Texas A&M University
PA-5: Diversity and Equity Coordination

Texas A&M’s President’s Council on Climate and Diversity (PCCD) reports to the university president. Per the 2010 University Diversity Plan, the PCCD meets at least quarterly to review and score the annual Diversity Plan Accountability reports, attend presentations from academic and administrative leaders, and/or network with members of the Diversity Operations Committee (DOC). The PCCD is composed of students, faculty, staff, administrators, and community members who represent different constituencies in the campus and community.

The Diversity Operations Committee (DOC) is a university-wide committee serving as an advisory body to the Vice President and Associate Provost for Diversity. The DOC is charged to ensure that all existing and planned policies, operations, procedures, and all major plans for organizational change are pursued with careful attention to their impact on our diversity and inclusion goals; ensure strategic coordination of university-wide diversity-related activities; consider processes for the collection of equity and climate data, diversity initiatives, as well as recruitment and retention strategies and outcomes; and consider means for enhancing the effectiveness of our collective diversity initiatives, taking into account current practices, and the distinctive cultures of our various units.

The PCCD is charged with providing counsel to the President and the Provost on practices for attracting and retaining diverse students, faculty, and staff at Texas A&M University to strengthen, sustain, and promote diversity and inclusion efforts. In 2010, the PCCD’s charge was expanded to include an additional responsibility: to aid the Vice President and Associate Provost for Diversity (VPAPD) in planning appropriate assessment and evaluation of units.

The PCCD assists in the assessment and evaluation of accountability, climate, and equity activities that strengthen, sustain, and promote diversity efforts in support of institutional goals. Annually, a minimum of $1 million is distributed to reward units for progress across and within multiple areas of the Diversity Plan (e.g., recruitment, retention, climate, and equity efforts).

The PCCD assists with campus-wide diversity planning by providing feedback to the units to improve future diversity and inclusion strategies. For example, suggestions have focused on the following: encouraging units to gather data from aspirant institutional peers and expand recruitment efforts to obtain a more diverse faculty; encouraging units to focus more on strategic change within the unit’s culture in addition to tactical efforts driven by events and activities; enhancing faculty, staff, and student cultural competency skills; expanding understanding of equity beyond salaries; implementing assessment plans and goals; and enhancing staff and supervisor skill sets.

The examples provided in this section are not intended to be an exhaustive or comprehensive list of Texas A&M University’s training programs. Only a few examples, from the 2019-2020 annual Diversity Plan Accountability Reports, are included to illustrate some of the compelling work that our students, faculty, and staff are engaged in on our campuses, departments, colleges, and administrative units. To encourage everyone in our campus community to develop cultural competency, Texas A&M has made a substantial commitment to providing trainings, seminars, and courses to students, faculty, and staff.

The Green Dot bystander intervention training teaches skill for interrupting and preventing personal violence.

Anti-Discrimination Bystander Intervention Training to help equip our entire campus community with some tools to counteract discrimination.

Search Committee Training: The Deans’ Executive Committee discusses implicit bias and best practices for hiring and recruiting before approving faculty search parameters and Texas A&M Search Committee training is required for all committee members and facilitated through the Dean of Faculties Office. Search committee training specifically focuses on diversifying applicant pools, eliminating biases, establishing best practices in the sorting, and selection steps, and addressing international faculty issues.

Training for all Texas A&M employees and student workers (excluding Sexual Harassment – Equal Employment Opportunity) is mandatory for all new employees and includes Ethics and Reporting Abuse, Fraud, and Waste. Additional training every two years is required for existing employees. For staff and faculty, Human Resources and Organizational Effectiveness (HROE) provides certification in the “Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace Program.”

The College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (CVM) provides examples of how training is integrated in student learning. Education and training in inclusion, diversity and professionalism happens in the undergraduate biomedical sciences program (BIMS) and graduate level new student orientations. The BIMS program also offers an International Certificate in Cultural Competency and Communication in Spanish.

The College of Liberal Arts, the College of Architecture, and the Department of Multicultural Services have joined together for the creation of a Diversity Certificate Program for Texas A&M University. Drawing from existing courses, programs and associations within the university, the Diversity Certificate Program will enable its students to create, synthesize, and integrate academic coursework, co-curricular experience, and service-learning engagement in order to demonstrate their preparedness for participation in the modern global economy.

The First-Year seminars were piloted and implemented as zero-credit hour courses that met weekly with a designated leader who was staff or faculty and a peer mentor in Fall 2019. For first-time-in-college students, first-year, university-wide experiences are intended to improve retention by increasing each student’s sense of belonging on campus. As a result of participating in First Year Seminars, Texas A&M students will: (1) have an increased awareness of campus resources; (2) develop the skills to achieve personal and academic goals; and (3) contribute to a diverse and inclusive environment.

To create a university-wide experience, all seminars address eight themes: physical and mental well-being; alcohol and other drugs; academic success strategies and resources; healthy relationships and bystander interventions; diversity/cultural competence; social and financial well-being; self-awareness/resilience/goal-setting; and career/major exploration. Faculty, staff, and peer mentors deliver the content after being trained by the content development teams and the Office for Student Success.

For staff in the Division of Academic Affairs and the Division of Student Affairs, cultural competence training is required annually.

Developing Cultural Competence in the Workplace (6-hour workshop) - focuses on exploring the role that culture plays in our daily interactions with others; provides participants with the opportunity to examine both the challenges and opportunities that result from an increasingly diverse workforce and examines ways to develop cultural competence. Introduction to Diversity and Inclusion (online training) – emphasizes Texas A&M’s commitment to diversity and the role all employees play in ensuring the university is a community of respect.

Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace certificate program (22 hours plus independent assignments) The intent of this program is to enhance Texas A&M's work climate by increasing employees' ability to work effectively with others within a diverse environment. The program introduces participants to the value of diversity and inclusion; content includes assessing one’s awareness of how cultural identity, filters, and behaviors impact the work environment, how to respond to bias in a proactive and transformational way, and how to utilize strategies to bridge differences among and work more effectively with people who differ from one another according to a wide variety of attributes. Constructive Communication in the Workplace certificate program (28 hours plus independent assignment): This program teaches advanced communication skills that will allow participants to more confidently transmit information, express ideas and listen effectively in their daily interactions, and to engage in courageous conversations that may occur when conflict arises.

Other courses include:
•Bridging the Gap - The Multigenerational Workforce
•Fostering Respect in a Diverse Workplace
•Interpersonal Communication Skills
•Lost in Translation: Navigating Intercultural Communication in the Workplace

For undergraduate students, the cultural competence session of New Student Conferences is required for all incoming students.

Additional URLs for information about programs or initiatives:
Anti-Discrimination Bystander Training - https://rise.articulate.com/share/-ypJhlQVyQqlbJ8wTipZbYNncui1h0dE#/; http://dms.tamu.edu/diversity; and https://diversity.tamu.edu/Resources
https://employees.tamu.edu/talent-management/managers/diversity-resources.html
ADVANCE Center provides STRIDE (Strategies and Tactics for Recruiting to Improve Diversity and Excellence) training (https://advance.tamu.edu/Programs/STRIDE-Workshops) and STRIPE "Strategies and Tactics for Retention through Inclusive Promotion Evaluation" training (https://advance.tamu.edu/Programs/STRIPE-Workshop)