Keene State College
PA-7: Support for Underrepresented Groups

Keene State College has a detailed non-discrimination statement. The following overview outlines the scope of the program:
"In accordance with University System of New Hampshire policy and applicable state and federal laws, discrimination and discriminatory harassment are expressly prohibited at Keene State College.
All students, staff, and faculty at Keene State College have the right to work and learn in an environment free of discrimination and discriminatory harassment as such conduct interferes with the mission of the College by diminishing access to education and employment; compromising the free and open exchange of ideas; and impeding relationships among students, faculty, and staff.
All persons shall have equal access to the College’s programs, facilities, and employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, veteran’s status, or disability. No member of the campus community may engage in behavior within the jurisdiction of the College that unjustly interferes with any individual’s required tasks, career opportunities, learning, or participation in campus life. All members of the campus community share responsibility for preventing and reporting discrimination and harassment, cooperating in any investigation which might result, and maintaining confidentiality."
Keene State College's detailed Discrimination and Discriminatory Harassment Policy is provided at: http://www.keene.edu/administration/policy/detail/discrimination/

Keene State College has several initiatives in place that provide opportunities for College members to report discrimination. In addition to bias response protocols and team, several efforts are in action that prevent and educate against bias, and inform how we respond to and heal from bias incidents when they occur:
* The first-year seminar and new student Orientation provide sessions that explore and educate students on how bias works, how it impacts all of us and how to address it in their lives. The seminar and Orientation sessions also point students toward resources that are available to help them.
* KSC created a Bias and Hate Reporting platform (See: https://www.keene.edu/featured/reporting-at-ksc/) for any member of our college community, or the greater Keene community, to use for reporting concerning incidents on campus and off campus. These reports will initiate investigations.
* The College has a Community Restoration Protocol, which formalizes the way we respond to reports of bias and hate through the reporting platform. The goal of this protocol is to thoroughly capture, understand and respond to concerns, and to provide education and information to people in order to prevent future incidents. Depending on the situation, the Student Conduct Office will be a part of this process when disciplinary action is needed.
To facilitate the Community Restoration Protocol, a dedicated team of faculty, staff and students are trained and ready to participate – this is the Community Restoration Team.
HOW STUDENTS ARE SUPPORTED
Students reporting discrimination or bias are supported through the Community Restoration Protocol. Teams of professional and trained staff and students are available to support students. Furthermore, myriad reporting tools are available for students to report incident's of discrimination. When these are used, the reports are reviewed by Dr. Dottie Morris, Associate Vice President for Institutional Diversity and Equity during regular business hours when the College is open. Upon receipt of the form, Dr. Morris or a member of her team contacts the reporter to discuss the incident and share information about campus and community support services.
Students also are supported through programs from the College's Wellness Center and Counseling Services (https://www.keene.edu/life/services/counseling/). The Wellness Center also provides peer-to-peer and faculty/staff training to provide support through the Student Support Network.
REPORTING AND SUPPORT
Individuals who have a concern about incidents or behaviors which may constitute harassment or discrimination should contact any of the Intake Officers listed below for information about the College’s discrimination and harassment policies, available support services, procedures for making a complaint, and/or assistance in resolving the situation informally or formally.
Intake Officers:
The Associate Vice President for Institutional Diversity and Equity
Title IX, Discrimination and Harassment Coordinator
Assistant Director of Human Resources for Employee Relations
The KSC Code of Student Conduct also contains information regarding our bias response program.
Support for Keene State College community members who have been the targets of, or who witness a bias incident takes many forms. Support is provided throughout the reporting process which can be found at https://www.keene.edu/administration/policy/detail/discrimination/ . Additionally, all community members are able to report bias/hate online and anonymously at https://www.keene.edu/featured/reporting-at-ksc/ . Reports will be reviewed by Title IX Investigator, Jeff Maher, and Associate Vice President for Institutional Diversity and Equity, Dr Dottie Morris. Upon receipt of the form, Jeff or Dottie will contact the reporter to discuss the incident and share information about campus and community support. Faculty, staff, and students who experienced or witnessed a bias incident, act of discrimination or hate crime can find support through counseling and other services provided by the wellness center. Additionally, the Office of Multicultural Student Support and Success can offer direct student support and resource referrals.

The KSC Admissions team has admissions counselors and recruitment staff that focus on underrepresented groups. Also, KSC prides itself on being a destination for many first-generation college students, as well as adults and Veterans returning to school.
In addition, the Associate Vice President for Institutional Diversity and Equity meets with all search committees to ensure position descriptions are developed in order to ensure that language encourages candidates from diverse backgrounds. All positions are posted in publications targeted at potential applicants from diverse backgrounds.
Every job search at Keene State College goes through Human Resources and most require completion of a "Position Action Form." Central to the PAF is making sure there are: DIVERSITY STRATEGIES. A Diversity Strategy is required prior to receiving approval to search. The Search Committee must "identify strategies for diversifying the pool of candidates."
The Office of Sustainability takes pride in an unofficial, but very successful, program to hire international students from nearby Antioch University New England. We offer them post-graduate employment opportunities to support the Office in a variety of ways, from research to hands-on sustainability. In the last two years, the Office of Sustainability has supported two African Ph.D. graduates, and one Ph.D. graduate from Mongolia. The Director of Campus Sustainability is working with the Provost and the President of the College to formalize these fellowship opportunities.

All programs specifically designed for underrepresented groups are administered through KSC's Office of Diversity and Multiculturalism. (http://www.keene.edu/campus/diversity/office/)
The Diversity and Multiculturalism Office is charged by the President’s Cabinet to provide institutional leadership in diversity initiatives, policy, and practice development. This includes development of systems to report and respond to bias related incidents, programming, recruitment and retention efforts of underrepresented faculty, staff and students, and the creation of a strategic inclusive excellence plan for the campus.
All students are offered support through Keene State’s Office of Multicultural Student Support (OMSS), Counseling Center, and the Aspire Program. While OMSS offers a myriad of student support organizations, including Keene State Pride and Common Ground Multicultural Club; the Counseling Center provides essential emotional health services. The Aspire Program is funded by the U.S. Department of Education to create opportunities for academic development and help students navigate college requirements to increase retention and graduation rates. Aspire is one of the several federally funded TRIO Programs designed to provide services for students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
https://www.keene.edu/campus/diversity/omss/
http://www.keene.edu/life/services/counseling/
http://www.keene.edu/academics/departments/aspire/
All campus members are supported by the Title IX Office, which is charged with fostering a respectful and safe environment for all members of the campus community., The Commission for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusiveness supports Keene State’s principles of equal opportunity, just treatment, and respect for all people through stakeholder engagement and a variety of programs.
http://www.keene.edu/administration/student-affairs/title-ix/
Mentoring, counseling, and peer support for faculty and staff from underrepresented groups is provided through contact with the Officer for Diversity and Multiculturalism, as well as through the Human Resources Employee Assistance Program.http://www.usnh.edu/hr/health-wellness/reduce-stress.html

Non-academic staff and academic staff from underrepresented groups can find support in various forms. The Diversity and Multiculturalism Office provides support to faculty and staff from underrepresented groups through presentations/lectures, workshops with employee groups, and discussions associated with difficult dialogues in work and class environments. Faculty and staff that experience any bias-related incident can report to the office and will be provided support and resources.
One support program is Safe Space, a cooperative at Keene State College dedicated to increasing awareness through education about issues related to minoritized sexual and gender identities and embodiments. Faculty, staff, students, and community members are given resources to be active voices for understanding and acceptance. https://www.keene.edu/campus/diversity/safe-space/

Keene State College as a whole does not offer this type of support. However, the Office of Campus Sustainability has developed an informal relationship with Antioch University New England to hire recently graduated international students for post-graduate fellowship positions. The Office of Campus Sustainability has hired three Ph.D. post-graduates in the past three years to build hands-on skills developing sustainability and climate action policies and plans, conduct research, and otherwise support sustainability initiatives on campus. The Director of Campus Sustainability is currently working with the College President and Provost to formalize this successful academic and work training program.

This section was reviewed and augmented by Dr. Cary Gaunt, Director of Campus Sustainability.