Muhlenberg College
PA-6: Support for Underrepresented Groups

http://www.muhlenberg.edu/pdf/main/aboutus/hr/NondiscriminationPolicy.pdf NON- DISCRIMINATION POLICY STATEMENT Muhlenberg College does not discriminate against any person based on age, color, disability, gender, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, veteran status, or any other basis protected by applicable federal, state or local laws

BRET, Chaired by Allison Gulati, VP of Student Affairs and Lee Kolbe, Associate Dean The Bias Resource & Education Team (BRET) represents a cross section of the Muhlenberg College community (faculty, administrators, and students) who provide direct support to any individual(s) affected by a bias incident or hate crime, document the incident for information gathering and archival purposes, recommend campus responses to any incidents to the appropriate senior officers of the College (President, Provost, Dean of Students, and Vice President for Human Resources), and support campus educational efforts. https://www.muhlenberg.edu/hatebiaspolicy/response-team.html

In order to recruit students from underrepresented groups: Part of Muhlenberg’s recruitment policy involves going to high schools where the student-body is generally low-income. See PA-7: Support for Underrepresented Groups for more details. In order to recruit staff from underrepresented groups: You will find that we include this diversity statement on our recruiting web page, http://jobs.muhlenberg.edu (and reiterate it in individual listings as well): "An equal opportunity employer, Muhlenberg College is committed to recruiting and retaining outstanding faculty and staff from racial and ethnic groups that have been traditionally underrepresented in higher education. For additional information about Muhlenberg's commitment to diversity and inclusion, applicants can find the latest updates to the College's Diversity Strategic Plan at this link: College's Diversity Strategic Plan‌." Our ad placements include using the Diversity Outreach emails through higheredjobs.com. And we have utilized Romney & Associates to train a group of faculty and staff on identifying and addressing bias in the recruiting process so that we can be sure we have a trained "Equity Advocate" sitting on all searches committees. In order to recruit faculty from underrepresented groups: All faculty searches from the past two years have included a focus on increasing the pool of diverse candidates. Representatives of search committees are required to attend diversity workshops that address implicit biases in the search process. We are members of the Consortium for Faculty Diversity (CFD) which is a targeted recruiting program. CFD is a postdoctoral fellowship program that offers positions to young faculty of color and queer faculty who have recently completed their Ph.D. or are on the verge of doing so. The program provides year-long employment that includes mentoring by Professor Kim, teaching opportunities, and a reduced teaching load to provide time for scholarship. We have had at least one CFD fellow for the last three years, and have another one this year. Also for faculty, the Faculty Center for Teaching oversees a peer partner program that provides senior colleagues who partner with 1st and 2nd year faculty for mentorship. This is available for all faculty. Advertisements for tenure-track faculty positions include the requirement that the candidate provide a statement on how they would contribute to the diversity initiatives at Muhlenberg.

Academic Bootcamp (Summer 2015) for students of color interested in pursuing the professorate. Emerging Leader Diversity Network (ELDN--spring 2016) series that focus on connecting students with scholars, research and community leaders in order to support students ongoing engagement with intellectual and justice practices inside and outside the academy. Career Services offered in the Center (spring 2016) Muhlenberg has mentoring, counseling, peer support, academic support, and other programs to support underrepresented groups on campus: o Mentoring: career center has connections with alums that are part of underrepresented groups, and holds networking events with them (LGBT, women, people of color, etc.) o Counseling: the counseling center will offer accommodations to students who prefer to open up to one gender or race over another. If a student does not connect with a counselor in Muhlenberg’s counseling center, the counseling center would direct them to a local agency. o Peer Support: We have a mentoring program that is part of our Emerging Leaders program. The Emerging Leaders program is a bridge and leadership program for students of diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds. The program includes a pre-orientation week which introduces students to the rigor of college academics, offer workshops to help students adjust to being a member of a primarily white upper middle-class student population and provide peer mentors for social and academic support. The mentoring program pairs each new emerging leader with one or two Emerging Leaders from the previous cohort o Academic Support: Each incoming Emerging Leader is advised by their first-year seminar faculty and or an Academic Support Staff member to assist with registering for classes, time management, study skill development and resources that support academic success. The College has trained Equity Advocates, one per academic department, that serve as support and resources for faculty and staff. The Equity Advocates undergo extensive training in order to be prepared to fulfill their responsibilities.

Muhlenberg participates in two programs that explicitly aim to support students from underrepresented groups who aspire to the professoriate. First, we are members of the Consortium for Faculty Diversity (CFD). CFD is a post-doctoral fellowship program that offers positions to young faculty of color and queer faculty who have recently completed their Ph.D. or are on the verge of doing so. The program provides year-long employment that includes mentoring, teaching opportunities, and a reduced teaching load to provide time for scholarship. We have had at least one CFD fellow for the last three years, and have another one this year. Muhlenberg sponsors a Summer Boot Camp for students from underrepresented groups who aspire to the professoriate. The Boot Camp is a two week, full-time program mentored by a faculty member and sponsored by the Office of Multicultural Life. It introduces undergraduate students to the rigors of graduate level research methods and coaches them on how to conduct the graduate school search and prepare a successful application.

Institution-sponsored programs to support underrepresented groups Academic Bootcamp (Summer 2015) for students of color interested in pursuing the professorate. Emerging Leader Diversity Network (ELDN--continues) series that focus on connecting students with scholars, research and community leaders in order to support students ongoing engagement with intellectual and justice practices inside and outside the academy. Career Services partnered with Multicultural Life to host a Fall Networking event with PPL affinity caucuses and Multicultural Life affinity groups. Career Service has also provided access to mock interview software to ensure that students have access to information preparing them for job interviews. Muhlenberg has mentoring, counseling, peer support, academic support, and other programs to support underrepresented groups on campus: Mentoring: career center has connections with alums that are part of underrepresented groups, and holds networking events with them (LGBT, women, people of color, etc.) Counseling: the counseling center counselors are required to adhere to culturally competent practices. If a student does not connect with a counselor in Muhlenberg’s counseling center, the counseling center would direct them to a local agency. Peer Support: We have a mentoring program that is part of our Emerging Leaders program. The Emerging Leaders program is a bridge and leadership program for students of diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds. The program includes a pre-orientation week which introduces students to the rigor of college academics, offer workshops to help students adjust to being a member of a primarily white upper middle-class student population and provide peer mentors for social and academic support. The mentoring program pairs each new emerging leader with one or two Emerging Leaders from the previous cohort Academic Support: Each incoming Emerging Leader is advised by their first-year seminar faculty and or an Academic Support Staff member to assist with registering for classes, time management, study skill development and resources that support academic success. The information submitted is to the best of the knowledge of: Robin Riley-Casey, Director of Multicultural Life, robinriley-casey@muhlenberg.edu Kathy Harring, Provost, kathyharring@muhlenberg.edu Anne Speck, Vice President for Human Resources, annespeck@muhlenberg.edu