14 15
Annual Report
Office of Diversity and Inclusion 2014-15 Annual Report Mission and Vision The mission of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI) is to collaborate with the University of Central Florida community to advocate for and educate about the university’s goal of becoming more inclusive and diverse. The vision is to position UCF as a center of excellence that is nationally recognized as a higher education model for our diversity and inclusion practices, policies, and culture. UCF is strongest as a higher education institution, employer and community leader when we bring diverse thought and experience to our decision-making, teaching, research, learning, and interactions among community members. Respect for and the inclusion of diverse voices drive innovative thought and action; maximize the talent and contributions of faculty, staff, and students; improve recruitment and retention; and build a campus more representative of our constituents and Central Florida partners.
Goals In support of the university’s goal of becoming more inclusive and diverse, ODI seeks to encourage and support the overarching goal to be more inclusive and diverse across the university community; develop, collect, analyze, retain, and disseminate information pertinent for all areas of the university community related to diversity and inclusion; sponsor, support, and assess university programs and activities that promote the goal; establish and facilitate advisory bodies internal and external to the university to design, implement, support, assess, and challenge strategies of the university community and ODI to achieve mission success; and create, sustain, and assess effective communications between ODI and all areas of the university community engaged in diversity and inclusion efforts.
Areas of Focus
Complete the hire of a new Chief Diversity Officer (CDO). Under the direction of Dr. Rick Schell, a committee chaired by Dr. Gordon Chavis, Associate Vice President, Student Affairs, conducted a national search to fill the position. In November, Karen Morrison, J.D., commenced her service to the university in that capacity.
Re-focus ODI initiatives in pursuit of its stated goals. Under the direction of the new CDO, the office has established mechanisms to improve cross-campus communication and collaboration on diversity and inclusion topics; more clearly defined the fundamental terms, purpose, and accountability for UCF inclusion efforts; and set strategic priorities for effective advancement of its goals.
Highlights of Selected Programs and Projects
In light of the new direction for the ODI, the CDO made significant outreach efforts across the campus and community to articulate the mission and priorities of ODI, as well as the shift in responsibilities for the CDO from the previous Director of Diversity and Inclusion. The CDO met with over 50 campus and Central Florida offices and made numerous presentations outlining the changes to faculty, staff and students. The CDO serves on eight formal campus committees and established working relationships with Student Development and Enrollment Services, Equal Employment/Affirmative Action and the Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning. Additional partnerships focus on diversity topics such as effective diversity and 1
inclusion training, racism, faith and non-faith perspectives, minority faculty recruitment and retention, and LGBTQ inclusion.
ODI established the UCF Diversity and Inclusion Working Group with 28 members representing campus colleges and units engaged in diversity and inclusion programming and work. In support of the University of Central Florida’s (UCF) goal of becoming more inclusive and diverse, the working group will seek to o improve cross-campus communication and collaboration; o exchange supportive data and strategies for improving culture and recruitment and retention of faculty, staff and students; o discuss policy and procedure for campus diversity and inclusion efforts, training and events; o cross-promote programs and events; and o anticipate issues and opportunities to improve diversity and inclusion at UCF.
ODI established a Hispanic Institution Exploratory Committee to discuss opportunities including grants, recruiting, promotional, and community partnerships.
ODI now touches all new faculty, staff and students with information about university rationale and expectations related to inclusion through orientations. The UCF definitions of diversity, inclusion and cultural competency are being widely distributed. A revised model syllabus statement encompasses inclusive behavior and accountability, sexual misconduct rules and resources, and disability accommodation.
ODI has developed a brand for its messaging, REPSECT UCF. The brand identifies ODI-sponsored events and will serve as the foundation for a Fall 2015 campaign to raise awareness across campus of broad dimensions of diversity and individual contribution to the university’s goal of becoming more inclusive and diverse. Key priorities of the initiative are to raise awareness of the purpose of this university goal, expand discussions of diversity beyond race and gender, engage the community in respectful explorations of diverse experience, and promote personal evolution and commitment to achievement of a culture of inclusion.
Training – ODI continued providing a broad range of diversity and inclusion training to 4,211 UCF faculty students, and staff. Assistant Director, Barbara Thompson facilitated 156 workshops and presentations throughout the year and to high evaluative marks. On January 7, ODI began a significant new training initiative working with approximately 150 employees on UCF’s Housekeeping staff. Employees will participate in four diversity and inclusion workshops over a year with the focus centered on learning key information and skills to enhance teamwork. The second workshop in this series was completed during the week of June 8 and was facilitated in English and Spanish. The Leadership Enhancement Program (LEP) class of 2014 - 2015 included 12 UCF scholars. Carmen Afonso, the Coordinator, introduced seven new speakers this year covering various topics such as human capital, public speaking skills, networking, leadership perspectives, and emotional intelligence. The Leadership Institute featured keynote speaker, Dr. Pamela McCauley, Professor, Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Systems, who addressed personal and professional resilience. The program has served 228 graduates to date. The LEGACY Leadership and Mentoring Program, coordinated by Stefanie Campbell, served 38 students, 19 of whom successfully completed the program and graduated from UCF at the end of the year. LEGACY sponsored numerous seminars for the minority undergraduate students, with each program focused on some aspect of LEGACY's four pillars of success: Personal Identity, Leadership, Career Development, and Scholarship. During 2014 - 2015, the program also provided participating students with mentors, helped them to create meaningful relationships, and encouraged them as scholars to pursue their academic and 2
UCF’s RESPECT UCF Team at the 2015 AIDS Walk Orlando, in Lake Eola Park.
career goals. LEGACY continued its annual community engagement initiative, “LEGACY Connect.” This year, the educational outreach program for “at-risk” youth was held on two dates at Maynard Evan High School. Thirteen graduates of the program were honored in April. ODI is evaluating the program for improvements, including development of an advanced program for 2nd and 3rd year scholars, improved resources, and efficiency. The program now has 167 graduates.
This year, ODI sponsored or collaborated on several campus and community events: ODI CO‐SPONSORED EVENTS 2014‐2015 Event Title
Description
Co‐Sponsor
Financial Assistance
Diversity Breakfast
Julian Bond ‐ Keynote speaker for Diversity Breakfast
SDES & Global Perspectives
A Night with the Honorable Glenda Hood
First Female Mayor of Orlando, and former Florida Secretary of State speaking engagement.
LGBT+ Services, MSC, Panhellenic Council
Lest We Forget: The Upstairs Lounge
Documentary presentation of the Upstairs Lounge Fire
LGBTQ+ Services, PRIDE Faculty and Staff Association at UCF, UCF CAPS
That's Not OK!
A Delicate Conversation About Rape Culture
UCF Victim Services, UCF Libraries, UCF Women's Studies, Victim Service Center of Central Florida
Holocaust Center
Prom Night in Mississippi
Holocaust Center
Red Tails Movie Presentation
Red Tails Movie Presentation
UCF Career Services, UCF History Department
DiversiTea: A Conversation with Colonel Richard "Dick" Toliver USAF Retired
$6,500
$1,000
Protégé of the Tuskegee Airmen ‐ Vietnam Veteran UCF Career Services, UCF Regional Campuses
$1,000
Colonel Toliver, USAF Retired, greets audience members. Do All Lives Matter
Panel – The tragedy in Sanford, and how the city and community responded.
EOAA, UCF Legal Studies, UCF Social Justice & Advocacy, UCF Center for Law and Policy
Do All Lives Matter
Panel ‐ Discussion on the events in Ferguson, Staten Island, Cleveland and Brooklyn ‐ How should we respond?
EOAA, UCF Legal Studies, UCF Social Justice & Advocacy, UCF Center for Law and Policy
$1,000
Women and Faith
Panel ‐ Exploring how local and international women observe different faith and non-faith perspectives.
Women’s Studies
AMAZING Women: Guided by Excellence
Panel ‐ On UCF and local women and their journeys of activism, leadership and academic excellence.
Women’s Studies
RESPECT UCF Series Presentation
Title IX's Requirements for Addressing Sexual Harassment in University Environments
EOAA, UCF Regional Campuses
Cinemability
Movie presentation with movie producer, writer, & director Jenni Gold ‐ the historical portrayal of disability in Hollywood films.
Global Peace Film Festival, UCF Foundation, College of Arts & Humanities, School of Visual Arts and Design, Student Disability Services
AIDS Walk ‐ RESPECT UCF Team
PRIDE Faculty and Staff Association at UCF, LGBTQ+ Services
Endless Abilities
A documentary presentation about four friends in search of adaptive sports for individuals with physical disabilities.
UCF Housing, Student Accessibility Services, UCF RWC
$500
Women in Construction Workshop (WCW)
The first Women in Construction Workshop (WCW) reaches out to female students in construction and civil engineering from developing countries who show great potential of success as future teachers, mentors, and society leaders.
Department of Civil, Environmental, and Construction Engineering
$500
Best Buddies Friendship Walk
SAS
3
Snacks
The Diversity Breakfast is a signature event sponsored by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. The 2014 keynote speaker was Mr. Julian Bond. Mr. Bond, a Civil Rights leader and activist, is well known for his contributions to the Georgia House of Representatives, the NAACP, and the Southern Poverty Law Center. He shared with the audience the continuing need to fight for Civil Rights for all. Approximately 520 individuals from the UCF and Central Florida communities attended. Students and colleagues at eight of the regional campuses also joined the event via Adobe Connect. The Diversity Week poster was the result of a student poster contest, where 45 submissions were President Dr. Hitt with the 2014 Diversity Breakfast reviewed by seven guest judges, with first place earned by Keynote speaker, Mr. Julian Bond. UCF student Ebone Grayson. Now in its second year of revival, the student poster contest is well underway through June 30th. Also as part of the Breakfast, 859.9 pounds of food were collected for the Knights Helping Knights food pantry.
The ODI website was revised through the work of Laughing Samurai, a Digital Branding Agency. Revisions were substantial, and the website went live on June 2, 2015. The intended goals of the website include programmatic news for any campus unit’s diversity and inclusion event, training opportunities, and professional development programs. ODI also re-tooled its social media presence to serve as a point of discussion for campus, regional, national, and international diversity and inclusion topics.
The Diversity and Inclusion grant program supported requests for financial assistance from five applicants: Organization
Amount awarded
Speaker/Activity
Registrar's Office
250.00
Grant to be used for Honorarium of speaker at their Leadership, Vision, and Inclusion Event.
Social Justice and Advocacy
250.00
Purchase Lean In book used for Professional Development of Graduate Students' book club series
WUCF TV
250.00
Promoting Diversity Week reaching almost 4 million people across 9 Central Florida counties
African Students Organization
250.00
Monies used towards purchasing miscellaneous items introducing Africa's diversity through songs, dance, and fashion.
MASS
250.00
Grant to be used for honorarium of speaker, Russell Simmons, at their UCF Annual National Male Conference
ODI sponsored the Diversity Track of the 2015 Summer Faculty Development Conference. Twenty-four faculty and staff members from six colleges and departments participated in workshops focused on creating inclusive college classrooms for all students. A notable presenter was Adj Marshall from Class Action who shared with the Diversity Track key considerations when working with students from a range of classes.
UCF Faculty members Ms. Huaixiang Tan and Dr. Olga Molina, engaged in an activity during the Summer Faculty Development Conference.
A cooperative training initiative with Student Development and Enrollment Services is in its fifth year. The training program is designed to enhance the diversity-related awareness, knowledge, and skills of approximately 500 SDES team members. To date, this venture has resulted in 408 individuals completing the required 23 hours of diversity training. 4
Other Highlights
Both the 2013 – 2014 Assessment Results Report and the 2014 – 2015 Assessment Plan earned “Exemplary” ratings.
Issues and Concerns for 2015 - 2016
Reorganization of ODI. The ODI staff and responsibilities will be reorganized to improve efficiency and effectiveness with primary strategic goals, including data analysis and distribution; campus-wide collaboration and events; and improvements to communication and professional development programming. Development of the strategic plan. ODI will develop a five-year strategic plan to accomplish the primary goals in service of UCF diversity and inclusion efforts. Growing the effectiveness of Diversity and Inclusion Working Group. Continuing the engagement of the faculty, staff and students, in collaboration with other UCF departments, on broad dimension of diversity topics and social justice issues. Establishing an external advisory group connected to local minority chambers of commerce and communities. Fall 2015 RESPECT UCF campaign and eventual piece of the campus safety campaign. ODI will manage a campus effort called the RESPECT UCF campaign. It is intended as both a long term framework for education and dialogue and a clarion call to actualize our aspirations of an inclusive community. ODI will launch a foundational, descriptive campaign to educate about what the university means by diversity and inclusion, why an inclusive culture and diverse representation are important to our success, and how each member of the university community can contribute to that movement. Much of that messaging will be associated with the RESPECT UCF axiom.
New design and layout of the ODI website, www.diversity.ucf.edu completed on June 2. Homepage, Events page, and new online Contact Form.
5
RESPECT UCF
Engaging, Exploring and Advancing an Inclusive Culture RESPECT THE DIGNITY OF EACH PERSON VALUE DIFFERENCE CONTRIBUTE TO AN INCLUSIVE CULTURE
UCF Office of Diversity and Inclusion
P.O. Box 160031, Orlando, FL 32816-0031 | Phone: (407) 823-6479 | Fax: (407) 823-6480 | www.diversity.ucf.edu