Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 65.57
Liaison Jeff Spoelstra
Submission Date July 22, 2014
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

Western Michigan University
PA-4: Diversity and Equity Coordination

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 2.00 Martha Warfield
Vice President
Diversity and Inclusion
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution have a diversity and equity committee, office, and/or officer tasked by the administration or governing body to advise on and implement policies, programs, and trainings related to diversity and equity on campus?:
Yes

Does the committee, office and/or officer focus on one or both of the following?:
Yes or No
Student diversity and equity Yes
Employee diversity and equity Yes

A brief description of the diversity and equity committee, office and/or officer, including purview and activities:
Office of Diversity and Inclusion: To ensure equitable access for all, ODI provides leadership by working collaboratively with the University community to identify and overcome institutional barriers and affirm the dignity, value and uniqueness of each member of our community. Office of Institutional Equity: Promotes equal opportunity, equity, access, and excellence for all members of the university community and provides compliance oversight regarding applicable laws, regulations, and policies to ensure a welcoming, safe, and civil and inclusive environment. Campus Climate for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion—Tactical Action Community: To implement the recommendations of the 2012-2013 Campus Climate Study, assuring integration and alignment with the Diversity and Multiculturalism Action Plan and the University Strategic Plan, and promote university-wide transformational change in regards to diversity, equity, and inclusion. College-wide Diversity Councils endeavor to promote change and inclusivity within each academic college through curriculum change, access and equity, research and scholarship, and the building of a multicultural and inclusive climate throughout the college.

The full-time equivalent of people employed in the diversity and equity office:
22.92

The website URL where information about the diversity and equity committee, office and/or officer is available:
Does the institution make cultural competence trainings and activities available to all members of the following groups?:
Yes or No
Students Yes
Staff Yes
Faculty Yes
Administrators Yes

A brief description of the cultural competence trainings and activities:
"The university utilizes the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) to address and promote cultural competence in the administration. Everyone Counts is a diversity learning community (DLC) that focuses on diversity, access, equity, and inclusive excellence in higher education. The Everyone Counts Learning community helps build understanding, capacity, and skill amongst faculty, staff, and graduate students. Multiple cross-disciplinary groups of 10 to 12 participants will meet twice per month for two hours to study and discuss topics of shared interest in an in-depth, ongoing, scholarly, and systematic manner. Everyone Counts participants will then have the opportunity to design and pursue projects, research, or courses that help them to apply and test new ideas and information about diversity, access, equity, and inclusive excellence. The Real Talk Diversity Series serves as a catalyst to promote, celebrate, and increase awareness about diversity at WMU, to recognize cultural differences as well as similarities, and to encourage cross-cultural interaction. Participants gain an increased awareness of diversity, develop basic communication skills around diversity, gain a basic understanding of privilege and identify examples of oppression, and learn to actively resist systems of privilege and oppression in their everyday lives New Faculty Seminar is an academic year long endeavor that seeks to orient new faculty to the university. New faculty engage with speakers and more seasoned faculty on a variety of topics to support their success including tenure and promotion, the importance of mentoring, cultural competence in teaching and research, course development, and classroom management."

The website URL where information about the cultural competence trainings is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Equity Office: http://www.wmich.edu/equity Cultural Competence Training: http://wmich.edu/facdev/Programs/EveryoneCounts.html; http://www.wmich.edu/facdev/Programs/NewFacultySeminar.html

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.