Campus & Community

Virtual Peer-to-Peer Professional Development for Faculty on Identity, Diversity to Be Held Sept. 10 and 11

Wednesday, September 2, 2020, By Brandon Dyer

Workshop One, a faculty-designed, three-hour online workshop that focuses on identity, diversity in the learning environment and the climate for inclusion, will be offered Sept. 10 and 11.

Registration closes on Sept. 8.

“Conceptually, Workshop One asks faculty to think about the contextual and historical nature of identity and how you are not just who you think you are—you also must respond to who other people think you are,” says Marie Garland, assistant provost for faculty affairs and co-leader of the workshop. “How that is experienced differs for people depending on the identities that they have, and Workshop One opens the door to talk about that.”

School of Education Associate Professor Jeff Mangram, co-leader of the workshop, says understanding fundamental concepts of identity and how the interactions involving identity affect the learning environment are key components to being an effective member of the faculty. “Moreover, this introductory workshop prepares attendees for advanced sessions on diversity and inclusive classrooms,” says Mangram.

Professor Cathryn Newton, senior advisor to the Chancellor and provost for faculty engagement, has helped refine the workshop since it was first offered two years by incorporating faculty feedback. She hopes faculty will leave the workshop with skills that they can apply right away.

“The leaders are of this workshop are highly dynamic and knowledgeable. Every one of these sessions is different because of the participation of the faculty,” Newton says. “Faculty come away energized and with new ideas to apply—both in their classrooms and in their research and faculty collaborations.”

Workshop One immerses faculty in current concepts and simulated incidents. “We want to empower faculty to analyze their own teaching around equity and be more strategic about what and how they teach these concepts,” says Garland. “Ultimately, the goal is to improve the classroom climate and to get people thinking about how they can change their pedagogy.”

To date, a vast majority of the faculty in each school and college have completed training covering prevention of sexual and relationship violence, unconscious bias, and discrimination. Students expressed a desire for increased faculty professional development opportunities related to diversity and inclusion last year. The faculty diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility workshops are done in collaboration between the Provost’s Faculty Fellows and Faculty Affairs within the Provost’s Office.