Transformation offers a chance like no other to build principles of diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice into the core of the work we are doing. To be student focused, all students need to feel like they are not just welcome but supported in a way that meets them where they are. To be able to do this work, faculty and staff need to have that same support.
How are the transformation teams laying the groundwork for this work with the Vermont State University? The Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice Workgroup, led by Jae Basiliere and Kathleen Mason, created three pillars to guide the transformation teams:
- Data-Informed Decisions about Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice
- Professional Knowledge of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice
- Personal Knowledge of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice
All three need to be engaged while going through each stage of the project development process. The workgroup offered the following questions for how to incorporate the framework of DEISJ into work processes and decision making:
- Data-Informed Decisions: Are your work processes shaped by data-informed decisions related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice?
- Professional Knowledge: Can your work process reviews address an institutional need around diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice? Are you asking questions in a way that facilitates opportunities for discussion around a related issues of diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice?
- Personal Knowledge: Are you seeking opportunities to increase your own knowledge of diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice?
These are expanded upon further in the Vermont State College System’s Diversity Statement.