Workshops at the College Support Diversity and Inclusion
The College hosted a diversity and inclusion consultant and an expert in inclusive pedagogy this spring for a series of interactive workshops as part of an ongoing commitment to create a more culturally competent learning community, where students, faculty, and staff move beyond familiar boundaries to understand those with different backgrounds and perspectives.
In late March, administrators, faculty, staff, and students met with Dr. Kelly Kimple, director of the Office of Diversity Affairs at Miami University in Ohio. Speaking candidly about her own experiences as an African American woman in academia, Kimple said, “The need is to begin what may be difficult conversations, but communication is key to moving forward.” Kimple pointed out that building respect is everyone’s responsibility. She outlined several recommendations for the College to consider, such as defining diversity, creating a diversity statement, conducting a "campus climate" survey, assessing what exists currently in relation to diversity and inclusion, developing a diversity council, providing additional professional training, and putting measures in place that demonstrate accountability.
Several weeks later, Aisha Haque, associate director at the Center for Teaching and Learning at Western University in London, Ontario, Canada, gave the workshop "The Intercultural Classroom: Strategies for Teaching Inclusively." Drawing on her background in culturally relevant teaching and anti-racist education, Haque spoke with faculty and met with Educational Studies majors. Exploring concrete strategies that faculty can use to facilitate class discussion and group work, Haque noted, “There’s often a tendency for students of color or whose first language is not English to withdraw from class participation or projects on teams. It’s important to understand cultural influences and learning norms that may cause students to disengage and develop strategies to avoid this altogether.” Haque recommended several learning activities to help faculty navigate the cross-cultural classroom.
By all accounts, the talks and workshops were a good step toward ensuring that all members of the community feel valued. Many also noted that helping students work effectively with people from a variety of backgrounds is an essential 21st-century skill. “The workshops helped us determine what we can do at the grassroots level,” says Dr. Sally Steindorf (US’93, C’97), chair of the College’s Global Studies Department and director of the Global Citizenship Advisory Board, which sponsored the workshops.