| Overall Rating | Silver |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 53.22 |
| Liaison | Jay Price |
| Submission Date | March 3, 2023 |
University of Tennessee at Knoxville
PA-6: Assessing Diversity and Equity
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
0.88 / 1.00 |
Jessica
GerberDolan Data Analyst Facilities Services |
Has the institution engaged in a structured assessment process during the previous three years to improve diversity, equity and inclusion on campus?:
A brief description of the assessment process and the framework, scorecard(s) and/or tool(s) used:
2022 Campus Diversity Action Plans
Part of the mission of the Division of Diversity and Engagement (DDE) is to work collaboratively with communities in and outside of campus to create inclusive and equitable learning and work environments.
In its inaugural year, DDE staff began contemplating ways in which they could help promote equity and inclusivity across the university. To that end, members of DDE’s leadership team asked colleges and vice chancellor units to, iteratively and with their help, develop and submit three-year diversity action plans (DAPs) describing the steps they would take toward achieving that shared goal.
The purpose of this initiative was to help deans and vice chancellor units challenge barriers to inclusivity while simultaneously promoting a culture of evaluation and accountability as it pertains to diversity, equity, and inclusion within their respective units.
Thus far, these combined efforts have garnered much support and have yielded stellar DAPs, campus-wide.
This includes: College of Architecture and Design, College of Arts and Sciences, College of Communication and Information, College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences, College of Law, College of Nursing, College of Veterinary Medicine, College of Social Work, Division of Finance and Administration, Division of Diversity and Engagement, Division of Student Life, Haslam College of Business, Herbert College of Agriculture, Office of Advancement, Office of Advancement, Office of the Provost, Office of Research, Innovation and Economic Development, Tennessee Athletics, Tickle College of Engineering, University Libraries.
https://diversity.utk.edu/2021-campus-diversity-action-plans/
Does the assessment process address campus climate by engaging stakeholders to assess the attitudes, perceptions and behaviors of employees and students, including the experiences of underrepresented groups?:
Does the assessment process address student outcomes related to diversity, equity and success?:
Does the assessment process address employee outcomes related to diversity and equity?:
A brief description of the most recent assessment findings and how the results are used in shaping policy, programs, and initiatives:
Long-term diversity action plan goals
• Goal 2: Attract and retain greater numbers of individuals from historically underrepresented populations into faculty, staff, and administrative positions (particularly department heads, directors, deans, and vice chancellors).
College of Arts and Sciences:
Action Priority Three: Improve recruitment and search practices for staff and non-tenure track faculty to
improve the diversity of our hires (broadly defined).
Action: Launch pilot fall semester 2022. Utilize STRIDE training to inform equitable hiring practices.
Measurable Outcome: Track improvements in diverse hiring pools.
College of Education and Health Sciences:
Offer members of the college multiple opportunities to attend diversity, equity, and inclusion programs/events. Metric/Outcome-80% of college faculty and staff voluntarily attend at least one DEI event in 2022. Participant surveys show at least 80% of attendees reported the event added to their understanding of the topic.
Identify and develop initiatives to attract, recruit, and retain a diverse faculty, staff, and administration. Metric/Outcome-New faculty and staff from historically
underrepresented populations in 2022.
College of Law:
In order to assure a diverse applicant pool of qualified candidates, when hiring new faculty members, focus recruitment efforts on candidates that are diverse in background, race, ethnicity, experience, and viewpoint. Action: Identify and recruit diverse applicants, including law alumni, outside the traditional national law school
hiring cycle. Measurable outcome: Number of diverse faculty applicants.
Institute of Agriculture:
Complete a second memorandum of understanding with a historically Black college or university to expand our efforts to attract, retain, and graduate professional and graduate degree students from historically underrepresented populations.
Finance & Administration:
Increase women, minority and disadvantaged owned business outreach and sourcing by
participation in the virtual diversity business expo, providing training to fiscal officers on support small and diverse businesses, and participating in the supplier diversity task force. Use annual procurement data to measure success.
Diversity and Engagement: Attract and retain greater numbers of individuals from historically underrepresented populations into faculty, staff, and administrative positions (particularly department heads, directors, deans, and vice chancellors). Revisit current policies and procedures around searches and make revisions
where needed. Enhance and facilitate updated workshops communicating best practices
for carrying out searches and sharing revised policies. Update written resources that inform campus community of policies and best practices. Conduct assessments on efficacy of workshops.
Haslam College of Business: Create additional learning opportunities to expand student, faculty, and staff contributions to a more inclusive college community. Specific Actions: Hold a college-wide “Diversity Summit” in Fall 2022 aimed at increased understanding of what constitutes a nurturing, inclusive community and how our individual and collective attitudes and actions contribute. Continue to deliver a college-wide development session each semester directed towards sharing best practices related to inclusion and belonging. Attract and retain greater numbers of historically underrepresented populations into faculty, staff, and administrative positions. Specific Actions: Continue to proactively search for talented candidates using resources provided by nationally recognized organizations (i.e., PhD Project, Urban League, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.) Assign mentor for historically underrepresented hires both faculty and staff by pairing them with senior faculty and staff members.
Office of Communications and Marketing: Implement an inclusive employment cycle for the Office of Communications and Marketing; enhance processes that will help us recruit, hire and retain a diverse workforce and support all of our team members through their onboarding and ongoing employment. Use System employee engagement survey results and staff retention to measure results.
Office of Research, Innovation and Economic Development: Goal 2: Attract and retain greater numbers of individuals from historically underrepresented populations into faculty, staff, and administrative positions (particularly department heads, directors, deans, and vice chancellors). Work with the graduate school to implement a strategic partnership program with minority serving institutions and facilitate collaborative projects that support exchange of faculty and students. Launch the program by the end of 2022.
Tennessee Athletics: Attract and retain greater numbers of individuals from historically underrepresented populations into faculty, staff, and administrative positions (particularly department heads, directors, deans, and vice chancellors). Update hiring and search protocols to ensure inclusivity and intentionality; Establish minimum criteria related to the composition of search committees for all full-time staff positions (e.g. IDEA Council member on all searches).
Tickle College of Engineering: Priority 1- Recruit and hire the inaugural assistant dean of diversity equity and inclusion (AD-DEI) in the TCE by the end of Spring 2022.
Work with AD-DEI to create a college level staff hiring plan that strives to meet the strategic goal of the university to attract and retain greater numbers of individuals from historically underrepresented populations and is reflective of all current guidelines and best practices.
University Libraries:
Apply inclusive language and accessibility standards to content and services available through the library’s online presence to remove structural impediments to attracting and retaining students and employees. Action Items: a) Require and apply accessibility standards to ensure that our web presence meets standards for providing a user-friendly experience regardless of ability. b) Conduct an audit of Research Guides, ensuring they reflect a diversity of abilities, topics, perspectives, and scholars.
c) Verify 3rd party vendors accessibility standard when acquiring and licensing new content / implement alternate access plans for resources with concerns. Metrics / Outcomes: a) Document that electronic resources meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 AA level standards; Information will be shared with the whole library. b) A successful audit will result in the creation of a best practices document and training for librarians creating new guides as well as improvements to public-facing guides. c) Hire accessibility coordinator to work with Libraries and University to establish and apply best practices for accessibility of licensed library resources.
Are the results of the most recent structured diversity and equity assessment shared with the campus community?:
A brief description of how the assessment results are shared with the campus community:
Are the results (or a summary of the results) of the most recent structured diversity and equity assessment publicly posted?:
The diversity and equity assessment report or summary (upload):
Website URL where the diversity and equity assessment report or summary is publicly posted:
Website URL where information about the institution’s diversity and equity assessment efforts is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.