Northland College
PA-6: Support for Underrepresented Groups

Non-discrimination statements are posted in the human resources offices as well as at other areas on campus. Furthermore, all employment advertisements for Northland College include the following statement “Northland College is dedicated to the goal of building a culturally diverse and pluralistic staff committed to working in a multicultural environment and strongly encourages application from minorities, women, individuals with disabilities, and veterans. Northland College is an equal opportunity employer.” Additionally, both the Handbook of the College and Employment Policies include: Equal Opportunity Declaration, Equal Employment Opportunity Grievance Procedure, Affirmative Action Policy, Policy and Procedure for Employing Individuals with Disabilities, Accommodation Procedures for Individuals with Disabilities, Complaint Procedure for Disability Issues, and Immigration Status Policy. https://my.northland.edu/hr/employment/

Northland College takes any complaint very seriously. The College follows the guidelines published by the US Department of Education and Office of Civil Rights, and has an official grievance procedure published online. Each complaint is immediately assessed to determine imminent danger and duty to warn others. A preliminary investigation is conducted to determine reasonable cause that a violation has occurred, and if so, a full and thorough investigation is performed. Once an outcome has been determined based on the preponderance of evidence, the complainant and respondent are informed and appropriate actions are taken based on that outcome.

The Diversity Plan of the College outlines the following efforts to recruit staff from underrepresented groups: In addition to our efforts to recruit and retain students and faculty, we will increase domestic minority representation among the staff.  In particular, minorities are underrepresented in administrative positions and efforts will be made to increase their representation and provide a climate that is welcoming and presents opportunities for professional growth.  The process for staff will include efforts to build a diverse candidate pool for national, regional and local searches, as appropriate to the position. • Develop and utilize contacts at other colleges, universities and professional organizations that have a strong outreach to diverse job or program related applicants • Develop and utilize contacts within the local community to improve minority representation of applicants in each support staff search • Participate in recruitment opportunities at major professional conferences, particularly at conferences with strong minority representation • Seek recommendations for candidates with diverse backgrounds from Northland alumni, donors, and trustees • Educate and prepare individuals through the Office of Human Resources to conduct and manage the search process from recruitment to final selection to ensure that there is full understanding of intercultural competency, hidden biases, and procedural guidelines The Diversity Plan of the College also speaks to the recruitment and retention of faculty from underrepresented groups: Northland College recognizes the presence of a diverse faculty as essential to the recruitment and retention of a diverse student body, as well as crucial to the education of all of our students. Domestic minority faculty members serve as models of high achievement for all students and play a key role in establishing a creative, inclusive, and welcoming environment for teaching and learning.  To realize strategic goals for enriching diversity on campus, the College examines curricular diversity and pedagogies that value diverse ways of knowing and acting in the world.  Special attention is directed at increasing the minority representation within each candidate pool. Recruitment: • Conduct the faculty search process with sufficient time and effort to build a pool with diverse candidates. • Seek minority nominations from colleagues at other institutions. • Conduct database searches focused upon minority graduate student associations and minority faculty associations and send position announcements to minority graduate student and faculty associations. • Initiate and continue contact with diversity committees affiliated with major disciplinary associations (e.g., American Historical Association Committee on Minority Historians, Modern Language Association Committee on Minority Concerns, Association of Black Sociologists). • Seek recommendations for candidates with diverse backgrounds from Northland alumni, donors, and trustees, particularly those with ties to graduate programs. • Educate and prepare individuals through the Dean’s Office and the Office of Human Resources to conduct and manage the search process from recruitment to final selection to ensure that there is full understanding of intercultural competency, hidden biases, and procedural guidelines • Identify and remain in close contact through the Dean’s office with universities that graduate significant numbers of minority PhD’s (e.g., Nova Southeastern University, Howard University, Ohio State, University of Michigan, Wayne State University, Teachers College of Columbia University). • Strengthen relationships through the Dean’s office and individual faculty with minority offices of the following professional organizations - American Association of Colleges and Universities, Office of Diversity, Equity, and Global Initiatives, American Association of University Professors, Committee on Historically Black Institutions and Scholars of Color, WAICU Multicultural Affairs group. Retention: • Provide strong mentorship from the Dean’s office, at the department level, and with all faculty colleagues. • Sponsor and promote social and academic activities for entering cohort groups both on and off campus and provide information and contacts with community organizations. • Provide clear expectations for success as teachers, scholars, and members of the College community. • Promote the involvement of minority faculty as conference attendees and presenters. • Provide opportunities for leadership and for professional development for members of the faculty.

The Native American Student Association provides support for native American students. Two groups support gender diversity on campus for students: (1) Gaia's Cradle (a theme house) offers programming specific to gender diversity, and (2) the Alliance also hosts events intended to raise awareness and promote inclusivity. The Associate Director of Career Education and the Campus Counselor also offer mentoring and counseling and are sensitive to diversity issues. All new faculty (whether underrepresented or not) are paired with mentors who are sensitive to addressing the faculty's needs and facilitating services. A staff mentorship program is currently under review and working towards enhanced development to align new staff members with existing staff within the institution.

Northland College has a Diversity Council that is co-chaired by a tenured faculty member in Sociology and the Director of Human Resources. The Council ensures that Northland College is able to support the institutional priorities of equity, inclusiveness, and diversity, as well as promote diversity among its faculty, staff, and student body. The Northland College Diversity Work Group is made up of individuals with direct work assignments relating to diversity issues and services plus representative faculty and student members. The group coordinates diversity efforts of units and groups on campus, and creates and revises a Diversity Work Plan. The plan addresses student recruitment and retention, faculty and staff recruitment, and campus services related to diversity. The Diversity Work Group not only takes a leading role in creating a campus environment that welcomes and promotes diversity, it also considers and proposes proactive steps to eliminate discrimination in any form. Furthermore, the Diversity Work Group discusses and advises the President regarding community issues that affect the success of our diversity goals.