As you know, incidents of hate, bullying and other forms of harassment have proliferated on college campuses in recent years. Where once colleges and universities were an enclave of safety and learning, some institutions have become the focal point of uncivil behavior based on race, ethnicity, gender, immigration status, religion, disability and/or sexual orientation.
In coordination with the Stop Hate Project of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and ThinkRubix, the Fund for Leadership, Equity, Access and Diversity (the LEAD Fund), the nonprofit affiliate of the American Association for Access, Equity and Diversity (AAAED), has received a grant to conduct three activities to identify challenges to resolving issues of intolerance, bias and uncivil behavior on campus, as well as best practices to effectively address these concerns.
The Fund will:
Conduct Listening Sessions on campuses in the Midwest and potentially other regions to learn more about how Equal Opportunity and Diversity Professionals (EOPs) and other campus personnel experience barriers that reduce their effectiveness, and identify best practices to effectively address discrimination, racism and bias on campus;
Develop a Toolkit, which is informed by the Listening Sessions, of tips and resources for EOPs and other college and university officials to help improve the college climate; and
Conduct a national Survey to better document the experiences of EOPs and other university officials and to gauge the mood of campuses that are addressing these contentious issues.
We would like to invite you to participate in the upcoming Listening Session being organized in Madison, Wisconsin, to share information about how colleges and universities are taking action to prevent and address issues of incivility on campus. We are inviting members of AAAED to assist in convening these sessions. Sandra Hueneman, AAAED’s Regional Director for the Midwest Region (Region V), will serve as co-coordinator for the listening sessions. Wanda Sloan, AAAED member in Wisconsin, is also assisting us.
The next Listing Session on Campus Civility Hate and Bias, will be held on Friday, February 23, 2018 at the University of Wisconsin Madison, Union South (1308 W. Dayton St, Madison, WI 53715), from 10:00 am – 1:00 pm CT. Lunch will be provided. If you would like to attend, please RSVP at leadfund@aaaed.org.
In addition to Equity and Diversity Professionals, we urge you to invite other members of the campus community who have a role in addressing campus climate and other issues. These campus officials include chief executives, provosts and deans, faculty leaders, university counsel, chief diversity officers, communications professionals, campus safety officers, and other staff.
If you need additional information, you may email us at leadfund@aaaed.org or phone us at 202-349-9855 or at 240-893-9475. Thank you, in advance, for your kind participation in this important project.
Visit the LEAD Fund Webpage at: https://www.aaaed.org/aaaed/LEAD_Fund.asp.