Chatham University
PA-5: Assessing Diversity and Equity

In 2015 Chatham University transitioned from being an all-girls schools to a coeducation university. Along with this transition Dr. Jen Morse, Dr. Mary Jo Loughran, Dr. Wonjin Sim began the Long Purple Line research. This project researched the diversity and coeducation transition on campus with a survey to the faculty and students in the first year and each subsequent year since a student survey has been preformed. This survey uses open ended questions to discuss race, ethnicity, gender, religion, discrimination, bias, sexual orientation, ability/disability etc. in the classroom and on the overall campus to generate an idea of how diversity and inclusion are being perceived by the students and faculty during this changing period and moving forward in the future. The survey information has always been deidentified but there has been some difficulty in past years linking old and new data. 2017 was the first year the data was deidentified using an honest broker system with the hopes of being able to look at data trends over the long term moving forward in the future.

Chatham University has adopted a pedagogy from the University of Michigan Ann Arbor creating inner group dialogue classes based around different forms of diversity. It is a way of teaching so no social identity is in the minority. In 2017 and 2018 Chatham has sent representatives to the training institute at University of Michigan Ann Arbor to learn about their pedagogy and inner group dialogue classes. Chatham now offers a fall semester class where undergraduate and graduate level students act as peer facilitators and train to teach the inner group dialogue classes under Dr. Randi Congleton. The first official inner group dialogue classe where offered in the Spring 2018 semester for undergraduate and graduate level students in race/ethnicity. More information about the inner group dialogue curse can be found at the link listed here: http://www.chatham.edu/news/index.php/2018/05/chatham-views/this-might-be-chathams-most-life-changing-course The researchers from the Long Purple Line project have also paired with the InnerFaith Youth core on campus to address diversity and inclusion as it pertains to faith and religion.

The last time the data was published was 2016. From those results in 2016 63% of students surveyed view the campus climate as inclusive, 4% view the campus climate as exclusive, and 9% view the campus climate as unimportant. White Hispanic students had more positive perceptions of diversity at the university. Most students felt a sense of community in the classroom (71%; only 12% reported not feeling a sense of community in the classrooms). The frequency of experiencing discrimination or bias was low (<10%) for most identities except gender. Reporting experiences of discrimination was significantly associated with several identities - race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability status, religious affiliation, size, and citizenship status. In these associations students with less privileged identities reported more experiences of discrimination, except that men reported experiencing discrimination based on gender more often than women. Sexual minority students were also more likely to report witnessing insults or disparaging remarks based on sexual orientation. Students perceptions and experiences varied most as a function of race, gender, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status (SES) both in terms of mean differences and unique relations. Sexual orientation was significantly associated with the valence of responses about how coeducation impacted their decision to come/return (with sexual minority students expressing fewer positive or neutral responses and more negative responses) and with negative expectations about how the change to coeducation would impact their college experience. No such associations were found for SES. The findings from the initial 2015 student and faculty survey have been presented in 2016 to the Alumni Association, at the 2016 Chatham Faculty Lecture Series, the 2016 American Psychological Association Conference, and the 2016 AWP Conference. The data has also been shared with groups on campus who have shown interest. The poster presentation from the 2016 American Psychological Association Conference and the slide presentation from the 2016 AWP conference are included in the documents below. Chatham's Diversity and Inclusion Council also offers anonymous online commenting for members to share their experiences with the university, which initiates actions and supports Chatham University as we build a diverse and inclusive community through dialogue, education, research, self-reflection, and engagement. The website for commenting is included below. https://www.chatham.edu/about/values/diversity-and-inclusion/comments.cfm

Please contact Dr. Jennifer Morse if you have any questions (412) 365-1366 or jmorse@chatham.edu.