MacEwan University
PA-4: Diversity and Equity Coordination

In 2018, the Office of Human Rights, Diversity, and Equity as established in order to create a central space where the University can establish University wide diversity and inclusion initiatives. The focus of this office is to provide institutional support, develop and deliver educational and awareness opportunities, and to also connect with the wider community and build a human rights and inclusion community of practice. http://Macewan.ca/humanrights The Indigenous Advisory Council (IAC) meets 4 times a year to meet with Indigenous and non indigenous council members to discuss upcoming projects, advised on Indigenous education, focuses on indigenous initiatives including the indigenous strategic plan for MacEwan and the ceremonial policy. The University also has a Sexual Violence Prevention and Education Committee (SVPEC) and a subcommitte called University Students Offering Leadership on Violence Elimination (U-SOLVE), as well as a Sexual Violence Prevention and Education Coordinator and a Sexual Violence Prevention and Education Office. The Sexual Violence Prevention and Education Committee is a steering committee comprised of University administrators, faculty, staff and students. The committee builds, implements and maintains a coordinated and cohesive approach to sexual violence education, awareness and prevention in order to effectively address sexual violence at the University. U-SOLVE serves as an advisory resource and consulting entity for matters pertaining to sexual violence, gender, gender-based violence and gender equality at MacEwan University. The Sexual Violence Prevention and Education Coordinator coordinates design, delivery, implementation, and evaluation of strategic initiatives aimed at reinforcing the University's commitment to campus wide sexual violence prevention and education. The Coordinator collaborates with various stakeholders to develop, deliver and promote training and programming in relation to gender-based violence that respects cultural, social and institutional context and practices The Gender and Sexual Minority working group meets once every two months and coordinates events and awareness campaigns around the University. An example of an event is the annual PRIDE week which is helo every year in the second week of May. The work of this committee, as well as other developing committees will be centralized through the Office of Human Rights, Diversity, and Equity. The Student Services Committee (SSC) is a subcommittee of the Academic Governance Council. It is an active body to support diversity, equity, inclusion of all students. The SSC has a working group that is charged with the development of a student mental health strategy. It has tried to support fair and equitable treatment for students including marginalized and under-represented populations by striving to eliminate barriers. The SSC works in support of all students including those suffering from mental illness and other challenges, international, mature, poor, disabled, LGTBQ++ learners etc. A high emphasis is placed on first and second year learners. https://www.macewan.ca/wcm/ExecutiveandGovernance/AcademicGovernanceCouncil/StandardCommittees/StudentServices/index.htm

(1) Human Rights/LGBTQ+ On an annual basis, the Centre for the Advancement of Faculty Education has provided different diversity and inclusion related topics. Additionally, there are three trained staff and faculty members equipped in providing training related to Safe Spaces and supporting the LGBTQS community. The Human Resource Department offered a Human Rights training in 2016 for supervisors and managers. 100 people attended. These trainings are offered on an as requested basis, however, with the Office of Human Rights being established, it is estimated that a more formalized program structure will emerge. There was originally course material on diversity focussing on the LGBTQ+ community as well as sexual and gender mionorities. It was revised to include anti-oppression theory in practice and now we are doing a Fostering an LGBTQ2S-inclusive environment training. - Some students who have signed up for a training, or had a LGBTQ+ speaker in a class- corrections, nursing, sociology, etc., or is part of an identified population who receved diversity and anti-oppression trianing such as ambassadors, and RA's in the residence. - Most staff members have particpated, through an Organizational Development Day presentation, clutural sustainability workshop, training for all HR, security, and Sport and Wellness staff. - Some faculty have attended a training through an Organizational Development Day day presentation, workshops, speaker in their classroom or attending events. (2) Sexual Violence Prevention Training on sexual violence prevention and education (ie. cultural competency relating to creating a culture of consent, gender equity, and anti-oppression) is offered to students via in-class presentations deliver by the Sexual Violence Prevention and Education Coordinator, as well as via dedicated trainings for target groups, including student athletes, student government, and students living in residence. Training for Faculty and Staff is delivered through the Sexual Violence Support Guide Program, a two-day training and engagement program relating to sexual violence response and prevention, three times annually. More concentrated trainings are delivered on request to specific units and as part of professional development opportunities (e.g. Faculty Development Day, Organizational Development Day). Activities such as the At The Root Community Engagement Project and Sexual Violence Awareness Week are opportuities for the entire campus community to participate in programming. (3) Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) Services to Students with Disabilities (SSD) regularly provides outreach education to faculty and staff regarding Students with Disabilities. Faculty within SSD collaborate regularly with Teaching Faculty to implement Accommodation Plans. SSD delivers presentations at new Faculty Orientation and at Faculty Development Day. Sessions are well attended. Students that register with SSD are provided with support to assist and develop self advocacy skills. SSD is represented at Academic Governance Council and other key Committees and Working Groups to ensure that these groups are informed of Disability related considerations that are required when making decisions or planning for the future. (4) International Office Here’s a non-exhaustive list of intercultural training through MAcEwan's International Office Offerings geared towards students: • Intercultural training for residence assistants, since 2012, targeted to students working in MacEwan Residence Re-entry training for students returning from a program abroad, since 2012, targeted to domestic students studying/working abroad • Pre-departure intercultural training, since 2012, targeted to domestic students studying/working abroad Offerings geared towards staff and/or faculty: • Recurring courses on assessing your intercultural competence and development, including IDI assessment opportunity, since 2015, targeted to faculty and staff • MacEwan International offers individual IDI assessments • Workshops/presentations in various faculties on supporting international students in the classroom and developing intercultural sensitivity, targeted to faculty and advisors, since 2017 • Classroom modules on intercultural sensitivity and intercultural communication, since 2017, Faculty of Health and Community Studies, targeted to students in Global Health Perspectives (HLST) • “Staff Intercultural Awareness Training and Study Tour: Korea” - development, planning and teaching professional development course exclusively for staff working with international and newcomer students, 2018 (not completed yet) • Individual support to faculty in problem-solving with international students, provided by International Student Advisors • Workshop “Intercultural Competence and a Sustainable You”, Global Awareness Week 2015, targeted to entire community • training modules on intercultural competence development and classroom teaching, 2015, targeted to clients of School of Continuing Education for their Saxony Teacher Training Program (5) Kihew Waciston Indigenous Centre The indigenous centre offers a diverse range of services, including academic counselling, personal support services, and cultural programming to all MacEwan members. Cultural activities include an annual feast, Aboriginal Cultural Day, and an Elders-In-Residence program. Indigenous knowledge sessions, Indigenous 101 sessions, Blanket Exercises, and Cultural Protocols sessions are offered to students, staff and faculty on a monthly basis. Aboriginal Elders are invited throughout the year to share their knowledge and traditions through workshops and special sessions. The Centre is a unique community environment where students gather, study, and learn. All are welcome. (6) Student Ambassadors Student Ambassadors receive communication and diversity training by Student Affairs staff to engage student-leaders in challenging conversations about diversity, inclusivity, social equity and systemic barriers. Ambassadors are the contact point for thousands of prospective and ongoing students each year. They are the student face of MacEwan for community on campus. They help MacEwan host donors, government, special guests and applicants for key faculty or administrative positions. They network and serve in the broader communities of the University. See attachment for exemplary training slides. (7) CAFÉ: The Centre for the Advancement of Faculty Excellence (CAFÉ) has been running a range of programming that deals directly with cultural competence. They have ongoing offerings for faculty related to Diversity, such as “Diversity and Difference in the Classroom Faculty Learning Community”, "Using Inclusive Teaching Practices" or "Creating an Identity-Safe Classroom" which provides opportunities for faculty to engage in discussion and dialogue to identify barriers to inclusive curriculum and pedagogy. (8) Global Awareness Week: MacEwan University’s Global Awareness Week is an annual event held during late January-early February. Through a collaboration between MacEwan International and the Students’ Association of MacEwan University a week-long series of activities raises awareness of global issues ranging from human rights, gender equality, and poverty eradication to international peace and environmental sustainability. The goal of the week is to inspire MacEwan University students, faculty and staff to become more active and informed global citizens. The week also serves to celebrate diversity and multiculturalism and to promote dialogue and discovery. (9) Career Services: https://www.facebook.com/MacEwanUniversityCareerServices https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLphcqfaWCkt8LRfH3gzOd943UVsF3rqJV Going Global Educational Series (10) Lynda.com: Lynda.com is a library of online training resources and tutorials that are taught by industry experts. The service is available for MacEwan University students, staff, and faculty to access at anytime, anywhere. It offers various resources that relate to developing cultural competence skills, including: - "Communicating Across Cultures" course that teaches the importance of understanding underlying values, beliefs, and history in order to effectively communicate in a cross-cultural business setting. - "Communicating across devices, continents, and cultures" tutorial teaching tips for managing remote teams across continents. - "Appreciating diversity" tutorial teaching how appreciating diversity is key to building relationships and developing emotional intelligence. - "Harnessing diversity" tutorial discussing how diversity is a driver of creativity and the benefits of having functional, gender, and cultural diversity when creating a team.

Before funding for the Human Rights Office was secured through Legal Council, there was and still is a Sexual and Gender Minority Working Group that has carried out LGBTQ+ diversity work at MacEwan. Before that entity was created, we had a grassroots groups of LGBTQ+ and ally faculty, staff and student subcommittee that put on events, offered a speaker's bureau, and represented MacEwan University in the city of Edmonton Pride Parade.