Summer Update #4

Dear Students, Faculty and Staff:

Many members of our community are working on important initiatives to foster a more welcoming, inclusive and diverse campus environment. As promised, these updates are designed to keep you informed of progress on this work.

Student Conduct Process for Theta Tau
•  The hearing and deliberation process, overseen by the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities, has concluded. The students involved were notified of their outcomes and subsequent sanctions.
•  Students involved can appeal the conduct decisions and associated sanctions. The appeal process could take several weeks.
•  Due to federal privacy laws, we are not able to report on the specifics of those sanctions.

Greek Life Review
•  We have identified the external partners for the Greek Life review process. They are Dave Westol and Karyn Nishimura Sneath. Westol and Sneath bring with them more than 20 years of experience in evaluating fraternity and sorority communities. A third external reviewer will also be identified and engaged.
•  The external review is a four-phased process. This summer, our work will include conducting research and preparing for an on-site visit in September.

Faculty Resources
•  Martha A. Kalnin Diede is the new director of the Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence, coming to Syracuse from Western Carolina University. Among other responsibilities, Diede will oversee the design and execution of teaching support initiatives, including mentoring programs and coaching for faculty, attention to the needs of diverse and marginalized populations, and the creation of faculty professional development plans and programming that enhance and support teaching excellence. More information about Diede and her work will be coming next week.
•  On May 30, faculty in the College of Engineering and Computer Science participated in a workshop for creating inclusive engineering classrooms.
•  On June 13, administrators in the College of Engineering and Computer Science participated in a workshop co-hosted by the Office of Equal Opportunity, Inclusion and Resolution Services. The workshop included sessions on: 1) the value of variety and building a culture of inclusion and diversity; 2) identifying barriers and overcoming difficulties in communications when cultural understandings vary; and 3) setting individual examples and developing further educational opportunities regarding diversity and inclusion.
•  On June 27, faculty who serve as academic advisors may participate in a free Academic Advising Workshop that will provide them with updated information on campus resources to assist their advisees. The workshop will reintroduce faculty to the Office of Student Assistance, Center for Learning and Student Success (CLASS), Office of Disability Services, Degree Works and Orange Success. In addition to providing an overview of degree and program completion, major transfers and ways to help students succeed in school, participants will also engage in questions of what to do about students in distress and learn about services and accommodations for students with disabilities. The day will conclude with a panel discussion called “What to Do When” featuring perspectives from academic advisors. Attendees will receive a reference packet regarding resources, points of contact and places for additional training and information. Breakfast, snacks and lunch will be provided, courtesy of the Office of the Provost. R.S.V.P. by Monday, June 25, by emailing pclong@syr.edu. Please email pclong@syr.edu to coordinate accommodations.

First-Year Experience
•  Damon A. Williams, leader of the National Inclusive Excellence Leadership Academy and a national expert on diversity and inclusion, is on campus again this week to work with faculty, staff and student representatives on the redesign of the first-year experience.
•  Williams is also helping shape activities associated with the shared reading experience for first-year and transfer students entering in the fall. The selected reading, Trevor Noah’s memoir, “Born a Crime,” explores themes of diversity, inclusion and belonging—and what it means to come together as a community to share those ideals. More than 130 faculty, staff and undergraduate and graduate students have also requested copies of “Born a Crime” and many expressed interest in becoming shared reading discussion leaders for the first-year experience. Copies of the book, as well as an introductory letter and instructions about an initial assignment, are being sent to all first-year and transfer students this week.

Student Resources
•  The LGBT Resource Center has hired Jorge Castillo as assistant director and Qiao-An (Jo/Joanne) Wang as program coordinator. They begin July 16 and July 30, respectively. To read more about our new team members, please refer to this SU News story.
•  The selected candidate for the assistant director/training director in the Counseling Center, who will oversee the graduate student trainees and behavioral health interns, has accepted the position and will begin on July 16. We plan to announce the new training director by Friday, June 22.
•  On June 11 and 12, 90 faculty and staff members participated in the UndocuAlly training program for people on college campuses who work with undocumented students, students who hold DACA status or students from “mixed-status” families (the students are U.S. citizens, but someone in their family is undocumented).
•  The Graduate School announced the appointment of Tracy Tillapaugh as the graduate STEM career development specialist. Tillapaugh, who is a longtime member of the Syracuse University community, will deliver career and professional development coaching, while coordinating the programming and placement efforts for master’s students in all STEM fields.

Disability External Review Committee
•  The committee charged with overseeing a comprehensive audit of disability services across campus has taken on a new name—the Disability External Review Committee—to more accurately reflect its strategic intent.
•  The committee and the procurement team in the Purchasing Department are finalizing the scope of work for the external review and the Request for Qualifications (RFQ) and the Request for Proposals (RFP), expected to be issued and invite responses early next month.

Communications
•  The Division of Marketing and Communications has begun its reorganization of staff and resources. Among the division’s key priorities is developing an internal communications team to significantly enhance ongoing communications with students, faculty and staff.
•  A communications strategy has been developed to promote and enhance awareness of the STOP Bias program among students, faculty and staff. The goal is to educate all campus constituents about how to identify and report any occurrence of bias, discrimination and harassment, and to increase the use of resources that support an inclusive campus. This will include revisions in the current website and reporting tool.

Our next update will be Friday, July 6.

Sincerely,
Dolan Evanovich
Senior Vice President, Enrollment and the Student Experience