Diversity, Inclusion and Growth (PRODiG) initiative to increase faculty of color and Women in STEM fields. • Evaluate and establish practices that support the success and retention of diverse faculty and staff utilizing the Racial Equity Impact Analysis Tool (REIA) throughout the college. • Regularly review job descriptions to ensure that they are free from bias. • Improve the search committee process to be more inclusive by creating an online search committee training. • Add one REIA coach to every search committee. • Develop retention strategies that include mentoring and resources to aid in new employees, faculty and staff transition and acclimation to the greater campus community through a revised onboarding program, new employee orientation and annual cultural competency training. The Association of American Colleges and Universities: “On many campuses, the breadth and depth of efforts needed to make excellence inclusive are bypassed by a narrow focus on the compositional diversity of the student body. Although this aspect is critical, inclusive excellence is more than simply “improving the numbers” and “getting more students of color on campus”. Colleges and Universities must move away from this kind of narrow organization outcome to embrace comprehensive performance measurements linked to goals, objectives, strategies, indicators, and evidence (Williams, Berger, McClendon, 2005, p. 19)”.
Goal 2: Climate and Culture Regularly assess the climate and make improvements where necessary in creating a culture of equity, diversity and inclusion where all members of the community can grow, learn and thrive. • Conduct campus climate studies to identify challenges facing all campus populations and address those challenges appropriately. • Expand opportunities to involve SUNY Erie in community-based projects that are inclusive for faculty, staff and students. • Recruit graduate students from underrepresented groups as interns and adjunct faculty so that SUNY Erie might identify early potential faculty and employees who could increase diversity. • Evaluate the language used by the institution to ensure that it is both inclusive and accepted by the underrepresented student population it defines. • Engage alumni in current activities, recruitment and fundraising initiatives to help support an inclusive campus climate. • Create partnerships with high schools whose students are interested in teaching in higher education. • Annually review campus policies and procedures with an EDI focus to ensure we are following best practices. • Create opportunities for faculty, staff and executive leadership to actively participate in EDI efforts. • Provide incentives for faculty and staff who develop diverse and inclusive curricula and/ or living and learning communities. • Ensure college facilities meet necessary expectations to accommodate the needs of all students and employees
SUNY ERIE COMMUNITY COLLEGE EQUITY AND DIVERSITY PLAN 2018-2021
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