University of New Hampshire
PA-5: Diversity and Equity Coordination

The Office of Community, Equity and Diversity is committed to supporting and sustaining an educational community that is inclusive, diverse and equitable. The values of diversity, inclusion and equity are inextricably linked to our mission of teaching and research excellence, and we embrace these values as being critical to development, learning, and success. We expect nothing less than an accessible, multicultural community in which civility and respect are fostered, and discrimination and harassment are not tolerated.

We will ensure that under-represented groups and those who experience systemic inequity will have equal opportunities and feel welcome on our campus. We accept the responsibility of teaching and learning in a diverse democracy where social justice serves as a bridge between a quality liberal education and civic engagement.

The office is administered by the Associate Vice President of Community, Equity and Diversity and Chief Diversity Officer

The mission of the University Commission for Community, Equity and Diversity is:
To work collaboratively with the Inclusion Council and the CED Office on issues of diversity and inequity.
To create working groups and committees involved in awareness-building programming; and submit proposals for services, policy changes and practices that build safer, more welcoming, universally accessible learning, working and living environments free of physical, programmatic and attitudinal barriers.
To monitor campus for both discriminatory incidents and evidence of progress, sharing issues/concerns with CED, and recommending action(s) to the Inclusion Council and other UNH governance groups.
To act as a resource/source for action items as identified by the President and/or other UNH governance groups.

UNH conducts myriad cultural competency trainings and activities. The programs reach all students, staff, and most faculty. Below are brief descriptions for many of the programs.

Social Justice Education Training: Social Justice Educator Training is a professional development opportunity for UNH faculty, staff, and graduate students to further their understanding of social justice and diversity issues. The eight-hour training, which is divided into two days, covers issues of oppression, social injustice, social identity, and facilitation in a small-group setting. (Open to all faculty, staff, and graduate students.)

There are three tracks to the SJE Program:

Awareness

Allyship

Action


Social Justice Education: The Department of Residential Life strives to support a curriculum built around 4 educational areas of focus (social justice, healthy living, involvement, and academic identity) (https://www.unh.edu/housing/res-life-educational-focus). (This program reaches all first year students.)

There are four Social Justice Education Learning Outcomes:

1) Students will increase awareness about social identity and bias.

2) Students will expand their comfort zone by engaging with others from different backgrounds.

3) Students will visibly show support to someone in an underrepresented group.

4) Students will confront another student about their choice of biased or hurtful language and behavior towards others


Examples of Social Justice Education in our Residence Halls:

• Conversations with residents about identity development

• Bias Gallery

• Culture Nights

• “Ally” campaign

• Invisible Knapsack (privilege article)

• Documentary series

• Safe Zones Programs

• The Hungry Planet

• Newsletter articles by hall directors, RAs or students


Building Inclusive Courses and Classrooms: A series of workshops was developed in response to a recurring recommendation that came out of last fall's campus conversations. These seminars seek to deepen our understanding as a learning community of the importance of creating spaces in which to engage productively in conversations related to difficult, uncomfortable, and controversial topics and to provide strategies for building inclusive courses and classrooms. (Open to all faculty and staff.)

Safe Zones Trainings: The Safe Zones Trainings are professional development opportunities for UNH faculty, staff, and graduate students to advance awareness, knowledge, and skills around the services and support that we provide to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ) students and colleagues. Participants of Safe Zones Trainings are a campus-wide network of allies who are supportive of LGBTQ faculty, students, and staff and are committed to contributing to a campus climate of inclusion at UNH. Trainings are 1.5 hours in length. We offer department-specific trainings, and some trainings that are open to mixed groups of faculty and staff from various departments. http://www.unh.edu/safezones. (Safe Zone Trainings are now incorporated into all Residence hall curriculums for all incoming students. In addition, Safe Zone Trainings are open to all faculty, staff, and graduate students.)

Title IX training: The Title IX Coordinator provides training on sexual harassment, sexual violence and mandated reporting instructions to new incoming faculty during orientation as well as to whole departments and staff on an annual basis. https://www.unh.edu/affirmativeaction/title-ixsexual-violence (All staff and most faculty.)

Community of Care Preventing Sexual Violence and Harassment at UNH Reporting Guide: Each year, all UNH staff, faculty, teaching assistants and graduate students receive the Community of Care Preventing Sexual Violence and Harassment at UNH Reporting Guide for reporting sexual violence and harassment.

The module covers:

• UNH policies related to sexual violence (which includes sexual harassment, assault, or misconduct; unwanted sexual contact; relationship abuse; dating violence; domestic violence; and cyber-stalking)

• Definitions of sexual violence and harassment

• Federal and New Hampshire laws concerning sexual violence and harassment

• How to formally report incidents of sexual violence and harassment

• What happens when UNH receives a sexual violence report

• How to get confidential support for survivors of sexual violence and harassment and their friends

(All incoming and transfer students are assigned to complete the Community of Care Preventing Sexual Violence and Harassment at UNH Reporting Guide online module. In addition, each year, all UNH staff, teaching assistants, graduate students, and most faculty receive the program.)



Orientation: All new staff during their orientation are required to take the “Creating a Respectful Workplace at UNH” on-line module. The module provides employees a greater understanding on how to recognize and address unacceptable behavior, along with strategies to promote a respectful workplace. When the module was first introduced (approximately 3 years ago), all existing staff were sent a Directed Communication from the President and Human Resources (with the module web link) to introduce the module. All existing employees were requested to participate in taking the module. http://www.unh.edu/hr/respectful-workplace.