University of Arizona
PA-6: Support for Underrepresented Groups

The University of Arizona is committed to creating and maintaining an environment free of discrimination. In support of this commitment, the University prohibits discrimination, including harassment and retaliation, based on a protected classification, including race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or genetic information. The University encourages anyone who believes he or she has been the subject of discrimination to report the matter immediately as described in the section below, “Reporting Discrimination, Harassment, or Retaliation.” All members of the University community are responsible for participating in creating a campus environment free from all forms of prohibited discrimination and for cooperating with University officials who investigate allegations of policy violations.

http://policy.arizona.edu/human-resources/nondiscrimination-and-anti-harassment-policy

Through the University of Arizona's Office of Institutional Equity the UA's discrimination response policy can be found. It essentially outlines equal opportunity in employment as well as nondiscrimination and anti-harassment for all students and employees. The process for responding to discrimination is also outlined. The policy and response process, as well as contact information for filing complaints or concerns is found at this website:

http://policy.arizona.edu/human-resources/nondiscrimination-and-anti-harassment-policy

STUDENT RECRUITMENT

Regarding recruitment of students from underrepresented groups, UA has a wide range of programs and services:

Algebra Academy (AUSD, BUSD, SUSD, TUSD)
A 120-hour summer program serving rising 9th grade students with an introduction to fundamental algebraic concepts via small-group, hands-on projects where students experience the application of math to the real world.

College Academy for Parents (CAP) (SUSD)
College knowledge workshops, interactions with faculty & UA campus visits are key components of this 12-week parent outreach program that helps elementary school families develop a college plan for their children.

College Knowledge for Counselors (Statewide)
A professional development conference designed to provide educators with innovative ideas of how to create a college-going culture in Arizona middle and high schools.

College Knowledge for Parents (AUSD, BUSD, FWUSD, NUSD, SCVUSD, SUSD, TUSD)
This one-day event invites 8th grade families to discuss admissions, paying for college, and the transition to high school. Families have the opportunity to explore the campus and its academic offerings.

Cubs to Wildcats (AUSD, BUSD, FWUSD, MUSD, NUSD, SahUSD, SUSD, TUSD)
Current college students provide middle school students, parents, and educators with programming to ensure students are aware, eligible, and prepared for a college education.

Cultural College Days (Statewide)
On campus events that validate students’ cultural backgrounds by providing college-planning for high school families along with an introduction to critical campus resources that support students from diverse backgrounds.

Immigrant Student Resource Center (ISRC)
ISRC helps recruit & retain immigrant students at the University of Arizona. The Center also trains university staff, faculty, & administrators on how to work more effectively with immigrant students

MASCulinity Initiatives (Men, Access, School & Communities) (AUSD, BUSD, FWUSD, SUSD, TUSD)
A one-day conference inviting male high school students to The University of Arizona campus to focus on discussions of integrating college into students plans after high school.

Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) (Southern Region: AUSD, BUSD, FWUSD, NUSD, SahUSD, SUSD, & TUSD; Central Region: Alhambra, Cartwright, GESD, GUHSD, Laveen, Liberty, Littleton, Peoria, PESD, & Phoenix Union. )
A national outreach program that helps 1,000 AZ college-bound students explore STEM fields through competitions where students utilize a simplified engineering design process (explore, design, test) to optimize performance.

Native American Science & Engineering Program (NASEP) (Statewide)
Native American students from across Arizona are invited to a comprehensive 1-week summer program that exposes students to sustainability and a variety of STEM majors & careers. Students are then engaged in a university-level research project and receive guidance in college admissions and the scholarship search process.

Padres Promotores (Expanding beyond SUSD)
Parents are empowered to take what they have learned in the College Academy for Parents program and to educate their own communities as they facilitate college preparation workshops for other peer parents in the K-12 system.

Start Now! Website and Marketing Initiatives (Statewide)
A website hosting information and videos that seek to demystify the complex processes of preparing, applying, and paying for college. A sister site provides the information in Spanish at empiezahoy.arizona.edu.

UA College Advising Corps (AUSD, FWUSD, SUSD, TUSD)
Utilizing a “near peer” model, recent college graduates are placed in full time positions as College Advisers in high schools to complement and build upon the school’s existing college-going culture. Advisers facilitate classroom presentations, meet individually with students and engage parents in supporting their children’s college aspirations. (Program run AY 2015-16 & 2016-17).

FACULTY RECRUITMENT

For our faculty diversity, we require search committee members to attend a faculty hiring workshop which offers tips to build a diverse applicant pool and strategies to reduce the impact of unconscious bias. We also have the Strategic Priorities Faculty Initiative, which provides funding to hire faculty who advance our priorities and provide our diverse student body with access to a research-based education. To increase the retention of underrepresented faculty, we have the Diverse Faculty Career Discussions, which offers peer mentoring and professional development.

http://grad.arizona.edu/diversityprograms/
http://facultyaffairs.arizona.edu/recruitment-SPFI
http://facultyaffairs.arizona.edu/rsvp-recruitment-workshops

STAFF RECRUITMENT

Regarding overall staff recruitment from underrepresented groups, the University of Arizona has a very wide array of efforts in place:

The University proactively seeks partnerships with agencies groups, job fairs and In-Person meetings to attract a diverse population of qualified candidates.

HigherEdJobs.com: According to HigherEdJobs.com, 31% of their users represent minority and underrepresented populations and 65% are female. Additionally, HigherEdJobs.com offers additional strategic products which serve to connect directly with diverse audiences.

ArizonaDiversity.com: The Arizona Diversity Local Job Network consists of local diversity sites that work with area organizations to help employers attract: African Americans, Asian Americans, People with Disabilities, Gays and Lesbians, Hispanics, Mature Workers, Native Americans, Veterans, and Women. They support the university by advertising all our jobs on their site and on partnering community agencies, posting all our jobs in our ESDS account, and sending our Monthly ESDS email requesting veteran priority referral.

Outreach Development Activities:
The University participates in system-wide outreach development activities designed to publicize its affirmative action commitment.

VEVRAA (Davis Monthan Air Force Base)
The university proactively partners with Davis Monthan on a bi-weekly basis attending their on-base Capstone events. Our recruiters provide resume review, job leads, and career advising services to service members who will be transitioning to civilian service within 60 days. We also work closely with the Airman and Family Readiness Center to connect military spouses with job leads. Through our partnership with DMAFB, the UA is able to personally connect with service members, share potential UA opportunities, and send job listings to on base veteran list serves.

VEVRAA (Military Veteran Family Coalition)
The university also maintains an active relationship with The Arizona Coalition of Military Families to address unemployment and underemployment amongst service members, veterans and their family members.
This initiative is unique in that they offer a variety of employer support programs, including, direct connection to employment agencies serving veterans, training on veteran recruitment and retention, and technical assistance to strengthen our ability to support veteran employees.
Our Arizona military veteran family population is more than 625,000 strong and presents a unique opportunity for UA to recruit and retain talented leadership with a wide breadth of training, education and experience. UA kicked off their support by attending Arizona Veteran Supportive Employer training focused on recruiting, hiring and retaining service members, veterans and their family members in 2015. Since then we continue to attend and host bi-annual trainings in the hopes of improving employment opportunities for veterans.

VEVRAA Job Fairs/In-Person Meetings
o Arizona At Work Career Fair
o DMAFB Capstone (bi-weekly)
o Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Employer Awards Banquet
o 3rd Annual Community Summit, Military Veteran Family Coalition
o ESGR job fair, Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve

(Linkages)
The university proactively support our local Linkages agency. The university sends recruiters to talk to job developers and applicants regarding open positions and applicant support. We also try and connect hiring departments with hard to fill positions with the services of Linkages job developers to find high qualified candidates with disabilities. We meet several times a year with the executive director to discuss potential partnership opportunities, attend their annual DREAM job fair, and support their yearly Linkages Building Bridges Awards.

(Project SEARCH)
The university partners with Project SEARCH is a business-led collaboration that enables young adults with disabilities to gain and maintain employment through training and career exploration. Our Division of Human Resources hosted two students during the 2015-2016 school year. The ultimate goal of Project SEARCH is competitive employment for each student intern. To achieve this goal our student’s participated the interviewing process for our internship positions, job orientation and training, shadowing HR employees, taking normal breaks, eating lunch with HR peers, maintaining professional attire, and working with a supervisor and being evaluated on acquisition of skills, performance, pace and productivity. Our goal role was to assist the employee in being successful in these tasks with as much independence as possible. We coached and mentored two students during this process and hosted them at our site 4 hours daily until their graduation in May.

Job Fairs/In-Person Meetings
o DREAM job fair
o AZILG Network Event, Hailey Thoman-Linkages
o Linkage and Division of HR meet new Linkages leadership
o Linkages and UA Parking & Transportation discuss recruitment partnership
o Linkages 9th Annual Awards 2016
o Project SEARCH host (daily)

o TRANS*FORM Employment Expo, The Southern Arizona Aids Foundation (LGBTQ)
o Labor Day Job Fair, Consulado De Mexico
o 50+ Recruiting Partnership Meeting, Roger Forrester
o 50+ Recruitment Fair, Pima Community College
o Pima County Youth Career Pathways Fair, Pima County
o Pima County One Stop Job Fair, Pima County
o 26th Annual Diversity Career Fair, Tucson Indian Center

STUDENT SUPPORT:

The University of Arizona is home to a variety of groups and services that support under-represented groups in the student body. We have cultural centers to represent Latinos, African Americans, Asian Americans, and Native Americans. We also have the Women's Resource Center, LGBTQ Affairs, and Veterans Education and Transition Services. Student clubs and organizations for underrepresented students are available that focus on fostering an inclusive community on campus, financial support, research assistance and more. UA is committed to creating an inclusive campus community that promotes success for all students.

FACULTY SUPPORT:

To increase the retention of underrepresented faculty, we have the Diverse Faculty Career Discussions, which offers peer mentoring and professional development.

STAFF (AND BROADER CAMPUS COMMUNITY) SUPPORT:

The Diversity Coordinating Council is focused on supporting the university diversity strategy; leadership group for diversity on campus. It is comprised of faculty, staff, students who represent their office (eg. Dean of Students, Enrollment Management, etc.)

The Office for Diversity and Inclusive Excellence (ODIEX) is a systemic, institutional, cultural transformation approach to campus diversity. It is designed to engage the rich array of students, staff, faculty, administrators, and alumni in the work of embedding diversity and inclusiveness throughout the University of Arizona. The goal is to create an engaged university that creates a welcoming campus climate that capitalizes on diversity.

Diversity Community Councils collaborate with University of Arizona leadership to support the UA’s diversity priorities. The councils work to promote diversity, inclusion and shared decision-making, as well as emphasize diversity in every aspect of our institutional culture. Some examples of UA diversity groups are: LGBTQ Community Council, the University Religious Council, and the Commission on the Status of Women.

The University of Arizona offers a multitude of programs that help increase diversity in higher education faculty by providing scholarships and fellowships to outstanding members of underrepresented groups.

One the programs that serves this purpose is the Knowledge Rivers Fellowship through the School of Information Resources and Library Science that focuses on library and information issues from the perspectives of Hispanics and Native Americans.

Additionally, the UA supports Native Americans wishing to pursue doctorate degrees in education and other fields that can promote their nation's economic development and well-being.

http://grad.arizona.edu/diversityprograms/

Updated: June 2017

UA Life/Work Connections maintains an interactive campus map that includes a layer with "family restrooms" throughout campus that are gender neutral: https://lifework.arizona.edu/sites/all/themes/lifework2015/map/