Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 52.49
Liaison Caitlin McLennan
Submission Date Nov. 1, 2016
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Utah State University
PA-4: Diversity and Equity Coordination

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.44 / 2.00 Michelle Bogdan
Director
USU Inclusion Center
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution have a diversity and equity committee, office, and/or officer tasked to advise on and implement policies, programs, and trainings related to diversity, equity, inclusion and human rights on campus?:
Yes

Does the committee, office and/or officer focus on students, employees, or both?:
Both students and employees

A brief description of the diversity and equity committee, office and/or officer, including purview and activities:

The University has three entities to address diversity and equity on campus. The Access and Diversity Center creates and coordinates activities, events, programs and trainings that support diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice. The Diversity Council is comprised of staff and faculty from different areas of campus and determines funding initiatives that support diversity, equity and inclusion. The Affirmative Action Equal Opportunity office investigates violations of Title IX and/or other forms of discrimination. The AA/EO office sponsors the USU Annual Diversity Awards to highlight faculty, staff, students and community members who demonstrate a commitment to promoting diversity, equity and inclusion. Lastly, the AA/EO Office offers a wide variety of diversity-related training. Included in this type of training is a discussion about why it is important to understand differences, recognize our own biases, and identify skills in removing cultural and gender barriers. Training is also provided to teaching assistants and to other personnel and students on a requested basis.

Sexual Harassment Prevention Workshops is designed for new employees and for those who have not attended previous sessions. The workshops are general 90-minute program for all new employees (full and part-time staff, faculty, and student employees), or for those who have not had an opportunity to attend previously scheduled sessions.

The following personnel are instrumentally involved in informing policy and practice:
Dr. James Morales, Vice President for Student Affairs
Student Affairs Mission Goals Objectives:
The Division of Student Affairs is committed to students' global learning and environments, by
enhancing the academic, personal, ethical, social and cultural experiences of students. Our vision is
to promote academic success, health and wellness, service to others, civic engagement,
appreciation of diversity, personal responsibility, and leadership.
Michelle Bogdan-Holt, Director, Access and Diversity
Angela Enno, Program Coordinator, Access and Diversity Center – Multicultural Programming and
Support and ADC Representative to the Diversity Council
Brooke Lambert, Program Coordinator, Access and Diversity Center – LGBTQA Programming and
Support
Noelle Wilson, Program Coordinator, Access and Diversity Center – Multicultural Programming and
Support
ADC Mission Goals Objectives:
To promote inclusion, support student retention and academic success, enhance student’s
educational experience, foster responsible citizenship, and develop diverse student leaders at Utah
State University by:
• Encouraging student involvement & leadership development
• Effective promotion/marketing of programs, events, activities
• Incorporating data collection, program evaluation and population specific research
• Understanding and applying national standards of best practice
• Furthering donor relationships for scholarships and program development
Dr. Steven Lucero, Therapist, Counseling and Psychological Services and Chair of the Diversity
Council
Diversity Council Mission Goals Objectives:
1 Increase diversity among University faculty and administration, primarily by
assessing and positively affecting the campus climate for underrepresented
individuals.
• Conduct regular campus climate surveys to assess and track changes in the
climate for underrepresented faculty and staff.
• Develop and introduce programming designed to make improvements to the
campus climate.
• Create and implement a diversity training program for all new USU employees.
• Assess hiring practices to ensure that candidate pools represent the diversity of
qualified applications.
• Create a standard diversity statement or code of conduct that all faculty, staff,
and administrators would agree to uphold.
2 Increase diversity among University students, and take intentional steps to
improve the campus climate for underrepresented individuals.
• Conduct regular campus climate surveys to assess and track changes in the
climate for underrepresented students.
• Develop and introduce programming designed to make improvements to the
campus climate.
• Create a standard diversity statement for faculty to include on course syllabi.
• Assess admissions and student recruitment practices, and make
recommendations to ensure that the student applicant pool reflects the local
eligible student population.
3 Support ongoing diversity and inclusion-related efforts that exist within the
University and Cache Valley communities.
• Increase partnerships with community organizations whose efforts center around
diversity and inclusion.
• Create a one-stop web resource for University and Cache Valley community
members to find information regarding events, programming, and other
• resources related to diversity and inclusion.
Stacy Sturgeon, Director, Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity
http://aaeo.usu.edu/htm/usu-diversity-handbook - Diversity Handbook
BrandE Faupell, Director, USU Human Resources


Estimated proportion of students that has participated in cultural competence trainings and activities (All, Most, Some, or None):
Some

Estimated proportion of staff (including administrators) that has participated in cultural competence trainings and activities (All, Most, Some, or None):
Most

Estimated proportion of faculty that has participated in cultural competence trainings and activities (All, Most, Some, or None):
Some

A brief description of the institution’s cultural competence trainings and activities for each of the groups identified above:

AA/EO Office offers a wide variety of diversity-related training. Included in this type of
training is a discussion why it is important to understand differences, recognize our own
biases, and identify skills in removing cultural and gender barriers. Training is also provided to teaching assistants and to other personnel and students on a requested basis.
Sexual Harassment Prevention Workshops is designed for new employees and for those
who have not attended previous sessions will be scheduled. The workshops will follow a 90-minute program for all new employees (full and part-time staff, faculty, and student
employees), or those who have not had an opportunity to attend previously scheduled
sessions.
The Access and Diversity will do presentations on request. Each college/department is
responsible for directing additional training for staff and faculty through professional
development opportunities such as conferences sponsored through their professional
associations or by attending AAEO diversity-related trainings.

http://aaeo.usu.edu - Stacy Sturgeon, Director
http://aaeo.usu.edu/htm/usu-diversity-handbook - Diversity Handbook
http://www.usu.edu/diversity/mission.cfm - Steven Lucero, Chair
http://studentaffairs.usu.edu - Dr. James Morales, VP for Student Affairs


The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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