Stanford University
PA-7: Support for Underrepresented Groups

Stanford prohibits unlawful discrimination on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, sex, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status, marital status or any other characteristic protected by applicable law; Stanford also prohibits unlawful harassment including sexual harassment and sexual violence. This policy applies to Stanford programs and activities both on and off-campus, including overseas programs. See more details here: https://bulletin.stanford.edu/academic-policies/nonacademic-regulations/nonacademic-regulations#text

Additionally, many other departments/units at Stanford have additional publicly posted statements to support non-discrimination. For example, Stanford Recreation and Wellness has an Inclusivity Statement to demonstrate its commitment to igniting a culture of belonging and well-being. See more details here: https://rec.stanford.edu/inclusivity

The University is committed to providing a safe living and learning environment in which every person is valued and respected, inclusion is assured, students who report harm feel heard and supported, and free expression and debate are encouraged. After several months of benchmarking, research and discussion, the Acts of Intolerance Working Group made a recommendation to the Vice Provost of Student Affairs to rename the Acts of Intolerance process in 2021 in an effort to counter what felt misleading and outdated. The approved process will now be called Protected Identity Harm (PIH) Reporting.

The Protected Identity Harm Reporting process is the University's process to address incidents where a community member experiences harm because of who they are and how they show up in the world.

Specifically, a PIH incident is conduct or an incident that adversely and unfairly targets an individual or group on the basis of one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics: race, color, national or ethnic origin, sex, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status, marital status or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

The Protected Identity Harm (PIH) Reporting process, intakes information via a reporting mechanism to 1) help students who have been affected by these incidents and 2) collect data. It is not a judicial or investigative process* though we do hope to provide a path to resolution for the affected individuals or communities who need to heal.

*A matter involving conduct that rises to the level of a hate crime or unlawful discrimination or harassment may be referred to law enforcement or another appropriate process on campus.

See more details at: https://protectedidentityharm.stanford.edu/

STUDENTS
Stanford’s Office of Undergraduate Admission uses a multifaceted outreach strategy aimed at encouraging qualified students from low-income backgrounds to apply, which include the following:

1) Counselor Programs: Admissions staff regularly present and connect with school counselors and leaders who work with low-income youth; most recently in 2020 via the American School Counselor Association webinar series. See more details here: https://videos.schoolcounselor.org/virtual-high-school-counseling-tier-1-how-to

2) Community-Based Organization (CBO) outreach: Stanford maintains a database of CBOs across the country. Admissions staff send biannual mailings and travel to CBOs to meet with community leaders and students. During their visits, they conduct information sessions and college application and essay writing workshops. One CBO example is the Steppingstone Foundation.

3) Summer outreach: Admissions staff conduct outreach to students participating in enrichment programs. Examples of program outreach include:
- Since 2006, Stanford has been a dedicated QuestBridge partner. We are proud of the many outstanding QuestBridge Finalists and College Prep Scholars who are current Stanford students and those who are now Stanford alumni.
- Minority Introduction to Engineering and Science (MITES), Research Science Institute (RSI), Women in Technology (WIT), and Mathematics and Science for Minority Students (MS)2
- Jack Kent Cooke Foundation programs/events

STAFF AND FACULTY
The university conducts an annual analysis of the workforce and identifies job groups that are under-represented with respect to women and minorities. A plan is then developed to address the under-represented groups, which includes increased recruiting and recruiting support, improved onboarding of new staff, and participation in veteran and disability-related community activities. Stanford's Diversity and Access Office is responsible for providing resources and assistance to all departments in recruitment of a diverse staff. To that end, the Diversity and Access Office compiles a Diversity Recruitment Resources toolkit with links and information from various external organizations and associations, arranged by job category, that can assist departments in expanding their targeted searches for qualified and diverse candidates. The toolkit is available here: https://diversityandaccess.stanford.edu/diversity/diversity-recruitment-resources

Additionally, Stanford has two separate initiatives on campus that offer financial and intellectual resources to departments to recruit faculty from underrepresented groups: the Faculty Development Initiative and the Faculty Incentive Fund+. See more details at the links below:

https://ccsre.stanford.edu/faculty-development-initiative

https://facultydevelopment.stanford.edu/recruitment/recruitment-programs

STUDENTS
As a part of new student orientation, all new students in 2021 were required to attend a "Toward Racial Equity" presentation. See more details here: https://view.publitas.com/stanford-undergrad/new-student-orientation-2021/page/2-3

Additionally, the Diversity & First-Gen Office (DGen) at Stanford is the hub of support for first-generation and low-income students and the nucleus for inclusion and diversity programs. The DGen office runs the QT Umbrella Assistance Fund, which is designed to financially assist students cover the costs of:
- Mental health counseling (out of pocket or co-pays)
- Gender affirmative medical services (hormones/surgery costs)
- Legal services associated with changing gender markers
- other legal documentation.

See more details on DGen's many services and programs here: https://queer.stanford.edu/spaces/diversity-first-gen-office

STAFF
Stanford also has staff affinity groups that act as a resource for underrepresented employees. The seven staff affinity groups on campus are overseen by the Diversity and Access Office. These groups help employees meet new people and provide opportunities for professional, social and personal support. See more details at: https://diversityandaccess.stanford.edu/diversity/staff-groups

FACULTY
The Faculty Women's Forum provides training and organizes events to promote the success of women faculty at Stanford, with opportunities for faculty across the University to discuss shared interests and concerns. See more details here: https://facultydevelopment.stanford.edu/diversity-engagement/faculty-networks/faculty-womens-forum

Stanford has a number of strong, well-established, programs to prepare students from underrepresented groups for academic careers. The programs are primarily run out of our offices of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education and of Graduate Education. Examples of these programs are:

- Diversifying Academia, Recruiting Excellence (DARE) Doctoral Fellowship Program supports advanced PhD students whose presence will diversify their academic fields. See more details here: https://vpge.stanford.edu/fellowships-funding/dare/details

- Enhancing Diversity in Graduate Education (EDGE) is a Doctoral Fellowship Program for new PhD students that provides mentoring by advanced PhD students and faculty, interdisciplinary workshops, professional development, and research funding. Rapidly scaled up from social sciences and education, to STEM, humanities, and business. See more details here: https://vpge.stanford.edu/fellowships-funding/enhancing-diversity-graduate/details

- El Centro Chicano y Latino Graduate Scholars in Residence Program fosters academic success and inspires interest from undergraduates in faculty careers. See more details here: https://elcentro.stanford.edu/graduate/graduate-scholars-residence-program

- Stanford Undergraduate STEM Fellows Program supports students who will promote the diversity (broadly defined) of the future professoriate. The program addresses the educational consequences of gender, racial, ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in higher education, and aims to increase the number of PhDs earned by underrepresented groups in STEM. The program offers a stipend, faculty mentorship, and paid summer research positions. See more details here: https://undergrad.stanford.edu/opportunities-research/fellowships/fellowships-listing/stanford-vpue-stem-fellows-program

Gender inclusive bathroom locations: https://rde.stanford.edu/studenthousing/gender-inclusive-bathrooms