Agnes Scott College
PA-7: Support for Underrepresented Groups

Agnes Scott College does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age or disability in the recruitment and admission of any student, and in addition, does not discriminate on the basis of gender in the recruitment and admission of students to its graduate and post-baccalaureate programs. This non-discriminatory policy also applies to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally recorded or made available to students at the college and to the administration of educational policies, scholarship and loan programs and all other programs administered by the college.

https://www.agnesscott.edu/nondiscrimination-policy.html

https://www.agnesscott.edu/wellnessandsafety/files/documents/sexual-misconduct-and-other-discrimination-harassment-policy-and-protocols-2020-posted-1.pdf

At Agnes Scott College, we are committed to providing a healthy learning and work environment that is safe and is characterized by mutual trust and respect for all members of our community. The college invests in providing resources to promote anti-discrimination as well as sexual harrassment awareness, literacy, and prevention. The college is equally committed to multifaceted support for those that may have experienced discrimination or harassement.
To foster this inclusive and supportive environment, the college has a trained Title IX Team which educates the community to ensure that all students, faculty, and staff learn to understand, avoid, and/or report descrimination or sexual misconduct. For accountability, all members of the community have multiple avenues for reporting concerns including an online Bias Report form, in-person meetings as well as email or phone communication. Additionally, faculty and staff are offered annual nondiscrimination and Title IX response training.

When a community member submits a concern or report through any of our reporting options, they receive support or an offer of support at every juncture. If the concern is reported to a faculty or staff member, those employees are trained in how to support that individual during initial communication. The concerned community member is shown care, provided resources and informed that the employee will share their report with the college officer charged with the process. Typically, the report would be passed along to the Title IX Coordinator, Vice President for Equity and Inclusion, and/or the Director of Student Conduct and Community Standards. The reporting individual is then contacted to be offered further support, an in-person meeting, and again provided resources available to them (on and off campus). The responsible office continues to work with the reporting individual by answering questions, arranging for accommodations if necessary, assisting with support and/or launching an investigation if a policy violation is implicated and desired by the reporter.

These policies and protocols have evolved and improved in recent years with changing regulations and increasing equity and inclusion efforts.

Agnes Scott College also works with multiple scholarship organizations that serve students from underrepresented groups, including: Posse Foundation, which assists students of diverse backgrounds in entering and completing college; MasterCard Foundation, which provides scholarships to economically disadvantaged but academically talented students from Sub-Saharan Africa; Golden Door Scholars, which provide scholarships for undocumented students, as well as students that are registered with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Temporary Protected Stateus (TPS).

The college is committed to recruit, support and retain a diverse staff and faculty, with an ultimate goal of staff/faculty that reflects the ethnic and racial diversity of the student body. Currently, 28.6% of tenure-track faculty identify as African American or Black; Hispanic or Latinx; Asian, Asian American, or Pacific Islander; or multi-racial; an increase of 8.6% from 2015. Recently, the former Office of Human Resources was renamed Office of People and Culture to focus and give more recognition to the employee experience and support. As part of this effort, the Division of Equity and Inclusion now houses two offices, the Office of People and Culture and the Center for Global Diversity and Inclusion, and works in tandem to address employee support, development, and concerns. This transition represents a programmatic shift by the college's executive leadership to strengthen policies and programs to recruit staff and faculty from underrepresented groups. By housing the former Office of Human Resources within our Division of Equity and Inclusion, Agnes Scott stands out as an example for colleges and universities nation-wide on how to strengthen all college hiring practices to recruit and retain a more diverse staff.

There are several organizations within the student body and student affairs that support under-represented groups within the student body. First and foremost, there is an umbrella organization for multicultural student groups called the Committee of Multicultural Student Organizations (COSMO). It is an umbrella organization with at least one representative from every multicultural student group, making it an amazing group of students from various backgrounds, races, ethnicities, religions, sexual orientations and age groups.

Scottie Siblings is a program that pairs incoming first years with an upper level student. Students may request to be paired based on certain identities, including race, gender, sexuality, and religion. There are also peer support groups. Scotties of Color Healing Circle is a closed group for students of color; and Transcend is a closed group for students who identify as transgender/non-binary gender nonconforming.

All new faculty receive a faculty mentor who works with them for their first year on campus. This is a formal program designed to support and retain our faculty. As the college continues to recruit faculty from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, this becomes even more imperative. In Spring 2020, we participated in the COACHE Faculty job Satisfaction Survey which includes items and strategies related to retaining a faculty of color. Additionally, we participate with other local institutions in providing mentored teaching opportunities for professional development for faculty from underrepresented groups. For staff, there is a culture of mentorship, with campus leaders offering meetings as needed. Staff also serve as student organization advisers, which then creates a support network for these staff to work together throughout their various divisions.

Training and education on various topics of diversity, equity, and inclusion, is always available to all employees, students, our governing body, and community partners. As part of our outreach efforts, the Director of Diversity Educations has trained over 300 faculty, staff, and students on disrupting microagressions and other diversity topics this year alone. The expansion of the Division of Equity and Inclusion to include the Office of People and Culture has brought the need for these resource groups to the forefront of many conversations. As a result, the Office will be launching formalized affinity groups for staff and faculty, which will mirror current groups for students.

One of the principal goals of the Science Center for Women at Agnes Scott is to prepare underrepresented students to excel in STEM careers, graduate STEM education, or careers in STEM academia. The Center encompasses three co-curricular programs that contribute to STEM success, including the Resource Center for Math and Science, the STEM Scholars program, and the Generating Excellence in Math and Science program. Center initiatives have promoted equitable access to mentored research which reflects the high diversity of the Agnes Scott student population. The Center has brought in over $3 million in the last few years and these funds have been instrumental in the creation of an inclusive STEM learning community that brings together students, faculty, and support staff to expand opportunities for participation, persistence, and STEM success for a highly diverse group of students. In the global landscape of STEM inequity (by gender, ethnicity, income, and parental education), we are proudest of our contribution to the development and professional success of students in precisely the populations most underrepresented, and so deeply needed, in STEM. From 2014 to 2018, student persistence in STEM gateway courses increased from 42% to 67%. From 2015 to 2019, the STEM Scholars program has established and increased the diversity of students served from underrepresented minorities from 18% to 61%.

Information on Title IX: https://www.agnesscott.edu/wellnessandsafety/title-ix-sexual-misconduct-policy.html

Information on Multicultural Organizations: https://www.agnesscott.edu/dos/student-involvement/clubs-organizations/multicultural-organizations.html

Information on Science Center for Women: https://www.agnesscott.edu/sciencecenterforwomen/index.html