University of Arizona
PA-7: 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 (including pregnancy), national origin, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or genetic information. The University encourages anyone who believes they have 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. link: https://policy.arizona.edu/human-resources/nondiscrimination-and-anti-harassment-policy?_gl=1*mwa804*_ga*MTg5NjA4NjkzMC4xNjg3NDUyNTQw*_ga_7PV3540XS3*MTY4Nzg4ODQzOS40LjAuMTY4Nzg4ODQzOS42MC4wLjA. 

Through the University of Arizona's Office of Institutional Equity the UArizona'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 Violations of the university's non-discrimination policy are addressed by the Office of Institutional Equity. After receiving a report, the office responds with a preliminary investigation and assessment before deciding whether the informal or formal resolution process best suits the report. Their website has many resources for survivor support whether it be academic, emotional, safety related, etc.

The University of Arizona has an affirmative action program which helps promote equal opportunity for minorities, women, individuals with disabilities, and veterans in the hiring process. The University follows best practices for recruiting a diverse and well rounded work force, focusing on the who is the best fit for the position.

For recruiting academic staff, the University of Arizona encourages proactive recruitment. "Using proactive recruitment, search committees can seek out and attract the best faculty from all over our state, nation, and the world.  Each search committee member should take on the responsibility of building a candidate pool and personally reaching out to prospective candidates.  In fact, the work should be divided strategically among committee members so that no individual committee member is overburdened by the time required for proactive recruitment.  Search committee members can build a list of potential candidates by searching for relevant recent publications, grant or award winners, comparable programs, and other avenues appropriate to the area of specialization.  Committee members should keep inclusion in mind when creating the candidate list.  Once created, the list can be divided among committee members so each member contacts several potential candidates detailing the reasons why this position is so attractive and encouraging them to apply.  This should be done with a personalized email or phone call."

For recruiting non-academic staff, we partner with the following; HigherEdMilitary (connects us with military and veteran families) and Circa (connects us with a network of outreach organizations to include HBCUs, diversity organizations, and individuals with disabilities). Additionally, each hiring unit invests in advertising, networking, and bias-reducing recruitment practices. 

UA is a Hispanic Serving Institution which is a part of recruiting both employees (faculty and staff) and students.

In 2021, the Latinx Faculty & Staff Association was created, and the university has launched Outreach FAMILIA which works to increase the quality of mathematics classes and the availability of college outreach for Hispanic and low-income high school students. https://live-azs-hsi.pantheonsite.io/. In addition to being an HSI, UA also has several initiatives for Native American students. These initiatives and programs include Mentorship and Education in Science for Tucson (MESCIT), Indigenous Circle, and Native SOAR. The SOAR program works to partner current UA students with K-12 schools in the Tucson area. Through this, under-resourced students can explore academic strengths, career options, college searching, and more. Other programs to recruit students and staff are living-learning communities (B.L.A.C.K., APIDA Scholars, Marsha's Place, etc) and many cultural resource centers. (https://diversity.arizona.edu/).

The University of Arizona has several other community outreach programs to partner with Tucson's K-12 students: - Cooper Center for Environmental Learning (http://coopercenter.arizona.edu/) - School Garden Workshop (https://schoolgardens.arizona.edu/) - Arizona Arts in Schools (https://inschools.arts.arizona.edu/) - Project WET (https://projectwet.arizona.edu/) 

African American Student Affairs, Asian Pacific American Student Affairs, Adalberto and Ana Guerrero Student Center, Disability Resource Center, Immigrant Student Resource Center, LGBTQ Affairs, Native American Student Affairs, Women & Gender Resource Center, Bias Education & Support Team, Living Learning Communities, many clubs and students led groups, 2SLGBTQIA+ Faculty & Staff Association, Asian American Faculty, Staff, and Alumni Association (AAFSA), Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), Disabled Staff and Faculty Coalition (DSFC), Latinx Faculty & Staff Association, Native American Faculty & Staff Association (Skoden UArizona), Sankofa, Black Faculty & Staff Association, Veterans Faculty & Staff Association, Black Faculty Group, Faculty Women of Color, Latinx Faculty Group, Professors of Color, UA Native Faculty, UA Faculty of Chinese Heritage Association (UAFCHA), Disability Cultural Center, Military-Connected Student Center, UArizona Veteran Alliance, and more

UArizona offers guidance for all graduate students under the "Preparing for Faculty Job Application Series" (https://gradcenter.arizona.edu/career-support/preparing-faculty-job-applications-series . Additionally, the University is a member of the Alliance of Hispanic Serving Research Universities which aims to double the number of Hispanic Doctoral students at these institutions while increasing the number of Hispanic professors (https://www.hsru.org/goals). Several graduate funding and fellowship opportunities are offered through the graduate college including the Dr. Maria Teresa Velez Diversity Leadership Scholarship, the Initiative for Maximizing Student Diversity (IMSD), the Roberti Fund for Native American Students, the UArizona Hispanic Alumni Graduate Scholarship Program, and the University of Arizona / Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership (UA/SIGP).

The university is also a member of the Ph.D. Project (https://phdproject.org/how-we-do-it/participating-universities/) network to diversify our campus and support minority groups that have been underrepresented in doctoral programs. Over 300 doctoral and non-doctoral granting university partners can support recruitment efforts by promoting our open job positions to a network of more than 1,700 Black/African American, Latinx/Hispanic American, and Native American/Canadian Indigenous faculty and doctoral students.

For example, the Eller College of Management has 6 PhD programs accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. An accreditation from AACSB considers societal impact, student success, management, and more. As described on the AACSB website (https://www.aacsb.edu/accredited/t/the-university-of-arizona), UA "curriculum and programs are designed to maximize student interaction, with a strong emphasis on teamwork that naturally develops into a close-knit community. Student organizations at the PhD, graduate, and undergraduate levels offer opportunities to connect and get involved while exploring areas of career interest."

https://eller.arizona.edu/programs/doctoral