As part of continuing learning opportunities about classroom strategies, faculty are invited to participate in the inaugural Faculty Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Institute on Aug. 14-16, which will feature intermediate to advanced content.
Vivian Relta
The institute will host external and internal speakers, including Vivian Relta of Cornell University, a diversity educator and speaker, and Robin DiAngelo, a renowned scholar on critical racial and social justice education, and feature highly interactive sessions. Pre-meeting resources will be provided.
“This institute provides an opportunity for the further deepening of leadership and teaching skills to promote diversity, equity and inclusion,” says Cathryn Newton, senior advisor to the Chancellor and provost for faculty engagement. “This is a thrilling and very exciting time to see the University moving forward so strongly to provide faculty development at several levels, as recommended by the Chancellor’s Workgroup on Diversity and Inclusion.”
Co-convening the inaugural summer institute are professors Keith A. Alford, interim chief diversity officer, and Mara Sapon Shevin, senior diversity and inclusion fellow participating in the Faculty Diversity Workshops Initiative.
“The Faculty Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Institute will give participants a tremendous opportunity for learning, growth and reflection,” says Alford. “Vivian and Robin are dynamic presenters on matters of diversity and social justice. We are fortunate to have them join us. Their presentations and the interactive sessions will continue our crucial conversations surrounding classroom strategies for inclusion, understanding bias and cultural competence.”
Robin DiAngelo
During the institute, Relta will lead two sessions, along with the Cornell Interactive Theater Ensemble, to sharpen focus and build knowledge on inclusion issues that affect students and faculty in all teaching settings. DiAngelo will present the keynote, with a 90-minute address and subsequent discussion hosted jointly with Associate Professor Jeffrey Mangram of the School of Education, who is also a provost’s faculty fellow. Writing on critical racial and social-justice education, DiAngelo’s books include “Is Everyone Really Equal?” (written with Özlem Sensoy) and The New York Times bestseller “White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk about Racism.”
The Faculty Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Institute program will be ongoing, with two or three sessions per year anticipated. Winter dates will be announced later this summer, and a request for applications will be released at the start of the fall semester.
Faculty members can apply for the Faculty Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Institute by submitting a one-page statement that summarizes (a) their experiences and interests in diversity, equity and inclusion and (b) a teaching or leadership project they will pursue following the workshop. This might include changes in a course or leadership of a diversity, equity or inclusion initiative on campus. Please submit these letters of interest to inclusiveteaching@syr.edu. Deans, directors, chairs and faculty may also nominate others, following this process. For questions, email inclusiveteaching@syr.edu.
The institute builds on the work of Faculty Diversity Workshop One, designed by faculty through the Office of Academic Affairs, including the Center for Faculty Teaching Excellence. The workshop explores key concepts of cultural sensitivity and the practices of cultural competency, with emphasis on identity, diversity in the learning environment and the climate for inclusion. Nearly 900 faculty members from across campus have participated in Workshop One, facilitated by 80 faculty facilitators.
Further intermediate workshops, as suggested by participants, will begin in August at the request of academic units. They will include Addressing Hot Moments in the Classroom; Inclusion and Accessibility (classroom, studio, lab and field); and Microaggressions: Recognizing and Responding.
