Statement on Social Justice on our Campuses
This summer, our university has felt compelled to respond to killings of and discrimination against many black and brown individuals across our nation. Vice President of the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Multicultural Affairs James Wimbush specifically calls on us to work diligently to be "a university where a diverse community of faculty, staff, and students can flourish and feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and feelings."
As a community dedicated to high quality teaching and learning, FACET commits to social justice, in and out of the classroom. As such we pledge to actively identify and eliminate bigotry, be cognizant of the need to reflect on our own policies and practices, and make changes to constantly pursue and actualize our values.
We understand bias is often unintentional and racism may be implicit in policies and systems of higher education, even if it is not explicit. We will take action to intentionally address discrimination based on immutable differences or characteristics that are fundamental to identity or conscience. Our actions will include, but are not limited to:
Identifying and exploring systemic racism, bias, and oppression and related impacts in our policies and practices;
Educating ourselves, each other, and our communities on issues of racism, oppression, and bias; and,
Eliminating barriers and eradicating racism and oppression, intentional or unintentional, systemic and individual, throughout all areas of FACET.
Beginning in fall 2020, we will implement these action items by;
Establishing a diversity committee to make recommendations to the steering committee and ensure equity and anti-racism are immanent in FACET's values, mission, vision, and goals;
Creating a place on the FACET website to anonymously report racism and discrimination and make suggestions for action items;
Creating and implementing a diversity plan and an anti-racist policy for FACET and all FACET events;
Providing resources to help promote education on topics related to anti-racism, bystander intervention, and equity and inclusion;
Supporting research on anti-racist pedagogy;
Creating space and time to ensure visibility for scholars who are Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC), Latinx and international faculty at FACET events;
Recruiting actively BIPOC, Latinx, LGBTQ, and International faculty for membership in FACET and assuring equitable access to FACET campus and statewide leadership roles; and,
Continuing to improve this living document.
