Developed through the Division of Student Life this past fall, the Our Wisconsin program is now hiring staff and faculty facilitators for Fall 2017.
Staff and faculty facilitators will co-facilitate and serve as the administrative point person for registration and survey assessment at each workshop.
Laura Klunder, program director for inclusion education within the Division of Student Life, suggests that the staff and faculty facilitator positions are unique as they become a pivotal figure to many undergraduate first-year students. “As new students will experience Our Wisconsin workshops during their first weeks on campus, their facilitator may be the first staff or faculty who they open up to about their identities and experiences.”
Aside from serving as a support system for students, staff and faculty facilitators will also have the opportunity to …
- Reflect on your own and other’s heritages, perspectives, and experiences, and explore how they have shaped you.
- Further your own and others’ understand about other identities, cultures, and populations that have been historically and are currently disadvantaged.
- Think about the possible impact of your and others’ actions might have on others, and admitting when you’ve made a mistake.
- Listen and believe when individuals from groups that you are not part of share your experiences.
- Intervene and speak up for individuals and groups in your community when you are mistreated, disrespected, or devalued.
After witnessing successful results from a 1,000-student pilot test program this past fall, the Our Wisconsin program is looking to further expand and remain a key component in the first-year undergraduate student experience. The program, which targets incoming undergraduate students, helps foster a better understanding of culture, identity, diversity, and inclusion on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus.
Despite the program’s recent creation, staff and faculty facilitators have already witnessed the immense impact the program can have on professional development.
Kevin Clarke, assistant director of Academic Engagement at the Center for First-Year Experience, mentions how his role as a facilitator impacted his work and made him grow professionally. “It was a great learning experience since we had the chance to attend a three-day training with a national expert, work with a number of different student leaders to facilitate the workshops, and better understand where first-year students are at as it relates to their development and understanding of issues related to identity, diversity, and inclusion. Clarke notes. “I feel more knowledgeable and confident talking to faculty, staff, and students about creating a more welcoming and inclusive campus.”
Staff and faculty facilitators will also be given the opportunity to work with Badger Way student peer facilitators, who work under the Our Wisconsin program and facilitate inclusion at the university.
Chika Kusakawa, who serves as the coordinator of orientation programing at the Center for First-Year Experience, reveals that working with Badger Way student peer facilitators became one of her favorite aspects of the facilitator position. “There is a different level of energy and passion in the peer-to-peer model of teaching and learning. You can tell these students leaders were driven to create a more inclusive campus community.” Kusakawa continues. “The students who participated in the program appreciated the vulnerability and openness the student facilitators provided, and the workshops would not have been the same without them.”
Our Wisconsin sessions will begin in September 2017, with a brief training occurring this spring semester and a more-intensive training occurring on August 24 & 25.
Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until April 3, 2017. Contact Laura Klunder at laura.klunder@wisc.edu for further information.
Download the full staff and faculty facilitator job description here to learn more about this opportunity.
Continue the conversation with Our Wisconsin:
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ourwisconsin/
Video: https://youtu.be/Q6dhmUUqo4g
Website: https://students.wisc.edu/ourwisconsin/
By: Matt Tragesser, Communications Intern, Division of Student Life