RCAH CDEI Recommendations

RCAH Committee on Diversity, Inclusion and Equity 2020-2023 Recommendations to the Dean

August 27, 2020

We recommend an intense and extended period spent renewing faculty, staff and select student* individual and collective understanding and commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI); (Re)imagining RCAH’s commitment to DEI; and Redressing past, present and future harm from institutional, social and systemic structures of inequity. The first year, meant to serve as a kickoff for ongoing RCAH engagement with DEI, will require faculty, staff and select student commitment to participate in DEI training, an institutional audit and facilitated conversations about the college’s present status and its hopes for the future. Such a year will position us for identifying and implementing specific actions, including policies and procedures, as well as the development of a college DEI reporting system to improve DEI in the college in the long term. This will require an extended period of vigorous training, facilitated conversation and professional support will require college investment of organization, time and finance. Therefore, these recommendations will also require that the CDIE provide periodic and extensive status updates to the CAC.

Renewing RCAH’s individual understanding of and commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion requires a commitment to professional training for staff, faculty and some students. We recommend such training start with a focus on DEI for all faculty, staff and select students. It should begin with the academic year. The nature of the training face-to-face, online, synchronous and asynchronous will depend on factors to be evaluated together with a contracted, trained professional from inside or outside MSU. We all need to commit to a better understanding of these issues through further training before we engage in the proposed DEI initiatives. Ongoing, required training might focus on implicit bias, racial equity, culture building, power and privilege, healing and trauma, and many others. These will be decided together by the faculty, staff and select students. The college should also focus on DEI-related issues as understood and expressed within Arts and Humanities disciplines throughout its (co- and extra-) curricular programming. The selection by the RCAH Student Affairs team of The Hate U Give and American Like Me for this year’s college read is a recent good example among hundreds in the history of college. We should compile these examples and opportunities and make sure there is awareness about the college's consistent engagement with DEI through the arts and humanities.

Actions

DEI Training: Write request for proposals (RFP) and hire trainer for required college DEI training; schedule training to begin and end in Fall 2020. Such training should be ongoing on an annual basis. Responsible: DEI Committee will develop the RFP and select and schedule the trainer. Estimated cost based on committee research is around $18,000.
DEI Arts and Humanities Curriculum and Activities: Identify, continue to develop and promote DEI Arts and Humanities activities within the college (extra- and co-) curricular programming. Responsible for ongoing reporting to Social Media Advisory Group and RCAH Communications Manager: FAC, CAC, EPC, Student Affairs, WNL, Poetry Center, Language and Media Center, Art Studio, Community Engagement, and Lookout! Gallery, CLAC, Alumni Relations and the Michigan Traditional Arts Program. Responsible for compiling and communicating these DEI activities: RCAH Communications Manager. Dean includes requirement for such reporting in job descriptions and committee charges. DEI Committee monitors actions. Estimated Cost: $0.
RCAH DEI Communications: Develop communications that reflect and inform RCAH stakeholders about the college’s DEI commitment and practices (see CSS Department of Anthropology, https://anthropology.msu.edu/2020/06/11/department-of-anthropology-statement-on-racism-anti-racism-diversity-and-inclusion/, and CANR Office of DEI, https://www.canr.msu.edu/diversity/index). Responsible for content: CDIE (possibly via task force). Responsible for Communications: RCAH Communications Manager. Dean includes requirement for DEI content and communication in relevant committee charges and job descriptions. Estimated Cost: $0.

(Re)imagining the RCAH community’s commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion requires a three-pronged approach that would largely take place through the rest of 2020 and continue at least through 2021. Some initiatives will require ongoing commitment – and would be conducted simultaneously following the training outlined above.

Actions

A Diversity, Equity and Inclusion institutional audit completed by a trained, contracted professional to help the college imagine the current status of the college when it comes to DEI. It would start in AY2020-2021. Such audits can look at things like policies, practices, allocations, human resources, positions, admissions/recruitment, promotion, evaluation, reward, tenure and other institutional factors that can impact DEI. The auditor would provide the results of the audit before the start of AY2021-2022. Responsible: DEI Committee will develop the RFP and select and schedule the audit. Estimated Cost: $4,000.
A process to be facilitated by a trained facilitator to develop a “Statement of RCAH DEI Norms.” Faculty, Faculty Excellence Advocate, staff and select students would all take part and be committed to co-writing these norms together. This will be completed by Spring of 2021. Responsible: DEI Committee will develop the RFP and select and schedule the facilitator. Estimated Cost $2,000 minimum ($250/hour X 3 2-hour sessions + $500 for any additional report writing).
Development of a DEI reporting system modeled after one developed by CANR (https://www.canr.msu.edu/diversity). It should include reporting about institutional policies and cultural norms and symbols. Responsible: DEI Committee (again, likely via task force) will develop and implement the system by the end of AY2021-2022. DEI would be tasked with receiving reports and making recommendations to the Dean. Estimated Cost: $0.

Redressing past, present and future harm from institutional, social and systemic structures of inequity. This professionally, facilitated conversation would begin in Fall 2021 with recommendations made by Spring 2022. Ongoing changes, supported by both this process and the DEI reporting system, would be implemented starting in Fall 2022. During the process, faculty, staff and select students would be presented with the results of the DEI institutional audit and the college norms completed previously. They would be tasked with identifying specific changes and investments in college policies, practices, behaviors, actions, institutional structures and cultural norms and symbols in order to comply with RCAH DEI norms, respond to the DEI audit, and begin to respond to the DEI reporting system. The goal is to significantly improve DEI at the college for all stakeholders. Some areas that might be addressed: policy, practices, allocations, admission/recruitment, student affairs, human resources, promotion, leadership, tenure, cultural systems and narratives, and many others.

Actions

Initiation of a facilitated conversation and process that results in a set of changes and investments in college behaviors, actions, institutional structures and cultural norms and symbols in order to comply with RCAH DEI Norms, respond to the DEI audit and begin to respond to the reports made within the DEI reporting system. CAC would host this work and complete a report recommending new policies and practices. Responsible: DEI committee will develop the RFP and select and schedule the facilitator; Dean, Faculty Excellence Advocate and administrators will administer final recommended changes from FAC. Estimated Cost: $2,000 (AY2021-2022 facilitated sessions).