University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
PA-6: Support for Underrepresented Groups

In accordance with and to the extent provided by applicable state and federal laws and regulations, it is the policy of UTRGV that no person will be denied employment with or admission to UTRGV, or otherwise be excluded from participation in, denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under any program or activity sponsored or conducted by UTRGV, on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, or veteran status. Sexual misconduct and sexual harassment in any form (including sexual violence) will not be tolerated. Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression are also prohibited under this policy. http://www.utrgv.edu/equity/services/policies/non-discrimination/index.htm

The Office of Institutional Equity (OIE) is engaged in promoting adherance to the laws, regulations and other applicable policies that uphold this guiding principle. The Office of Institutional Equity (OIE) acts on behalf of the University as a neutral fact finder that enforces the University’s institutional equity policies and provides services including: Guidance and training to ensure Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action practices in the Faculty Recruitment process, in collaboration with the Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs and Diversity; Coordinates the development of the University’s Affirmative Action Plan; Investigates and responds to internal and external complaints of discrimination, sexual harassment, and retaliation; and Coordinates and administers the University’s Title IX response and compliance requirements.

STUDENTS: The Recruitment and Scholarships Department is committed to reviewing current practices to improve efficiencies. This will allow us to reiterate UTRGV’s commitment to make college attainable for prospective students, campus visitors, and the University community at large. By continuously coaching constituents through the admissions and financial aid process, students will be successful not only in enrolling but in completing their collegiate goals. By utilizing technology, data, and innovation, we will identify and recruit top academic achievers to increase retention and graduation rates. Essential functions of the recruitment department include assisting high school and transfer students through the admissions and financial aid process, managing new student orientations and assisting with registration, managing campus tours, new student scholarships as well as the entering freshmen welcome event, The Vaquero Roundup. As the Rio Grande Valley is a predominantly Hispanic region, outreach efforts to local high schools reach these underrepresented individuals. Student Employment at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley employs over 3000 students on campus every semester. These student staff members are hired though direct wage, work study, SEI or assistantships. As the majority of UTRGV is Hispanic, a underrepresented group, these opportunities to create beneficial workplace habits, improve organizational and time management skills, as well as developing a stronger connection with UTRGV staff and faculty are vital to their career development. Student employment opportunities are available in most of UTRGV departments, including Recruitment office, university library, housing, enrollment, financial aid, student media, student life, recreation center, and many more. Students perform a variety of services that significantly contribute to the functioning of UTRGV. Positions student can apply for include: UNDERGRADUATE: Student Academic Tutor Student Academic Assistant Student Assistant Student Project Associate SEI Student Assistant GRADUATE: Research Assistant Teacher Assistant Graduate Assistant Assistant Instructor http://www.utrgv.edu/hbs/student-engagement/internships/index.htm http://www.utrgv.edu/en-us/about-utrgv/news/press-releases/2016/august-02-utrgv-stisd-partnership-formed-to-boost-interest-in-education-careers/ Faculty: As The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) evolves into a research university, it is committed to building a highly qualified and diverse faculty in support of academic excellence. Search Committee members and Equity & Diversity Advocates (EDA) are instrumental to this commitment. For the UTRGV Faculty Recruitment process, a manual has been developed to assist our departments and search committee members. The manual provides guidance to ensure a fair and effective process to follow as these individuals recruit colleagues to serve UTRGV's diverse student population. Faculty Recruitment Manual: http://www.utrgv.edu/_files/documents/provost/faculty-resources/faculty-recruitment-manual.pdf The Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs and Diversity (VPFAD) will provide training in best practices for recruiting and hiring diverse faculty in collaboration with the Office of Institutional Equity. All faculty serving on search committees are required to complete the mandatory online training in order to participate in the faculty search process. • Search Committee Trainings and Equity and Diversity Advocate (EDA) Trainings: Members of faculty search committees need to complete the necessary training as per the Faculty Recruitment Manual guidelines. The Faculty Recruitment Manual emphasizes UTRGV’s commitment to building and sustaining a highly qualified and diverse faculty to pursue excellence in everything that we do, including teaching, scholarship, and service. The manual provides uniform procedures to ensure a fair and effective process to follow in recruiting faculty to serve our diverse student population. Search committee members can complete a self-paced online training via Blackboard every year or a face-to-face training with a facilitator every two years. Faculty members serving as Equity and Diversity Advocates (EDA) must complete a separate EDA face-to-face training in addition to the search committee training. • UTRGV ADVANCE Program: With the support of the National Science Foundation (NSF), The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley embarked on a 5-year institutional transformation project aimed at increasing the representation and advancement of women, especially Hispanics, in STEM fields. The project started in October 2012 with several integrated initiatives designed to enhance the recruitment, retention, and promotion of women faculty at UTRGV. Our ultimate goal is to create a supportive workplace and a family-friendly climate that attracts and nurtures the careers of all faculty. We are currently in the last year of the grant with a no-cost extension but many of the initiatives and programs have been institutionalized, becoming part of the fabric of our institution and will continue to positively impact our faculty past the duration of the grant. Goals o Increase representation of women, especially Hispanics, in STEM fields at all levels of faculty, particularly in tenure-track and tenured positions. o Increase the representation of women, especially Hispanics, in STEM fields at all levels of leadership, particularly at the department chair level and higher. o Promote a positive workplace and climate along with policies/practices that attract and nurture the careers of female scholars, especially Hispanic female scholars. Components and Initiatives o Recruitment: includes activities such as developing comprehensive recruitment plans, providing training to search committees in best practices to recruit for hiring diverse faculty and strategies to identify and mitigate implicit bias. It also initiated new advertisement strategies to generate more applicant pools by including language beyond the standard EEOC statement; it provides supplemental funding to expand the pool of interviewed candidates; and enhances start-up packages for new women faculty in STEM. The Online Recruitment Portal allows committees to identify field-specific organizations that target potential applicants from underrepresented groups. Additional strategies include advertising in women’s organizations publications like WISE (Women in Science and Engineering); targeting/inviting specific potential applicants, encouraging networking, and sending Department Chairs and/or search committee members to recruit at women’s and Hispanic target conferences. Departments can easily request allocated recruitment enhancement funding to support these efforts. • UT System’s “Rooney Rule”: To promote diversity in senior leadership positions, all University of Texas System institutions must now include a candidate from an underrepresented group in the final round of interviews for all senior administrative positions. • Dual-Academic-Career Hiring Program: As part of its commitment to the recruitment and retention of a diverse and world-class faculty, the Office of the Provost has established a Dual-Academic-Career Hiring Program to help support dual career academic appointments. This Program is designed to assist partners of full-time faculty members to find meaningful employment at our institution. Increasingly, exceptional faculty and candidates for faculty positions are members of dual academic career couples and the availability of meaningful employment for an academic partner is often a critical factor in the employment decision process. It is a major strategic priority of the University to recruitment and retain women and underrepresented minorities, which is especially impacted by dual-career issues. http://www.utrgv.edu/cos/programs/cstem/index.htm

Student Support: The College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP) assists students who are migratory or seasonal farmworkers (or children of such workers) enrolled in their first year of undergraduate studies at an IHE. The funding supports completion of the first year of studies. Competitive five-year grants for CAMP projects are made to IHEs or to nonprofit private agencies that cooperate with such institutions. The program serves approximately 2,000 CAMP participants annually. http://www.utrgv.edu/camp/ PATHWAY FOR UTRGV STUDENTS WHO ARE NOT YET COLLEGE READY Students who are not yet college ready in reading, writing and/or math (because they have not passed one or more areas of the TSI Assessment and do not meet exemption standards) will be allowed to enroll in coursework at UTRGV through the following pathway: UTRGV JUMPSTART Summer Bridge Program, through which : Students will enroll in developmental coursework based on area(s) of need: 3 hours of integrated reading/ writing and/or 3 hours of math. If students finish the bridge program, but still aren’t quite college ready, they will be allowed to enroll in UTRGV courses in fall, but must enroll in a co-requisite developmental course which will be linked to a college-level English and/or math course. That way, students won’t get behind their peers and will still be on track to graduate in 4 years. http://www.utrgv.edu/undergraduate-admissions/_files/documents/jumpstart-flyer.pdf Valley Baptist Legacy Foundation awards $6M grant to UTRGV The Valley Baptist Legacy Foundation has generously awarded The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley College of Liberal Arts a $6 million grant that over the next five years will help develop a Ph.D. program in clinical psychology. The clinical psychology program, once it receives approval from the UT System and appropriate accreditation agencies, will recruit highly qualified graduate students with diverse cultural backgrounds, and will educate those students to become research-oriented clinical psychologists with acquired clinical knowledge and skills specific to Hispanic populations. http://www.utrgv.edu/en-us/about-utrgv/news/press-releases/2016/september-08-valley-baptist-legacy-foundation-awards-6m-grant-to-utrgv/index.htm Large DOD grant to UTRGV will purchase cutting-edge equipment for research - The U.S. Department of Defense has awarded almost half a million dollars to UTRGV to help STEM students to enhance their capacity to participate broadly in defense research programs and activities and to increase the number of graduates, including underrepresented minorities, in fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The grant is part of $28 million allocated under the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016, under the authority of the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, to go toward assisting Minority Serving Institutions and Historically Black Colleges and Universities. http://www.utrgv.edu/en-us/about-utrgv/news/press-releases/2016/september-12-large-dod-grant-to-utrgv-will-purchase-cutting-edge-equipment-for-research/index.htm E-zine ranks UTRGV third in most degrees awarded to Hispanics in 2014-2015 Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, a higher education news website and digital magazine, has ranked The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley third in the nation in terms of the most undergraduate and graduate degrees awarded to Hispanic students. http://www.utrgv.edu/en-us/about-utrgv/news/press-releases/2016/september-15-e-zine-ranks-utrgv-third-in-most-degrees-awarded-to-hispanics-in-2014-2015/ Assisting Students With Disabilities Participants will gain knowledge of the Americans with Disabilities Act and accommodations in medical and health science programs. They will leave with a better understanding of about how to appropriately engage with their students around disability matters, how to make their classrooms more accessible to all learners and how learner/faculty communication should function with regard to disability Valley educators gather at UTRGV to open 15th HESTEC Week The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley opened HESTEC 2016 with a prestigious White House recognition of its 15 years of success in encouraging more students, particularly Hispanics and women, to take an interest in and pursue higher education and careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields. http://www.utrgv.edu/en-us/about-utrgv/news/press-releases/2016/october-03-valley-educators-gather-at-utrgv-to-open-15th-hestec-week/index.htm “In Our Shoes” Panel Presentation & Rehabilitation Poster Session *Annual “In Our Shoes” Panel Presentation* What is it like to be a student with a disability at UTRGV? What are the challenges? What learning strategies and accommodations work? Listen and learn as five students with different disabilities share their experiences and perspectives. Q and A follows. UTRGV Compass Leadership Academy helps light the path to a post-military career UTRGV’s Compass Leadership Academy helps student veterans find the best path to a career after their military service. Compass was developed to help student and alumni veterans successfully transfer the leadership skills they acquired in the military to university and civilian life. The program is designed to make sure student veterans get the support they need to graduate and find employment. The academy provides a total of 12 hours training for veterans, to help them adapt their skills to their lives since returning to school and work. http://www.utrgv.edu/en-us/about-utrgv/news/press-releases/2016/november-04-utrgv-compass-leadership-academy-helps-light-the-path-to-a-post-military-career/index.htm UTRGV Gender and Women’s Studies Program receives $68K NEH grant UTRGV’s Gender and Women's Studies Program (GWSP) got an early holiday present – a $68,028 Humanities Initiatives Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). With the grant, GWSP will be able to bring in program consultants and content specialists to share valuable insights on program development and faculty enrichment in the areas of gender, women and sexuality studies. While the specialists will focus on training faculty, the result will be developing curriculum and courses for students. http://www.utrgv.edu/en-us/about-utrgv/news/press-releases/2016/december-16-utrgv-gender-and-womens-studies-program-receives-68k-neh-grant/ MESSAGES OF ACCEPTANCE through Distinguished Speaker Series - Laverne Cox speaks to more than 1,000 attendees at UTRGV PAC The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Performing Arts Center swarmed with students and area residents Wednesday evening anxiously waiting to see actress and equal rights advocate Laverne Cox. Cox visited the campus as part of the Distinguished Speaker Series and this was her last stop in her tour of Texas. Her overall message was one of acknowledgement and acceptance of one’s multiple identities and the inter-sectionality of these, and the need to understand this framework in order to battle oppression. http://www.utrgvrider.com/breaking-the-silence/ UTRGV Counseling Center supports underrepresented groups through services such as the Zen recovery center, events like National Coming Out Day celebrations, and programs like BASICS (a harm reduction program designed to assist students in examining their own drinking behavior in a judgment free environment. BASICS is not an abstinence-only program. Instead, goals of the program are selected by the student and aimed at reducing risky behaviors and potential harmful consequences.) The Military and Veteran Success Center assists students in certifying education benefits, advocating for services, developing projects to unite the university with our local community, providing counseling services specifically for veterans, and promoting student involvement through the Student Veterans of America National Organization. We are proud to assist those who have served our country and are committed to helping military students and their dependents start or continue their education. Support for Staff: Employee Tuition Assistance Program (ETAP) The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley provides Tuition Assistance to encourage and support full-time benefits eligible employees to continue their education and improve the skills needed to develop their career and acquire new knowledge by providing partial or full payment tuition and mandatory fees. http://www.utrgv.edu/hr/operations/benefits/tuition-program/index.htm • ADVANCE Administrative Fellows Program: This program was created to complement the experience of the ADVANCE Leadership Institute by a subsequent year-long administrative fellowship in a key University office, in which selected participants gain hands-on leadership experience working closely with a Vice President, Vice Provost, Dean, or academic Director. • Family-Friendly Policies: Family Care and Sick Leaves, Authorized Paid Leave, Workload (Modified Instructional Duties), and Tenure & Promotion. • Chancellor’s Network for Women’s Leadership: Under the leadership of UT System’s Associate Vice Chancellor for Leadership Development & Veterans Affairs, Tony Cucolo, a chapter of this network has been created across UT System’s institutions. The network includes faculty and staff at the director’s level and above, and it is aligned with the Chancellor’s Quantum Leaps for the UT System 2015-2020. A mentorship/sponsorship component will also be part of this organization. The Chancellor’s Network fits closely with UTRGV’s Vision, Values, and many of the key initiatives, components, and key areas of focus, including Campus Climate and Professional Development and Growth for Faculty and Staff. Faculty Mentoring Support: o For New Faculty and their Mentors: A key component of the New faculty Support Program is to match new faculty with a peer mentor to provide one-on-one support to transition successfully into their positions and achieve their fullest potential as teachers, scholars, and members of the university and the community. Our office assists the departments with a mentor-matching survey and questions for targeted mentoring. Mentors also receive support and development through the Mentors Support Program, which offers sessions to facilitate effective mentoring and the exchange of ideas. At the end of the year a mentor will be recognized with the New Faculty Mentor Award, which is selected through a nomination process by the mentees. o Associate to Full Professor Program: Associate Professors in this program are matched with a mentor support their career development. When possible the program will match the faculty to their mentor of choice, within or outside of the university. o ADVANCE Leadership Institute: Leadership Institute participants are matched with a mentor to support their career and leadership development. The mentors can be internal or external to UTRGV and may or may not be in academia. When possible, the Leadership Institute will match participants to their mentor of choice. This semester-long institute was established to enhance faculty and leadership development opportunities at UTRGV. While the goal of the NSF ADVANCE grant is to increase the representation and advancement of women faculty in STEM fields, we encourage the participation of all tenured faculty, full-time clinical faculty, and three-year lecturers from all genders, colleges, and academic disciplines. The semester-long Institute curriculum includes a series of eight four-hour workshops on targeted topics including, the role of the leader, decision-making and problem solving, negotiation and influence, conflict management, collaboration, and strategic planning in higher education. Nationally recognized experts facilitate interactive workshops where the participants work in cooperative teams. The Institute incorporates mentoring and includes a special session on Women in Leadership. • Department Excellence Award in Faculty Mentoring: recognizes and rewards a Department/School within UTRGV that demonstrates excellence in mentoring its junior faculty, above and beyond the general expectations, with special attention to women, minorities, and junior faculty. Support for Faculty: • Women’s Faculty Network: The mission of the Women’s Faculty Network is to empower women faculty members by advocating for opportunities to advance their professional development in research, teaching and service, while balancing their personal, career, physical, and mental health demands at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Networking opportunities are provided, along with a wide range of programming and activities to address topics of interest. • Associate to Full Professor Program: This program was launched based on feedback and the need to systematically support mid-career women. The program consists of a series of workshops on topics such as reviving one’s research agenda, managing post-tenure career-life demands, securing internal and external funding, publishing, and networking for advancement. Sessions also consider unique challenges that STEM women, Hispanics, and other under-represented faculty at the Associate Professor rank experience. Participants are matched with mentors to support their career development, and they receive travel support to present research/creative work at major academic/professional conferences. Although the focus is on STEM women faculty, the program is open to all Associate Professors at UTRGV who expect to apply for promotion to Professor in the next 3-5 years. o Women of Color Writing Retreat: For women faculty to build multi-institutional networks of collaborators and complete a writing project. The experience included pre-retreat work, 1-week in-residence, and post-retreat online accountability coaching. Results of the SWR included the completion and submission of seven grant proposals and ten manuscripts. Importantly, the retreat provided a forum for women faculty in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) to experience an intensive writing program with one-on-one coaching, online coaching, and networking. o Proposal Development Coaching Program: created for tenured or tenure-track women faculty in STEM and SBE disciplines, this faculty writing program provides a year-long, intensive, one-on-one proposal development coaching with a professional grant writer. Selected faculty members will meet with the coach approximately every three to four weeks to develop a thorough grant proposal to be submitted to a major funding agency. Selected faculty members also receive a stipend for their participation. http://www.utrgv.edu/hbs/student-engagement/internships/index.htm

The Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE) and the Graduate College launched the Teaching Assistant Institute (TAI) in 2015 to to build a sustainable interdisciplinary community of Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs) and enhance productive connections for faculty research and teaching, creating a pipeline of future faculty within UTRGV. Through an ongoing evaluation processes that results in continuous improvement of the program, the TAI has officially stated that a goal is to develop GTA's from underrepresented groups into full or part-time teaching positions. The TAI has documentation of this goal on their website. Please see link below about the CTE Teaching Assistant Institute (TAI) http://www.utrgv.edu/cte/programs/teaching-assistant-institute/index.htm Other similar efforts to specifically support underrepresented students in becoming faculty members: Dr. Marie Mora, UTRGV associate vice provost for Faculty Diversity, was awarded a grant for $499,352 by the National Science Foundation to help fund the American Economic Association mentoring program. A longtime president and board member of the American Society of Hispanic Economists (ASHE), she prioritizes issues affecting the pipeline and representation of Hispanic economists. “The long-term impact of my efforts will hopefully be to have more Hispanics and other underrepresented groups participate in the profession, including in key policy-making positions,” Mora said. Mora, who has served as director of the program since 2013, said its goal is to help augment the number of minority students completing doctoral degrees in economics. The mentoring program connects minority students seeking a Ph.D. in economics with university faculty members or other professional economists who serve as a vital resource to promote their academic success. The NSF grant also provides funding for travel and collaborative research at the Summer Mentoring Pipeline Conference, where the mentors and mentees meet to network and share research. Having the program housed at UTRGV brings new opportunities to students wishing to pursue a career in economics, as well as the community as a whole. In 2015, Hispanics represented 17.6 percent of the total U.S. population, blacks accounted for 13.9 percent, and American Indians and Alaska Natives, 1.7 percent. However, among economics faculty members who were U.S. citizens or permanent residents employed full-time at U.S. institutions, only 3.9 percent were Hispanic and 1.7 percent were black in 2014-15 (with the percentage of Native Americans too small to be publicly reported). Currently, only 1.6 percent nationwide of full professors of economics are Hispanics. Many suspect the reason for such disparity is a lack of support students may feel while completing their studies, Mora said. “Often, a student will be the only minority in his or her program, which can make them feel isolated and, in turn, makes it more likely for them to not complete their degree,” she said. “Many of these students are first-generation college students as well.” She believes having more minority representation in the field of economics could lead to more inclusive ideas when it comes to policy decisions and the information that is available to policymakers. “One of the reasons we are concerned is because many policy decisions are made that affect minority populations, yet there are not many minority perspectives in the field,” Mora said. “A lot of research and policy decisions are being made without the input of people from diverse backgrounds, so information is being lost.” “Having the AEA Mentoring Program housed at UTRGV has provided undergraduate students at that institution with new information about the importance of studying economics as well as the opportunities (e.g., various Ph.D. programs) that exist across the nation,” Mora wrote in her proposal. “In addition, an economically literate population in south Texas is particularly important for the future direction of the state and nation, given the area’s relatively high poverty rates and low median family income.” Links about Mora's award: https://www.utrgv.edu/en-us/about-utrgv/news/press-releases/2017/july-17-utrgv-rodriguez-lozano-and-mora-receive-leaders-in-stem-award/index.htm https://www.utrgv.edu/en-us/about-utrgv/news/press-releases/2016/march-08-utrgvs-mora-receives-national-award-for-efforts-on-diversity-higher-education/index.htm

The Rio Grande Valley is recognized for being an economically disadvantaged region not only in the State of Texas but also in the Nation. The creation of the University of Texas – Rio Grande Valley introduces an opportunity for economic development to a different classification of labor force outside of the normal higher education environment. UTRGV’s support for underrepresented groups works towards the sustainable development goal of Reduced Inequalities and Decent Work and Economic Growth by reducing inequalities, promoting employment and decent work for all, and fostering a more diverse and inclusive campus community. Publicly Accessible Inventory of Gender Neutral Bathrooms at UTRGV are listed in the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. The website https://www1.thecb.state.tx.us/apps/facinv/FacSearchRoomResults.cfm takes the user to a blank form. Attached on "Additional documentation to support the submission" is a screenshot of the 2017 list with the specific information on gender neutral bathrooms for UTRGV.