IDEA Mini Grant Spotlights 2021-2022

Katharine L. Brown, M.S., Ph.D., Kellie Martin

MSc, Chandra Crudup, MSW, Ph.D., Cynthia

Mackey, MSW,Trey Jenkins, MSW,Tasha Holmes

MArch, Mary Mathis Burnett, Ed.D.

Positionality Statement: Oppression can include harms towards individuals or groups based on actual or perceived race, ethnicity, gender, class, ability, national origin, age, religion, sexual orientation, and other positionalities people identify as. In the IDEAOffice, we recognize that our positionality in Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions comes with a high degree of power and responsibility.The IDEAOffice is composed of faculty, staff, and students of varying identities including Black, white, and queer identities. We have done our best to review the outcomes of the IDEAMini-Grant process through multiple lenses in the Office and always welcome feedback as we continue to reflect on our own positionalities and the ways we benefit from, work alongside, and live amidst whiteness.

Office of Inclusive Design for Equity & Access

wattsidea@asu.edu

5 ASU Charter

6 Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions

7 Office of Inclusive Design for Equity andAccess (IDEA)

8-9

IDEAOffice and Mini Grants

10-11

Fall 2021Awardees Introduction

12-13

ASU Watts College Women Faculty of Color Initiative (WFOCI)

14-15 Collective for Research Equity & Diversity (CRED)

16-17

Latin@s Unid@s Student Organization Latinx Mixer & Recruitment

18-19

Reinventing the

Manual

20-21

Yuma Mentorship Program

22-23

Spring 2022Awardees Introduction

24-25

ASUYouth Detention Program

26-27

Developing a Tucson Border Course

28-29

Diverse Perspectives on Justice Speaker Series (DPJSS)

30-31

Welfare Rights Collaboration Research Project

32-33

Lessons Learned, Takeaways, and Overarching

Themes

34-35

Additional Funding Resources atASU

ASU is a comprehensive public research university, measured not by whom it excludes, but by whom it includes and how they succeed; advancing research and discovery of public value; and assuming fundamental responsibility for the economic, social, cultural and overall health of the communities it serves.

Watts College of Public Service & Community Solutions Ensuring Inclusivity in Watts

(learn more publicservice.asu.edu/about/ensuring-inclusivity)

In a statement about ensuring inclusivity in Watts, Dean Lietz shared the following: Engaging in specific actions that are anti-racist remains essential to our ability to move forward, because adopting an anti-racist lens centers race when considering oppression; it acknowledges and seeks to combat our nation’s long history of violence and discrimination against Black, Indigenous, Latinx andAsian communities. Our commitment to approach our work on a daily basis from an anti-racist perspective must never cease. By saying we are advancing an anti-racist,AND anti-oppressive approach, it allows us to call out the need to ensure safety, respect, and inclusion of students, staff, and faculty as it relates to multiple identities that can lead to oppression. We are working to advance a truly welcoming and inclusive work and learning environment across the intersecting ways we define ourselves.

As we initiated the implementation of this commitment to an anti-racist and anti-oppressive approach, the most important early action was appointing an associate dean of Inclusive Design for Equity andAccess (IDEA). To support her work, a set of graduate students were appointed as IDEAscholars to work withAssociate Dean Chandra Crudup to advance initiatives that combat racism and oppression in the college. These student leaders not only expand our capacity, but they bring perspectives that have been essential to understanding how best to move forward.The creation of this role and office has allowed us to move from talking about diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging to engaging in actionable steps that allow us to advance this approach.

The IDEAoffice also created a mini-grant program that invites faculty, staff, and students from across the college to submit proposals for a modest level of seed funding to support ground-up work to help create an inclusive work environment.This, coupled with the RaceTalk Circles initiative, has created space for our community to have important conversations about race, a topic that is often avoided.

To advance an anti-racist and anti-oppressive approach in our work and learning environments, we have to first be able to have open and honest conversations about race.All of these efforts have created not just space for conversation, but also ideas that are leading to direct actions that seek to dismantle systems of oppression and name and address micro-aggressions that occur in work or learning spaces.

“

To realizeASU's Charter and undo 400 years of racism in this country, we must all take active steps to dismantle systemic oppression and create inclusive environments in our own communities.”

– Cynthia Leitz, Ph.D., Dean of Watts College

IDEAOffice

We

IDEAOffice Commitments:

1. Ensuring Inclusive & Equitable Environments

We are committed to ensuring inclusive and equitable learning and working environments for and in collaboration with employees and students of the Watts community.

2.Attuning Towards Transformative Change

We are committed to supporting the ongoing learning process necessary to create continual attunement towards transformative change.

3. Designing Inclusive Practices

We are committed to embedding and designing inclusive practices in our everyday work and within the relationships we build.

4.Accountability to Communities

We are committed to holding each other accountable in the quest to build more vibrant, healthy, equitable, and accessible communities.

5. Countering Harmful Practices

We are committed to countering harmful dominant narratives, policies, and procedures with practices that benefit all.

6.Acknowledging Mistakes, Pledge to Repair

We are committed to acknowledging where we make mistakes, and we pledge to be transparent about steps towards repair.

7. Supporting Needs,Addressing Harm, Identifying Root Causes

We are committed to supporting the immediate needs of individuals or groups, addressing harmful behaviors, and identifying the root causes of racist and oppressive systems.

8. Celebrating Shared Experiences

We are committed to celebrating individual uniquenesses and shared experiences.

The IDEAOffice strives to advance the college's commitment to be anti-racist and anti-oppressive.

do this through inclusive practice, by embracing the evolving nature of this work to design and support initiatives with Watts’students, staff, faculty, and community partners

IDEAMini-Grants

The IDEAoffice supports the advancement of Watts College’s commitment to being an anti-racist (AR) and anti-oppressive (AOP) college and putting theASU Charter and Watts CollegeAspirations into action. One way this is achieved is through the Watts IDEAMini Grants, which provide modest seed funding to members/groups/ projects within the Watts community to support building a more inclusive, equitable, and accessible Watts community. Between Fall 2021-Spring 2022 a total of 18 individuals submitted an initiative to receive funding.These applications were reviewed by members of the IDEAOffice. Nine initatives were awarded, totalling $12,125 in funding. Guidelines in the call for proposals included projects that:

● Create, build, and/or provide space for networking, support, belonging, and mentorship for Watts community members (employees and/or students) that have a common identity

● Create space to deepen understanding of structural inequities by educating and building individual capacity for conversations about race, oppression, and intersecting identities

● Empower participants to share knowledge and resources while developing a safe space engage in advocacy work that leads to systemic change within their units, college, university, or community

● Infuse historical and contemporary content on race, oppression, inclusion, equity, and access into teaching/pedagogy

● Supports a focus on inclusion, equity and access in research projects, policy reform, mentorship programs, group activities, or events:

1) funding for speaker honorariums

2) funding to support small research projects,

3) activity and event funds,

4) community networking/hosting of meetings or forums

Mini-Grant Spotlights: Fall 2021 Awardees

Five initiatives were awarded mini-grants

01* ASU Watts College Women Faculty of Color Initiative (WFCOI)

Lily Hsueh Ph.D., Faculty in School of PublicAffairs (SPA)

03** Latin@s Unid@as Student Organization Latinx Mixer and recruitment

Stephanie Lechuga-Peña, Ph.D., Faculty in SSW

05* Yuma Mentorship Program

Brett Peterson, M.S.W., Instructor in SSW

02** Decolonizing Research Methods (CRED)

Marisol Diaz M.ED, J.D., Ph.D Candidate, Natasha Mendoza MSW, Ph.D, Karin Wachter M.ED, Ph.D, Chris Sharp MSW, MPA, School of Social Work (SSW)

04** Reinventing the SSW PhD Student Manual

DavidAndroff, Ph.D., Faculty in SSW

*New initiative in Watts

**Formerly established initiative in Watts

ASU Watts College Women Faculty of Color

Initiative

Awardees: Lily Hsueh Ph.D, SPA

Award: $1,375 Grant awarded to pay for the launch and Spring 2022 Events

“Participants have shared that they very much appreciate the space to be themselves, and also to build a community with others who look like them and share similar institutional experiences.” – Lily Hsueh Ph.D., Faculty in SPA

3 Events

2Expert Speakers

Number of community building and professional development workshops hosted by WFOCI.

Drs. Megha Budruk and Lekelia (Kiki) Jenkins served as speakers for the WFOCI events in February andApril 2022 respectively.

Project Spotlight

Initiative Description

WFOCI creates spaces to build community for women of color in Watts.

“ASU Watts College Women Faculty of Color Initiative (WFOCI) has provided the first ever, intentional community to help retain and support tenure track and non-tenure track faculty, including fixed-term faculty and adjunct faculty, who self-identify as women of color. WFOCI activities have included community building events/ luncheons and a professional development workshop (“Next LevelTips for Winning Grants and Fellowship”).”

Initiative Impact

ASU students and migrancy advocates engaged in different aspects of this initiative.

“Activities have included community building events/ luncheons and a professional development workshop.” – Dr. Hsueh

“During the process of forming WFOCI and talking to the larger community, we learned that there are non-tenure track fixed-term faculty and adjunct faculty as well as staff members who are experiencing a lot of institutional challenges and biases that are just as relevant, just as important, and that we share many similar challenges. We can come together to support each other. This is all part of what it means to be antiracist, inclusive, and diverse.”

What’s next?

Dr. Hsueh hopes to institutionalize WFOCI in Watts college and recruit more members.

“We are in the process of institutionalizing WFOCI as Women of Color Initiative (WOCI) at Watts College. We have expanded the organization to include staff members as well. Toward this effort, we have formed a steering committee and continue to recruit members across Watts College. There are currently three leaders: Dr. Lily Hsueh (founding organizer, School of Public Affairs), Dr. Tina Jiwatram-Negron (School of Social Work), and Dr. Natasha Mendoza (School of Social Work). We have also drafted formal bylaws describing the origin, goals, activities, membership, and leadership of the organization.”

Collective for Research Equity and

Marisol Diaz M.ED, J.D., Ph.D Candidate, Natasha Mendoza

MSW, Ph.D, Karin Wachter M.ED, Ph.D, Chris Sharp MSW, MPA, SSW

$1,300 Grant awarded for honorarium and associated costs

“Dr. Lopez shared his decolonizing approach to research design and methods to thoughtfully, meaningfully, and ethically carry out community-based research.”

Marisol Diaz M.ED, J.D., Ph.D Candidate, Natasha Mendoza MSW, Ph.D, Karin Wachter M.ED, Ph.D, Chris Sharp MSW, MPA, SSW

3 Part Speaker Series

Dr. Jameson D. Lopez led three different conversations with students and employees on Indigenous Quantitative Research Methods.

93 Participants

Number ofASU participants who attended the three part series.

If you are interested in learning more about CRED, please contact Dr. Mendoza at tadoza@asu.edu.

Project Spotlight

Initiative Description

CRED created spaces to learn from an expert on decolonizing research methods.

“We organized a three-part speaker series with Dr. Jameson D. Lopez, an expert on Indigenous Quantitative Methods at University ofArizona (College of Education). Dr. Lopez expertly described his approach to Indigenous and decolonizing research quantitative methods.”

Initiative Impact

Higlighted an emerging scholar who challenged traditional presentation convention.

“Our project created multiple spaces for the Watts College community to participate in learning about a decolonizing research approach that was accessible and engaging…The speaker series served as an example of how to engage and create inclusive and safe(r) learning spaces for students, staff, and faculty. Having a student-focused event was key to making the project inclusive and is an example of decolonizing learning spaces.”

What’s next?

Awardees hope to continue the speaker series with a focus on anti-racist research.

“Organizing a speaker’s series on the topic of antiracist research, drawing from our lessons learned from organizing the first event.”

Additionally, CRED plans to host a lived-experience panel presentation on anti-racist and 2SLGBTQIA+ affirming methods.

Latin@s Unid@as Student Organization

Latinx Mixer and Recruitment.

Awardee: Dr. Stephanie Lechuga-Peña, Ph.D., SSW

Award: $1,500 awarded to pay for Latinx Mixer event

“There was a strong sense of community among them and it was powerful to see how their cohort model contributed and will contribute to their success.The former students state they feel very connected to each other and their community and would like to connect with the incoming students and Latinx faculty” – Stephanie Lechuga Pena, Ph.D., School of Social Work

1 Latinx Mixer 51 Participants

Amixer was held to bring employees and students in the School of Social work together at theYuma campus.

Number of students (6) and employees (45) who attended the Latinx Mixer.

If you are interested in learning more about Latin@s Unid@as please contact Dr. Luchega-Peña at Stephanie.L.Pena@asu.edu.

Participants at the Latinx Mixer.

Project Spotlight

Initiative Description

The mixer connected former and incoming students as well as Watts employees and community members..

“Latinx mixer with former, current and incomingYuma students. Dr. Stephanie Lechuga-Peña, co-faculty adviser for Latin@s Unid@s, partnered with Brett Petersen to host a joint event to promote and recruit students for Latin@s Unid@s and the mentoring program atYuma campus. We had food, get to know you activities, and a pinata. We also asked students to respond to prompts on about how we can support them and what they want for their student group. During the event I talked with all of the attendees to try to connect with each of them and begin to build rapport. Students shared how they plan to use their degrees to make an impact on their community and their family members.”

Initiative Impact

Highlighted an emerging scholar who challenged traditional presentation convention.

“I think we found a junior faculty that's doing things that nobody's doing. He’s an emerging scholar with emerging ideas.And I think there's something antioppressive about that.”

What’s next?

Latin@s Unid@s will continue create space for the Latino/e community in Watts.

“Students shared they would like to continue to be involved in Latin@s Unid@s.This was the kick off event and now we will begin meetings in July to also include other Watts College students. Dr. Stephanie Lechuga-Peña and Dr. David Becerra will continue to serve as advisers.”

Re-inventing the SSW PhD Student Manual

Awardees: DavidAndroff, Ph.D., Faculty in SSW

Award: $600 Grant awarded to compensate students who engaged in the four-hour workshop and provided feedback on the SSW PhD Student Manual

“We were awarded the mini grants to help us revise this PhD Student Handbook for the Social Work program. We spent the money to compensate doctoral students for their time. We had five students that attended— it was a great, great discussion. They identified a lot of areas to update and improve in the student manual”.” –

DavidAndroff, Ph.D., SSW

4 Hour Workshop

Afour-hour workshop was created to capture feedback from SSW PhD students on their student manual.

5 Student Participants

Students recruited in the School of Social Work engaged in a workshop to identify outdated language in the PhD Student Manual.

Project Spotlight

Initiative Description

SSW advances AR/AOPgoals by identifying areas of improvement in PhD Student Manual.

“We held a four-hour workshop with five students recruited through the SSW doctoral student organization Inclusive and MulticulturalAssociation of Social Work Scholars (IMASWS) to identify how to turn the current outdated PhD Student Manual into a useful tool that promotes accessibility, inclusion, and allows all students, but especially BIPOC students to be able to see themselves in the program.”

Initiative Impact

Discussions on the PhD Student Manual in SSW helped to advance otherAR/AOP school-level changes.

“The Watts mini-grant also supported and encouraged additional anti-racist initiatives in the SSW PhD program, such as the elimination of the GRE for admission (for the first time ever in the Spring 2022 application cycle), the elimination of the Qualifying Exam (for the first time Spring 2022), an anti-racist review of the PhD courses in the curriculum (resulting in major revisions to existing courses), and two workshops with an external consultant (one with students on navigating the hidden curriculum in social work doctoral education; one with faculty to build their capacity for antiracist reforms).”

What’s next?

SSW hopes to continue gaining student feedback to promote Student Manual changes.

“The next step is invite student feedback on the draft manual resulting from their suggestions.They will be further compensated for their time and input.”

participants.

Yuma Mentorship Program

Awardee: Brett Peterson, MSW, SSW

Award: $1,500Award to assist in the costs associated with creating a community building event for SSW students and alumni at theYuma campus

“During the event we created a “networking bingo” helping participants get to know one each other. From that activity, we learned there has been several attempts in the area to build community but no attempts have been consistent. We also learned that our students (current and alumni) have a strong desire to work and support each other. ” – Brett Peterson, MSW, SSW

1 Event 48 Participants

Alarge networking event was held to build trust and relationships between SSW students, employees, and alumni at theYuma campus.

Number of students, employees, and alumni that participated in the mentorship program.

To learn more about this program, please contact Mr. Peterson at Brett.Petersen@asu.edu

Yuma Mentorship Program

Project Spotlight

Initiative Description

The Mentoring Program built community between SSW alumni and current students.

“The project was to start a Yuma mentoring program, to help our current students pair up with students who just graduated as they enter the job market as a way to communicate with alumni who are already on the job market…Before building a formal mentorship program it was evident we needed build a community of social workers… During the event we created a “networking bingo” helping participants get to know one each other. We also had a series of questions about how to build community and the needs of social workers here.”

Initiative Impact

Students participated in activities that provided insights on how to support them.

“We learned that our students (current and alumni) have a strong desire to work and support each other. Participants gave several ideas including creating a Facebook group to share ideas and job leads (which has been created). Although we had to make adaptations to the original plan I believe end results were very positive. We have a strong foundation to help create a social work community in this underserved area.”

What’s next?

TheYuma Mentoring Program hopes to host multiple networking events each year.

“Since the event we have created a Facebook group, started planning a licensure workshop (another suggestion from event) and have discussed a proposed budget with the School of Social Work to do two larger networking events per year.”

Mini-Grant Spotlights: Spring 2022 Awardees

Four initiatives were awarded mini-grants.

01* ASUYouth Detention Program

Adam Fine, Ph.D., Faculty in the School of Criminology & Criminal Justice (CCJ)

03** Diverse Perspectives on Justice Speaker Series

Sklyer Morgan, M.S., Kayleigh Stanek, M.S., & Kelsey Tom, M.S., Doctoral Students in CCJ

02* Developing a Tucson Borderland Course

Matt Ignacio, Ph.D. and Michael Shafer, Ph.D., Faculty in SSW

04* Welfare Rights Collaboration Project

Colleen Wessel-McCoy, Ph.D., Faculty in SPA

*New initiative in Watts

**Formerly established initiative in Watts

ASUYouth Detention Program

Awardee: Dr.Adam Fine, CCJ

Award: $1,600 awarded to pay for expansion of program to Pinal and Mohave Counties, supplies, and tutor costs

“Working in carceral spaces is really difficult.They are almost inherently oppressive… We’re trying to use and leverage anti-racist, anti-oppressive approaches, but also recognizing that we're still working within a carceral space.” – Adam Fine, Ph.D. CCJ

4ASU Tutors 3GED Graduates

Number ofASU students who volunteered and were accepted to provide tutoring to youth in a detention facility.

Number of youth who engaged in tutoring withASU student volunteers graduated with their GED as of Spring 2022.

ASU Youth Detention Program tutors.

Project Spotlight

Initiative Description

AnAR/AOPapproach was infused by focusing on “structural solutions to structural problems.”

The newly createdASU Youth DetentionTutoring Program supports the academic goals of youth experiencing detention through providing them high-quality volunteer tutoring. For youth, our goal is to supplement the education they receive in the Maricopa County Juvenile Detention Facility and promote their academic achievement by providing themASU students who conduct free, high-quality tutoring within the facility. For ASU students, our mission is to train them to become effective tutors, allies, and advocates whose community embeddedness enables them to deeply understand and promote structural solutions to structural problems.

Initiative Impact

Both ASU students and youth experiencing detention took lessons away from the program.

“Probably the the biggest highlight in terms of you know, metrics or things like that, but also really about the lease on life that it gives kids who are justice involved is three of the kids that we worked with got their GEDS by the end of the semester. And that was something that I'm really, really happy about.”

Dr. Fine touched on some of the tutors’experiences:. "Some of the detention officers specifically, concretize their views.And some of them challenged their views too, which was really interesting to see over time...And so they thought the reality wasn't necessarily fully aligned with what they were taught [in courses].”

What’s next?

Dr. Fine intends grow the program with new partnerships.

“Our goal is to double the size of the program in the Fall. Partnering with the county and folks with Journey.do, we plan to train up to 10ASU tutors who can support youth as the earn not just their GED, but also high school credits and evenASU credits while in detention.”

Developing a Tucson Borderland Course

Awardees: Drs. Matt Ignacio & Michael Shafer, SSW Award: $1,100 Grant awarded to provide speaker honorariums and pay for the cost of field immersion activities

To learn more about this program, reach out to Drs. Ignacio and Shafer at mignacio@asu.edu and msshafer@asu.edu

“We mean business… We want to compensate the speakers. We want to bring the most relevant speakers to the students because that is enhancing their knowledge from the ground up.” – Matt Ignacio, Ph.D.

School of Social Work

1New Course

Anew course was developed in the School of Social Work to engage students on borderland issues.

8Expert Speakers

From migrant advocacy, service organizations and representatives from tribal-based community advocacy groups:

Catholic Social Services ofTucson, CasaAlitas

Kino Border Initiative

Humane Borders

No More Deaths/No Los Muertos

Justice for Our Neighbors

Tohono O’odham Community College

Tucson Samaritans/Los Samartanos

Coalicion de Derechos Hermanos

Project Spotlight

Initiative Description

Anew course in the SSW centers borderland issues in SouthernArizona, specifically inTucson, Nogales, MX, and on the Tohono O"odham Nation.

“Social Worker Borderland

Immigration Issues is taught from an…[AR/AOP] approach…In-class group discussions centered the economic, racial, and power inequities experienced by migrants, refugees, and Indigenous people in relationship to U.S./Mexico border policies and systems….Course delivery was online, with three in-person field immersions, allowing for greater student inclusion from otherASU campuses.”

“TheTucson Borderland Course worked to infuseAR/AOPthrough two paths: mechanisms of conversation and learning in the classroom, and through the spotlight and compensation of important individuals doing related work at field immersion events.”

Initiative Impact

ASU students and migrancy advocate experts were positively impacted by this project.

“Students shared in individual reflections an appreciation for new insights, awareness, and knowledge regarding the communities, policies, services, and providers addressing the challenges migrants, refugees, and borderland communities experience as a result of outdated and ineffective U.S. border policies and systems.”

“And so to be able to provide a speaker fee payment… many of them were shocked not only to be getting something, but also that the amount that it was in.And so that brought a lot of actual joy to folks…And it also communicated to community that we were serious.”

What’s next?

Drs. Ignacio and Shafer will continue teaching the course and creating field immersion teaching moments.

“As a result of this project, a fully developed syllabus, Canvas site, and associated curricular materials, including the logistics planning documentation of the field immersions will have been developed and pilot tested…. We will explore long term sources for these program funds, including external grant writing, fundraising, and/or assessment of other resources atASU and the on the Tucson campus.”

Diverse Perspectives on Justice Speaker Series

Awardees: Sklyer Morgan, M.S., Kayleigh Stanek, M.S., & Kelsey Tom, M.S., Doctoral Students in CCJ.

Award: $1,500 Grant awarded to provide speaker honorariums for presentations and Q&Asessions with the Watts Community.

Photo Caption: Flyer advertising one of the guest speakers.

The series sought to build a more inclusive, equitable, and accessible Watts community that not only enriches students but also recognizes the visiting scholars for their anti-racist and anti-oppressive work.”

– Skyler Morgan M.S., Kayleigh Stanek M.S., & Kelsey Tom M.S., School of Criminology & Criminal Justice

3 Doctoral Students

Number of graduate students who were awarded the mini-grant and organized the project.

3 Expert Speakers

Number of diverse speakers who discussed diverse topics traditionally neglected in the field of criminology.

Project Spotlight

Initiative Description

The speaker series centered topics often “relegated to the margins” of the field.

“The Series advanced the IDEAoffice’s commitment to making Watts College an anti-racist and anti-oppressive college by uplifting the voices of diverse scholars whose cutting-edge research focuses on various marginalized communities and advances anti-racist agendas.The series exposed undergrad students, graduate students, and faculty to the perspectives of three diverse scholars: Dr. Nancy Rios-Contreras, Dr. Wendy Roth, and Dr. Cortney Simmons. Our three outstanding speakers led the public discussion regarding justice, race, intersectionality, and structural inequities.”

Initiative Impact

ASU students and Students and employees in Watts engaged withAR/AOP work in CCJ

“In sharing these diverse perspectives with students and faculty, the Series sought to build a more inclusive, equitable, and accessible Watts community that not only enriches students but also recognizes the visiting scholars for their anti-racist and anti-oppressive work.”

The project further impacted the field of criminology and criminal justice by underscoring the importance of discussing these topics by hosting an entire speaker series dedicate to them.

What’s next?

The Graduate Student Committee hopes to secure future funding and continue the series.

“We plan to survey the graduate students to gauge their interest in speakers and perspectives they are most interested in learning from. In doing so, we plan to identify speakers to invite for the 2022-2023 academic year. We also plan to apply for funding to compensate visiting scholars for their time to attenuate the potential excess burden underrepresented scholars face when asked to delegate their time to programs advancing diversity and inclusivity.”

Welfare Rights Collaboration Project

Awardee: Colleen Wessel-McCoy, Ph.D., School of PublicAffairs (SPA).

Award: $1,600 Grant awarded to compensate create a professorship.

Photo Caption: Flyer advertising the research partnership.

1Advocacy Expert

Carolyn Baker brought experience, knowledge, and commitment to questions of advocacy for systemic change that are relevant to nearly every area of study within Watts

“This partnership that was rooted in both the community and community organizing space and academic and research space… In our minds, it was just as much about sharing how we work together as it was sharing about this history that needs to be better documented and better known.”

– Colleen Wessel-McCoy, Ph.D., School of Public Affairs

1New Professorship

Anew a visiting professorship aimed at sharing the history of marginalized and oppressed women of color leading the nation successfully to policy changes in social service provision.

Photo is a clickable link to the presentation.

Project Spotlight

Initiative Description

Apartnership crosses learning in “classroom and community settings.”

“The project was about sharing the research that my research partner and I have been doing about the history of the national Welfare Rights Organization, and sharing about how our research partnership had worked.”

We aimed to share the history of marginalized and oppressed women of color leading the nation successfully to policy changes in social service provision. We hoped that the form of our research partnership would expose students to the kinds of relationships they can build in their communities. Students were active participants.

Initiative Impact

ASU students were exposed to the antiracist nature of welfare organizing.

“You wouldn't think of poor people having their own glossary.This glossary gives definitions and terms that you can understand and people study and use today… uplifting the organizing models that we found… this movement itself was was anti-racist, and women were very adamant.And you don't hear that because of the role of a lot of academics who have told this story. They tried to leave out how anti-racist it was…. So having folks like Colleen, and being able to bring that into, the classroom and told differently is just very important.And then showing that these women study and continue to teach today.”

What’s next?

Collaborative work continues between the grantees.

“We plan to continue working individually and collaboratively in this way...One additional area of impact and next steps relates to the position of Neely Visiting Professor of Religion and Public Policy. Designed as a rotating position, the collaboration with the IDEAteam to use the visiting professorship to deepen inclusion, equity, and access in SPAand Watts. SPAappreciated the mini grant for this project and are encouraged to future visiting professors can look for similar relationships within their area of specialization.”

Lessons Learned & Challenges: Recommendations from Grantees

At the end of the Spring 2022 semester, grantees participated in a feedback survey and interview with the IDEAOffice. These survey responses and interview transcripts were analyzed to create this magazine and a supplemental report.

Lessons Learned & Challenges

AR/AOPis an iterative process that is informed by many stakeholders and takes significant organizing and self reflection. During implementation of the initiatives, grantees learned a range of lessons that will inform their futureAR/AOPpractice.

Initiative Changes

Participants experienced changes in their project for a number of reasons, such as time constraints, date changes, shifts in speaker availability, changes in finances.

Involved Organizing

Grantees quickly realized organizing these projects takes significant time and effort. This was for a number of reasons, but of particular importance was shifts in the project throughout the duration of the project, which resulted became an involved process for some grantees.

Role Reflection

Engaging Participants

Through their experiences, participants identified their own personal strengths and roles for which they were best suited in their initiatives, including: organizing, creating space for minoritized groups, and leading the initiative

Grantees learned to be strategic when engaging participants, including: flyering, using an online platform, and partnering with other ASU groups that have similar goals to increase initiative reach

It was important to uplift voices of groups that are presently and historically targeted for oppression.

Five of the nine initiatives incorporated guest speakers— 14 guest speakers total— who were able to bring a diverse lens to thinking through, engaging with, and talking about topics such as research, professional development, and advocacy.

Many awardees discussed plans to sustain their initiative.

Multiple awardees articulated that their year with the IDEAMini-Grant funding had many valuable learning lessons that would contribute to the continuation of their project into the future. Namely, learning how to pivot when external influences impacted their project and identifying additional ways to use or ask for funding were important lessons awardees took away and planned to use moving forward with their initiative.

InfusingAR/AOPinto their initiative often encouraged a high degree of self-reflection.

One awardee discussed how their initiative led to a deeper understanding of institutional barriers for more groups acrossASU. “[Prior to the initiative] I didn't have an opportunity to step out outside of my process to realize that there were also [career track] faculty and adjunct faculty who are experiencing a lot of institutional challenges and biases that are just as relevant, just as important, and that we actually share some of these similar challenges, and we can come together to support each other.And so I think that's part of what it means to be anti-racist, inclusive, and diverse.” – Lily Hsueh Ph.D., Faculty in SPA

Initiatives focused on creating community.

One way or another, all nine initiatives incorporated strategies to expand participants’ networks and build community. Speaking to the importance of this for the Watts Latinx community, Dr. Lechuga-Peña said “It was for former students, current students, and incoming students to create connections among them. [Dr. David Becerra and I] felt it was important for both of us to be there as their faculty advisors and Latinx faculty. We felt representation [was] critical and important. So being at the event gave us an opportunity to engage with the students, meet and connect students who had just graduated the previous year, and were about to graduate, with the incoming students.”

Reflections from grantees revealed a range of overarching themes.

There are a number of resources at ASU that provide financial support for projects and initiatives.

Other funding sources

Committee for Campus Inclusion

Catalyst Grants

https://inclusion.asu.edu/cci/grants

Graduate College

Knowledge Mobilization Spotlight Grant

links.asu.edu/spotlight-grant

Graduate College and Graduate Student

ProfessionalAssociation

Graduate Research Support Program

links.asu.edu/grad-research-support

Graduate Student ProfessionalAssociation

Innovation Fellowship Program

links.asu.edu/innovation-fellowship

The IDEAoffice would like to thank Watts College for their continued support of the IDEAMini-Grant Program.