Office for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Dear West Chester University Community,

At this truly unprecedented time in our history when lives have been altered significantly across the globe, we cannot help but halt and reflect upon the recent news of the tragic events in Minnesota, New York, and Georgia. Our thoughts today are with the victims and families of all those affected by such horrific acts of hate, racism, and intolerance. The pain brought on from all that has been lost amid such injustice and despair prompts us to pause in the midst of our own realities. We, as a community of educators, must take this moment to underscore our dedication to all of our diverse communities, which include our students, faculty, alumni, staff, and many friends. As we strive to prepare our students to be lifelong learners committed to the common good, it is important to call attention to what we inspire all of our graduates to embrace as productive activity in our society: Read the full statement .

All West Chester University undergraduate students were invited to participate in a national racial campus climate survey during the 2019 spring semester. The results of the survey are posted online and were shared through a dialogue with faculty, staff, and students during two open forums in February 2020. The findings revealed key opportunities for WCU to not only reaffirm its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, but to go further. A few key recommendations for each area of the survey are noted below. 

• Mattering and Affirmation is defined as others noticing and caring about what students think and must say.
  • Assess and determine whether any groups are excluded from taking part in the construction of the campus identity.
  • Regularly convene university faculty, in conjunction with experienced staff from learning resource centers and centers for excellence in teaching, to discuss standards of inclusive teaching and ways to engage instructional personnel in developing culturally sustaining and affirming practices.
  • Train staff across student affairs, auxiliary centers, and campus police and security in meaningful ways to cultivate inclusive environments.

• Cross-Racial Engagement is defined as whether students feel calm, empowered, open and encouraged when engaging in conversations about race.
  • Create intentional, facilitated opportunities for cross-racial engagement on campus including, for example, hosting inter- and intragroup dialogues with skilled facilitators where privilege and marginality are discussed.
  • Ask the campus community to be part of problem solving and collaboration when racial tensions arise.
  • Communicate the message that talking about race is hard, but important, and also creates opportunities to push students to higher levels of critical thinking and toward better preparation to live in a diverse democracy.

• Racial Learning and Literacy is defined as the extent to which there is racial diversity reflected in classes, where students learn about race, who on campus helps them to learn about race, and preparing to live in a racially diverse society.
  • Conduct departmental reviews of classroom materials to determine whose voices and experiences are centered, and whose are missing.
  • Provide structured opportunities for students to learn about their own and other racial groups.
  • Communicate that the pace of learning about race and discussing race on campus should not prioritize the hesitancy and/or interests of any one group, over actual progress toward achieving equity.

• Encounters with Racial Stress is defined as specific harmful acts, behaviors, or attitudes directed at students based on their race.
  • Institute professional development for faculty and staff to prioritize understanding of the effects of not only racial violence on students, but also microaggressions and their impact on learning and well-being. This professional development should include providing faculty and staff with the skills to confront and intervene when these incidents occur, and asking them to prioritize a consistent message to all students that they are intelligent, of worth, and capable of scholarship.
  • Recognize race related stress and racial trauma on campus, and collectively engage with those on the margins to objectively hear their narratives and engage for action.
  • Boldly confront long-standing racial problems embedded in the systems and structures at the institution, and communicate that racism is not just individual and overt.

• Appraisals of Institutional Commitment explores the extent to which students believe that the campus leadership deals with racism/racist incidents effectively, in the open, and in a timely manner.
  • Consider that all faculty and staff search committees should go beyond bias reduction training to integrating proactive measures throughout the life cycle of hiring, including retention and promotion, particularly of minoritized faculty.
  • Practice race-conscious leadership, which includes, for example, engaging in authentic conversations and collaborations with people of color and developing an accurate understanding of the realities of race on campus.

• Impact of External Environments explores feelings of personal well-being in city/town surrounding campus and in hometown and experiences of racism outside of the University.
  • Expect that students will be affected by incidents of racism and hate crimes locally or nationally and be prepared to support students who have already experienced racial battle fatigue.
  • Be aware that equity initiatives on campus should focus on eliminating conditions on campus that harm marginalized students and students from marginalized communities, and not on "fixing" these students.
  • When assessing campus and external environments for issues surrounding race and racism, consider who the representatives and beneficiaries of existing racist systems are, and policies and practices that have a differential impact by race.

Currently, undergraduate students must take a 3 credit diverse communities course from the list of courses approved for that purpose. The course is identified with a “J” attribute on the transcript and the course must be approved as a diverse communities course at the time it is taken. (For more information).  For a listing of courses that fulfill the diverse communities requirement and their descriptions, visit the Academic Catalog

Here are a few Anti-racist curriculum options for Fall 2020

• ENG206 Black Critical Theory (W) Cherise Pollard
• HIS 314 Latin American Women – Tia Malkin-Fontecchio
• HIS 373 African American History (J) tony thames taylor
• LIT207 Frederick Douglass (W) Rachel Banner
• LIT360 Latinx Youth Literature – Emily Aguilo Perez
• WOS 206 Globalization and Sustainability (E, J) – Tabassum Ruby
• WOS 325 Women of Color and Material Culture – Justin Sprague
• WRH 333 African American Autobiography (W,J) Michael Burns

Academic and Student Affairs Monday, June 1, 2020 Statement  (Part 1)

To:         West Chester University Community

From:   Chris Fiorentino, President; Laurie Bernotsky, Executive Vice President and Provost, Zeb Davenport, Vice President for Student Affairs, and Jeff Osgood, Deputy Provost

Re:         Our response to recent events (part 2)

On Monday (see Part 1 pdf e-mail) we sent the attached message expressing our anger, grief, and sadness surrounding the wrongful deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Freddie Gray, and countless others. While we have always experienced these feelings when hearing of the loss of yet another Black life, our emotions surrounding the tragic loss of George Floyd have only intensified in the hours and days since his life was senselessly lost in Minneapolis.

As we have watched the protests occurring not only across America, but around the world, we cannot help but feel that we are at an inflection point in our society where there is a collective call to action. We know that it is no longer enough to simply participate in these protests, although participation in such civil actions are an important part of a well-functioning democracy. It is not enough for us to write about our emotions, but we must put those words into action. To that end, we are announcing the following as an important and critical review of how we educate our students and the broader community around creating a just and equitable society, engaging inclusively with diversity, and responding thoughtfully to diversity.

The President, Executive Vice President and Provost, Vice President for Student Affairs, and Deputy Provost have joined with the leadership of the Curriculum and Academic Policies Council (Dr. Francis Atuahene, Chair and Dr. Josh Auld, Vice Chair) to announce the establishment of a taskforce with the explicit charge of reviewing and recommending revisions to the University’s “Diverse Communities Requirement ,” which is a critical part of our general education program. These are courses that “focus on historically marginalized groups and are framed by theories that lend understanding to the analysis of structural inequalities. They also invite students to consider how marginalized groups resist oppression and have agency in spite of structural exclusion and discrimination.”

This taskforce will be guided not only by recent events, but by the questions we posed in our letter on Monday, including: What more can we be doing as an institution of higher education to ensure that we are changing what is normal and expected in our society? How are our curricular and co-curricular activities providing students with an ability to think critically about their own beliefs surrounding issues of race and ethnicity? And, perhaps more importantly, are we giving our students the tools necessary to be agents of change in their communities by preparing them to fight against the bigotry they will inevitably encounter?

This group will be comprised of faculty, staff, and students and will be identified from an open call that will be distributed to the entire campus community. It is our goal to have broad representation on this taskforce and it must be reflective of not only our faculty, staff, and students but it must also reflect the larger diversity present in our society. Details will soon follow. Ultimately, the goal of this group will be to make recommendations to the Curriculum and Academic Policies Council that will reinvigorate and make relevant an important part of our undergraduate curriculum that informs every single undergraduate student’s educational experience at West Chester University.

The Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (ODEI) in partnership with the Teaching and Learning Center (TLC) facilitates a Creating an Inclusive Classroom workshop at New Faculty Orientation in August (annually). ODEI also offers a two-hour Unconscious Bias Workshop for faculty, staff and students. These workshops are also available to academic departments upon request.

College of Health Sciences (CHS) Diversity and Inclusion Faculty Learning Community (DIFLC) Professional Development Opportunity AY 20-21 (Program Flyer )

"Feeling like you belong in a classroom, in a major, at an institution is one of the most important factors in whether you persist and succeed in college. These kinds of inclusive learning environments don't just happen, they are intentionally created by faculty who incorporate deliberate, inclusive teaching practices." .....read more about Why We Need Inclusive Teaching in Every Classroom (Forbes, April 2019).

Faculty and Staff Diversity Matters!

Annually, the Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion assesses the diversity of faculty and staff at all levels of the University for underrepresentation as it relates to race, gender, disability and veterans status (Annual Affirmative Action Plan)  

The 2019 Racial Climate Survey  found that White Students and 'Students of Color' felt equally or more affirmed in classes taught by 'Professors of Color' than classes taught by White professors through their facial expressions, words of support for class discussion, and availability outside of class. In addition, there was a significant difference in student's perceptions of West Chester's commitment to hire 'Faculty of Color' (66% vs. 38%) and hire Staff of Color (71% vs. 48%). The perception of institutional commitment was far lower for 'Students of Color' when compared to White students.

Tylar Stanley, a student in the College of Sciences and Mathematics shares her thoughts, Representation in faculty matters, especially in sciences, through an article in The Quad, February 10, 2020. 

Below are strategies and best practice for faculty and staff participating on hiring search committees:

• Advertise in diversity publications and/or job boards
• Attend diversity-focused conferences and recruitment events
• Develop a departmental faculty diversity plan
• Ensure faculty and staff search committees include at least one person from an underrepresented group
• Ensure faculty and staff search committee includes gender diversity
• Require all applicants to include diversity accomplishments in their CV or provide a diversity statement
• Require a diverse pool of applicants in the hiring process
• Provide mentors for diverse faculty
• Recruit scholars to participate in pipeline programs for future faculty (i.e. Frederick Douglass Scholars Teaching Fellowship)
• Conduct a formal search when seeking to hire adjunct faculty

Open to all students, faculty and staff the NEW Institute for Cultural Competence and Inclusive Excellence reflects WCU’s commitment to create a learning culture that values diversity, equity and inclusion. The Institute is a personal and professional certificate program available to WCU students, faculty and staff. The program consists of a combination of training and education workshops, self-study readings, books, on-demand video presentations, and a capstone project, proposal or presentation. Participants develop cultural competencies and are offered the tools necessary for linking diversity and inclusion to organizational and work performance. Programs and workshops are offered during the fall, spring, and summer semesters to provide a full range of required and elective workshops.

For complete details and to apply visit "The Institute's" homepage;

 

Or Learn more about workshops offered to students, faculty and staff by the Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion throughout the academic year.

To help facilitate physical distancing and slow the spread of COVID-19, all workshops during the fall 2020 semester will be presented virtually via Zoom or available on-demand via Linked-In Learning. Additional workshops tailored for in-person delivery will be added and offered during the spring 2021 semester, should conditions permit.

To actively engage students throughout the academic year, the Division of Student Affairs provides a series of Co-Curricular experiences for students in five focus areas including: Community Engagement, Involvement and Leadership, and Social Justice. These opportunities build community at West Chester across student groups, while educating students outside the of the classroom.

Learn more

Recognizing that cultural competence is a critical 21st century skill for college graduates, the University’s Strategic Plan- Diversity & Inclusion Priority team  team outlined several initiatives for faculty, staff, and students. In fact, during the 2019-2020 academic year over 2,250 students, faculty, and staff participated in the Training and Education opportunities available through the Office for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

Learn more

A few ways that the University is making progress:

• The Underrepresented Minorities (URM) Taskforce is a University-wide effort to identify viable, sustainable and systemic approaches to closing the equity in retention, persistence, and graduation rates between White students and URM students. By definition, URM students self-identify as Black/African American, Latinx, Native American/Alaskan, Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, or multiracial.

See the information above and check back frequently for updates.

In August 2020, INSIGHT Into Diversity hosted a webinar for Black women in academia to discuss how White women colleagues can be allies in the fight for racial and gender equity. The webinar, Women of Color Need Courageous Allies in the Academy: An Open Dialogue with White and Black Women, featured six panelists who represent a variety of perspectives across higher education. To view the dialogue for Part 1 visit: https://vimeo.com/442107894 . On Monday, December 7, 2020, a second dialogue was hosted to continue the discussion.  To view the dialogue for Part 2 visit: https://vimeo.com/489236842

International Day of Peace 2020, Sponsored by the Chester County Peace Movement (CCPM), Historic Chester County Court House, High Street, Downtown West Chester (Rain or Shine). Please join the CCPM in "Shaping Peace Together" - Stand together against war, violence, inequality and discrimination.   "It is certain that ignorance, allied with power, is the most ferocious enemy justice can have." James Baldwin (1972).  Saturday, September 21, 2020, 6:30 PM-7:00 PM; Event Flyer: International Day of Peace 2020

Interfaith Youth Core (IFYC), We Are Each Other's (Gwendolyn Brooks), a campaign to activate and support interfaith leaders responding to the current national crises. Public Conversation Series- The Day After the Election: Centering Racial Equity in Building Interfaith America, Wednesday, October 7, 2020; 12:00 PM EST. What do we do the day after the election? What is the America we are building together? In this molten moment of a global pandemic, centering racial equity in America's civic life, and reimagining everything from worship to work, we have an opportunity. Join moderator Hind Makki and panelists Zina Jacque, Pardeep Kaleka and John Wood, Jr. for a rich discussion of preparing to live and lead in 2021 America. For complete details and to register visit: https://www.interfaithamerica.org/curriculum/  

American Association for Access, Equity and Diversity- The LEAD FUND Authors Program

The Fund for Leadership, Equity, Access and Diversity (LEAD Fund) is seeking undergraduate and graduate student presentations for its LEAD Fund Authors Program of 2020 -21. The LEAD Fund was established to provide thought leadership in promoting inclusive organizations and institutions through research and education on issues related to diversity, social responsibility, human and civil rights. The LEAD Fund is a “Think and Do” tank, which advances new knowledge and tested strategies aimed at eliminating prejudice and discrimination. The LEAD Fund Authors Program emphasizes “Diversity in Action” and is committed to promoting undergraduate and graduate research that advances new understandings and tested strategies aimed at expanding organizational or institutional knowledge of access, equity, and diversity. LEAD Fund Authors’ presentations are intended to disseminate fresh ideas on methods to promote access, equity, and diversity in employment, education and business/contracting. LEAD Fund Authors also have an opportunity to become LEAD Fund Fellows after graduation. (For more information and to apply)- Reviews will be done on a rolling basis. Final deadline: April 15, 2021

More to come

(This list was provided by Dr. Katerine Norris, College of Education and Social Work)

Anderson, C. (2001). PowerNomics®: The National Plan to Empower Black America. PowerNomics of America.

Alexander, M. (2020). The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. New Press.

Casselman, B., & Tankersley, J. (2020, June 10). Economics, Dominated by White Men, Is Roiled by Black Lives Matter. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/10/business/economy/white-economists-black-lives-matter.html?searchResultPosition=3

Coates, T. (2015). Between the World and Me. One World

DiAngelo, R. (2019). White Fragility: Why it's so Hard for White People to Talk about Racism. Allen Lane, an imprint of Penguin Books.

Gaw, R. (2020, July 14). Editorial: 'We are All Brothers and Sisters Under the Same Sun'.

http://www.chestercounty.com/2020/06/14/318193/editorial-we-are-all-brothers-and-sisters-under-the-same-sun-

Kendall, M. (2020). Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot. Viking.

Kendi, I. X. (2019). How to be an Antiracist. One World.

Love, B. (2019). We Want to Do More than Survive: Abolitionist Teaching and the Pursuit of Educational Freedom. Beacon Press.

Wise, T. J. (2012). Dear White America: Letter to a New Minority. City Lights Books.

For an expanded list of books, readings, videos, movies and organizations (Anti-Racist Resources ), compiled by Dr. Diane Santori, Dr. Kathleen Riley, and Dr. Katie Solic, College of Education and Social Work

• Several videos and strategies on the topic of Anti-racism work can be found through the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Being Antiracist. (2020)  Retrieved from https://nmaahc.si.edu/learn/talking-about-race/topics/being-antiracist

• Cooper, Brittney.  (2019, March 29).  How Has Time Been Stolen From People Of Color? Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/2019/03/29/707189797/brittney-cooper-how-has-time-been-stolen-from-people-of-color (13 minutes)

• Ferrucci, Pat.  (2019, March 29). How Does The Language Of Sports Journalism Reveal Racial Biases? Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/2019/03/29/707192346/pat-ferrucci-how-does-the-language-of-sports-journalism-reveal-racial-biases (16 minutes)

• Jones, Travis.  (2019, March 29). How Can White People Be Better Allies To People Of Color? Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/2019/03/29/707193758/travis-jones-how-can-white-people-be-better-allies-to-people-of-color (17 minutes)

• Kendi, Ibram. (2020, May). The Difference Between Being "Not Racist" and Antiracist. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/ibram_x_kendi_the_difference_between_being_not_racist_and_antiracist?language=en (51 minutes)

• McGhee, Heather. (2019, December). Racism Has a Cost for Everyone. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/heather_c_mcghee_racism_has_a_cost_for_everyone?language=en (14 minutes)

• Center for Trans and Queer Advocacy
• Center for Women and Gender Equity
• Frederick Douglass Institute
• Frederick Douglass Society
• Multicultural Faculty Commission
• Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
• Lawrence A. Dowdy Multicultural Center