Dickinson College
PA-6: Support for Underrepresented Groups

Dickinson College is an intellectual and social community that values justice, free inquiry, diversity, and equal opportunity. It is a fundamental policy of the college to respect pluralism and to promote tolerance, civility and mutual understanding within its community. The college does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, religion, age, veteran status, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation or any other protected class. From: http://www.dickinson.edu/info/20226/student_life/3192/non-discrimination_policy

The Bias Education & Response Team (B.E.R.T) represents a cross section of the Dickinson community (faculty, administrators, and students) who serve to provide direct support to any individual(s) affected by a bias incident, document the incident for information gathering and archival purposes, and coordinate responses to incidents of bias that take place on Dickinson's campus and/or between Dickinson affiliated individuals (e.g. employees, students). Support & Partners: B.E.R.T members will provide direct support by guiding any individual(s) witness to or targeted by through the process for reporting bias-motivated incidents (see Section IV Reporting, Response, & Resolution). B.E.R.T members will also connect individual(s) to campus resources as additional sources of support. In addition, B.E.R.T members will partner with individuals affected by bias incidents and when appropriate to identify appropriate responses for address. Documenting Reports: The B.E.R.T coordinator will maintain summary reports of bias incidents for information gathering and archival purposes. Through record keeping, the BERT will be better equipped to identify any patterns of bias and discrimination that exist on campus which will inform our efforts toward address of the incident as well as overall goals with regards to diversity education. The names of targets witnesses and perpetrator(s) will be excluded from these records for privacy purposes. In addition, documentation will allow for team to evaluate effectiveness of responses with the purpose to improve the College's response and education around incidents of bias and discrimination. Coordinating Responses: B.E.R.T responders will work in conjunction with other campus resources to coordinate responses (e.g. Academic Affairs, Campus Life, Religious Life, Wellness Center) to bias incidents. Responses to bias incidents will be both proactive and responsive. It is our aim that all responses are educative in nature, educating the community on what constitutes bias and the impact bias has on a community. B.E.R.T responders will NOT be involved in the investigative aspects of bias incidents. Dickinson's Department of Public Safety (and when applicable Carlisle Police Dept.) will continue to be the primary investigators. http://www.dickinson.edu/info/20227/popel_shaw_center_for_race_and_ethnicity/1844/bias_education_and_response_team

Discover Diversity at Dickinson: a three-day overnight program designed for promising high-school seniors who self-identify as students of color and/or will be first-generation college students. This distinctive opportunity will allow you to experience Dickinson's dynamic campus community during overnight stays as well as during our traditional open house. The program will allow you to see the college community as it is and celebrate its true diversity. Participants will stay with a student host, attend classes, meet members of Dickinson's renowned faculty, collaborate with staff in workshops and connect with current students. Participants will also join visiting families during the fall open house prior to our first application deadline (Nov. 15). The program will introduce students to important information about our admissions and financial aid processes. http://www.dickinson.edu/info/20255/visit/1058/discover_diversity_at_dickinson Posse Scholars: Dickinson participates in the national Posse Foundation program and provides full scholarships to “Posses” of students from Los Angeles and New York who have been identified as student leaders from public high schools in selected urban areas and prepared by the Posse Foundation through an intensive eight-month Pre-Collegiate Training Program for enrollment at top-tier colleges and universities. http://www.dickinson.edu/info/20050/diversity/1389/posse_at_dickinson Community College Partnership Program: allows students to reduce total educational expenses by attending one of our region’s five top community colleges during their first two years. While there, they participate in an honors program and receive academic advising from Dickinson staff. After successful completion of the program, the students transfer to Dickinson for their final two years and receive a $15,000 scholarship for each of their two remaining years. Parnters include two community colleges in Maryland—Howard Community College and Montgomery College—and two in Pennsylvania—Montgomery County Community College, Northampton Community College and Harrisburg Community College. Consortium for Faculty Diversity: Dickinson has participated with the Consortium for Faculty Diversity since 2004, bringing faculty from underrepresented groups to the college for dissertation fellowships. Several of the fellows were subsequently appointed to tenure track postions. In 2016, five faculty of color were awarded dissertation fellowships at Dickinson. To encourage and facilitate consideration of qualified candidates from under-represented groups for faculty positions, departments with at least one diversity candidate are automatically allowed to bring three candidates for campus visits rather than the standard two candidates. Recent success in diversifying the faculty was demonstrated in 2016 when 5 of 7 hired tenure-track assistant and associate professors were women and 5 were also from underrepresented groups. Of the 17 visiting assistant professors, instructors and international scholars hired in 2016, 65 percent (11 of 17) were women and 41 percent (7 of 17) were faculty from underrepresented groups. http://www.dickinson.edu/info/20374/president/3391/presidents_report_2017/2 In addition to efforts to increase faculty diversity through new hires from under-represented groups, Dickinson also has a robust program to bring visiting international scholars to Carlisle as part of the College’s efforts to internationalize its curriculum; this effort is rooted in the College’s nationally recognized program in Global Education. Recruiting and Hiring a Diverse Staff: This new workshop was piloted in 2017 and will be offered regularly in the future. http://www.dickinson.edu/info/20050/diversity/3460/diversity_and_inclusion_training/2

Dickinson offers a variety of programs targeted to support students, staff and faculty from underrepresented groups. In addition, support for persons from underrepresented groups is also available from programs that serve the entire campus community. Posse Foundation: Dickinson partners with the national Posse Foundation to host "posses" from Los Angeles and New York City. High school students with urban backgrounds are recruited to form Posses using an alternative set of qualities as predictors of college success. The posses are diverse racially, ethnically and economically, and many are first generation college students. They are provided mentoring and other supports in their senior year of high school to prepare them for success. Dickinson awards full scholarships to our L.A. and NYC Posses. Mentors are assigned to each incoming class year, one each for the L.A. and NYC Posses, who mentor the students for their 4-years at Dickinson. The mentors help them acclimate to the campus environment, understand the rigors of college academic work, and navigate and access academic advising, tutors, the writing center, the Wellness Center, disability services and other resources. The 4-year graduation rate is over 95%, exceeding the 4-year graduation rate for the general population of students at Dickinson. http://www.dickinson.edu/info/20050/diversity/1389/posse_at_dickinson/1 LGBTQ Center: The Office of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Questioning (LGBTQ) Services works to create a welcoming, safe, inclusive, and equitable environment for LGBTQQIAA+ members of the Dickinson community. The Office of LGBTQ Services strives to ensure campus environments that are supportive of student diversity in the areas of sexual orientation, gender identity and expression through a lens of intersectionality. Support services, resources, programs, advocacy, training, education, and consultation are provided to the members of the Dickinson College community. We strive to improve the Dickinson College campus climate by coordinating efforts across campus, providing outreach to students, staff, and faculty, and working to ensure the inclusion and integration of LGBTQQIAA+ issues campus wide. https://www.dickinson.edu/homepage/109/lgbtq_services. Popel Shaw Center for Race and Ethnicity: The Popel Shaw Center for Race & Ethnicity (PSC) is a resource center open to the entire Dickinson community and charged with advancing Dickinson's commitment to broadening the understanding of-and building-a pluralistic society that promotes equality and integrity on the campus, in the community, and the world. The center provides individuals with the opportunity to broaden their views and enrich their cultural experiences through participation in diversity programs and training workshops. The center encourages and facilitates activities that allow students to voice their opinions, serve the community and advocate for making Dickinson a place that is reflective and responsive to our campus diversity. The work of the Popel Shaw Center for Race and Ethnicity (PSC) is guided by a vision of interactive pluralism, a framework that affirms the diversity of our student, faculty, and staff body, stands for mutual recognition and respect of difference, pursues community interaction along difference for personal and educational growth, and commits ourselves to the building of a multicultural and just community: Effective diversity and social justice work requires a frame of mind that view difference as our greatest asset not our greatest weakness. https://www.dickinson.edu/homepage/72/popel_shaw_center_for_race_and_ethnicity. Women's and Gender Resource Center: The Women's & Gender Resource Center offers many opportunities for students to be active and involved, including volunteer work, internships and student worker positions. The WGRC encourages student input in order to help further develop the center as well as the campus. http://www.dickinson.edu/info/20229/women%E2%80%99s_and_gender_resource_center/840/get_involved Office of Disability Services: The Office of Disability Services (ODS) seeks to ensure that all programs, services and facilities are accessible to Dickinson students on a non-discriminatory basis. ODS is committed to working with all eligible students with documented disabilities and with faculty to provide reasonable accommodations in the academic and/or living environment. https://www.dickinson.edu/homepage/71/disability_services. Wellness Center, Counseling and Psychiatric Services: The Wellness Center offers counseling and psychiatric services to all current Dickinson students regardless of insurance. Services include, but are not limited to individual and group therapy, crisis intervention, alcohol and drug counseling, psychiatric medication management, consultation, prevention programming and educational workshops. Students interested in counseling services first meet with a counselor for an individualized screening. During these screenings, counselors ask students questions about their reasons for seeking assistance, their history, and their goals for counseling. Counselors then discuss the options for treatment with students and a plan is formed. Treatment options may include services at the Wellness Center, referrals to other campus resources, or referrals to providers in the community if the kind of services needed by the student are not offered on campus. The Wellness Center offers short-term individual psychotherapy to Dickinson students. Students often seek assistance for a variety of concerns, including but not limited to depression, anxiety, relationship problems, disordered eating, adjustment to college, and sexual assault. The frequency of sessions and length of treatment varies for each student, but is closely tied to the goals for treatment. http://www.dickinson.edu/info/20243/wellness_center/1590/counseling_and_psychiatric_services. Wellness and Work/Life Balance Employee Programs: The Employee Assistance Program offers individual assistance to all employees and their families to help resolve current challenges and make life more productive and enjoyable. By accessing this benefit, you will receive professional assistance in clarifying the issue, searching for alternatives to resolve the problem, and developing a constructive plan of action. This benefit is available to all full-time and part-time employees and immediate family members. The Health Advocate program helps employees and their families find the best, most efficient and effective solutions to their health care needs. http://www.dickinson.edu/info/20083/human_resource_services/1755/work_life_balance.

Dickinson has been a member of the Consortium for Faculty Diversity in Liberal Arts Colleges since 2004. Through this program, Dickinson brings young scholars on dissertation fellowships to campus to increase the diversity of our faculty. The fellowships are available to scholars in the final stage of their dissertation and aim to help the fellows complete the final requirements for their degree during a year of residency at Dickinson. Dissertation fellowship recipients receive compensation equivalent to the compensation of a starting one-year instructor, funds to support their research, and mentoring of teaching and scholarship. Dissertation fellowship recipients teach the equivalent of one semester-long course during the academic year, participate in functions such as departmental seminars, and interact regularly with students.

Transgender and transitioning student housing options - gender neutral housing http://www.dickinson.edu/info/20238/office_of_residence_life_and_housing/1284/housing_operations/4 Publicly accessible inventory of gender neutral bathrooms http://www.dickinson.edu/info/20228/lgbtq_services/1183/gender_non-conforming_and_transgender_visibility/4