George Washington University
PA-4: Diversity and Equity Coordination

The Office Of Diversity And Inclusion, now called the Office for Diversity, Equity and Community Engagement (ODECE) includes the Vice Provost, Associate Provost and Special Assistant and includes 4 units, including Disability Support Services, Civic Engagement and Public Service, Multicultural Student Services, and Title IX. The ODECE immediate oversees a campus-wide innovations in diversity grant program, tutoring initiative, and newsletter and partners with academic units to offer resources to help diversify the undergraduate and graduate student populations and faculty. Additionally, ODECE collaborates with the Division of Enrollment Management and Retention to assist with outreach and evaluation activities to foster student success and satisfaction initiatives. The Vice Provost for Diversity, Equity and Community Engagement provides training on Unconscious Bias to academic and administrative departments as well as student organizations to ensure equity in faculty and staff searches and fair treatment of students. ODECE also provides funding for initiatives and programs that foster diversity and inclusion among campus. Among other things, ODECE has provided funding through its Innovation in Diversity and Inclusion grants program. This internal grant program allows students, faculty, staff, and units to apply for funding to support innovative ideas that advance GW’s commitment to diversity and inclusion. To date, over 30 projects have been funded including a hiring initiative for individuals with disabilities, support for students who are military veterans, and mentoring programs to name a few. The office also sponsored its second annual Diversity Summit in the spring of 2017. The summit offered a full day of high-quality programs on gender, sex and trans identities, nontraditional students, diversity in science, unconscious bias, and institutionalized racism in our society, among others. ODECE received dozens of proposals for presentations and more than 350 people registered and attended the summit

For GW employees, we offer both instructor-led and on-demand resources on the topic of cultural competence. At our annual employee conference, we offer instructor-led sessions, such as Working Across Generations and Promoting Service Excellence Through Diversity Leadership and Effective Cross Cultural Communication. Registration for these sessions is open to all employees. In addition, for employee-learning and professional development throughout the year, we offer a robust online catalog of courses that includes trainings such as Improving Communication in Cross-cultural Relationships and Communicating Across Cultures. In March 2017, ODECE sponsored the second annual diversity summit for GW faculty and staff. Plenary sessions and workshops were offered throughout the day to assist with education, training and resources. The third diversity summit is scheduled for April 2018 and will include a track for GW students as well. All GW staff are required to take sexual harassment training. Through case studies and discussion, staff members explore the law and GW's policy on sexual harassment in the workplace. Participants learn to identify various behaviors that may constitute sexual harassment and how to respond appropriately to disclosures, including what GW offices receive and investigate sexual harassment complaints. The university has instituted mandatory training on sexual assault prevention for all entering students as part of the university's comprehensive strategy to prevent campus sexual assault and to respond effectively to the issue. The Multicultural Students Services Center (MSSC) provides a wide range of academic and cultural programs, resources and services to students, faculty and staff. These programs include trainings on cultural competence, safe zone (LGBTQ), religious and multicultural diversity and leadership to support the campus climate that welcomes cultural, racial, ethnic and intellectual diversity. The Office for Diversity, Equity and Community Engagement held its fourth Institute for Citizen Leaders (ICL) convening up to 175 student leaders from across the division, the GW student association (government) and Panhellenic and National Panhellenic organizations to connect and learn from one another while further developing their leadership skills as they assume leadership roles in the GW student community. Students had the opportunity to interact and work with GW administrators, faculty and staff to understand the core values and vision of academic excellence, social responsibility and innovative thinking that are hallmarks of the GW educational experience. The program takes place over a three day period in August prior to the start of the fall semester. Its format combines workshops, keynote lectures, panel discussions, team building exercises, and structured dialogues, which cover aspects of leadership which include cultural competence.

http://diversity.gwu.edu/ http://ode.hr.gwu.edu/ http://mssc.gwu.edu/ Information about the programs or initiatives is available: https://diversity.gwu.edu/IDI-grants-program and https://diversity.gwu.edu/diversity-summit-2018