Progress Toward a Campus Climate of Inclusion

In the spring of 2018, the Edgewood College Student Senate issued an open Letter to campus leadership that requested progress toward our diversity commitments to be transparent and public. This letter included 9 different requests, ranging from professional development for faculty to involving students in our diversity efforts.

Below outlines the 9 commitments included in the Student Senate Letter, identifies the responsible office(s) for implementation and provides updates on the progress of each initiative.

Zero Tolerance Policy Against Hate and Bias

Create a zero tolerance policy again hate and bias

Progress Toward Commitment:
  • Spring 2018
    • Work group was convened to edit student handbook & clarify judicial procedures
    • A policy audit was conducted of all of the College’s Diversity Policies (non-discrimination, affirmative action, EEO, recruitment)
    • Hired a Director of Student Conduct, created specifically to add expertise in transparency/ process/etc.
    • All members of the President's Cabinet completed a bias training
    • The Division of Enrollment Management completed a bias training
  • Summer 2018
    • Purchase & Implementation of Maxient Software to better coordination and centralize faculty/staff/student processes around Title IX and hate/bias
    • Maxient training happened for a variety of campus stakeholders
  • Fall 2018
    • August Seminar integrated training/professional development on inclusion for faculty/staff participants
    • All search & screen chairs participated in bias training on how bias influences the search and screen process
    • The Madison Police Department led bias training for all professional staff members of security, transportation & CAC staff
    • President’s Cabinet embarked in a year-long educational plan to advance their own learning and knowledge-base on topics of diversity.
      • Campus Culture & Anti-Racist Practices
      • Indigenous People in Wisconsin
      • Whiteness & Identity development
    • The fall semester Faculty Colloquium featured Teaching Practices in Anti-Racism
    • The Board of Trustees completed a bias training program and participated in a follow-up session in September
  • Spring 2019
    • Staff from the Security Office, Campus Assistance Center, Transportation Services & Student Development participated in a 2nd bias & reporting writing workshop led by the Madison Police Department.
    • The Director of Human Resources, Director of Student Conduct & Executive Director of Diversity participated in a webinar "leading campuses through bias incidents"
      • This webinar will be used for President's Cabinet as an educational tool
    • The Title IX Coordinator convened the College's Title IX team to review
      • Process/flowcharting for people and investigating complaints
      • Roles and organizational structure of Deputy Coordinators & Investigators
      • Identified professional development training needs
    • Beginning in spring 2019, all faculty and staff are required to complete a 2-hour on-line training program on harassment and discrimination.
    • Members of the College's Title IX team attended the WAICU Compliance Summit and participated in continued learning on the topic of sexual misconduct
    • Hirezon, a campus-wide performance management system, was introduced to the campus community in spring 2019. This system provides consistent and monitored employee performance feedback, requiring all staff employees to complete an annual performance evaluation
      • One of the central criteria of the evaluation system is inclusivity and multicultural competency

Informing Students of Progress and Challenges

Inform students of progress and challenges toward achieving inclusion commitments outlined in the Edgewood College strategic plan

Progress Toward Commitment:
  • Spring 2018
    • President Flanagan met several times with Student Senate & Multicultural Student Leaders & Organizations.
    • Student Senate held a diversity/inclusion town-hall forum with senior leadership engagement
    • Created an internal rubric to report progress
    • President Flanagan's campus-wide communication (Work in Progress) addressed updates on diversity
  • Fall 2018
    • Created a mechanism to track and report progress (this page!)
    • 2017-2018 Annual Inclusion Report published and shared widely
    • Diversity.edgewood.edu received a complete overhaul to better share progress and information
    • The Multicultural Student Advisory Council was convened to better share information across communities
  • Spring 2019
    • Diversity News, events & upcoming activities were regularly shared on EC Today, Wingra Weekly and diversity.edgewood.edu
    • College Press Releases/media advisories featured diversity programs
    • April 2019, an update was presented to the Board of Trustees on the topic of inclusion

Student Engagement in our Diversity Commitments

Involve students in addressing our diversity commitments

Progress Toward Commitment:
  • Spring 2018:
    • Identified questions and points of clarity from the Student Senate Letter
    • Invited student feedback in group meetings (Student Senate, MSOs) and open forum.
    • The Diversity Practitioner Committee was expanded to include student representation
    • Student leaders (combination of Athletes and non-Athletes) worked on developing a diversity curriculum for the Athletics Department
    • Commitment card installation (from Diversity Forum) is displayed in Predolin Lobby:
      • Standing up for Justice
      • Respecting all People
      • Educating Ourselves
    • Students brought forward a set of proposals to Cabinet to expand our outreach to the American Indian Community, including:
      • Adopt Effigy Mound care practices
      • Enhance signage for Bird Mound
      • Develop a Land recognition statement
      • Recognize Indigenous People’s Day
    • Approximately 15 students attended the Board of Trustees meeting in April 2018 and shared perspectives on their experience
    • The Board of Trustees engaged in an education session in April 2018 and focused on diversity and inclusion efforts at the College and committed to advancing 5 board-level inclusion efforts in 2018-2019.
  • Summer 2018
    • Presented a proposal to create a Multicultural Student Advisory Council, advising the Diversity Leadership Council & the President
  • Fall 2018
    • The Multicultural Student Advisory Council met for the first time on 11/1
    • Student leaders from the Multicultural Student Advisory Council were involved in the planning of the College's Diversity Forum (spring 2019)
    • Students were involved in the planning of DREAM Week
    • Student Senate hosted a town-hall on diversity
  • Spring 2019
    • The Black Student Union & the Office of Inclusion & Involvement organized and led many campus programs during Black History Month
    • The Office of Inclusion & Involvement coordinated the 5th annual Edgewood College celebration of DREAM Week
    • Student voice and involvement was lifted during the All-Campus Diversity Forum, featuring student art, music & testimony. #WeBelongEC
    • The Multicultural Student Advisory Council created and facilitated a pre-diversity forum student event, Face-to-Face
    • A group of students joined the LIBRE institute in the School of Education for a research project along the US-Mexico border
    • Edgewood College hosted the 2019 WAICU Student Diversity Conference
    • Edgewood College hosted a Multicultural Graduation Celebration, coordinated by the Office of Student Inclusion & Involvement

      • Multicultural Graduation is a pre-commencement celebration to honor our Latinx, Black, Asian American, Pacific Islander, Indigenous, and international students who have completed or will soon complete degrees from Edgewood College.

New Student Orientation & Diversity Education

Require new freshmen and transfer students to participate in new student orientation sessions on diversity

Progress Toward Commitment:
  • Spring 2018:
    • Requirement already in place for new freshmen during orientation
    • New Student Orientation diversity programming was enhanced during spring 2018 to further enhance diversity learning
      • Orientation changed format to include Diversity & Inclusion (D-tag) sessions that were led by faculty and staff facilitators
      • Staff responsible for coordinating New Student Orientation met with the President's Diversity Leadership Council to discuss the changes
  • Summer 2018
    • Dr. Jeffrey Lewis, a community leader, engaged with the Orientation Planning team to consult on student orientation
      • Dr. Lewis led a 3-hour training for faculty/staff facilitators of any D-tagged courses during orientation
      • Dr. Lewis led a 2-hour training for student leaders
  • Fall 2018
    • New Student Orientation included a 60-minute session on inclusion (i.e. Diversity 101) and then several faculty facilitated follow-up sessions "Digging Deeper into Diversity" that explored intercultural dialogue.
    • The Office of Student Inclusion & Involvement led a 90-minute training on inclusion for the Orientation Leadership Team and Peer Mentors that work to support orientation.
  • Spring 2019
    • All incoming students (fall 2019) will participate in an online diversity training module provided via Everfi during New Student Orientation. The course, "Diversity, Equity & Inclusion for Students" explores the following items:
      • Identities, power, privilege, oppression, and creating a culture of respect
    • Diversity 101 sessions during New Student Orientation are continuing to be enhanced and COR faculty will run these sessions during orientation and then build the content into their course to continue learning on this important topic.

Increase the Diversity of Students, Faculty & Staff

Increase the diversity of historically marginalized students, faculty and staff on the Edgewood campus

Progress Toward Commitment:
  • Spring 2018:
    • 16% of students on campus are domestic ALANA students
    • Undergraduate recruitment plans are already in place
      • Goals for ALANA undergraduate students are integrated in the plan (20%) and include strategies on how to achieve goal
    • Recruitment handbook/guidelines for new employees were revised to model inclusive practices
    • EEO reports were created to track faculty/staff headcount based on position category and race/ethnicity & gender
    • The Division of Business & Finance is exploring diversity (minority owned businesses, woman owned, veteran owned, etc.) into the procurement process
    • The Multicultural Student Achievement Program was rebranded and funding was placed back into the program to serve as a bridge program for new freshmen underrepresented students
  • Summer 2018:
    • Metrics and goals for workforce diversity were developed to better track progress/setbacks
    • Institutional Mission Dashboard, prepared for the Board of Trustees, tracks data to ensure accountability
  • Fall 2018:
    • 20% of students on campus are domestic ALANA students
    • New employee recruitment process:
      • Bias training is required for all search chairs and the first training was offered on 8/16 during August Seminar
      • Applicants will be asked to submit a Statement on Diversity, addressing past and potential contributions to diversity through teaching, research, professional activity, and/or service
      • Phone & Campus-interview processes include questions on candidate's multicultural competencies
      • All management level candidates, full-time lecturers, and tenured track faculty will meet with Executive Director of Diversity
      • The entire revised handbook can be found online for internal stakeholders
    • President Flanagan articulated a goal to increase the student diversity of the campus to 25% ALANA diversity
    • The InTuition Grant was introduced to enhance the affordability of attending Edgewood College. DREAMER and undocumented students are also eligible for this grant
    • Applied for a $300k grant from the Arthur Vining Foundation to enhance campus diversity & training opportunities
      • Did not receive funding
  • Spring 2019
    • Lac Courte OreillesThe School of Education built a new partnership with the Lac Courte Oreilles Nation resulting in a new cohort of diverse students seeking their education license.
    • New professional development opportunities and conferences were hosted at EC, resulting in opportunities for graduate credit and CEUs.
      • Wisconsin Hmong Community Certificate
      • Black History Education Conference
      • Sanfoka Educational Leadership United
    • The Multicultural Student Achievement Program continues to be funded and serves a cohort of 25 underrepresented students
      • MSAP students logged close to1600 study hours during fall of 2018
      • Program participants continue to excel academically, with over 75% achieving a 3/0 or greater for fall of 2018
    • Renewed advertising with local minority publications
      • La Comunidad newspaper
      • Capital City Hues newspaper
    • An additional 1-hour training workshop for search chairs & committee members is in the process of being developed (30-minute bias refresher and 30-minute process changes). This will regularly be offered during August & January Seminar week.

Faculty Evaluations, Learning & Accountability

Annually, require all faculty to have professional development training, evaluate all faculty on their commitment to diversity and inclusion in the classroom, and hold faculty accountable regardless of their rank and status at the College

Progress Toward Commitments:
  • Spring 2018:
    • Promotion & Tenure process for faculty already incorporates inclusion competencies
    • Annual Staff evaluations also already incorporate competencies on inclusion
    • Over 100 faculty signed a statement of support drafted by Women & Gender Studies
    • On 3/26, The Division of Academic Affairs and members of the Faculty Association adopted a resolution to the following actions:
      • Providing developmental learning opportunities that reach all of our faculty and teaching staff in support of diversity and inclusion goals
      • Creating clarity about process and accountability for interactions that occur between faculty and students within and outside the classroom
      • Ensuring integration of diversity and inclusion components into hiring and orientation processes
      • Devoting resources to ensure that these things can be accomplished
    • The School of Business has established a Diversity and Inclusion Initiative to discuss diversity and inclusion topics at each monthly meeting and to provide a monthly handout for faculty on topics and resources related to diversity and inclusion.
    • The School of Arts and Sciences established an ad-hoc committee to address inequities and anti-racism
    • Hired a new full-time Director for the Center for Multicultural Education who will start their appointment this fall.
  • Fall 2018:
    • A board member of the Center for Multicultural Education is working this year as a faculty fellow providing one-on-one coaching and mentoring opportunities to a small group of faculty.
    • In November of 2018, Dr. Phyllis Esposito, joined the Edgewood College community as the inaugural full-time Director of the Center for Multicultural Education.

 

Demonstrate our College’s Commitment to Diversity

Demonstrate our College’s commitment to inclusivity by immediately removing the Chick-fil-A banner in the Edgedome, as this organization continues to remain a symbol of discrimination against same-sex marriage.

Progress Toward Commitment:
  • Spring 2018:
    • Chik-Fil-A banner was removed from the Edgedome
  • Fall 2018:
    • President Flanagan convened a committee to discuss policies around corporate sponsors and partnerships. Charter was approved at the 8/29 President’s Cabinet and the first meeting happened on 9/26.
    • President's Cabinet identified an LGBTQ Student Center as an "acute" space need
    • Edgewood College celebrated Indigenous People's Day and introduced a Land Recognition Statement
  • Spring 2019
    • The committee prepared a draft document that outlined the following items:
      • A guiding document for campus officials to consider when engaging with external stakeholders
      • Defining and providing a scope for institutional partnerships & sponsorships
      • Addressing relationships when partners engage in a behavior that is not congruent with our mission and values
      • A grievance process to create a formal channel to address community concerns about an institutional partnership
    • An LGBTQ Student Center space proposal was presented to President's Cabinet and the Space Advisory Committee
    • The Safe Zone Project was created to promote awareness of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender & Queer (LGBTQ+) people. The 3-hour workshop provides education to participants and aims to:
      • Increase the awareness of LGTBQ+ people
      • Build a visible network of LGBTQ+ allies
      • Improve the climate for LGBTQ+ members