This month’s faculty meeting had the general theme of diversity, inclusion and campus climate. Faculty Development Coordinator and Classical Studies Professor, Dave Guinee, brought up the question of allowing some first-year seminar courses to count as credits for power, privilege and diversity courses. A survey will be sent to faculty regarding this topic in the near future.
On a similar note, the results of the campus climate survey developed by the Diversity and Equity Committee will be shared with faculty this month. Working groups will be assembled in response to these results as a part of the university’s long-term inclusion plan.
President Casey was unable to make it to the meeting due to travel plans, but a faculty member raised a question for him regarding the IRC report. The member was confused about the detained faculty member during the events of September 23 and the polices in place that allowed police to detain him.
President elect Mark McCoy, who has taken the reigns from Casey on this issue, responded by saying that there is nothing the university can do in response to this independent report, and all they can do is simply take steps to move forward and make improvements from the incident.
Vice President of Academic Affairs Anne Harris mentioned three faculty workshops that will be in place at the end of the academic year and over the summer. The workshops are power, privilege and diversity; environmental justice; and community engagement. Both power, privilege and diversity and environmental justice will have outside speakers, and currently 30 staff members have signed up to participate in the former.