DEI Council Summary September 2020

DEI Updates

• NEW DEI staff; Tricia Mayers – DEI Investigator and Yvonne Ortiz – DEI Director, School of Osteopathic Medicine 
• Professional Development – DEI Certificate available, registration available soon.
• Strategic Action Plan (SAP) Feedback
  • The purpose of the SAP was to formalize and assess department/unit commitment to DEI with three year goals and three priorities of 1) creating an inclusive and equitable climate 2) recruiting and retaining diverse students 3) inclusive scholarship, teaching, and professional development 
  • Document will be shared widely, DEI is working to DEI Dashboard for accountability across departments
  • DEI is working to provide feedback to departments/units by October 
• DEI Council and Cabinet Book Study, starts October 5th, 2020. Register here: https://sites.rowan.edu/diversity-equity-inclusion/index.html

SJICR 

• Programming Calendar released: https://sites.rowan.edu/sjicr/calendarofevents/index.html 
• New newsletter will be released next week – can sign up to receive on SJICR Website https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe4uWyAp-EggFt5tgj-fMx8B9kHR77OJ0zu4BOKiUsb0cKF8w/viewform  

OSEC 

• Implemented new policies and procedures to comply with new Title IX federal final rule 
• Title IX/Sexual Harassment: applies to both student and employees – addresses allegations that fall within the U.S. Department of Education’s Title IX regulations, including sexual harassment, sexual assault, dating/domestic violence, and stalking 
• Other allegations of sexual misconduct outside of Title IX regulations are addressed under Student Sexual Misconduct and Harassment Policy: 
• Policy Prohibiting Discrimination in the Workplace and Educational Environment – complaints of sexual misconduct involving employees
• FAQ provides clarification and information on the changes: https://sites.rowan.edu/diversity-equity-inclusion/departments/osec/final-rule-faqs.html 

Strategic Priority Committee (SPC) Updates 

• SPC 1 – working to create a multicultural calendar; advancing DEI social media and blog; working with SGA and SJICR to better understand challenges 
• SPC 2 – developed method for analyzing policies through an equity lens and identified issues that can be addressed by the committee (for example, GPA as a gatekeeper to activities)
• SPC 3 – drafted a Faculty Hiring Kit Toolkit last, looking for additional feedback. The goal is to have it completed October 31st. 

DEI White Paper

• Started working in summer 2020 to create a document that reflects who we are as an institution, future goals, barriers and challenges that institution is facing, and identify plans to address these barriers beyond the Strategic Action Plans 
• Also worked on collecting data from multiple areas: 
  • Retention of faculty, staff, and students
  • Opportunity gaps in student performance, graduate rates for Black and Latinx students
  • Faculty and staff professional development
  • Policing and racial profiling 
  • Accountability to address bias and harassment complaints, working with HR, Community Standards, Student Life, and General Council