Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 55.56
Liaison Katie Beitz
Submission Date Aug. 25, 2021

STARS v2.2

Oklahoma State University
PA-7: Support for Underrepresented Groups

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.92 / 3.00 Kristeena Blaser
Sustainability Coordinator
Energy Services
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Non-discrimination statement 

Does the institution have a publicly posted non-discrimination statement? :
Yes

The non-discrimination statement, including the website URL where the policy is publicly accessible:
Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action OSU Policy 1-0101
It is the policy of Oklahoma State University to provide equal opportunity on the basis of merit without discrimination because of age, race, ethnicity, color, sex, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, veterans’ status, or disability.
URL: https://eeo.okstate.edu/harassment-and-discrimination

"Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action OSU Policy 1-0101 https://eeo.okstate.edu/harassment-and-discrimination

Bias response team 

Does the institution have a discrimination response protocol or committee (sometimes called a bias response team)?:
Yes

A brief description of the institution’s discrimination response protocol or team:
Oklahoma State University responds to and supports those who have experienced or witnessed a bias incident, act of discrimination or hate crime by implementing the OSU discrimination response protocol. This protocol is enacted when a report of alleged discrimination is shared with either the Vice President for Institutional Diversity or his senior leadership team or Human Resources.

Individuals who have experienced or witnessed a bias incident are supported through a variety of campus and community resources. OSU counseling services and appropriate university staff follow-up with Individuals to offer support when they have experienced or witnessed a bias incident. Additionally, the following resources are shared: Student Counseling Center, Counseling Psychology Center, University Health Services, Reboot Center, Victim Advocate Officer, Office of Multicultural Affairs, International Students and Scholars, Student Disability Services, Student Conduct, Ombuds Office, Vice President for Student Affairs, Vice President for Institutional Diversity. Individuals are encouraged to contact any of these resources to speak with university staff for support and assistance.

Details: depending on the type of discrimination that is alleged, the protocol response can vary, but includes the following: obtaining knowledge of all individuals involved, an investigation into the concern, ensuring that due process is followed (staff, faculty, or student process), implementing and/or recommending sanctions for the individuals that have been found to violate applicable OSU policies or OSU community standards.

Example actions taken during the past three years: students who have been found responsible for race-based discrimination have been separated from his/her leadership positions, mandated to attend cultural competency training, and required to issue an apology following a period of self-reflection. See policy: https://stw.sp.okstate.edu/policies/Shared%20Documents/Student%20Discrimination%20Grievances.pdf

Staff or faculty that engage in a discriminatory action based on a federally-protected category may receive disciplinary action such as additional training, corrective action (up to and including termination), and/or loss of specific privileges.

To report an incident: https://studentconduct.okstate.edu/report

Behavior Consultation Team: https://bct.okstate.edu/ and https://bct.okstate.edu/faq

Link to gender discrimination and sexual harassment policies and grievance procedure:
https://eeo.okstate.edu/sites/default/files/gender_discriminationsexual_harassment_policy_and_title_ix_grievance_procedure.pdf

Recruitment programs 

Does the institution have programs specifically designed to recruit students from underrepresented groups?:
Yes

Does the institution have programs specifically designed to recruit academic staff from underrepresented groups?:
Yes

Does the institution have programs designed specifically to recruit non-academic staff from underrepresented groups?:
No

If yes to any of the above, provide:

A brief description of the institution’s programs to recruit students, academic staff, and/or non-academic staff from underrepresented groups:
The University partners with the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education to sponsor math and science summer academies to attract high school students to OSU. Also, we participate annually in the Black Elected Official's College Fair, TRE College Fair, and visit high schools with high minority populations to attend college. In addition, OSU has an Inclusion Leadership Program (ILP) which is a mentor/mentee program where college sophomores paired with high school seniors. The program encourages underrepresented high school students to become leaders and attend college. The University participates in the Southern Regional Education Board's Compact on Faculty Diversity. The University partners with Affinity Groups on campus to share positions. In addition the University advertises in several publications to attract diverse staff. Lastly, the University has several diverse partnerships with and supports community organizations such as: the Urban League, Latino Community Development Agency, MOSAIC, and the Southwest Minority Supplier Business Council.

Mentoring, counseling and support programs 

Does the institution have mentoring, counseling, peer support, academic support, or other programs designed specifically to support students from underrepresented groups on campus?:
Yes

Does the institution have mentoring, counseling, peer support or other programs designed specifically to support academic staff from underrepresented groups on campus?:
Yes

Does the institution have mentoring, counseling, peer support or other programs to support non-academic staff from underrepresented groups on campus?:
Yes

A brief description of the institution’s programs designed specifically to support students, academic staff, and/or non-academic staff from underrepresented groups:
We have an Office of Multicultural Affairs, International Student Scholars Office, Center for Sovereign Nations, Office of Equal Opportunity, and over 70 diversity related student, faculty and staff organizations. The University has Affinity or Employee Resource Groups to support faculty and staff from underrepresented groups. These include Employee Queers and Allies League, Native American Faculty and Staff Association, Hispanic/Latino Faculty and Staff Association, and Black Faculty and Staff Association Asian Faculty and Staff, Fellowship of Christian of Faculty and Staff, Staff Advisory Council, Women's Faculty Council, Veterans Faculty and Staff.

Support for future academic staff

Does the institution have training and development programs, teaching fellowships and/or other programs that specifically aim to support and prepare students from underrepresented groups for careers as faculty members?:
Yes

A brief description of the institution’s programs to support and prepare students from underrepresented groups for careers as faculty members:
The University has an NSF Bridge to Doctorate Grant to support underrepresented students to pursue terminal degrees in the STEM fields. In addition, the University recently was awarded the U.S. Department of Education's McNair Scholars Grant to increase Ph.D. degrees by students from underrepresented segments of society. A recent addition is the Diversity Post-Doctoral Fellowship to engage communities underrepresented in higher education. Brett Delneveltz (Five Diversity Post-Diversity Fellowships Tom Whitekle Rebecca Brennan

Optional Fields 

Does the institution produce a publicly accessible inventory of gender-neutral bathrooms on campus?:
Yes

Does the institution offer housing options to accommodate the special needs of transgender and transitioning students?:
Yes

Website URL where information about the institution’s support for underrepresented groups is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Several URLs exist for different programs and groups for faculty, staff and students. Most of the information is accessible from the Institutional Diversity Page https://diversity.okstate.edu/ and Office of Multicultural Affairs https://oma.okstate.edu/

Also https://eeo.okstate.edu/harassment-and-discrimination

Data Sources:
Dr. Clyde Wilson, Vice President for Institutional Diversity
Dr. Jovette Dew, Assistant Vice President for Diversity Academic Support

The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.