Trinity College (CT)
PA-6: Support for Underrepresented Groups

https://www.trincoll.edu/AboutTrinity/offices/HR/Pages/EEO.aspx

Trinity College is committed to being an academic community free of discrimination and prejudice and, to this end, abides by all applicable federal, state and local laws pertaining to non-discrimination and fair employment practices. Trinity College is committed to providing equal opportunity to all faculty and administrative staff in its employment and personnel practices, and to policies and practices which assure that there will be no discrimination against any individual on the grounds of race, color, age, ethnicity, national origin, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender expression or gender identity. Decisions relative to appointment, employment and promotion are made on the basis of individual qualifications and merit. The College is committed to building a representative and diverse faculty, administrative staff, and student body and will undertake positive efforts to ensure that this end is achieved.

The College recognizes that the principle of non-discrimination requires the elimination of all existing discriminatory conditions, whether purposeful or inadvertent. The criteria for employment in or appointment to positions at Trinity College will not in effect or intent exhibit discrimination on any of the grounds mentioned above.

Trinity College is committed to the principle of non-discrimination in education as well as in employment. It is imperative that every member of the Trinity College community – faculty, chairpersons, administrative staff and students - take positive and constructive action to ensure the College’s commitment to diversity.

The newly formed Campus Climate Incident Response Team is a group of Trinity community members that represent each of the constituencies on campus. Comprised of students, administration, faculty, and exempt and non-exempt staff, the campus climate incident response team seeks to promote inclusion and equity through its focus on the Trinity community’s response to incidents of intolerance and other incidents that offend our highest community values. Their website offers a form to report an incident and includes a list of campus resources.

In addition:

- The team seeks to anticipate community needs and concerns
- Devise strategies of response to incidents of intolerance
- Develop networks of relationship across campus
- Serve as an educational resource
- Advise college personnel and offices in their responses to incidents
- Track and report campus incidents
- Evaluate responses to improve College practices and shared life in community
- Collaborate with campus partners while responding to incidents

Due to the nature, complexity, and sensitivity of the incidents being responded to, the College will take steps to investigate reported or discovered incidents of intolerance before the Team is initially notified and assembled. Barring exigent or extenuating circumstances, the Team shall be guided by the following response protocol.
An initial response will focus on persons most immediately affected by an incident. Recovery will focus on any needs in the broader campus community.
Response:
a.Discovery and Assessment: The Team will meet to understand what has happened, to assess the situation, and to consider next steps.
b.Allocate Resources: The Team will identify the immediate resources to meet the needs of the community and/or individuals affected by the behavior.
c.Focused Outreach: The Team will identify strategies and implement a plan to address the needs of those directly affected by the incident.

Recovery:
a.Campus Outreach: The Team will identify strategies and implement a plan to address the needs of the campus community.
b.Examination of Incident: If possible and appropriate, the Team will determine the origin of the incident and consider programs, training, etc. that will mitigate or prevent further incidents.
c.Evaluation of Response: The Team will review the College’s response to the incident, develop strategies for continued campus engagement, and identify areas of improvement.

Due to the need for efficient and effective response from the College, the following areas of responsibility will be established until the Team can assemble and assign specific duties/tasks:
A.The VP of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, the VP of Student Affairs, the Chaplain of the College, and the Director of Campus Safety, will typically be part of the College’s initial response and will develop information for the Team’s Discovery and Assessment of the incident.
B.The VP of Campus Life or their designee shall be responsible for convening the Team and directing the informational/planning meeting.
C.The Team will be provided with the appropriate information to assess the situation, identify the resources and community outreach needed, and develop a plan to respond to the incident. Potential community follow-up includes: small group discussions, town halls, forums, emails to the college; community gatherings, education sessions and small group discussions.

As an example for recruiting students from underrepresented backgrounds Trinity College has a partnership with the Posse Foundation. Their mission is rooted in the belief that a small, diverse group of talented students—a Posse—carefully selected and trained, can serve as a catalyst for individual and community development. As the United States becomes an increasingly multicultural society, Posse believes that the leaders of the 21st century should reflect the country’s rich demographic mix. There other programs organized by our admissions team such as overnight stays on our campus and our program for first generation students.

For faculty there is a Special Opportunity Hire Program. More information can be found here https://www.trincoll.edu/Academics/dean/Diversity/

For students, there is the Promoting Respect for Inclusive Diversity in Education (P.R.I.D.E.) Program which has student peer mentors