At the May 8, 2023, meeting of the Board of Trustees DEI Committee, Mary Brodsky, Dean of People and Culture for the Community College of Vermont, and Jae Basiliere, Chief Diversity Officer at Vermont State University, each gave an update on the past year of work regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion at their respective institutions. The full updates can be viewed HERE on YouTube.
DEI Activities at CCV During Fiscal Year 2023
CCV’s approach to diversity, equity, and inclusion is grounded in our values of respect, empowerment, and integrity. Over the last year, CCV’s work in this area was focused on three priorities: 1) Building Our Cultural Foundation; 2) Providing Student Support and Resources to Promote Inclusivity; and 3) Establishing and Strengthening Community Engagements.
Some of CCV’s FY23 notable DEI activities included professional development with staff and faculty, improving our recruitment practices and processes, launching CCV’s new webpage for diversity, equity and inclusion, compiling a calendar of dates with historical, interfaith, or cultural significance, expanding our monthly “Chat and Chew” series of drop-in discussions college-wide, establishing a Black, Indigenous, Persons of Color (BIPOC) student affinity group, and conducting outreach with community leaders and other higher education institutions to promote partnership and share resources.
Last week, CCV celebrated its 20th annual International Food Festival at CCV Winooski Center. This gathering of people from many cultures, all with a CCV connection, was both reaffirming and uplifting for its participants. You can read more about it here.
Over the coming year, CCV plans to continue its newly launched initiatives and also explore: 1) Establishing additional supports for English Language Learner (ELL) students and 2) More ways to address and provide support for gender diversity and LGBTQIA identified persons.
The VTSU Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice
A portion of the update from Dr. Basiliere was a report of how DEISJ has been integrated into Transformation work at Vermont State University. This entailed collaborating with members of the project management team to integrate DEISJ into the templates and documents used to propose change. Dr. Basiliere was very involved with the creation of the Vermont State University Community Values statement and was actively involved in integrating DEISJ into VTSU’s strategic priorities.
Also, part of the work has been providing on-demand feedback for transformation teams looking to improve the equity of their projects, policies, and products. One highlight was working with admissions on reviewing their applications and processes. Another has been working with faculty to integrate DEI-focused learning objectives into the general education curriculum. Looking towards the future, the Office of DEISJ collaborated with the Office of Institutional Research to build out a campus climate survey which will be deployed for the first time in Fall 2023.