In honor of LGBTQ+ History Month, ODEI partnered with Gender Studies and Student Involvement to create a resource sheet for you to take action to help make our campus and society more affirming and inclusive of our LGBTQ+ students, faculty, staff, colleagues, friends, and family! Please download and share 10 Ways to create a more inclusive campus for LGBTQ + Community and share!
DOWNLOAD: 10 Ways to create a more inclusive campus for LGBTQ + Community
The University of Missouri-St. Louis is committed to engaging in conversations that reinforce our commitment to creating a culture in which the campus community feels valued. In order to address the executive order, a team consisting of representatives across the system have been charged with reviewing trainings, programming, etc. that currently exists at each institution.
However, this change will not impact our training for the Fall semester (https://blogs.umsl.edu/diversity/training-and-professional-development/). Additionally, we have some great panel discussions coming up in the next few weeks (information will be posted to the blog shortly) and we hope you will attend as well.
Click here to download the ODEI Professional Development 2020-2021 flyer
In order to build a welcoming and inclusive campus environment and to fulfill our educational and strategic mission as a global university, faculty and staff at all institutional levels must have the awareness, knowledge, and skills to work effectively with diverse coworkers, students, and other constituents.
The Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (ODEI) supports this imperative through professional development opportunities to develop and enhance cultural competence.
We hope you and your colleagues will join us for some engaging and thought-provoking discussions!
While online teaching and learning can be challenging for faculty and students alike, research has shown that students from underrepresented groups often face additional challenges. By implementing inclusive teaching practices, faculty can create classroom and online learning environments where ALL student feel like they belong and can learn at high levels. To this end, UMSL’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Center for Teaching and Learning have teamed up to provide you with some inclusive teaching practices and resources. Your continued efforts and thoughtfulness towards helping transform our students’ lives are so very appreciated by all! Thank you!
We also invite you to listen to this episode of the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast about fostering inclusion featuring our very own Dr. Marlo Goldstein Hode!
ODEI joins in the collective outrage over the unjustifiable killings of African Americans and people of color, most recently in the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery. Social injustices and the impact of systemic racism weighs heavy and takes a toll on us mentally and physically. The immediate question is how we at the university respond when our campus community is experiencing feelings of anger, hurt, grief, and fear…I believe that the first step is acknowledgement and affirmation of those experiences and to provide the space to do so.
I was reminded of a post that stated “When HATE is loud, LOVE must not be silent.” To this end, ODEI has created the UMSL CommUNITY Conversation Series, to provide virtual and in-person forums for continued dialogues. The first event-“Virtual Gathering for Racial Unity” is scheduled for Thursday, June 18, 2020 from 12:00 pm-1:30 pm. The facilitated panel discussion will allow individuals to come together in order to process, share and listen.
ODEI is committed to promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, social justice and action. ODEI partners with individuals, offices, and departments across campus to collaborate on diversity and inclusion initiatives. Additionally, we are providing virtual opportunities for faculty and staff to engage and learn throughout the summer and will continue to expand our curriculum to be responsive to our current context. We also have developed a robust set of resources to facilitate learning and awareness about self and others; to help individuals and departments have conversations about race; and to increase understanding and usage of inclusive language. As new content and learning opportunities develop, we will share them in our new (soon to be launch) blog.
Each of us has a passion and a purpose. I encourage you to ask what you can do individually and collectively to help our community.
Sincerely,
Tanisha
Dr. Tanisha Stevens
Interim Director, Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion