University of Cincinnati
PA-7: Support for Underrepresented Groups

http://www.uc.edu/about/policies/non-discrimination.html The University of Cincinnati does not discriminate on the basis of disability, race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, age, sexual orientation, veteran status or gender identity and expression in its programs and activities.

The university does not tolerate discrimination, harassment, or retaliation on these bases and takes steps to ensure that students, employees, and third parties are not subject to a hostile environment in University programs or activities.

The university responds promptly and effectively to allegations of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. It promptly conducts investigations and takes appropriate action, including disciplinary action, against individuals found to have violated its policies, as well as provides appropriate remedies to complainants and the campus community. The university takes immediate action to end a hostile environment if one has been created, prevent its recurrence, and remedy the effects of any hostile environment on affected members of the campus community.

UC is committed to the ideal of universal Web accessibility and strives to provide an accessible Web presence that enables all university community members and visitors full access to information provided on its websites. Every effort has been made to make these pages as accessible as possible in accordance with the applicable guidelines.

The Bias Incident Response Team assists the university community in addressing actions committed against people, property, and identifiable groups that are motivated by a bias against race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity and expression, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, age, physical ability, disability, or any other type of bias.

UC’s Offices of Equal Opportunity & Access and the Office of Gender Equity & Inclusion both engage in prevention education as well as complaint resolution services for any matters involving bias, discrimination, harassment or retaliation. In addition, we offer several support services either through personnel or programming. Specific support includes, but is not limited to:

- Access to counseling, health, and mental health services at no cost
- Restrictions on contact between the respondent and complainant ("no contact" orders)
- Changes in academic or living situations where appropriate
- Changes in university-related work schedules or job assignments
- Academic support
- Escort service

Additional examples include:
A listing of confidential and non-confidential resources so individuals can make formal or informal reports and receive service
https://www.uc.edu/about/equity-inclusion/gender-equity/resources.html

- An MOU with Women Helping Women, which provides on-campus advocates to support victims/survivors of sexual harassment regardless of their gender

- A Crime Victim's Services Coordinator as part of our UC Police Division's Special Investigations Unit - this individual will walk a person through every step of the complaint resolution process https://www.uc.edu/about/publicsafety/police/victim-services.html

In addition to colleagues and community partners who provide direct support, we also have an Equity & Inclusion office that conducts workshops to instill inclusive practices within our community
https://www.uc.edu/about/equity-inclusion/equity-inclusion/education-workshops.html
as well as Resource Liaisons within our colleges and units to provide moral support and direct individuals to needed resources https://www.uc.edu/about/equity-inclusion/about/resource-liasons.html

The University of Cincinnati has a variety of programs where we are looking to support underrepresented groups through recruitment process, such as:
- For students: the Turner Scholars program: https://www.uc.edu/campus-life/eps/turner.html
- For students: the Summer Bridge Program: https://ceas.uc.edu/about/inclusive-excellence-community-engagement/programs/summer-bridge.html
- For students: https://www.uc.edu/campus-life/gen-1.html
- For faculty: https://www.uc.edu/about/provost/initiatives/strategic-hire.html
- For employees: for employees: http://www.uc.edu/news/nr.aspx?id=23526
- For employees: see attachment outlining our staff recruitment outreach that is specifically geared toward applicants with disabilities, veterans, and minorities
- for minority graduate student: https://grad.uc.edu/student-life/awards/yates.html

See our Diversity Report: https://www.uc.edu/about/equity-inclusion/about/annual-report.html
INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine honored UC as a 2017 recipient of the Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award and recognized the university as a Diversity Champion, a designation shared with only 15 other institutions. This award is the only national designation of its kind, and it acknowledges U.S. colleges and universities committed to and seeking to advance diversity and inclusion

UC has a number of programs that seek to mentor and support students from under-represented groups. Some examples include the following:

The African American Cultural & Resource Center focuses on addressing the academic, social, spiritual and cultural needs of the African American student population.

The Emerging Ethnic Engineers (E3) Program is a comprehensive, nationally respected program which seeks to increase the number of African-American, Latino/a, and Native American students in the College of Engineering while helping such students achieve excellence in college and beyond.

The Office of Ethnic Programs & Services (EPS) embraces the ever-increasing diversity of the University of Cincinnati campus by: providing quality programs and services that enhance cultural, ethnic and racial awareness, supporting the needs of students of color, and building bridges between the university and the Cincinnati community

The LGBTQ Center supports students who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex or who are questioning their sexual orientation or gender identify. The office includes a LGBTQ resource library and a common safe space for educational, social and recreational programming related to LGBTQ student issues.

The Rowe Center provides a focal point for women engineering students to access support and resources for success in class, on co-op assignments, and in their future careers.

Veterans Services are available to address the unique needs of students re-entering civilian life after deployment.

For employees (academic and non-academic), UC also has a number of programs (see https://www.uc.edu/about/equity-inclusion/resources/employee-groups.html)

The Advisors of Color (AOC) Employee Resource Group: The purpose of AOC is to unite, support and elevate underrepresented advisors across all 3 UC campus locations (Uptown, Blue Ash and Clermont). We strive to empower advisors of color through enacting and articulating UC's values of inclusiveness and celebrating the uniqueness of each individual. We provide advisors with a sense of community and belonging that provides them the opportunity to enhance the UC, advising culture. Additionally, we function as a work-based family network that contributes to the personal and professional growth of our members.

The African American/Black Male Staff (AABMS) is committed to providing a support network and professional development opportunities for AA/Black male staff at the University of Cincinnati. Through programs, meetings, literature readings, educational workshops and networking the AABMS aspires to become a standing body that implements strategies to create opportunities for the recruitment and retention of AABMS to serve the University and extended community. The founding principles for the AABMS are to enhance the professional men of AABMS and to increase the consciousness and togetherness of AABMS across campus, while also upholding a high standard for integrity and a dedicated focus on recruitment, retention and mentorship.

Black Faculty Association (BFA) supports the scholarly, research and professional goals of Black faculty. Through supportive committees, resources, events and news relevant to its members, BFA encourages continued success and aims to increase the presence of Black faculty in leadership positions. BFA also makes it a goal to highlight the achievements of its members in order to foster connectivity between departments and help them to serve as role models.

Latino Faculty Association (LFA): The mission of the LFA is to promote the well-being and advancement of Latino faculty, students, and the larger Latino community at the University of Cincinnati. We do so by building connections and providing a network of support, facilitating and advocating for opportunities to celebrate Latino identities, and building powerful coalitions to advance the Latino community.

LGBTQ Faculty and Staff Association: The long-term goal of the LGBTQ FSA is to create an inclusive environment that values LGBTQ faculty and staff as an essential component of UC's diverse community by retaining LGBTQ talent on our campuses; providing a safe and secure professional environment for LGBTQ faculty and staff; empowering our members toward visibility and action; and attracting future faculty and staff to meet the needs of new generations of LGBTQ students, who often face multiple obstacles as college students.

In addition, UC’s"MentorMe" program, while offered to all employees, is specifically designed and aimed at supporting diversity and inclusion as one of its three primary goals. This is an informal staff mentoring program. https://www.uc.edu/hr/careers/mentor_me.html

See also the UC Women Lead program: https://www.uc.edu/about/provost/initiatives/uc-women-lead.html.

Finally, UC's Faculty Enrichment Center serves as an intellectual and social commons for faculty. Again, while it is open to all faculty, “promoting a culture of inclusion” and “enhancing social and personal well-being” are two of the four primary goals of the program.

UC's Preparing Future Faculty program provides instruction in modern teaching and learning and offers rich mentoring experiences that strengthen these career skills for graduate students. The program covers topics including:
- Inclusion and Diversity in Higher Education
- Motivating Culturally Diverse Students
UC also offers McNair Scholars Graduate scholarships and incentive/retention awards.
UC's Yates Scholars Program also supports the recruitment and retention of underrepresented minority groups to graduate programs.