Five action-oriented workgroups will be formed to address the major concerns voiced at a diversity and inclusion forum held by Syracuse University last week, Vice Chancellor and Provost Eric Spina and Senior Vice President and Dean of Student Affairs Rebecca Reed Kantrowitz announced in an email on Friday.

The “Express Yourself: A Syracuse University Community Conversation on Diversity and Inclusion” forum held at Hendricks Chapel last week was organized by students and university leaders. The purpose of the forum was to create a space for students to share their experiences and challenges with diversity, identity and inclusion on campus and to also suggest what SU can do to be more inclusive. The workgroups were created to address concerns raised before and during the forum.

Each workgroup will be comprised of students, faculty and staff. The workgroups will recommend new initiatives, a series of action steps and changes for each area of concern, according to the email. Campus community members that would like to join a workgroup can email studentaffairs@syr.edu with their preferred workgroup. The deadline is Friday, Oct. 17 at 5 p.m.

The five workgroups will be fully formed by Oct. 24 and another campus meeting will be hosted in mid-November, according to the email. Spina and Kantrowitz added that they will continue to communicate with the community on future action steps.

The five developing workgroups are:

Diversity and Inclusion Planning Workgroup

— Charge: The workgroup will act as an extended planning group to continue dialogue and communication between university officials and students. The group will announce additional forums, dialogues and more workgroups as needed.

— Leaders: Dean of Hendricks Chapel Tiffany Steinwert, Associate Professor in Cultural Foundations of Education Dalia Rodriguez, Senior Vice President of Human Capital Development Kal Alston and student leaders to be determined through expressed interest.

Participatory Educational Experience

— Charge: The workgroup will explore options for curricular and/or engaging participatory educational experience, such as intergroup dialogues. The group will also see how these options could be implemented more broadly.

— Leaders: Associate Provost for Academic Programs Andria Costello Staniec, Assistant Professor in Cultural Foundations of Education Gretchen Lopez, Professor of Teaching and Leadership Programs Mara Sapon-Shevin and student leaders to be determined through expressed interest.

Recruitment, Support, Retention and Success

— Charge: The workgroup will explore ways to advance recruitment, support, retention and success of all student populations, while focusing particularly on marginalized populations.

—Leaders: Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management and Director of Scholarships and Student Aid Ryan Williams, Director for Retention Kalpana Srinivas, a College of Arts and Sciences faculty member to be determined and student leaders to be determined through expressed interest.

Faculty Ambassador Program

— Charge: The workgroup will develop goals and propose a plan to implement a faculty ambassador program. The program will engage faculty members in the activities of a diverse and inclusive group of student organizations.

— Leaders: Associate Vice President in Student Affairs Sylvia Langford, Associate Professor in Magazine, Newspaper and Online Journalism Harriet Brown and student leaders to be determined through expressed interest.

Athletics-Student Engagement

— Charge: The workgroup will explore ways to improve the connection between students and the Department of Athletics. The group’s goal is to create a stronger dialogue and understanding among students and student-athletes.

— Leaders: Deputy Athletics Director and Chief of Staff Herman Frazier, Professor of Sport Management Rick Burton, Director of Equal Opportunity and Inclusion Sheila Johnson and student leaders to be determined through expressed interest. The existing Student-Athlete Advisory Council, comprised of student-athlete representatives from all teams, will work with the group as well.

Published on October 10, 2014 at 4:11 pm

Contact Anna: almerod@syr.edu