Swarthmore College
PA-7: Support for Underrepresented Groups

The College expressly prohibits any form of discrimination and harassment on the basis of any College-recognized protected classification, including sex, race, color, age, religion, national or ethnic origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, marital status, medical condition, veteran status, or disability in any decision regarding admissions, employment, or involvement in a College program or activity in accordance with the letter and spirit of federal, state, and local non-discrimination and equal opportunity laws, such as Titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, The Age Discrimination in Employment Act, The Americans with Disabilities Act and ADA Amendments Act, The Equal Pay Act, the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, and the Borough of Swarthmore Ordinance on Non-Discrimination.

Swarthmore College, as an educational community, will promptly and equitably respond to all reports of discrimination and harassment based on a protected classification in order to eliminate the discrimination, prevent its recurrence, and address its effects on any individual or the community.

http://www.swarthmore.edu/equal-opportunity-office/non-discrimination-and-equal-opportunity

The College has a designated bias response team made up of the Dean of Students, Director of Public Safety, and Assistant Vice President and Dean of Inclusive Excellence and Community Development. The Bias Response Protocol is published on the College's website (https://www.swarthmore.edu/public-safety/bias-incident-harassment-and-hate-crime-response) and described the protocols taken by the response team in the event of an incident. The response team will, in all cases, offer support to the individual affected by the incident, though the support may take different forms.

Students:
1. "Discover Swarthmore", held in the fall, is our all-expenses-paid overnight program for high-achieving high school seniors. Admissions pays for all transportation, meals, and on-campus housing expenses for students invited to attend one of these programs. All interested high school seniors (U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and undocumented/DACA students living in the United States) are welcome to apply to Discover Swarthmore, though preference will be given to students from traditionally underrepresented groups, students who are the first in their family to attend college, and students from low-income backgrounds.              

2. Swatlight: Each spring, the College hosts another all-expenses-paid trip to Swarthmore for admitted students who are the first in their family to attend college, come from a low-income background, or work with a community-based organization that offers free advice on college admissions or financial aid.                                                    

3. Recruiting partnerships: see link for a list of 8 partnerships that the college maintains with the intent of connecting with students we may not meet through more traditional college admissions venues- http://www.swarthmore.edu/admissions-aid/partnering-access.         

4. Undocumented Student Policy: Our Quaker heritage informs our work. That’s one reason why we treat undocumented and DACA-eligible first-year and transfer students the same way we admit and fund any domestic student.   
                                                          
Staff and Faculty: A formal Diversity and Excellence training is required for members of all search teams during recruitment processes to ensure that the search team is recruiting and considering a diverse pool of applicants for the role. Additionally, the Director, Equal Opportunity and Engagement works with search teams to enhancing diversity recruitment efforts and avoiding discriminatory practices in position announcements and advertisements, in-person and telephone, interview discussions and conversation, interview questions, and reference checking.

Students (*and Staff): Swarthmore has an Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and Community Development within the Dean's Office (*), a Black Cultural Center, a First in Family series, an Intercultural Center, and a Women's Resource Center among other programs that can be found here: http://www.swarthmore.edu/diversityswarthmore/student-life-support. All of these groups and centers support various types of inclusion education and activities throughout the year for students especially but also staff. 

Faculty: We have a fairly robust mentoring program for all faculty, but it is not specifically targeted to underrepresented groups. Every entering faculty member is assigned a mentor from outside of her department and we organize programming designed to help build that relationship in the opening weeks of the academic year. There is also the Employee Resource Groups program, which presents opportunities for underrepresented groups among the staff and faculty to establish affinity groups and strengthen the College community via dialogue, education, and professional development. Website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/equal-opportunity/employee-resource-groups-pilot-program

Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Program (MMUF) is offered to Swarthmore students. The fundamental objective of MMUF is to increase the number of minority students, and others with a demonstrated commitment to eradicating racial disparities, who will pursue Ph.D.s in core fields in the arts and sciences.

In 1988, under this broad charter, the Mellon Foundation made a long-term commitment to help remedy the serious shortage of faculty of color in higher education through the Mellon Minority Undergraduate Fellowship program. In 2003, the Foundation reaffirmed its commitment and broadened the mission of MMUF. The name of the program was changed to the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship program.

For more information, visit: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mellon-mays

More info on the various recruiting programs to recruit underrepresented students: http://www.swarthmore.edu/admissions-aid/partnering-access
More info on gender inclusivity:
https://www.swarthmore.edu/lgbtq

This information was assembled by representatives from the Office of Sustainability.