Spring Faculty Retreat-May 2022

The event has concluded, and we're excited to build upon the shared insights in our ongoing work.

Premise:
UHD has engaged in a yearlong series of conversations and action around diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) with the goals of creating a more equitable and inclusive environment for faculty, staff and students. The Office of the Provost challenged academic departments to document and identify more meaningful and sustained efforts towards DEI outcomes, as was appropriate for the current level of engagement of faculty and staff in the unit. The goals of the spring 2022 Faculty Retreat are three-fold: 1) recognize, give voice to, and address the criticisms of the DEI efforts of our campus in the spirit of inclusion and critical dialogue; 2) depoliticize DEI and emphasize the value of critical theory in catalyzing institutional reform as a key contributor to student success and staff/faculty support; and 3) create a space to recognize and showcase the DEI efforts of the faculty in academic units. The spring 2022 Faculty Retreat will establish the long-standing challenge to continue momentum in DEI efforts to dismantle systemic marginalization and ensure all students, faculty and staff are included and supported maximally in all UHD academic, workplace, and social settings.

Proposed External Scholar:

Dr. Emily Drew, Associate Professor of Sociology and Ethnic Studies at Willamette University. Dr. Drew teaches courses about racism, race and ethnicity, urban sociology, mass media, and social change. Dr. Drew is a renowned scholar in the areas of social justice struggles and her primary areas of research involve understanding how race and racism operate inside of social institutions, particularly higher education, media and urban planning.

Proposed Agenda:

9:00–9:20 AM: Opening remarks 

“Why DEI and why now?" Dr. Emily Drew, Center for Critical Race Studies Fellows and members of the Office of the Provost will engage in a dialogue of counter-storytelling, in the allegorical manner of Dr. Derrick Bell, to create a shared purpose and framework for DEI at UHD.

11:00 – 11:15: Break

11:15 – 12:15 PM:Case Study in the Work of Inclusion at UHD–

• Create a space to highlight the efforts and struggles of one or two departments in the work of inclusion (to be selected by the Office of the Provost).
• Recognize and celebrate the faculty efforts in DEI and encourage continuous learning, self-reflection, and movement towards institutional transformation.
• Next steps in sustaining the work of equity and inclusion at UHD.

12:15 – 12:30: Closing remarks

12:30 – 2:00 PM: Lunch (for face-to-face participants); Highlight Student Survey Data and DEI Dashboards; Q&A session; optional post-retreat discussions and conversation.

Guest & Keynote Speaker

Dr. Emily Drew

Emily M. Drew is an Associate Professor of Sociology and Ethnic Studies at Willamette University, where she teaches courses about racism, race and ethnicity, urban sociology, mass media, and social change. Her primary areas of research involve understanding how race and racism operate inside of social institutions, particularly higher education, media and urban planning. She earned her doctorate, as well as Master’s degrees, from Loyola University Chicago, and has articles published in Critical Studies in Media Communication and Television & New Media. Drew’s work is driven by a long-term commitment to social justice struggles. She has been actively engaged in anti-racism organizing and activism for almost 20 years, and serves as a co-trainer of “Understanding Institutional Racism” workshops for Crossroads Anti Racism Organizing and Training. She gives presentations at universities and community-based organizations on the subjects of white privilege, gentrification, fair housing, reparations and affirmative action. In all of these capacities, she is an organizer and strategic planner, helping institutions develop and implement long term commitments to anti-racist, multicultural diversity.