Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives

• Faculty Diversity Commitment Statement (Spring 2020)
• Office of Faculty Development grants to enrich the diversity of the curriculum (new courses, revised courses)
• Office of Faculty Development committed to three years of a series entitled "Diversity and Inclusiveness in Teaching".  Monthly, hour-long program, covering different aspects.
• This year, inspired by Dr. Kendi: fall programs entitled "How To Be An Anti-Racist...In Your Syllabus"
• Broader Discussion: What do anti-racism and equity in teaching encompass?
  • Changes in canon: Yes! also, frankness about the history and legacy of marginalization in your field
  • But also, a much broader reconsideration of teaching policies and approaches based on equity
    • Relationships of trust, not power. Transparency in pedagogical decisions.
    • Collaborative generation of at least some classroom policies

• Mandatory Ever-Fi course on diversity, equity, and inclusion 
• Weekly support space for students of color led by a Black therapist, Dr. Abena Berry 
• Student-athlete leaders attended NCAA Athletes Using Their Power (A4) Programming, which included discussions on addressing difficult conversations, activism, allyship and action
• Athletic teams and Student leaders required to read How to be an Antiracist to allow for engagement in campus wide discussion
• Library meeting with student government to learn what students need/want—how can we make the space more inclusive?  What resources might we purchase to help our collections reflect diversity, equity, and inclusion from a student perspective?
• The Library has expanded DEI book collection based on recommendations by the OIR
• Workshops: Self-Advocacy, Cultural Empathy, How to be an Anti-Racist, Moving Past Diversity: Navigating Difficult Conversations Around Equity, Racialized Trauma/Racial Battle Fatigue, Activism fatigue vs. Racial battle fatigue: A conversation on keeping it together while fighting for change
• First Connection

Athletics

• DEI training as part of athlete orientation
• Fanatics (student organization led by Athletic Council) shares weekly resources on diversity, equity, and inclusion to their social media handles

Greek life

• Pan-Hellenic initiative to shift recruiting practices 

Expanding Empowerment Groups

• Creating spaces for students to commune with others around identity

Student Activism

Curriculum (Theater, First-Year Studies, African American Studies)

• Workshops
• Understanding Racialized Trauma,
• Activism fatigue vs. Racial battle fatigue: A conversation on keeping it together while fighting for change 
• Coping in a Racialized World 
• Weekly support space for our students of color led by a Black therapist, Dr. Abena Berry (former therapist at Health and Wellness Center).  

Staff Training: Diversity Awareness Training for Police Departments

1. Recognizing and Addressing Implicit Bias and Diversity Awareness 
2. Seeing How Stereotypes Impact the Relationships 
3. Effectively Engaging Diverse Communities

• Staff Training: microaggressions and implicit bias
• Library meeting with student government to learn what students need/want—how can we make the space more inclusive?  What resources might we purchase to help our collections reflect diversity, equity, and inclusion from a student perspective?
• The Library has expanded diversity, equity, and inclusion book collection based on recommendations by the Office of Intercultural Relations

• We created safe spaces to come together as a team and discuss concerns and hope for the future.
• We researched diversity, equity, and inclusion programs at other career centers.
• We identified broad principles to help guide our work and support our vision for equity through office programs and services. 
• We are using change management theory and created small staff teams aligned with the areas we seek to research related to diversity, equity, and inclusion, which are:  Student voice; Industry, and Current Lake Forest College data.  
• Through this research activity, we will be able to assess where we are as an office, and what information is needed to better understand what our goals for equity should be.
• By gathering information from stakeholders and formulating these goals, we aim to have a better understanding of our current climate related to diversity, equity, and inclusion in order to develop the most impactful and sustainable action plans for next semester and beyond.

• Forester Impact Series – Development of a new programming initiative for student-athletes surrounding the following topics: 
  • Community Building and Engagement
  • Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
  • Mental and Physical Health
  • Title IX and Sexual Misconduct Prevention
• Addition of the Vice President for Community Engagement to the Executive Board of our Athletic Council, our student organization comprised of student-athlete leaders from each of our Forester Athletic teams
• Student-athlete leaders have attended the NCAA Athletes Using Their Power (A4) Programming, which included discussions on addressing difficult conversations, activism, allyship and action 
• Had a staff member trained as an NCAA DIII One Team Facilitator – this resource is designed to provide peer-driven LGBTQ educational programming directly to Division III institutions and conferences
• Staff members have been attending programming from the NCAA Office of Inclusion
• Fanatics (our student organization open to all LFC students, but organized by our Athletic Council) shared weekly resources surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion to their social media handles
• Coaches and Staff are reading How to be an Antiracist to allow for engagement in campus wide discussion

• Biweekly diversity and inclusion updates to staff on a variety of topics (e.g. working with undocumented students, Title IX changes, resources for students, staff, and faculty with disabilities, etc.)
• Monthly discussion group for Admissions/Financial Aid staff (all staff read article/listen to podcast/watch a documentary prior to discussion – e.g. 13thdocumentary, “From Slave Patrols to Traffic Stops” article, etc.)
• Annual two-day diversity and inclusion workshop for all Admissions/Financial Aid staff, with sessions on inclusive language, implicit bias, Title IX/bias reporting processes, etc.
• Promotion of campus-wide programming related to diversity, equity, and inclusion
• Ongoing policy and procedure review through a diversity and inclusion lens (e.g. evaluating the staff handbook, application reading process, interview protocol, event protocols, etc.)