University of Illinois Chicago
PA-6: Support for Underrepresented Groups

As part of the Office of the Chancellor, the Office for Access and Equity (OAE) is the office charged with reviewing and addressing complaints of harassment and/or discrimination. UIC is firmly committed to the most fundamental principles of academic freedom, equality of opportunity, and human dignity. To this end, UIC strictly prohibits discrimination or harassment against any person because of race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, disability, sexual orientation including gender identity, unfavorable discharge from the military or status as a protected veteran, arrest records, genetic information, citizenship status and/or order of protection status, and will comply with all federal and state nondiscrimination, equal opportunity and affirmative action laws, orders, and regulations. The University's Nondiscrimination Policy protects persons from discrimination in all terms and conditions of employment, including hiring, selection, promotion, transfer, pay, tenure, discharge, and discipline. It also applies to admissions and access to-/treatment in University programs and activities.

http://oae.uic.edu/
http://oae.uic.edu/discriminationharassment/

If any person believes that they have been subjected to discrimination or harassment of any kind, they may submit a complaint to the Office of Access and Equity (OAE), 312-996-8670 or oae@uic.edu. This includes individuals who have witnesses an incident, and campus individuals are obligated to report the incident to the OAE as noted above. The OAE staff will provide counsel and facilitate resolution. All complaints are taken seriously and must be investigated once reported.

A second campus center that is involved is the Campus Advocacy Network (CAN) that will provide UIC students, faculty, and staff advice, counseling, and support for sexual assault, domestic/dating violence, stalking, and hate crimes. They also offer education and training to any campus individual. Each of the Campus Center for Cultural Understanding and Social Change will offer support, and will direct individuals to the OAE or CAN for additional support, reporting, and processing. Thus, several historically underrepresented groups are supported by OAE, CAN, and the Centers: Latinx, Black, Women, Arab Americans, Asian Americans, LGBTQ, and Disabled students, faculty, and staff.

An example involves a transgender student and issues concerning lack of support from campus faculty. She met with the Title IX coordinator who helped resolve conflicts with course instructors, and she was able to complete her coursework over an extended period which transitioning.

Graduate Pathways to Success Program (GPS)
http://grad.uic.edu/cms/?pid=1000061
This new initiative – formerly the Ronald E. McNair Post Baccalaureate Achievement Program – operates under the auspices of the Graduate College. The Program serves 10-15 students and is designed to prepare and recruit more underrepresented minority college students into graduate education. The Program strengthens and builds upon institutional relationships both internally and externally to also attract more underrepresented students to graduate study. Internally, the Program provides graduate school preparation activities and faculty-supervised undergraduate research experiences during the academic-year. Externally, the Program places students in research experiences as well as graduate programs in other institutions.

African American Academic Network (AAAN)
http://www.uic.edu/depts/aaan/index.shtml
The mission is to increase the recruitment, retention, and graduation rates of African American students. In keeping with that focus, AAAN is also committed to establishing an inclusive and supportive campus environment. AAAN sponsors social and cultural activities to encourage student involvement, and advocates for the interests of its participants.

Dozens of campus programs and units engage in outreach to various historically underrepresented communities to recruit Latinx, Black, Asian American, and female students from their high schools and community colleges. These programs include the Latin American Recruitment and Educational Services Program (LARES), the African American Academic Network (AAAN), WISEST, L@S GANAS, ENGAGE, Hispanic Center of Excellence, Urban Health Program, Early Outreach Program, etc.

Several programs are in place to recruit faculty of color and women to faculty positions, e.g., the Underrepresented Faculty Recruitment Program (UFRP), and Pipeline to an Inclusive Faculty (PIF) Program. In addition, the OAE provides an extensive list of resources to broaden the outreach to faculty candidates: http://eae.red.uic.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2017/07/FacultyPoolResources.pdf

I. Academic Support, Mentoring, for Underrepresented Students:

African American Academic Network (AAAN)
http://www.uic.edu/depts/aaan/index.shtml
The mission is to increase the recruitment, retention, and graduation rates of African American students. In keeping with that focus, AAAN is also committed to establishing an inclusive and supportive campus environment. AAAN sponsors social and cultural activities to encourage student involvement, and advocates for the interests of its participants.

CHANCE Learning Center
http://www.uic.edu/depts/oaa/chance/index.html
The CLC aims to assist incoming freshman, transfer and currently enrolled students make their transition to UIC by providing an arena that focuses on: academic preparation, study.

Counseling Center
http://www.uic.edu/depts/counseling/
The Center helps students with a wide range of personal problems, emotional and psychological difficulties, career questions, and relationship issues. They also conduct outreach and training programs and coordinate the InTouch Hotline. This is a free crisis intervention, counseling, and referral service offered to UIC students and members of the greater Chicagoland area. Center staff is committed to the highest standards of competency in meeting the needs of individuals from diverse backgrounds, including differences of culture, race, ethnicity, national origin, class, gender, ability, age, and sexual orientation.

Disability Resource Center
http://www.uic.edu/depts/oaa/disability_resources/
This center facilitates access for students through consultation with faculty and campus departments, and the provision of accommodations including interpreters, document conversion, and assistive technology.

Office of International Services
http://www.ois.uic.edu/
OIS provides comprehensive support, including advising on both immigration and related government and university policies, as well as offering cross cultural programming to the UIC community. OIS also coordinates the campus orientation for new international students.

Latin American Recruitment and Educational Services (LARES)
http://lares.uic.edu/
LARES seeks to empower students by providing personal growth and educational opportunities and to prepare leaders who will make individual and collective contributions toward the cultural and social advancement of the Latino community.

Native American Support Program (NASP)
http://www.uic.edu/depts/nasp/index.shtml
NASP strives to increase the enrollment, retention and graduation rates of Native American students. NASP fosters a climate supportive of positive academic experiences for Native American students at the
University of Illinois at Chicago. Office of Special Scholarship Programs (OSSP)
http://www.uic.edu/depts/oaa/ssp/osspmain.htm OSSP assists UIC students in searching and applying for nationally competitive scholarships, fellowships and external scholarship awards.

Mathematical Sciences Learning Center
www.math.uic.edu/mslc
The Center provides coursework assistance and tutoring for undergraduate students, and opportunities for students to work on challenging problems with classmates through innovative techniques of cooperative learning.
Science Learning Center (www.chem.uic.edu/slc/) is a place in which all levels of expertise meet and exchange ideas. They provide tutoring, peer-led study groups, and gathering space for discussions in biology, chemistry, earth and environmental science and physics.

Writing Center
http://www.uic.edu/depts/engl/writing/
To help students learn about writing, UIC offers a special free resource, a peer writing center, where students work with other students to improve as writers.

Programs:

ASCEND
http://www.uic.edu/orgs/ascend/index.html
Assuring STEM Credential Expansion through Nurturing Diversity, is a multi-year program designed to enhance the experience of UIC students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Bridge to the Doctorate Program
http://www.uic.edu/depts/mcam/gradiv/
This program, which is part of the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation, promotes the inclusion and retention of underserved minority students in PhD programs in science, engineering, technology, and mathematics (STEM)disciplines. The third cohort of BD fellows began in August 2008, and the fourth cohort is anticipated to matriculate in August 2010. The target for each cohort is 12 fellows.

Graduate Pathways to Success Program (GPS)
http://grad.uic.edu/cms/?pid=1000061
This new initiative – formerly the Ronald E. McNair Post Baccalaureate Achievement Program – operates under the auspices of the Graduate College. The Program serves 10-15 students and is designed to prepare and recruit more underrepresented minority college students into graduate education. The Program strengthens and builds upon institutional relationships both internally and externally to also attract more underrepresented students to graduate study. Internally, the Program provides graduate school preparation activities and faculty-supervised undergraduate research experiences during the academic-year. Externally, the Program places students in research experiences as well as graduate programs in other institutions.

Illinois – Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (I-LSAMP) Programs
http://www.math.uic.edu/~uicamp/index.html
formerly the Chicago Alliance for Minority Participation (ChAMP) was formed in 1993 in response to the National Science Foundation’s mandate to significantly increase the number of underrepresented scholars earning degrees in the disciplines of science, teaching, mathematics, and engineering (STEM). Partner universities all over the state emerged, supporting I-LSAMP's goal to provide programs to improve students academic preparation, offer more educational options to increase opportunities, and modify/reinvent gateway courses to more effectively educate students in order to enhance academic performance.

Summer Research Opportunities Program (SROP)
http://grad.uic.edu/cms/?pid=1000063
SROP was first established in 1986 by the Graduate Deans of the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC). The goal of SROP is to introduce domestic underrepresented sophomores and juniors to academic research experiences. Student participants work one-on-one with a faculty mentor giving them an opportunity to experience research and the graduate student experience.
UIC launched its SROP in 1986, with a total of six minority undergraduate students. In its twenty-year history of hosting this program, UIC has had over one thousand student participants.

Women in Science and Engineering
http://www.uicwise.org/
UIC's WISE Program is a support program for all women students studying science, technology, engineering, and mathematic (STEM) fields. They serve students as young as 6th grade, to our women faculty members on campus.

• Note: There are also a additional campus-supported student organizations that offer peer mentoring and academic support – e.g., Brothers Reaching Out (BRO), Students for African American Sisterhood (SAAS), Student Chapters of: Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, National Association of Black Accountants, et.al. The full list of campus student organizations is at the Campus Programs website
http://www.uic.edu/depts/campusprograms/

II. Affinity Groups for Underrepresented Members of the Campus Community:

Faculty, staff and students are invited to affiliate with any of the six Chancellor’s Status Committees. These committees are open to all members of the campus community. Each committee designates a faculty member and an administrative staff member as co-chairs. The Office of the Vice Provost for Diversity provides administrative support and the Chancellor’s office maintains a budget for each status committee. The six Chancellor's Committees are focused on the status of: Asian Americans; Blacks; Latinos; Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Transgender, Queer People and Allies; Persons with Disabilities; and Women.

The Chancellor’s Committee on the Status of Blacks (CCSB) serves as an advisory body on matters pertaining to the academic, professional, and social aspects of African and African American life at UIC. CCSB addresses issues relating to campus governance, employment practices, public relations, student affairs and other issues that affect the well being of Blacks on campus. The committee works collaboratively with UIC’s diverse community.

The Chancellor's Committee on the Status of Latinos (CCSL) was established to promote the development of educational, professional and career opportunities among UIC Latinos. The committee addresses issues of general concern to Latinos at UIC.

The Chancellor's Committee on the Status of Asian Americans (CCSAA) is dedicated to promoting the academic, social, cultural and professional welfare of UIC’s Asian American faculty, staff and students. We address issues related to work and pay, recruitment and retention, and quality of life.

The Chancellor's Committee on the Status of Women (CCSW) works to improve the status of women at UIC with a primary objective to advise and make recommendations to the Chancellor regarding attitudes, policies, and procedures that affect women faculty, staff and students. The committee will undertake projects and will also recommend changes in campus structures, policies and programs as appropriate.

The mission of the Chancellor's Committee on the Status of Persons with Disabilities is to promote empowerment and inclusion of faculty, staff and students with disabilities at UIC. CCSPD recognizes that people with disabilities are a diverse group, including individuals with visible and non-visible disabilities. This mission is motivated by the belief that people with disabilities are assets to the university, not liabilities.

The mission of the Chancellor's Committee on the Status of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Issues is to provide leadership on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender issues in UIC communities. This includes addressing needs of staff, faculty, students and alumni of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities. The goal is to enhance a supportive environment that will foster full participation by all members of the university's communities in teaching, public service, and research.

In particular, the Pipeline to an Inclusive Faculty (PIF) Program has been established to provide this kind of support.

See https://grad.uic.edu/pif and http://grad.uic.edu/uic-pipeline-inclusive-faculty-pif-program

In addition, there are various training programs to support the training and transition from undergraduate student to graduate student or professional student. UIC has applied, and will continue to apply, for support from NSF and NIH programs that require AANAPISI or HSI designations. We just recently received an HHMI Inclusive Excellence Award as well. Several “Student Success Initiatives” have been established or under review by the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Affairs, and are aimed at supporting students from historically underrepresented minority communities. Coupled with ongoing assessment, these programs are routinely evaluated for impact on student retention and persistence. Many of these programs have been established to provide additional resources, additional training, support “unmet needs,” and laboratory research or internship experiences. Taken together, these resources and programs provide support to help underrepresented minority students successfully navigate college and graduate with a positive experience, and to continue on to an advanced degree in graduate, post-doctoral, or professional studies.

Campus Housing works with special needs students like transgender students in their housing accommodations, offer various housing options, and help the student identify their comfort level.

The Chancellor's Committee on the Status of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer People, and Allies is currently engaged in the process of mapping and advocating for increased numbers of gender neutral bathrooms and appropriate signage, across the campus. The committee anticipates completing and publishing the inventory in the 2014-2015 academic year.

For more information on gender-neutral bathrooms:
See https://maps.uic.edu/#
Look under “HEALTH AND SAFETY”, and then “ALL GENDER RESTROOMS”