Units at Work
Serving the College community
Questions from the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion social media guidelines
Questions from the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion social media guidelines
Communications
Guidelines to consider
In 2020-21, the Communications Office created, designed, and promoted several diversity, equity, and inclusion-centered materials, including the DEI Conference program.
The team produced digital materials for the DEI Office using Shorthand, which is more accessible than print for people with vision issues or who use screen readers. The platform also allows the team to easily incorporate alt text to describe images for visually impaired readers.
Additionally, the Communications Office collaborated with the DEI Office to create inclusive DEI guidelines for social media that are included in the social media submission ticket on the internal resources website.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Our work in action
The Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion navigated several transitions this year with a change in office leadership and providing services and programs in the midst of a pandemic and a national reckoning on racial injustices in our country.
Marian Higgins, a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Counseling and Human Development Services, served as interim associate dean for diversity, equity, and inclusion from August 2020-December 2020. She was appointed associate dean in January 2021.
Briana Bivens, a graduate assistant, and Katie Ebbert, a student worker, provided tremendous support in maintaining the continuity of the office while in transition. The office celebrated five years of serving the College through diversity and social justice education, consultations, and advocacy. This year’s accomplishments are highlighted below.
Education
The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Graduate Certificate continues to grow with 50 graduate students in the College and across campus enrolled in the program. This year, the office added a core course option, EDUC 8111 Race, Class, and Educational Praxis, and consistently adds courses to a list of approved electives.
A recent evaluation of the program indicated students completing the core courses demonstrate self-awareness related to diversity, equity, and inclusion issues; exhibit knowledge of multiculturalism and social justice; and possess the skills to make social change on issues of injustice, inequity, and lack of cultural-responsiveness.
Traditionally, the office hosts a “Decolonizing Your Syllabus” drop-in at the beginning of each semester. This year, the office converted this program to an online workshop, “Diversifying Your Syllabus,” for individual departments as well as a college-wide session.
The workshop focuses on:
- Magnifying the history, narratives, and ideas of Indigenous, queer and trans communities, Black, Asian diaspora, and Latinx communities in educational spaces
- Learning strategies for including and affirming diverse identities and backgrounds in syllabi, course materials, and pedagogy
Three departments requested the workshop for faculty and graduate students and shared how valuable the session was for transforming their syllabi to be more inclusive and equitable.
At the beginning of spring semester, the office offered a series, “DEI Considerations for Your Syllabus and Pedagogy: A Co-Learning Series with the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion,” which featured the “Diversifying Your Syllabus” session and “Diversifying Your Pedagogy” session. Fifteen faculty and graduate students attended the syllabus session and 20 faculty and graduate students attended the pedagogy session.
At the onset of the pandemic, the Asian and Asian American community experienced increased discrimination, harassment, and violence. The Mary Frances Early College of Education responded to these harmful and traumatic actions by standing in solidarity with this community and hosting events to expand everyone’s understanding of Asians’ experiences on campus and in Athens and the United States.
The office organized “A Dialogue with the Asian Community” to support faculty, staff, and students who identify with the community. Usree Bhattacharya, associate professor in the Department of Language and Literacy; Chitra Pidaparti, clinical assistant professor in the Department of Educational Psychology; and graduate students Yixuan Wang, Shuang Fu, Gina Thomas, Meara Henninger-McMahon, and Yin Chen helped coordinate this event and facilitated small group conversations. Twenty-eight people attended, including representatives from the Office of International Student Life and the Office of Multicultural Affairs. Attendees gained insight to the challenges facing the Asian and Asian American community and ways to be supportive.
In partnership with Kyunghwa Lee, professor in the Department of Educational Theory and Practice, the DEI Office hosted “Anti-Asian Violence Amid COVID-19 Pandemic: New Episode in the Long History of Anti-Asian Violence in the United States and Educational Implications” featuring Sohyun An, an associate professor at Kennesaw State University. This event was held on May 24, 2021, and 129 faculty, staff, and students attended. An’s presentation was enlightening and generated interest in additional learning about the Asian and Asian American experience. The office plans to offer additional programming uplifting Asian and Asian Americans.
The DEI Office and Franklin College of Arts and Science partnered on a series of sessions, “Fostering Sense of Belonging: Supporting Student Success in a New Normal,” featuring education expert Terrell Strayhorn. In a general session with 129 attendees from the UGA community, Strayhorn shared his research on belonging and further expanded on implications for fostering belonging during a pandemic and racial justice movement.
He spent additional time in a session on how to support students with 28 faculty from the Mary Frances Early College of Education and Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. He also met with 17 graduate students for a session about navigating graduate school. This event was supported by the New Approaches to Promote Diversity and Inclusion grant sponsored by the Office of the President and the Office of Institutional Diversity.
The third annual International Student Welcome Reception took place virtually on September 9, 2020. Representatives from the Office of International Student Life and the Office of Global Engagement attended and informed students of resources available to them.
The office also sponsored International Coffee Hour in collaboration with the Office of International Student Life. This popular campus event occurs every Friday during the academic year and serves as a gathering for international students to learn about offices, departments, student organizations, and community resources. The office engaged attendees in conversation about diversity, equity, and inclusion in the United States and in their home countries.
Outreach and consultation
The Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion provides consultations for students, staff, and faculty. One of our highlights this year was supporting the DEI ambassadors in developing their statement, Incorporating Pronouns and Avoiding Deadnames in Personal Introductions and Syllabi. The faculty in the Department of Communication Sciences and Special Education expanded the statement to support all students’ communication needs and abilities. The creation of these statements and the implementation of the recommendations demonstrate the College’s commitment to inclusion and belonging.
Additional outreach and consultation activities include presenting to student organizations, classes and departments and facilitating two sessions of “Let's Talk About It: Strategies for Discussing Race with Your Team” for supervisors through the University’s Office of Training and Development.
Advocacy
The office hosted the 16th annual Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Conference virtually as a three-day event with more than 300 attendees from in the College, across the UGA campus, the local Athens area, and outside of Georgia. The theme was “What’s Education Got to Do with It: Embracing Joy, Healing, and Collective Action.” The conference featured commentary from Mary Frances Early, a keynote address from Mary Frances Early Professor of Teacher Education Cynthia Dillard, as well as 15 concurrent sessions and two panel discussions featuring local high school youth and College faculty.
The Exploring White Privilege Group continued to meet with facilitators, Chris Mojock, clinical associate professor in the Department of Kinesiology; Beth Wurzburg, clinical assistant professor in the Department of Educational Theory and Practice, and Briana Bivens, graduate assistant in the DEI Office.
The group met monthly with 10-20 participants in attendance to explore white identity development using research psychologist and professor Janet Helms’ white racial identity development model. The group is open to new participants and will continue meeting during the next academic year.
Higgins, Mojock, Wurzburg, Bivens, and Marques Dexter, a graduate student in the College, developed and facilitated two sessions for the “Exploring the Intersections of Race, Privilege, and Identity” course as part of the Office of Institutional Diversity’s Certificate in Diversity and Inclusion. The facilitators engaged over 40 faculty and staff from across campus in a collaborative dialogue focused on the social and historical intersections of race and privilege and contemporary realities.
The programming and services provided this year reflect the DEI Office’s guiding principle, DEI in action. The staff look forward to continuing to advance the College’s commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice in the upcoming academic year and welcome the participation of faculty, staff, and students across the College.
UGA Mary Frances Early College of Education
2020-21 DEI/SEL Reconceptualizing Educator Preparation Steering Committee
Faculty
Kristen Bub, associate professor, Department of Educational Psychology (applied cognition and development)
Kim Viel-Ruma, clinical associate professor, Department of Communication Sciences and Special Education (special education)
Sherell McArthur, assistant professor, Department of Educational Theory and Practice (elementary education)
Dorothy White, professor, Department of Mathematics and Science Education (mathematics education)
Jamon Flowers, clinical assistant professor, Department of Lifelong Education, Administration, and Policy (educational administration, and policy)
Community partners
Jillian Whatley, executive director of student services, Clarke County School District
Ashlee Holsey, former counselor, Clarke Central High School, Clarke County School District
Dean's Office support
Denise Spangler, dean
Stacey Neuharth-Pritchett, associate dean for academic programs
Marian Higgins, associate dean for diversity, equity, and inclusion
Erica Gilbertson, former interim director, Office of School Engagement
DEI/SEL Steering Committee
Reconceptualizing educator preparation
Established in November 2020, the DEI/SEL Reconceptualizing Educator Preparation Steering Committee consists of five College faculty members and two Clarke County School District (CCSD) educators (see member list below). Dean Denise Spangler convened this new committee in response to the 2019-20 Reconceptualizing Educator Preparation Town Hall DEI and SEL (social emotional learning) working groups’ recommendations.
The DEI/SEL steering committee was charged with developing the scope and processes needed to infuse DEI and SEL throughout all educator preparation programs in the College, including programs preparing counselors, school psychologists, and school administrators, to effectively prepare educators to meet the needs of P-12 students.
The committee met virtually five times between December 2020 and April 2021 and was co-facilitated by associate dean Marian Higgins and Office of School Engagement interim director Erica Gilbertson. The committee shared and compiled DEI/SEL resources, examined William and Mary College of Education’s DEI plan, and drafted initial ideas for programming (events, seminars, professional learning) at all levels in the College (individual, program, department, and college-wide).
Initial ideas included:
- Ongoing faculty professional learning for course redesign/syllabi revision
- Hosting regular “Critical Conversations” for DEI or SEL-related dialogue among College and CCSD partners (mentor teachers, high school students, etc.)
- Creating department-level or program-level DEI/SEL communities of practice for ongoing dialogue/learning in safe spaces
In March 2021, the committee determined it needed more current data about the current DEI and SEL experiences of faculty, staff, and students in the College’s educator preparation programs. Using CCSD’s recent equity survey as a guide, the committee designed and distributed the survey to all educator preparation program faculty, staff, and students. Fifty-seven people completed the survey (28 faculty, 21 staff members, and 8 students).
In April, the committee reviewed the survey results as a group and determined preliminary ways in which the data will inform next steps with program planning and strategic plan development. The survey data will continue to guide the committee’s planning in future months.
Development and Alumni Relations
Funding scholarships, inclusion efforts
In honor of UGA's 60th anniversary of desegregation, Black History Month, and the first anniversary of the College being named for Mary Frances Early, the Office of Development and Alumni Relations launched a two-part email fundraising campaign in late January 2021 for the Mary Frances Early Endowment, which provides scholarships for students and supports diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in the College and across UGA.
Promotional art for the University of Georgia's 60th anniversary of desegregation
Promotional art for the University of Georgia's 60th anniversary of desegregation
Edward Delgado-Romero, associate dean for faculty and staff services
Edward Delgado-Romero, associate dean for faculty and staff services
Faculty and Staff Services
Improving opportunities for faculty and staff
The Office of Faculty and Staff Services is proud to partner with the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in providing culturally aware services and advocacy in the Mary Frances Early College of Education. Last year, the Office of Faculty and Staff Services accomplished the following:
- Created a staff on-boarding guide with input from College staff
- Created a staff hiring guide infused with DEI content to promote awareness of DEI principles throughout the staff hiring process
- Extensively revised the faculty hiring handbook and infused it with DEI content to promote the recruitment of a deep and diverse pool of candidates for all positions
- Infused DEI content into the promotion and tenure process and maintained a tradition of diverse promotion and/or tenure committees at the college level
- Infused DEI content into the awards committee process for the University and College
Staff Representative Group
Making a commitment
In June 2020, the Staff Representative Group (SRG) published a statement denouncing injustice and discrimination of Black people and people of color. The statement also confirmed the group’s commitment to continuously confronting implicit bias to make lasting change in diversity, equity, and inclusion in the College and community.
In December 2020, SRG voted to endorse the Beyond Baldwin student group's statement of racial justice demands. A joint statement with the Franklin College Faculty Senate and Mary Frances Early College of Education Faculty Senate was published in early 2021, supporting the student group's stance and affirming the ongoing need for racial justice at UGA and in the Athens communities.
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