Inclusive Excellence Newsletter - January 2023
Dear SCU Community:
Happy New Year! and welcome to the start of the academic term.
The start of the new year is an opportunity to reflect on the lessons from the past year as well as a chance to develop aspirations for the year ahead. We can’t forget the continued challenges that continue for many within our communities.
Next Monday, January 16th, we mark the life and legacy of Dr. Martin L. King, Jr. In line with his legacy and commitment to freedom, it is appropriate that the Inclusive Excellence Division kicks off this calendar year with the focused series of programs around Democracy. We will be examining Democracy through different lenses and how it affects different aspects of society. We are excited to share more details over the next few weeks.
In addition to our Democracy Series we will be hosting monthly Inclusive Excellence Innovation Labs. These labs will provide an opportunity to take your justice, equity, diversity, inclusion, access and belonging (JEDI) ideas and make them into reality. It’s also an opportunity to troubleshoot JEDI challenges you may be encountering personally, organizationally or within your units. We will send you a google calendar for the labs in a separate invite.
JEDI Strategic Plan
Over the next few weeks, we will be unveiling an updated website that will highlight and explain the framework of the JEDI Strategic Plan as well as provide access to the respective Implementation Plans from the colleges, units and areas from throughout the campus.
We are excited to share all of the hard work that has been put into getting to this point and we look forward to getting your feedback as members of the community.
UNIT UPDATES
I. Inclusive Excellence Division
- Inclusive Excellence is now on Social Media. Please follow us through:
- Save the Date for the Winter Quarter Diversity Forum facilitated for the Inclusive Excellence Student Advisory Council (IESAC) on Monday, February 6 from 5:30pm – 7:00pm in Benson Student Center. More details to be shared via email.
- Over the next few weeks, a number of job openings will be available within the different areas within Inclusive Excellence. Please check the HR Career page for updates. Please share the opportunities within your respective networks.
- Shá Duncan Smith, Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion will be holding Office hours this quarter on Tuesdays from 2- 3PM, 2nd Floor in the Walsh Administration Building. Please sign up for a 15 minute slot by using the following link: https://calendar.app.google/cq8ffHgbfoeRfn916
II. LEAD Scholars
- The LEAD Scholars Program is excited to kick-off its 20th Anniversary celebration in January with two events:
- LEAD with Us: 20th Anniversary Kick Off -- in-person
- Thursday, January 26 from 12-1 PM - Arcade at the front of the Learning Commons. More details here.
- LEAD with Us: 20th Anniversary Kick Off -- virtual
- Thursday, January 26 from 5-6 PM (PT)/8-9 PM (ET) Register here. More details here.
- LEAD with Style: 20th Anniversary Pop-Up Shop
- Get ready for the celebration by buying some exclusive LEAD 20th Anniversary gear. Check out cute apparel with our classic LEAD logo and limited edition 20th Anniversary designs. A portion of the proceeds will go back to supporting the program.
- LEAD is also excited to also offer a range of programming to our students throughout the month including a community book read of Chanel Miller's Know My Name, an alumni panel, and an "Understanding Health Insurance Benefits" session, among others. We continue to offer a range of support to first-generation college students participating in LEAD including emergency funding; scholarships; holistic advising regarding personal, academic and family issues; and career exploration resources including fellowship funding for unpaid internships, undergraduate research, study abroad and other opportunities.
III. Office of Accessible Education (OAE)
- The OAE office would like to welcome you back and wish you a Happy New Years!
- Please remember to log into your OAE Portal and request accommodations so that you can have them as soon as possible.
- Any and all questions should be directed to OAE@scu.edu or call 408-554-4109.
- Just a reminder that our office hours are 8am- 5pm Monday through Friday but testing hours are 8:30am - 4:30pm.
IV. Office for Diversity and Inclusion
- Department/Unit Climate Studies - since 2020, ODI has helped different academic and non-academic units conduct and implement a departmental climate study. If your department/area is interested in such a study in Winter/Spring 2023, please reach out to rplaza@scu.edu.
- Please continue to give to support the Ohlone and Muwekma Ohlone Student Scholarship. The scholarship was officially endowed and announced on Indigenous People's Day. We need your contributions to help further expand the scholarship.
- Five SCU students attended the Student Veterans of America (SVA) National conference in Orlando from January 5 - 7. The conference consisted of local and national speakers, conference presentations and the SVA campus with companies, local and national Veteran organizations and other resources.
- The Winter Quarter Transfer Student Welcome Reception will be on Wednesday, January 25th from 4-6pm in the Mission Room, Benson.
- On Tuesday, January 17th, the Center for Social Justice and Public Service at the SCU School of Law will be hosting their Annual MLK program from 12pm - 1pm in Charney 101. This year, the program brings back Dr. Clarence Jones, who served as Dr. King’s longtime friend, lawyer and advisor. Dr. Jones will be interviewed by SCU Law students. A livestream will be available.
- In partnership with a number of community organizations, SCU is a sponsor of the annual Fred T. Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution event in Santa Clara County. Fred T. Korematsu was an American civil rights activist who resisted the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II. The program will be on Saturday, January 21, 2023 via Zoom (registration required) from 11:30am – 1:30pm.
V. Office for Multicultural Learning
- OML and the RRC are proud to co-sponsor the 2nd Annual Multicultural in Engineering & STEM Dinner, hosted by the School of Engineering, on Thursday, January 19th from 4:30pm-7:30pm in Locatelli. There will be food, a student DJ, giveaways, and more! If you are interested in attending, please RSVP using this Google Form.
- OML, in collaboration with the Office of Student Life, will be facilitating Embrace for all incoming first-year and transfer students during Weeks 2-4. Embrace provides a space for students to discuss in small groups different environments have influenced their beliefs about identity. The program consists of a 2-hour in-person small group conversation facilitated by returning peer student leaders and is a part of the Being a Bronco Series. If you are a first-year/transfer student, please make sure you have signed up for your Embrace session in Camino - they are mandatory. The first session begins Friday, January 20th!
- OML is excited to celebrate Lunar New Year with its 2nd Annual Lunar New Year Celebration! Lunar New Year is officially on Sunday, January 22nd, but we will be hosting our celebration on Thursday, February 2nd at 4pm outside of Benson between the Shapell Lounge and the Bookstore. Stay tuned to OML's social media and email newsletters for more details over the next couple of weeks.
- The RRC, in collaboration with Campus Ministry, the Office of Student Life, and the Office for Diversity and Inclusion, are sending a delegation of students to this year's IgnatianQ conference. IgnatianQ is a student-focused, student-led conference bringing together the LGBTQ+ community and their allies from all Jesuit institutions across the nation. This year's conference will be held at Fordham University in New York City between Friday, April 21st-Sunday, April 23rd. Stay tuned to future emails from OML and the RRC for more details, including an application form for those who are interested in attending!
VI. Office of Equal Opportunity and Title IX
- Aaron Zisser started December 1, 2022, as SCU's new Director of the Equal Opportunity and Title IX Office. Aaron is excited about the opportunity to work closely with the campus community on critical issues around civil rights compliance, protecting bodily integrity, and violence prevention. A former San Jose Independent Police Auditor and attorney with the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, he brings an extensive background in civil rights, institutional reform, and independent investigations.
- Outreach and engagement: Aaron has been, and will continue, reaching out to dozens of campus stakeholders, including student government and other student leaders, cultural clubs, employee resource groups, administrators, staff, and faculty. Aaron encourages any member of the campus community to contact him as he learns about the campus culture, issues and areas of concern, and how the EO/Title IX office can be more responsive and supportive.
- Proposed Title IX regulations: This engagement will also lay the groundwork for a more formal process of input and collaboration on changes to university policy, particularly in light of new federal regulations on Title IX that have been proposed and are in the process of being finalized by the federal government. See U.S. Dept. of Education: https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/t9nprm-chart.pdf
- Planning: The EO/Title IX office will build on this outreach and the review of policies and data to develop a plan to identify potential partnerships and initial policy and culture/climate issues to focus on, and to make immediate changes to internal policy and procedure and recommendations as to broader policies and processes.
- Reporting incidents: We encourage people to come forward with reports of harassment and discrimination based on any protected class (sex, race, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, religion, etc.). As always, we will work with the reporting party to understand what kind of resolution they are seeking and to offer supportive measures. You can find both an anonymous and non-anonymous reporting form on our website: https://www.scu.edu/title-ix/resources/
VII. Office of the University Ombuds
- The SCU Ombuds welcomes you back for a new quarter and a new year! Many of us now have made our resolutions for our own health and betterment. Part of our own well-being is connected to the well-being of our shared environments. Our involvement, especially, the ways we engage with one another have a direct impact on our social worlds, which will affect us in turn. Communication matters, and if you’ve resolved to make quality communication your goal, then the Ombuds is here to help.
- The Office of the Ombuds provides multipartial, informal, and confidential services to assist faculty and staff to promote a climate of equity, dignity and respect. The Ombuds works informally, impartially, and confidentially to assist faculty and staff with conflict, communication, and other issues with colleagues and/ or the organization. If you’ve got a specific issue in mind or if you’d like look at your communication to be a positive influence in your office, please feel free to Visit the new University Ombuds website at scu.edu/ombuds. Contact the Office of the Ombuds at ombuds@scu.edu; 408-551-3542.
DEI RESOURCES FROM THE SCU LIBRARY
Book: The Vanishing Half: Have you ever wondered what your life would be like if you took a different path? In this novel by Brit Bennett, we explore the lives of twin sisters who chose diverging paths in their lives and its impact. To learn more about the book, check out Brit Bennett's website. Available in the Popular Reading collection, or through LINK+.
Video: The Mindfulness Movement: With the start of the new year, you may be considering picking up new habits to help you throughout your daily life. This film "The Mindfulness Movement" will help you bring mindfulness into your daily life and help transform your relationship to yourself and the world around you. To learn more about the film, check out their website. Available on Kanopy.
UPCOMING SPEAKER SPOTLIGHT: LORETTA J. ROSS
The Women’s and Gender Studies Department is excited to host scholar-activist Loretta J. Ross via zoom on January 25th, 2023, 11:45 - 1:00 for a talk focused on historical and contemporary activism in the Reproductive Justice movement, and coalitional negotiation within progressive social movements. Faculty, staff and students can pre-register at https://scu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJcof-6qrjMoG9T4bDfPndWPndX3ZO551Yzg.
Loretta J. Ross is best known for co-founding SisterSong, a women-of-color grassroots organization focused on equitable reproductive outcomes for marginalized women in the United States, and as a pioneer of Reproductive Justice—an activist movement that elaborates an intersectional framework of agency, equity, and liberation in childbearing, comprehensive physical-psychological-community health care at every stage of childbearing, and in raising healthy and adequately-resourced families. Her broader work focuses on collective organizing for justice, and the activist practices that allow for expansion of our community of allies towards the goals of equality and justice for everyone.
A recording of the conversation will be made available to registrants who cannot attend the synchronous talk.
CAMPUS DIVERSITY CALENDAR
The Inclusive Excellence Division is committed to expanding awareness of the different diversity-related programming taking place on-campus. For those that use the Live-Whale Calendar, you can use the “diversity” tag to ensure that events will appear on the Diversity calendar that will soon be added to the Inclusive Excellence website. You can also send your program information to inclusiveexcellence@scu.edu
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