Introducing the new Grad Certificate in Workplace DEI!

ODEI is proud to partner with the UMSL Graduate School to offer master’s and doctoral students an opportunity to boost their credentials and prepare them to be advocates for diversity, equity, and inclusion in their upcoming careers.

The new Graduate Certificate in Workplace DEI is a year-long cohort-based non-credit bearing program based on the popular Diversity 101, an online professional development program for faculty and staff.

Read more about the new initiative in the UMSL Daily Blog!

A similar certificate program is under development in partnership with UM Extension to be launched in the Spring 2022 and available to the broader STL community.

 

ODEI Digital Badges

Perhaps by now you have noticed a colorful icon or two on some of your colleagues’ email signatures.  Wondering what that’s all about?

In 2019, UMSL partnered with Credly, a leader in the digital credentialing movement, to offer UMSL faculty and staff the opportunity to earn digital badges for their participation in ODEI professional development programming. Since then,  UMSL faculty and staff have earned over 550 digital badges and many share them on their signature lines and social media accounts to help spread the word about the great work we are doing at UMSL to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Learn more about UMSL’s digital badging program in the                              Credly Podcast featuring DEI initiatives at UMSL! 

Winding down Pride Month 2021

Dear Community,

As we wind down Pride Month 2021, we want to remind you that there are things we can do every day to help ensure that LGBTQ+ members of our community feel seen and safe.

10 Ways to create a more inclusive campus for LGBTQ + Community
10 Ways to create a more inclusive campus for LGBTQ + Community 

DOWNLOAD: 10 Ways to create a more inclusive campus for LGBTQ + Community

Although as country we are making progress, as noted in the Presidential Proclamation on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Pride Month, 2021, we still have a long way to go.  But as long as we do become complacent and continue the work, we will continue to improve as a campus and society.

Juneteenth-Freedom Day

Juneteenth, “also known as Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, Liberation Day, and Emancipation Day– is a holiday celebrating the emancipation of those who had been enslaved in the United States. Originating in Galveston, Texas, it is now celebrated annually on June 19 throughout the United States, with increasing official recognition. It is commemorated on the anniversary date of the June 19, 1865, announcement of General Order No. 3 by Union Army general Gordon Granger, proclaiming freedom from slavery in Texas.

We have highlighted several events below that celebrate the importance of this historic day.

Missouri Historical Society 2021 Juneteenth Celebration

Throughout the month of June, the Missouri History Museum will be welcoming audiences to gather virtually and  in-person to celebrate Juneteenth.

Click here for additional information: https://mohistory.org/juneteenth

Juneteenth Celebration at The Field House Museum

The Field House Museum is proud to host Julius B. Anthony, President of St. Louis Black Authors of Children’s Literature, and Linda M. Nance, Founding President of The Annie Malone Historical Society, for this special event jointly celebrating our partnerships and Juneteenth.”

Click here for additional information: https://explorestlouis.com/event/a-juneteenth-celebration/

Juneteenth Freedom Festival

Click here for additional information: https://www.cdss-esl.org/cdss-annual-events/juneteenth-metro-east#h.pvous2tm6jyw

2021 Juneteenth Community Ride

This Juneteenth, celebrate St. Louis’s Black artists, musicians and history with a bike ride featuring live music.  Join Trailnet, 4 The Ville, and the Missouri Historical Society.

Click here for additional information: https://trailnet.redpodium.com/2021-juneteenth-community-ride

Juneteenth Havdalah W/ MoHo STL

“To celebrate Juneteenth, we will be sharing poems, songs and/or prayers from Black authors, around the bonfire. Themes can include freedom, resistance, power, strength – or whatever you feel speaks to to the themes of the historic Juneteenth.”

Click here for additional information: https://en-gb.facebook.com/events/481923593095534/

Juneteenth Community Celebration-Emerson YMCA

“Our community event is open to everyone and FREE of charge! The theme is “Breaking Barriers.”

Click here for additional information:https://stayhappening.com/e/juneteenth-community-celebration-E2ISTO38MIL

Spring 2021 Newsletter

UMSL respects, inspires, engages, values, promotes and offers opportunities to our campus community. To this end, we remain excited about the work that continues to happen here at the University!

Check out our Spring 2021 newsletter here: Spring 2021 Newsletter

Celebrate Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month

Here are several resources to help you learn about and celebrate the rich diversity of AAPI cultures!

Resource from Insight into Diversity:

AAPI Heritage Month, celebrated each year in May, is intended to develop awareness of and celebrate the rich cultures and contributions of America’s fastest growing demographic group. In 2021, this time for celebration falls in the midst of a worsening crisis of racism and violence against some of the nearly 20 million AAPIs living in the U.S. today. The March murder of six women of Asian descent during a shooting in Atlanta and an escalating number of anti-Asian hate crimes has brought this often overlooked population to the forefront of the nation’s anti-racism movement. In solidarity with this community, we highlight recent releases by six celebrated authors who convey diverse AAPI experiences through the power of fiction, poetry, and essay.

 

 Click here to watch the UMSL Townhall sponsored by the UMSL Staff Association, the College of Arts & Sciences, the College of Education, and the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Here are resources for combating Asian Hate. Resources – Town Hall_ We Are Not A Virus – Tritons Against Asian Hate

The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum join in paying tribute to the generations of Asian and Pacific Islanders who have enriched America’s history and are instrumental in its future success.  Visit the collection and calendar of events! 

Celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month this May and every day with a special PBS collection of stories that explores the history, traditions and culture of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States.

Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month

Sexual Assault Awareness Month | The Women's Community, Inc.

In our current climate of remote learning, zoom meetings, Tik-Tok, twitter and other platforms of social media, people are connecting more online than ever before. Since we aren’t connecting face-to-face as much, we must create pathways for respectful online spaces with consent. We must always consider how our actions might make another person feel and ask questions.

Since our face-to-face interactions are limited due to social distancing, we do not have the benefit of those body language cues that can indicate  how someone is feeling – the eye contact or lack of eye contact, for example. It is more important than ever to develop new ways to recognize others’ boundaries and give them space to recognize our boundaries as well. When we do this, we shift from making assumptions which provides clearer communication.

What can we do to show respect for ourselves and for others in practicing consent? Here are a few ideas:
➢ It is never okay to try to unlock someone else’s phone without
permission or look through their text.
➢ If you share a device with someone, log out of accounts that you do
not have permission to use.
➢ Ask permission before posting a photo of someone else on social
media and before reposting or resharing something personal.
➢ Let a friend know you would like to video chat, specifically, rather
than assuming they know.
➢ Respect the decisions of others once you have asked. It is never
okay to coerce or pressure someone – if someone says no after you
ask for digital consent, respect their choice and move on.
➢ Ask each time – even if your partner agreed to something before,
they are not obligated to agree again.

April 24th is Consent Day – we’ve heard “rumor” of a counter movement circulating. The Title IX & Equity Office will be hosting an Online Consent and Boundaries Workshop April 29th.

We invite you to join us next week by registering:   https://www.mobilize.us/nsvrc/event/385071/?rname=Clare&share_context=event_details&share_medium=copy_link

Your Title IX Office is available for you whenever you need us. Please let us know if you have questions or require resource information.

Dana Beteet Daniels, Title IX Coordinator
Jessica Swederske, Deputy Title IX Coordinator

Ramadan 2021

This year, the dates of Ramadan are expected to fall within Monday, April 12, 2021 and Wednesday, May 12, 2021. The Islamic Calendar follows a lunar cycle, and while these are the calculated expected dates of Ramadan, they can differ from place to place based on moon-sightings or lack thereof. Some Muslims strictly follow calculations, while others strictly follow moon-sightings, and some follow a combination of both. What Muslims choose to follow can depend on their religious convictions, where they have lived in the world, and what their families practice. The day after the end of Ramadan is a religious holiday called Eid-al-Fitr. (SOURCE: https://studentlife.mit.edu/orsel/interfaith-understanding/about-ramadan-2021)

Ramadan is an occasion to focus on faith through fasting and prayer, and is one of the most important Muslim holidays. Ramadan is notable because the Qur’an was first revealed during this month, and Muslims see the Qur’an as the ultimate form of guidance for mankind. The night that the Qur’an was revealed to Muhammad is called Lailat ul Oadr, and standing in prayer this one night is thought to eclipse months of worship.

General Practices: Fasting is required during the entire month of Ramadan. Muslims refrain from food and beverages during the daylight hours, and smoking and sexual relations are forbidden. Worshipers break the fasting each night with prayer, reading of the Qu’ran, and a meal called the iftar. In addition, many Muslims also attend night prayers at Mosques. Muslims also believe that their good actions bring a greater reward during this month than any other time of the year, so almost all Muslims try to give up bad habits during Ramadan.

Recommended Accommodations: If possible, avoid scheduling major academic deadlines during this time. Be sensitive to the fact that students and employees celebrating Ramadan will be fasting during the day (continuously for 30 days) and will likely have less stamina as a result. If planning an evening event, provide food accommodations if requested (Islamic dietary restrictions apply). (SOURCE: https://calendar.missouri.edu/event/ramadan_7210#.YHWtA-hKiHs)

Additional learning resources: 

Supporting Your Muslim Students on Campus This Ramadan (NASAPA: Student Affairs in Higher Education)

 About Ramadan 2021 (MIT Office of Religious, Spiritual, and Ethical Life )

Best Practices for Supporting Muslim Students (a Tumblr created by a Muslim student)

How to Support Muslim Students When Ramadan Overlaps with School Year (Insight into Diversity Magazine)

Join ODEI for the Spring Core Concept Series

ALL SESSIONS TAKE PLACE ON ZOOM,  TUESDAYS FROM 12-1:30 PM         

Click here for more information and registration:

April 20     Moving Towards Inclusive Excellence: Introduction to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

April 27     Understanding Ourselves, Understanding Others: Introduction to Identity and Intersectionality

May 4     What’s culture got to do with it? Introduction to Culture, Communication, and Values

May 11     Obstacles to inclusion: Introduction to implicit bias, microaggressions, stereotype threat, and imposter syndrome

May 18     Making the invisible visible: Introduction to Social Privilege and Normative Power

Register here. 

You can earn the Diversity Ambassador Badge by attending at least 3 sessions AND getting a colleague to attend at least two sessions.