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Unit Contributions to Equity, Diversity, Inclusion

Mon, 10/22/2018 - 11:21 — lfrazier
Academic Years: 
2018-2019
Department: 
Anthropology
Division: 
Social Sciences
Academics
1. Faculty: 

Anthropology is devoted to exploring the diversity of humanity in both the past and present. Our faculty conduct research in communities around the globe, participate in diversity-related initiatives on and outside campus, and bring diverse perspectives on a variety of topics into the classroom. Moreover, our faculty expertise spans theoretical perspectives and methodological practices, forming a diverse intellectual community open to new perspectives. Consequently, our faculty are strongly committed to creating and supporting a diverse and inclusive environment on campus and beyond. A primary departmental focus has been the recruitment and retention of faculty from underrepresented populations resulting in current initiatives dedicated to the mentoring and advising of junior faculty (see departmental diversity action plan). Faculty hiring processes have been a central component of departmental diversity-related planning, particularly given that in a little over a decade our department has conducted eight searches and hired eleven individuals. We have focused on the composition of job ads with inclusive language, as well as the advertising of positions in a range of places to broaden the applicant pools (including the Ford Foundation, AAPA diversity committee, Association of Black Anthropologists, Association for Latino and Latina Anthropologists, etc.). Among Anthropology Department faculty at the UO, one-third are faculty of color and we are evenly split between men and women. A focus of planning for future hires is to continue diversifying the faculty through recruitment of members of underrepresented groups, and developing strategies to create even more inclusive hiring processes.

2. Staff: 

The anthropology staff currently consists of two individuals who work in a variety of capacities to provide support for diversity initiatives in the department and who have participated in training's related to bias and equity and inclusion. Working with faculty, they support our job searches and reporting responsibilities to various units on campus. In particular they are central to our recruitment and retention of graduate students, many from international or underrepresented groups, as they help to facilitate contracts and funding sources, including promising scholar awards. Given the number of diversity-related initiatives that faculty have created or participated in which require administrative support, the departmental staff are an integral part of Anthropology’s program.

3. Graduate Programs: 

Recruitment and retention of a diverse graduate student population is a major concern of the Anthropology department. As many of our faculty work internationally, we have successfully recruited students from several different world regions. Supporting individual international students requires different approaches, including occasional fee waivers, arranging for family visas, and other contingencies that may arise. Faculty commonly recruit students from underrepresented groups in the United States through both individual efforts as well as structured programs. In 2012 and 2013, a number of faculty members in our department developed and ran Preview Oregon, a graduate student recruiting effort, which brought students from underrepresented groups to visit our graduate program. Although we are no longer running this specific program, members of the Graduate and Community Committees have worked to incorporate what was learned - increasing departmental efforts in bringing prospective students to campus, trying to broader our outreach, and providing more resources to our graduate students. For example, the Graduate and Executive Committees have worked together to greatly increase the amount of summer support our graduate students can receive, a major variable for many students when considering our program—particularly for students from under-represented groups. We have been successful advocating for Promising Scholars awards and matching them with departmental funds to provide first year funding without teaching to incoming graduate students from underrepresented populations. Faculty in our department have been recognized for their roles as advisors and mentors for graduate students from underrepresented populations.

4. Undergraduate Programs: 

Our faculty work hard to create and support a diverse and inclusive environment in our classrooms. Anthropology faculty have been recognized for their roles as advisors and mentors for undergraduate students from underrepresented populations. Given the wide scope of relevant subject matter in Anthropology devoted to questions of equity and inclusion both domestic and global, many of our classes satisfy the Multicultural Group (American Cultures or AC, International Cultures or IC, and Identity, Pluralism & Tolerance or IC) requirements. Anthropology faculty have also worked extensively with the McNair program to mentor and create opportunities for underrepresented students. Moreover, we are on the leading edge of developing high quality online courses that help make coursework accessible to students with disabilities and/or constraints that make live classroom attendance difficult or impossible. Anthropology has also worked hard to create a variety of both domestic and international opportunities, including field schools, for students to work in multi-cultural settings and on research topics related to diversity, equity and inclusion. In a broad sense, the Anthropology curriculum is designed to allow students to examine the histories of and contemporary dynamics of diversity-related issues, a breadth that is key to our field’s identity.

5. Outreach and Partnerships: 

The majority of our faculty conduct research outside of the United States and many are a part of international collaborations. In addition, a number of our faculty members are involved in both University-level and professional service that supports international efforts (e.g., International Affairs Office committees, editors or serving on editorial boards of international journals, international NGOs, historic preservation of international sites, etc.).
Training Informed, Empathetic, Global Citizens: Almost all of our course offerings at the graduate and undergraduate level teach students to understand the commonalities that underlie the human species through time and the rich and complex differences that also define the different ways in which humans around the world and through time have lived and solved basic life problems. Students who major in anthropology are required to take courses about geographic diversity as well as human diversity linked to culture, biology, gender, race, ethnicity, nationalism, and other topics of difference. This is true for our graduate students as well. In addition, faculty members in our department regularly involve graduate students and undergraduates in international research. We have developed field programs (e.g., through Global Education Oregon) and help facilitate participation in non UO affiliated field schools when possible.
Community Outreach: Our faculty are strongly committed to community outreach, including the following: public lectures and activities in Oregon; public lectures and activities where we conduct research; multiple workshops and institutes for K-12 educators; media interviews, films and more accessible print publications; social media; and through the development and implementation of a number of summer camps activities.
Service Related to Equity and Inclusion: Our faculty have been involved in, amongst others, the following groups on campus: Grad Council, the University-Wide Diversity Committee, Women of Color Group at CSWS, CLLAS, UO President’s Native American Advisory Counsel, and UO Committee on Sexual Orientation, Attraction, Gender Identity and Expression, and the Initiative on Reducing Gender-Based Violence. We also created a departmental Community Committee, which is responsible for department diversity and equity considerations and initiatives. The committee works to improve the departmental climate and the continued support of a diverse constituency. In addition, many faculty members routinely provide professional service related to equity and inclusion (e.g., Native American Scholarship Committee of the SAA, co-founded the Science and Medicine in South Asia Interest Group as part of the Society for Medical Anthropology).

6. Other: 

In order to collect information for the Equity and Inclusion section of our 10 year review in AY 16-17, the Departmental Community Committee conducted an on-line survey of 25 faculty members including all tenure-track faculty, senior lecturers, lecturers, and instructors. The survey included eight queries dealing in how they participate and involve diversity in their professional lives. The lengthy and impressive responses to these queries are contained in a document, available upon request.

Staff
1. University Service: 

Staff participates in various diversity groups such as Allied Dreamers, Black lives matter and help to create undergrad programs and clubs that promote diversity.

2. Departmental Contributions: 

Staff is main support for informing, educating and facilitating all department action plans and initiatives.

3. Community Service and Outreach: 

Staff is responsible for keeping website up to date on various community and group outreach programs. Informed and educated on opportunities so we can disseminate information to relevant students and faculty. Participate in programs of outreach and attend pertinent community service events.

4. Professional Development and Training: 
Staff attend all offered training's related to diversity, title IX, discrimination, and other such workshops that revolve around social correctness and social awareness.