Wake Forest University
PA-5: Assessing Diversity and Equity

Wake Forest adopted the Equity Scorecard model, developed by Bensimon and colleagues (2003), to create a framework for accountability around institutional equity among the staff at Wake Forest University. While the Equity Scorecard was initially designed to examine equity in representation and success among traditionally marginalized students at public institutions in southern California, the study evaluated representation and success (i.e., mobility) among underrepresented staff as well as women. The study involved descriptive analyses to assess the state of equity among the staff at Wake Forest, using fall 2014 data from Human Resources. Specifically, the paper addressed the following three sets of research questions: 1. What is the state of equity in representation among staff for: (a) non-Whites, (b) Hispanics (of any race), and (c) women? 2. How does the state of equity vary based on the demographics of three index reference groups: Forsyth County residents, undergraduate students, and all students? 3. Within each comparison group (i.e., underrepresented racial/ethnic group and women), how does representation across each university unit and level of leadership vary? The analyses describe equity for non-Whites, Hispanics, and women by: (a) Cabinet-level unit and (b) hierarchical rank, as of September 2014, based on the availability of data. Equity was measured in terms of representation, which indicates the degree to which non-Whites, Hispanics, and women have access to employment at the institution and occupancy of leadership roles.

The findings from this descriptive study suggest that sustainable institutional dialogue regarding equity must be enhanced, and better assessments and evaluation protocols must be put into place. While current recruitment and retention initiatives likely played a positive role in diversifying the staff, inequitable representation persists for Persons of Color, including but not limited to African Americans, Hispanics, and Native American colleagues, and women colleagues in certain disciplines. Given the positive impact of a diverse staff on perceptions of campus climate among underrepresented campus community members, coupled with an impending demographic shift among the student body, enhancing equity among the staff, the faculty, and students must be an institutional priority. The Campus Climate Implementation Team, a group commissioned by the University Provost and comprised of university leaders, faculty, staff, and students, to coordinate the implementation of action items and policies to advance institutional equity has recently wrapped up its charge. Consequently, a newly appointed VP for Diversity and Inclusion has presented a new mission, vision, and guiding process for grounding and assessing this work throughout the institution. More information on assessments from a Diversity and Inclusion perspective may be found at: diversity.wfu.edu/about; and diversity.wfu.edu/reports.

The Office of Institutional Research provides student and faculty data on a variety of factors and constructs, using the HERI surveys. Though these reports are comprehensive in nature, they include relevant information specific to Diversity and Inclusion matters. In addition, a Community Scorecard Assessment was recently completed by the Pro Humanitate Institute, and this data was shared with various stakeholders across the campus through a program called "data dives."