Stanford University
PA-4: Diversity and Equity Coordination

FACULTY/STAFF: The Diversity and Access Office (D&A) is responsible for ensuring compliance with the federal and state non-discrimination laws, as well as the university's non-discrimination policy. D&A is responsible for responding to concerns and complaints regarding discrimination. In addition, the office provides disability-related accommodations to staff, faculty and the public. The office also oversees the eight staff affinity groups. There are also two committees that meet the intent of this credit at Stanford: the Diversity Cabinet (university-wide) and the Panel on Faculty Equity and Quality of Life (faculty only). The Diversity Cabinet serves as the university’s executive body charged with keeping the issue of diversity at the forefront of the university's agenda. The Cabinet consists of executive officers and provides strategic advice to the Provost on how to continue to improve campus diversity. Please visit the following website for more information: https://facultydevelopment.stanford.edu/diversity-cabinet The Panel on Faculty Equity and Quality of Life (rotational membership, comprised of faculty members from different schools) administers the Faculty Quality of Life Survey, and also collects and assesses data from the university’s seven schools concerning non-salary forms of compensation and support. For more information, please visit: https://diversityandaccess.stanford.edu/ STUDENTS: Stanford University was originally founded as a tuition-free institution and has a history of supporting the education of first-generation and/or low-income students. The Office of Financial Aid keeps this spirit alive with its generous need-based financial aid packages. In April of 2011 Stanford created the Diversity and First Gen (DGEN) Office to support the campus life of first-generation and/or low-income students. The DGEN Office provides campus leadership for students, faculty and staff to consciously and actively affirm intersectional identities and foster intergroup relationships. Through research, forums, classes and workshops, the office builds student capacity and confidence to experience a sense of belonging and develop authentic connections with people from different backgrounds. Within this mission is a special focus on enriching the experience of first-generation and low-income college students by supporting their academic and social transitions, empowerment and community building.

In 2015, Stanford launched the OpenXChange program, a year-long, community-wide and community-driven initiative with the goal of strengthening and unifying Stanford through purposeful engagement around issues of national and global concern. From its founding, Stanford has been a place committed to intellectual debate, the open exchange of ideas in the service of learning and the creation of new knowledge. Indeed, as a university, Stanford changes the world primarily through the knowledge it discovers and the future citizens it educates. By sharing those discoveries and preparing students for leadership, Stanford hopes to make its community, the nation, and the world better. Many of the diversity offices and groups on campus have developed programming to engage in OpenXChange throughout the year, expanding upon their typical day to day responsibilities. Some examples are described below. STUDENTS The DGEN Office provides trainings and workshops for students, faculty and staff in various formats. Between 2013 and 2016, DGEN hosted Residential Education trainings in 26 student houses, trained more than 400 RAs in diversity and inclusion, held forums for Residential Fellows, and hosted ongoing trainings from ResEd professional staff. In the 2016-17 academic year, the office already has 39 requests for additional ResEd student trainings. DGEN trainings have also been extended to 28 other campus groups through 2016, including classes, camps, student clubs, staff groups, and community centers. Engaging Difference is the DGEN office’s foundational workshop designed to introduce participants to the guiding frameworks utilized by the office. The workshop covers: Intent and Impact, From Safe Spaces to Brave Spaces, Cultural Humility and Intersectionality. The DGEN offices developed a new workshop in partnership with Residential Education entitled, “Beyond the Line” (BTL). The goal of Beyond the Line is authentic engagement across differences. Through responding to a series of statements, participants engage in deliberate dialogue and discussion on issues of critical importance. The statements included in BTL aim to dig deeper into contentious identity-based topics at Stanford, supporting all participants in actively listening and engaging with different viewpoints. In giving participants the tools to listen and acknowledge their own preconceived assumptions about others, BTL equips them to interrogate their own experiences and engage new perspectives and ideas. Beyond the Line has been held with a wide range of students, staff and faculty including ResEd professional staff, executive groups, all RAs and Row House staff, Resident Fellows (faculty), and other student and staff groups. Over 25 houses have requested BTL, including all ethnic theme houses and many fraternities and sororities. Approximately 25 staff and 30 students have received Beyond the Line facilitator training. The Courageous Conversations Forum was a student-led program that hosted 15 students engaged in an interactive dialogue about how to explore difficult topics at Stanford. Consistent with findings in other forums, students reported that they wanted more discussion of identity topics in both residential and academic settings and are currently developing a proposal to train additional students to facilitate dialogue across difference. Three more forums are scheduled for this year through OpenXChange. Faces of Community, which is offered to all incoming freshmen, is the highest rated New Student Orientation program, designed to introduce incoming students to the unique and varied personal stories and talents of current students. Faces strives to be honest, representative, evocative, and encouraging. The objectives of Faces are: 1. To provide new students with a sense of the culturally rich environment they are entering. 2. To promote respect and appreciation for the range of dynamic people who are integral to our community's health and success. 3. To encourage reflection on one's own identities and the range of identities one will encounter. 4. To encourage further exploration and learning about cultural differences and similarities, and how our interactions enhance the quality of the education process. Residential staff were provided with training prior to and during NSO to support their engagement of incoming students on the important issues of intersectionality raised by the Faces program. RAs were given a “tools for engagement” handout with basic facilitation tips to encourage open and honest discussion. Following the Faces presentation RAs are invited to facilitate a dorm discussion to assist students in reflecting and sharing the feelings and insights that they gained from the event. Students often cite Faces as one of the most powerful and positive aspects of their welcome to Stanford. The dorm discussion can enliven and enrich that sentiment. Faces of Our Year is an expansion of the Faces program designed to reconnect students to the powerful conversations started their freshman year about identity, culture and community at Stanford. Many students have expressed that after their first experience with Faces of the Community, the conversation it created was never fully addressed again. Given the ever-increasing number of Faces applicants (over 50 in 2015), there is definitely a student demand for more opportunities to share their stories. This provides a natural link for students and the OpenXChange mission. There will be separate events for sophomores, juniors and seniors that feature 3-4 monologues by speakers from their class followed by a dinner conversation on identity and community. Additional cultural competence and diversity training for faculty is carried out in a variety of ways: 1. Elements of cultural competence and diversity training are included in the required sexual harrassment prevention policy training, 2. Elements of cultural competence and diversity training are included in the required diversity trainings for graduate recruitment and admissions committees; and 3. Dedicated cultural competence and diversity trainings are offered regularly in the form of workshops, talks, discussions and special initiatives, such as the University’s OpenXChange initiative and the Diversity & Inclusion @ Stanford initiative, which is a series of campus-wide learning and discussion opportunities that tackle dimensions and implications of diversity in Stanford's academic life led by the Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty Development and Diversity with partners across the University. STAFF/FACULTY The President and Provost have delegated responsibilities for the implementation of equal employment opportunity and affirmative action programs and activities at Stanford University to the director of the Diversity and Access Office. The director assists in developing the University's Affirmative Action Plan (AAP), oversees its implementation, and reviews employee recruiting, hiring and training. The office also coordinates and monitors the University's compliance with the training requirements of federal and state non-discrimination laws, including providing guidance and evaluating efforts to improve equal employment and access to campus facilities, programs and activities, as providing training to faculty and staff regarding disability accommodations. Residential & Dining Enterprises offers a training for new employees titled, "R&DE Workplace Diversity, Inclusion and Cultural Awareness." This course teaches key concepts about regional culture, culture awareness, diversity/inclusion and how these concepts are applied to help you create R&DE's Culture of Excellence. Employees learn basic concepts about emotional intelligence (EI) and how core EI skills help to recognize and respect differences in others to effectively resolve conflict. The course also reviews R&DE's core values and Stanford's commitment to inclusion and diversity and related policies, all of which sets performance standards for workplace diversity and inclusion practices. Finally, the Office of the Vice Provost for faculty Development and Diversity offers a series of campus-wide learning and discussion opportunities that tackle dimensions and implications of diversity in Stanford's academic life. Examples are "Implicit Bias and Microaggressions: the Macro Impact of Small Acts" and "Increasing Diversity in Science and Engineering at the PhD Level: Lessons from the Fisk-Vanderbilt Bridge Program." Additionally, the Faculty Women's Forum (FWF) provides training and organizes events to promote the success of women faculty at Stanford, with opportunities for women faculty across the University to discuss shared interests and concerns.