Faculty Affairs Inclusion Commitment
One of the University of Arizona’s distinctive strengths is advancing Inclusive Excellence via equal opportunity, diversity, and inclusion as outlined in the University of Arizona’s Purpose and Values. It is a time for action on equity and diverse representation. Faculty Affairs honors that commitment by recognizing the Indigenous lands on which we are privileged to teach and learn, those of the Tohono O’odham and the Pascua Yaqui. We honor the responsibility of being both a Land Grant Institution and a Hispanic Serving Institution.
Innovation, critical thinking, and problem-solving are greatly enhanced in a diverse and inclusive academic community. In Faculty Affairs we create, develop, and support institutional structures that lead to programs, resources, and services to cultivate faculty promotion and success in their scholarship, teaching, and service. We are actively engaged in partnership with leaders across campus to build affirming and inclusive systems for faculty advancement (see McNair, Bensimon, & Malcom-Piqueux, 2020).
Ongoing Campus Resources
Preventing Discrimination and Harassment Training
This training using a series of engaging scenarios and activities, will help you learn important principles and develop skills to enhance your working and educational relationships.
This training, Safe Zone, is a campus-wide training program committed to making The University of Arizona a safer, more welcoming, and inclusive environment for members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) community. LGBTQ Affairs.
Participants will receive an overview of terminology, policies, and legislation that impact students from immigrant and refugee backgrounds and will develop ways to support undocumented and DACA students at the UA. Immigrant Student Resource Center (ISRC).
The Disability Resource Center (DRC) is a resource for instructors, faculty, department heads and deans to explore disability-related accommodations and broad strategies for accessibility and inclusion. DRC is the designated University department for determining reasonable accommodation for disabled and pregnant faculty and staff. When accommodation may be needed, the DRC works with the employee and their department through an interactive process to determine if requested accommodations would be reasonable. Reasonable accommodations do not compromise the high standards of teaching, research and practice at the University, but ensure accessibility. We work to promote higher levels of inclusion and equity through Universal Design and the implementation of the most effective and sustainable accommodations.
Faculty may explore a variety of accommodations through our interactive process. Some examples include:
- To teach in a particular building, for example, the same building as one's office or a building with a lactation room.
- To teach in a particular classroom or be assigned to teach in a classroom with particular technology.
- To teach in a building and classroom that is wheelchair accessible.
- To teach at a particular time of day.
- A delay to the tenure clock.
Please contact DRC’s Workplace Access team to discuss access and accommodations at drc-workplaceaccess@arizona.edu.
Inclusive and Accessible Design Presentation Series
This training includes presentations related to 1) Planning events for everyone; 2) Creating content for everyone; and 3) Designing Marketing for everyone. In all sessions, you will learn about principles of inclusive and accessible designs to events, content, and marketing.
This training will look at the diversity and strengths that military-connected students bring to the classrooms and campus while exploring the many resources the University of Arizona has available for students and their families. Participants can possibly receive the UA VET Ally placard if all trainings and modules are completed.
First Cats Training for Faculty & Staff
The First Cats First-Gen Intro Training is the first in a series of professional development trainings to provide faculty and staff with knowledge, tools and ideas for how they can center the experience of first-generation college students in their work.
Childcare & Elder Care Resources
Available through the University of Arizona’s Life & Work Connections, childcare resources include: Childcare Choice, Sick and Back-up Childcare, and Childcare Consultations. Life & Work Connections also offers Adult and Elder Care Consultations.
Given growing evidence that COVID19 has had a disproportionate impact on women, underrepresented ethnic/racial/sexual orientation groups, family caregivers, and those with health risks, we recognize that more than ever it is critical to acknowledge and consider issues of equity, diversity and inclusivity in the review of promotion materials.
Adjustments to the academic cycle of promotion and clock deadlines have been adjusted due to COVID-19. Academic Affairs will work with promotion candidates, review committees, department heads, and deans to document how COVID-19 may have impacted trajectories of growth in teaching, research, and service.
Additional resources on Gender & Racial Equity during COVID-19:
- New Solutions to Ensure Gender Equity (Malisch, et al., 2020)
- Supporting Faculty During & After COVID (Gonzales & Griffin, 2020)
Grounded in Inclusive Excellence (IE), the Office of Equity, Inclusion, and Title IX provides accessible, engaging environments that inspire creativity, enhance our ability to think critically and challenge us to fully realize our leadership potential. Resources include diversity reports, diversity research programs, IE awards, faculty development, and Title IX support, among many others.
Action Collaborative Partner Network
The University of Arizona is committed to and actively participates in the Action Collaborative Partner Network. We commit to sharing information about our institutions efforts and innovations in preventing and addressing sexual harassment.
Hispanic Serving Institution Initiatives
As a research intensive land-grant HSI, the University of Arizona is committed to responsively meeting the educational needs of our vibrant and increasingly diverse communities of Arizona. A Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) is a federal designation by the U.S. Department of Education that acknowledges colleges and universities with 25% or more total undergraduate Hispanic full-time equivalent student enrollment.
- Hispanic Serving Institution Fellows Program - Supported by a strategic investment from the Office of the Provost and partnering departments across campus, the HSI Fellows Program serves to strategically further the scope and depth of work around our HSI designation and provide a venue for community-building and career development for a cohort of up to 10 faculty and staff each year through a project-based leadership experience, mentoring and coaching, and a series of targeted workshops.
Resources for Women in Leadership
This Faculty Affairs Website offers a list of institutional, national, and international resources for faculty women leaders. These resources include: programs, conferences, institutes, awards, articles and other opportunities for woman-identified leaders in higher education.
Inclusive Leadership Certificate
The program strategically centers the University’s core values of inclusion, integrity, compassion, adaptation, exploration, and determination. Leveraging the University’s resources, mentorship, and coaching, participants bolster critical leadership competencies and best practices – particularly those related to advancing diversity, inclusion, and equity – as the University builds its next generation of leaders. Diversifying higher education leadership is an intentional act that promotes creative problem solving and increases retention for faculty, staff, and students. This program creates a pathway for emerging leaders that reflect the changing demographics of our student body.
Inclusive Teaching Tidbit Series
Offered through the Office of Instruction & Assessment, this webinar series includes recordings, materials, and additional resources focused on inclusive teaching practices.
Equity Mindedness - University of Southern California Resource
“Equity-Mindedness” refers to the perspective or mode of thinking exhibited by practitioners who call attention to patterns of inequity. It takes understanding inequities as a dysfunction of the various structures, policies, and practices that they can control.
A tool for quantifying inequity and a baseline for monitoring progress towards closing gaps in faculty recruitment.
National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity (NCFDD)
A nationally recognized, independent organization that provides online career development and mentoring resources for faculty, postdocs, and graduate students. Because the University of Arizona is an Institutional Member, all of our faculty, postdocs, and graduate students are granted free membership.
María Teresa Vélez Outstanding Mentoring Award
The Outstanding Mentoring Award recognizes individuals with an outstanding commitment to mentoring within The University of Arizona. This prestigious award honors and celebrates people who are making a difference through mentoring and who have significantly demonstrated a commitment above and beyond, through their individual mentoring accomplishments, their creation of high quality mentoring experiences for others, and their efforts contributing to building a mentoring culture at the University of Arizona.
Communications
Tuesday, January 12, 2021
Wildcat community,
Today we return to classes after witnessing the unprecedented attack on the U.S. Capitol, an event designed to intimidate our elected leaders, and defile and desecrate our democratic systems. I know words alone cannot erase the feelings of frustration, anger, and sadness our community may hold. Nor can words adequately condemn or repudiate the actions of those individuals participating in displays of privilege and oppression, issues we work to eradicate every day. I acknowledge that our community is grappling with varying emotions at this time, especially members of our BIPOC, immigrant, and diverse religious communities who have witnessed symbols of hate maliciously brandished and displayed with callous disregard.
Today we return to campus with determination to use the attack as our catalyst to Bear Down on our commitment to equity and inclusion. We return to purposefully use our positions in the Wildcat community – from student to professor to staff member – to uplift and amplify diverse voices. We return with resilience and resolve to turn passive complacency in our community into active allyship to topple the vestiges of the past.
Over the next few months, you will see fresh and renewed determination from the Office of Diversity & Inclusion as we:
- Launch new campus-wide trainings and workshops as we celebrate the U.S. District Court's nationwide preliminary injunction against the executive order restricting diversity training.
- Lead the Campus Inclusion Team and implement our Diversity & Inclusion Strategic Implementation Plan.
- Work with Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) committees at each college and unit to establish metrics and publish goals/accomplishments.
- Continue to address the demands for change from our courageous students.
Our Cultural Centers and Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) team will continue to support the campus community through our weekly office hours and programs. We are launching a D&I Town Hall series in February, and I encourage you to renew your commitment to inclusion by joining the Office of Diversity & Inclusion as we celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in a digital march, next Monday, Jan. 18, at 10 a.m. Register here to attend the MLK digital march.
While our offices remain virtual as we begin this semester, we are here to support you. We will work to challenge every member of our Wildcat community to take diversity and inclusion to new heights as we all choose to live our values of compassion, inclusion, and integrity.
Welcome back, Wildcats. Let's harness the power of diversity and Bear Down toward inclusion.
Ivy K. Banks, M.Ed., J.D.
Associate Vice Provost, Diversity & Inclusion
Office of the Provost
Tuesday, October 01, 2020
Dear Faculty,
Welcome to the start of a new academic year! We recognize that the beginning of this academic year is particularly unique and that many faculty members are juggling the multiple demands of preparing for a new academic year, and the impacts of the ongoing health crisis, economic crisis, and racial crisis. Our priority in Faculty Affairs is to offer faculty a full range of support from recruitment and hiring initiatives to retention and promotion, as well as leadership development. Central to these efforts is a commitment and focus on equity and inclusion in all of our work.
We share with you today a comprehensive list of equity-centered efforts and resources available to you at the University of Arizona. As you know Provost Folks led a salary equity study for tenure-track faculty last year. More details can be found in the Office of the Provost site. A similar study for career-track faculty is being undertaken this coming year. More information about equity resources can be found on the Faculty Affairs site .
Childcare & Elder Care Resources: Available through the University of Arizona’s Life & Work Connections, childcare resources include: Childcare Choice, Sick and Back-up Childcare, and Childcare Consultations. Life & Work Connections also offers Adult and Elder Care Consultations.
COVID-19 Promotion Information: COVID-19 tenure-clock delays are still an option for faculty, please see this link for details on how to submit for a COVID-19 related tenure-clock delay. Given growing evidence that COVID19 has had a disproportionate impact on women, underrepresented ethnic/racial/sexual orientation groups, family caregivers, and those with health risks, we recognize that more than ever it is critical to acknowledge and consider issues of equity, diversity and inclusivity in the review of promotion materials. Please visit the Faculty Affairs site to find updated promotion dossier template that includes a COVID-19 statement.
Adjustments to the academic cycle of promotion and clock deadlines have been made due to COVID-19, see the Guide to the Promotion Process for deadlines for 2020-2021 reviews.
National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity (NCFDD): All faculty and graduate students have access to the NCFDD through our institutional membership. A nationally recognized, independent organization that provides online career development and mentoring resources for faculty, postdocs, and graduate students.
Imagining America: Faculty also have access to additional resources and webinars through our institutional memberships in Imagining America which is dedicated to diversity, inclusion, and social justice, To receive announcements regarding Imagining America webinars, please email María Sanchez (mariasanchez@email.arizona.edu).
Affinity & Inclusive Faculty Groups: An opportunity for faculty to gather collectively with colleagues who share in aspects of one’s identity. These groups offer a space for faculty holding BIPOC, LGBTQ, and/or various under-served identities to cultivate a sense of connection and advance equity efforts in support of minoritized faculty.
Inclusive Leadership Program: Centered on the University’s core values of diversity and inclusion, excellence, innovation and entrepreneurial action, integrity, and partnerships, the Inclusive Leadership Program will build a pipeline that will not only further diversify our leadership but will also advance innovative collaborations aimed at creating inclusive workplaces, student learning, curricula, and partnerships.
Hispanic Serving Institution Initiatives : As a research intensive land-grant HSI, the University of Arizona is committed to responsively meeting the educational needs of our vibrant and increasingly diverse communities of Arizona. A Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) is a federal designation by the U.S. Department of Education that acknowledges colleges and universities with 25% or more total undergraduate Hispanic full-time equivalent student enrollment. The HSI Fellows Program serves to strategically further the scope and depth of work around the University’s HSI designation and provide a venue for community-building and career development for a cohort of 10 faculty and staff each year through a project-based leadership experience, mentoring and coaching, and a series of targeted workshops.
Funding & Professional Development Opportunities: The Office of Diversity and Inclusion shares a number of funding opportunities including mini-grants and seed grants. Please see links below for training opportunities focused on teaching, safe zone training, and various workshops.
Safe Zone Training, Immigrant Student Resource Center Trainings, Inclusive and Accessible Design Series, UA Veteran Alliance Training, First Cats Training for Faculty & Staff.
Inclusive Teaching Tidbit Series: Offered through the Office of Instruction & Assessment, this webinar series includes recordings, materials, and additional resources focused on inclusive teaching practices.
Office of Diversity & Inclusion: Grounded in Inclusive Excellence (IE), the Office of Diversity & Inclusion provides accessible, engaging environments that inspire creativity, enhance our ability to think critically and challenge us to fully realize our leadership potential. Resources include diversity reports, diversity research programs, IE awards, and faculty development, among many others. The Office of Diversity & Inclusion also houses Initiatives for Organizational Inclusion (IOI), which aims to transform University structures, practices, policies, and individual behaviors to effectively advance inclusion. IOI now offers weekly drop-in consultations on matters related to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Office of Institutional Equity: OIE supports efforts to uphold the University's commitment to creating and maintaining a working and learning environment that is inclusive and free of discriminatory conduct as required by the University's Nondiscrimination and Anti-harassment Policy. OIE is also responsible for overseeing Title IX support, reporting, and advocacy. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, prohibits all forms of sex discrimination, including sexual harassment, sexual assault and relationship violence.
Bias Education & Support Team (BEST) : What BEST Does: provide care and support to impacted individuals; offer optional opportunities to engage in activities and dialogue that promote education, understanding, and healing; track reporting trends and utilize these data to inform campus leadership. Based on the information provided in the BEST report, if there is a reasonable basis to suspect that potential discrimination, harassment, or retaliation in violation of the university’s Nondiscrimination and Anti-harassment Policy has occurred, the information will be sent to the appropriate UA office.
You can find our anti-harassment statement that is aligned with the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine Action Collaborative on Preventing Sexual Harassment in Higher Education recommendations from their report . For more information on our internal anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policy, please click here. We are continuing to build efforts centered on equity and inclusion, including diversity, equity, and inclusion training for faculty offered through EverFi, and will share those as they progress. We recognize that the resources listed here are not exhaustive; thus, we encourage you to share additional resources and opportunities with our office. We welcome your feedback and look forward to collaborating with you in the coming year.
Andrea J. Romero, Ph.D.
Vice Provost, Faculty Affairs
Jennifer Martin
Interim Associate Vice Provost, Faculty Development
Adrián Arroyo Pérez, Ph.D.
Associate Director, Faculty Programs
Wednesday, January 15, 2020.
Access the MEMORANDUM.
Wednesday, November 6th, 2019
Access the MEMORANDUM.