Beloit College
PA-6: Support for Underrepresented Groups

The Office of Academic Diversity and Inclusiveness (OADI) recognizes and aims to dismantle the structural barriers in place that prohibit the attainment of our college mission for underserved and underrepresented students. OADI reimagines how diversity and inclusion operates by using an equity asset-based framework. This entails reforming institutional structures and practices to position underrepresented bodies and their assets (lived experiences, skills, and mindsets) at the center. OADI recognizes and values marginalized approaches to knowledge production and dissemination. Our work disrupts understandings of what is considered “academic” by centering and valuing non-majority discursive practices and ways of knowing. This is accomplished through: Providing targeted, asset-based programming to ensure all students have an equitable inclusive space and place to live and learn at Beloit College. Challenging dominant understandings of what is considered “academic” as a means to create more equitable institutional opportunities. Re-envisioning pedagogy and recognizing the validity and importance of student lived experiences, with the goal of creating inclusive classrooms through an equity asset-based framework. Developing faculty and staff to embed an equity asset-based framework in curricular and co-curricular activities. Establishing benchmarks and measuring progress through purposeful and ongoing research and assessment of campus activities around diversity, inclusiveness, and equity. OADI sits within Academic Affairs and houses a number of different programs and initiatives focused directly on providing equitable access to higher education. The Student Excellence and Leadership (SEL) and the McNair Scholars Programs, both US Department of Education TRIO funded programs, use an asset-based model approach to work with students who are first-generation college, from low-income backgrounds, have a documented disability, and/or are domestic minorities. The Wisconsin Alliance for Minority Participation (WiscAMP) program works with minority students interested in science, technology, engineering and/or math (STEM). The Mellon Graduate School Exploratory Fellowship (GSEF) Program works with first-generation, low-income, underrepresented students in the humanities and social sciences that wish to attend graduate school. Our Inclusive Success Initiative focuses more broadly on retention and coordinating institution-wide work around diversity, inclusion, and equity. Finally, our Mellon-funded Inclusive Leadership Project focuses on the creation of inclusive classrooms for students through faculty and staff development around pedagogy and disciplinary histories. web address: https://www.beloit.edu/oadi/

Student Regulations and College Policies 2016-2017 III. Response to Hate Crimes, Hate Acts, and Bias Incidents Incidents Responders are responsible for reviewing all reports, learning as much as they can about the situation, and for developing an appropriate response. This will involve listening and talking with with those involved in the situation and assessing whether a hate crime or act or bias incident has occurred. In cases of bias, the lead responders will communicate with the involved parties with the aim of developing a shared understanding of what occurred and its impact and restoring a successful learning or working environment. When they conclude a hate crime or act has occurred, the lead responders will convene a response team that may include the dean of students, the provost, the president’s chief of staff, and the director of communications and marketing or their representatives, and others, as deemed appropriate by the rest of the team. This response team will determine the appropriate pathway for addressing the hate crime or act. This may include community emails, outreach and support efforts, town hall meetings, class discussions, or floor meetings. The response team will refer disciplinary matters to the appropriate college authority and share the information they have gathered in their own investigation. When a hate crime has been committed, the response team will work with the police and share information they have gathered. The scale and scope of response to hate and bias incidents, and the timeline in which that response occurs, will depend on the following factors: 1. Severity, scale, and scope of the incident and its impact 2. Pace at which information can be gathered; and whether or not that information can be shared publicly 3. Effects on those targeted Each semester, the lead responders, dean of students, and provost will assess the handling of reported cases, seeking input from the affected parties, and the lead responders will provide to senior staff and to the campus community a summary report regarding the number of reported hate acts and bias incidents, their nature, and resolution. Members of senior staff shall review and analyze these reports and, in consultation with others, determine possible interventions directed toward prevention. Neither the hate and bias lead responders nor any response team they convene are disciplinary bodies. Disciplinary action involving any individual or group will be handled by other established bodies of the college, such as Student Life staff and Judicial Board in the case of students, Human Resources in the case of staff, and in the case of faculty, the Provost or Faculty Status and Performance Committee in accordance with guidelines established by the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) related to academic freedom and due process. Outside law enforcement agencies may also become involved as appropriate. Beloit College's discrimination response protocol was put in place during the 2015-16AY.

For students: The Office of Academic Diversity and Inclusiveness sits within Academic Affairs and houses a number of different programs and initiatives focused directly on providing equitable access to higher education. The Student Excellence and Leadership (SEL) and the McNair Scholars Programs, both US Department of Education TRIO funded programs, use an asset-based model approach to work with students who are first-generation college, from low-income backgrounds, have a documented disability, and/or are domestic minorities. The Wisconsin Alliance for Minority Participation (WiscAMP) program works with minority students interested in science, technology, engineering and/or math (STEM). The Mellon Graduate School Exploratory Fellowship (GSEF) Program works with first-generation, low-income, underrepresented students in the humanities and social sciences that wish to attend graduate school. Our Inclusive Success Initiative focuses more broadly on retention and coordinating institution-wide work around diversity, inclusion, and equity. Finally, our Mellon-funded Inclusive Leadership Project focuses on the creation of inclusive classrooms for students through faculty and staff development around pedagogy and disciplinary histories. For staff and faculty: Focusing on anti-racism, equity and inclusive living and learning as core components of our mission. These efforts include: Intentional recruitment and retention of faculty and staff to include greater representation from groups traditionally underserved by higher education. Pursuing faculty and staff development and reforming institutional structures and practices to promote equity and the thriving of all staff and faculty members. Promoting introspection, empathetic understanding, and richer perspectives and practices through the engagement of diverse perspectives and methods of knowledge development. Creating opportunities in curricular and co-curricular venues that advance inclusion and equity in intellectual and cultural pursuits.

The Office of Academic Diversity and Inclusiveness believes difference is a vital part of how we live and learn. Our charge is to help build capacity around, and embed practices in, understandings of diversity, inclusion, and equity within academic affairs. This is accomplished through: Re-envisioning of pedagogy and recognition of the validity and importance of student lived experiences, with the goal of creating inclusive classrooms through an equity asset-based framework. Challenging dominant understandings of what is considered “academic” as a means to create more equitable institutional opportunities. Reimagining how diversity and inclusion operates at Beloit College using an equity asset-based framework. Academic diversity is the recognition that individual and group/social differences are central to the production and dissemination of academic knowledge. Inclusion demonstrates equity and social justice through awareness, understanding, and respect for differences in identity, culture, background, experience, and socialization, and the ways in which these forms of difference impact how we live and learn. Equity (as stated by the AAC&U) is the creation of opportunities for historically underrepresented populations to have equal access to, and participate in, educational programs that are capable of closing achievement gaps in student success and completion. Asset-based approaches recognize the importance, value, and strength of the lived experiences students bring to the classroom and use these experiences, skills and knowledge to create equitable engagement within the classroom. We will realize these core values through three key actions: Provide targeted, asset-based programming to ensure all students have an equitable inclusive space and place to live and learn at Beloit College. Awareness and capacity building for faculty and staff centered on the importance of diversity and inclusivity in curricular and co-curricular activities. Establishing benchmarks and measure progress through purposeful and ongoing research and assessment of campus activities around diversity, inclusiveness, and equity. The Office of Academic Diversity and Inclusiveness sits within Academic Affairs and houses a number of different programs and initiatives focused directly on providing equitable access to higher education. The Student Excellence and Leadership (SEL) and the McNair Scholars Programs, both US Department of Education TRIO funded programs, use an asset-based model approach to work with students who are first-generation college, from low-income backgrounds, have a documented disability, and/or are domestic minorities. The Wisconsin Alliance for Minority Participation (WiscAMP) program works with minority students interested in science, technology, engineering and/or math (STEM). The Mellon Graduate School Exploratory Fellowship (GSEF) Program works with first-generation, low-income, underrepresented students in the humanities and social sciences that wish to attend graduate school. Finally, our Inclusive Success Initiative focuses more broadly on retention and institution-wide work around diversity, inclusion and equity.

Beloit College's Office of Academic Diversity and Inclusiveness (OADI) houses a number of different programs and initiatives focused directly on providing equitable access to higher education. The Student Excellence and Leadership (SEL) and the McNair Scholars Programs, both US Department of Education TRIO funded programs, use an asset-based model approach to work with students who are first-generation college, from low-income backgrounds, have a documented disability, and/or are domestic minorities. The Wisconsin Alliance for Minority Participation (WiscAMP) program works with minority students interested in science, technology, engineering and/or math (STEM). The Mellon Graduate School Exploratory Fellowship (GSEF) Program works with first-generation, low-income, underrepresented students in the humanities and social sciences that wish to attend graduate school. Specifically, the McNair Scholars Program has the following goals: 1. To increase the number of low-income, first generation, and underrepresented minority students in PhD programs 2. To produce a new generation of scholars that reflects diversity in intellectual perspectives, life experiences, and cultures 3. To create a scholarly community of rigor, engagement and success 4. To serve as a model for the development of emerging socially progressive scholars 5. To foster spaces for interdisciplinary scholarship, mentorship and knowledge exchange.