Academic schools’ Diversity & Inclusion Working Groups and membership
The following message was shared with all students, faculty & staff via email on Feb. 25.
SUNY New Paltz Faculty, Staff, and Students:
I am pleased to announce the establishment of school-based Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) Working Groups, a goal I articulated for the 2020-2021 academic year. This is a best practice in many institutions across the country to leverage both dialogue and action around Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) work. The Deans were asked to form working groups within each school to draw greater focus to DEI goals. Several schools had already begun to engage in this work but the establishment of a more formal structure offers greater focus on creating action plans for change around such areas as student retention and achievement gaps, student and employee recruitment, mentorship and retention of scholars of color, inclusive department climate, diversifying the curriculum and developing anti-racist frames in program review, evolution and development as well as faculty performance review. Each school will meet regularly, identify goals, and create action plans to engage broad conversation and commitment in their schools. The schools have expressed enthusiasm for the work their respective groups will undertake.
To create a partnership between the schools and the institutional D&I Council, representatives of each school-based working group will join the institutional D&I Council as full members. One goal of this new structure is to create shared spaces where both grassroots efforts and administrative initiatives can inform each other. This new structure will foster both horizontal and vertical communication about efforts and create greater opportunities for collaboration and more effective use of resources. DEI and Anti-Racist goals continue to be a priority, and these goals will advance most effectively when all levels of the institution engage in the work.
I join D&I Council co-chairs Tanhena Pacheco Dunn and Rennie Scott Childress in thanking members of the D&I Council who have agreed to continue their appointments on the Council and welcome colleagues who join the Council from their respective academic units.
Below are the members of the D&I Council (*denotes new members from academic units):
Latanya Brandon, School of Education*
Mark Colvson, Sojourner Truth Library
Tyrell Connor, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Anthony Dandridge, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences*
Devon Duhaney, School of Education*
Andrea Gatzke, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Ken Goldstein, School of Fine & Performing Arts
Deborah Gould, Academic Affairs
Catherine Herne, School of Science & Engineering*
Jun Lin, School of Business*
Julie Majak, Finance & Administration
Emma Morcone, Human Resources, Diversity & Inclusion
Stacie Nunes, School of Science & Engineering*
Tanhena Pacheco Dunn, co-chair, Human Resources, Diversity & Inclusion
Alex Peh, School of Fine & Performing Arts*
Jessica Purcell, Student Affairs
Rennie Scott Childress, co- chair, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Jean Vizvary, Student Affairs
Shelly Wright, Office of the President
Sincerely,
Donald P. Christian
President