In the aftermath of this very close and highly contentious election, I want to take this moment to reaffirm our University’s commitment to our mission of education, discovery, healing and public service. I also want to reaffirm our ongoing and unwavering support toward creating and nurturing an inclusive, diverse and welcoming community. It is central to our commitment to equity, access and excellence, and it is essential to building a better future for us all. Here at the University of Washington, we hold sacred our responsibility to serve the public good, and that will never waver.

As an immigrant, Latina, lesbian, I can understand why some in our community may be feeling marginalized, threatened or afraid. It has been a very difficult election season for us all. Now is the time to look for and find the best in each other, reach out across our differences and come together as a community. It will take hard work, intellectual honesty, kindness, respect, generosity and compassion to heal this divided country and world. I know that some of you are already gathering in small groups to do that. Today, perhaps more than any other in recent history, these values must be held up as the ideals we share. We can, and must, create a more perfect union.

For those who wish to spend time with community tonight, the Samuel E. Kelly Ethnic Cultural Center will hold a gathering at 6 p.m. in the ECC Unity Room.

Source: Office of the President Blog 

This feature is part of the 2016-2017 report series produced by the Office of the Provost in partnership with the Race & Equity Initiative. Feature articles will be released throughout fall and winter. Themes for the series include examining how the University of Washington is committed to improving equity and access throughout major University systems and processes, and how these can be transformed, with the goal of eliminating institutional racism.

At the University of Washington, curriculum transformation is a process that asks faculty members to take a critical stance on power and difference in the classroom, interweave multiple perspectives, and integrate student voices and knowledge into the learning process.

“The Diversity Blueprint and the Diversity Requirement set goals for change at theuniversity level, but within each classroom, curriculum transformation is an opportunity for each instructor to create a thoughtful and equitable space for learning and to do so with support from instructional experts,” says Ed Taylor, vice provost and dean of Undergraduate Academic Affairs.

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The University of Washington makes it a priority to recruit and retain faculty whose research, teaching and service enhances diversity, and in turn brings excellence. Already, schools and colleges across the three campuses recognize the importance of diversity in prioritizing faculty recruitment and advancement, and overcoming external and internal barriers to hiring.

“We know that student demographics will continue to be more diverse over time,” says Chadwick Allen, associate vice provost for Faculty Advancement. “As a university, we need to regularly ask ourselves: Are we meeting the needs of the students we have now and, as important, those we hope to recruit in the future? We’re always striving toward that goal.”

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Like post-secondary schools across the country, the University of Washington has struggled to attract and retain a talented, diverse faculty.

But efforts that have been quietly underway for a few years are starting to pay off, attracting top-level candidates to the UW even over schools that are able to offer bigger salaries and more perks. That work involves not simply convincing excellent candidates to come to the UW, but creating a supportive and inclusive environment that prompts them to stay, said, Chadwick Allen, the UW’s associate vice provost for faculty advancement, who was hired in 2015 to help increase faculty diversity on campus.

 

Read the whole article at UW Today

 

Cleary Professor Michelle Martin a crusader for diversity in children’s books

By Information School UW

Endowed professorships in children’s literature are rare — “10 may be a stretch,” says scholar Michelle Martin.  Holding one is a high honor. Now Martin — renowned author, essayist, lecturer, book critic, community literacy activist, and champion of diversity in children’s literature — can put two on her resume. This fall Martin joins the iSchool as the Beverly Cleary Endowed Professor in Children and Youth Services.

She has ambitious goals for her new post, but her first job, she says, is simply to listen. “I want to meet with librarians and find out what is going on, what are their needs, how my skill set might map onto this habitat,” says Martin, relaxing inside her still-bare office at Mary Gates Hall, where warm greetings from iSchool staff scrawl across her whiteboard: “Welcome, Michelle!,” “I can’t wait to connect.”

Read more on the I-School website.

It’s 9 a.m. one morning in May and Caprice Hollins, a clinical psychologist and co-founder of a race-relations consulting firm, is gearing up for a full day of workshops. In a classroom packed with faculty and staff in UW Bothell’s Founders Hall, she will share stories of her multiracial family and of growing up in Seattle. Then she will invite her audience to reflect on their own stories.

Through the participants’ personal narratives, Hollins guides them to examine how their experiences have shaped their worldviews, values and beliefs. The workshop, Cultural Competence: Addressing Race Relations in the 21st Century, was one in a pilot series last spring for staff and faculty through the UW Race & Equity Initiative. Hollins, Greg Taylor of Community Connection Consulting, and diversity trainer Rosetta Lee led over 20 workshops on the Seattle, Tacoma and Bothell campuses. The workshops, which filled up in the first few days of registration, provided employees with a foundation for understanding racial equity, bias and history, an important step in confronting the barriers to change at the University.

By the time the pilot series wrapped up in July, more than 450 UW employees had taken part. The Race & Equity Initiative, which UW President Ana Mari Cauce established in 2015, comes with three major goals: to help members of the UW community confront individual bias and racism, to transform the University’s policies and practices, and to accelerate change. “Hollins, Taylor and Lee were asked to lead the initial workshops based on similar work they have done with local school districts and other public institutions,” says Jeanette James, manager of strategic initiatives and projects with the office of Minority Affairs & Diversity. Hollins’ workshop aimed to open a dialogue and expose participants to alternate perspectives regarding bias, history, culture and race. Taylor’s work focused on cognitive bias and dissonance. And Lee tackled cross-cultural communication and microaggressions. “If we aren’t identifying the unconscious biases we bring to work and examining dominant culture’s norms and beliefs, we are not guiding [our students, faculty and staff in ways that help them be effective in their fields,” says Hollins. “We have to learn to interact differently.”

UW employees joined the trainings for a range of reasons. Anastasia Mendoza, ’06, an executive assistant in Marketing & Communications, wanted to support the Race & Equity Initiative. “These dialogues are diffi cult to have, but the workshop creates a safe and comfortable place to talk about issues,” Mendoza says. “Having people from across the UW community share their personal and professional stories advances the conversation. It’s good to hear perspectives from people you may not see on a day-to-day basis.” Because of the demand, the Race & Equity Initiative steering committee is planning to expand the workshops in 2016-17. Participant evaluations from the pilot series will shape the design of the future programs. “We have a responsibility to move these conversations forward,” says Hollins. “And we all have a lot of work to do, no matter our professional role.”

 

“For two days in late August, more than a million people inundate West London to celebrate one of the world’s largest street festivals—the Notting Hill Carnival.

What stood out most for UW School of Public Health student Eric King wasn’t the vibrant sounds or endless sea of people, but rather the sight of British police officers embracing and dancing with carnival-goers.”

Read full article from the School of Public Health

 

 

 

 

Source: UW Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity Website

After being appointed to the position by President Ana Mari Cauce and Provost Jerry Baldasty in May, Rickey Hall begins his tenure as the eighth vice president for the UW Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity (OMA&D) today. Hall most recently served as the inaugural vice chancellor for diversity and inclusion at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and brings over 20 years of experience in higher education to Seattle. He recently took some time to answer a few questions about what inspires his work to advance diversity, equity and inclusion, what attracted him to the UW and what his first priorities will be in the role.     

Q: Congratulations on being named vice president for minority affairs & diversity and welcome to the UW! You have a long career working to advance equity and inclusion in higher education. What initially inspired you to pursue this career path?

A: My high school principal saw something in me that I did not see in myself. He invested in me by exposing me to a number of opportunities. My admiration for my high school principal led to my interest in administration. Entering college I wanted to become a high school principal. Some positive and negative experiences on campus, especially a couple of negative racial experiences, led me to get really engaged. That engagement put me in contact with staff of color who assisted me when I struggled academically, socially and financially. It would have been incredibly difficult for me to persist had it not been for those staff members. Toward the end of my undergraduate career, I reflected on my experiences, including the staff of color who contributed to my success. At that point I decided I wanted to be an administrator at the college level. I wanted to help push the doors open wider for students of color and wanted to ensure that once they were on campus they had the opportunity to reach their full potential.

Q: What about the University of Washington and the Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity attracted you to the position?

A: The position at the University of Washington was one that I long coveted. I became familiar with the great work the Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity was doing when I was an assistant vice president in the Office for Equity and Diversity at the University of Minnesota. I came out to visit and learn more about what OMA&D was doing. I later brought staff out to observe the work of the Instructional Center and to learn what could be incorporated into academic support work with underrepresented students at the University of Minnesota. In 2008, I came out for the 40^th anniversary of OMA&D. After learning about the rich legacy of the department and knowing the great work that was being done, I decided that if I ever had the opportunity to pursue the vice presidential role I would.

I’m attracted to UW because it is one of the preeminent institutions in the country, has a broad understanding of diversity, and has a racially diverse student body.

I’m also attracted to the position because the UW is a leader in equity, diversity and inclusion.  I’m looking forward to working with outstanding students, faculty, staff, alumni and external communities to continue to advance the work.

Q: A few weeks ago, President Cauce and Provost Baldasty shared their thoughts on the tragic events in Orlando and Dallas and the deaths of Alton Sterling in Louisiana and Philando Castile in Minnesota. They urged us, the UW community, to “stand together for justice.” Undoubtedly, these are difficult times. How have these events and the current national climate around race & equity impacted your thoughts on leadership and stepping into this particular role?

A: Given recent incidents and those occurring in the past few years, it is my belief that offices like OMA&D are more important than ever. As an institution we are not walled off from larger societal issues. The pain, frustration and tensions we see in communities spill over to campus. Students, faculty and staff are from these communities. As these issues come to campus it is important that OMA&D collaborate with academic and administrative units to provide support to those experiencing grief and trauma, to create spaces for dialogue or to create opportunities just to be in community. We have to help all university constituents understand that we each have a responsibility for addressing issues of racism and other injustices on and off campus. That starts with educating within our individual communities and across communities.

And while it is important to be aware of tragedies and injustices taking place in the world, it can be exhausting and overwhelming. We as OMA&D staff must also show leadership by encouraging students and others to practice self-care. Even during these extremely challenging times it is important to create space for rest, healing and joy. People need to be able to heal and reenergize so that they can better engage with the issues and provide better support for individuals and communities.

Q: OMA&D has a longstanding mission to increase college access for and support the academic success of students from underrepresented minority, first-generation and low-income backgrounds. What will be some of your first priorities in this role?

A: As I transition into the role my initial priorities will be getting to know students and OMA&D staff, as well as acquiring a good working knowledge of all the OMA&D programs and services. Learning the culture of the three campuses by engaging with senior leadership, faculty and staff will also be important, as will engaging with our diverse external communities.

Q: What aspects of the job are you most excited about? 

A: I am most excited about the opportunity to engage with outstanding students. I’m excited about the opportunity to engage with Tribal Nations and other diverse external communities. I’m also excited about the opportunity to work with and learn from outstanding faculty and staff on all of our campuses.

Q: What are you looking forward to most about living in Seattle?

A: I am excited to experience the Seattle food scene, especially the fresh seafood. I am also interested in exploring the different neighborhoods, and taking in the scenery, especially the beautiful views of the Cascades and Mount Rainier. Most importantly, I am looking forward to the diversity.

 

Read more at The Huffington Post …