Diversity Education Initiatives in Action

“Best is the standard” is a common phrase at Clemson University and faculty and staff work diligently to apply that mindset to their strategic focus on increasing diversity, advancing equity, and fostering inclusion.   

The Division of Inclusion and Equity has a team of professionals who help create an institutional culture in which diversity, equity, and inclusion are fundamental to all aspects of campus life.

Over the past two years, Clemson University has enhanced its diversity education offerings to senior leadership, faculty, staff, graduate students, and undergraduate students as a strategic objective to advance inclusive excellence throughout the institution.

The initiatives have helped: 1) cultivate a shared understanding that all faculty, staff, and students are included in the definition diversity, 2) develop equity-minded leaders aware of the historical context of exclusionary practices in higher education and recognize the impacts of this history, and 3) expose faculty, staff, and students to the various skill sets needed to foster and sustain an inclusive environment.

In my role as the Director of Diversity Education, I have collaborated with colleges, schools, and departments to develop and facilitate diversity education initiatives.

Here are eight of the initiatives designed to educate participants about the definitions, frameworks, skills, and abilities needed to help foster a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive campus culture.

1. IDEA (Inclusion Diversity Equity Awareness) Book Club

Reading the same book brings people closer together as a community by creating common ground for discussion.

When Renna Redd and I first started talking about our shared love of reading, we never imagined we would start a book club. It was a pleasure working with Clemson University Libraries to launch the IDEA (Inclusion Diversity Equity Awareness) Book Club.

Book club participants have read three books over the past twelve months. They have read Blind Spot: The Hidden Biases of Good People, Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy, and Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think.

2. Strategic Inclusive Excellence Certificate Program

As a research one institution, Clemson University has thousands of talented faculty with expertise in various disciplines. The Department of Educational and Organizational Leadership Development offers degrees in student affairs and educational leadership, so it made sense to reach out to faculty for guidance launching the Strategic Inclusive Excellence Certificate Program.

Jane Lindle, Michelle Boettcher, Natasha Croom, and Rachel Wagner shared their rich experiences and expertise throughout the process of researching, designing, and launching the program in Fall 2019.

The certificate program supports the ClemsonForward strategic plan and is based on the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) guiding principles for access, student success, and high-quality learning. It is based on academic research in organizational leadership development, behavioral and social sciences, and education. The interactive curriculum features “real-life” best practices from faculty and staff at Clemson University and utilizes case studies, videos, personal reflection, scenario analysis and group discussions.

Despite the program ending six weeks early in response to COVID-19, thirty-seven workshops were offered during the inaugural year. The program offered workshops that focused on topics like the history of Clemson University, the first amendment, Title IX, ageism in the workplace, implicit bias, the Clemson LIFE Program, student veterans, and much more. Faculty and staff from various colleges, schools, and departments shared their expertise as presenters. Over four hundred faculty, staff, and graduate students attended the sessions and 98% of survey respondents said the Strategic Inclusive Excellence Certificate Program increased their understanding of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

3. Intercultural Development Inventory

When Jerad Green and I met to discuss multicultural programs offered through the Harvey and Lucinda Gantt Multicultural Center, we never imagined that meeting would lead to the widespread use of the Intercultural Development Inventory? (IDI) across the university.

The IDI is the only theory-based assessment of intercultural competence. The customized IDI Individual Profile Reports and IDI Group Profile Reports present valid, quantitative information that integrates qualitative information about how an individual or group engages cultural difference in their day-to-day interactions with others.

Jerad earned his certification as an IDI Qualified Administrator at his previous institution and shared his experience with the assessment. After he administered the assessment to me and completed my feedback session, we discussed how it could be used to guide diversity education initiatives at Clemson University.

While I was happy to learn that Global Engagement used the IDI with study abroad students, I was disheartened to hear that there were only three IDI Qualified Administrators on campus. Jerad and I developed a proposal to expand the use IDI and increase the number of IDI Qualified Administrators. A little over a year after our initial meeting, Terrance Harewood facilitated Clemson University's first Qualified Administrator Training in August 2019.

Since the training was offered, the number of IDI Qualified Administrators increased to 24, over 750 faculty, staff, and students have completed the IDI, and the second IDI Qualified Administrator training is scheduled to take place later this month.

Because the IDI allows individuals and groups to focus on increasing their intercultural competence (from how they currently engage cultural differences to how they can more effectively engage diversity), it facilitates cooperative conversations and actions directed toward growth and development, rather than judgment and resistance. The IDI has provided Clemson University with quantitative and qualitative data to guide the development of well designed diversity education initiatives.

4. Implicit Bias at Work

Research suggests that awareness of implicit bias can lead to reversals in biased outcomes, and is also suggests that implicit bias affects how supervisors make decisions, engage with others, and respond to various situations and circumstances. 

That is why it was great to partner with Ashley Strickland, Laura Thrift, and Elizabeth Hart in Talent and Organizational Development to offer Implicit Bias at Work as a mandatory session in the Supervisor Certificate Program.

In an effort to provide clear, standardized expectations and development opportunities, Talent and Organizational Development hosts a training series designed specifically for the Clemson University supervisors. The sessions provide supervisors with the necessary knowledge, skills, and behaviors that will allow them to excel in their current roles. Offering Implicit Bias at Work as a mandatory session to earn the Supervisor Certificate demonstrates Clemson University's commitment to creating an equitable and inclusive culture across the institution.

Patrick Rosposa, an industrial organizational psychologist and associate professor at Clemson University, led the development of implicit bias training for department chairs, tenure and promotion chairs, and faculty as part of his role with TIGERS Advance (Transforming the Institution through Gender Equity, Retention and Support) a National Science Foundation (NSF) funded initiative designed to reduce systemic gender inequity.

When I first arrived at Clemson University, he meet with me and helped me develop an implicit bias workshop for supervisors and an evaluation to determine the impact of the session. Implicit Bias at Work launched Fall 2019 and over 200 supervisors have completed the session.

5. Diversity and Inclusion Faculty Learning Community

Inclusive excellence is the collective responsibility to equitably engage all students in high quality, evidence-based educational experiences. An institution that commits to inclusive excellence intentionally designs experiences to accommodate differences in students’ aspirations, life circumstances, ways of engaging in learning and participating in college, and identities as learners and students. By enhancing faculty awareness and pedagogical skills, diversity education programs help faculty take a learner centered approach to teaching their course.

Well-prepared, fully engaged faculty represent the most important asset of any college or university. The skills, knowledge, creativity, dedication and motivation they bring to their work are the core of the institution’s mission.

Furthermore, a substantial body of research, conducted over more than fifty years, makes clear that faculty-student interaction is a key factor in promoting student success. To teach effectively, faculty must reach students who come to the classroom with varied backgrounds, expectations, abilities, and learning styles.

It was a pleasure working with Taimi Olsen, Ph.D. and her team at the Office of Teaching Effectiveness and Innovation and Curtis White to launch the first Diversity and Inclusion Faculty Learning Community. It was also great working with some of Clemson University's amazing faculty: Jennifer Ogle, Lori Pindar, Pat Marcondes, Geveryl Robinson, Ellen Vincent, Cynthia Sims, Beth Stephans, Julia Kerrigan, and Juan Antonio Baeza to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in all colleges and schools.

6. Racial Equity Institute

As a public land grant institution, Clemson University is engaged in communities across the state tackling societal challenges, creating great places to work and live, and advancing economic growth and prosperity.

October 2018, Clemson University sponsored AnMed Health's annual CONNECT community building program that featured the Racial Equity Institute's Groundwater presentation. Juana Slade hosted a powerful event where Jennifer Schaal and Craig Davis established a foundational understanding of how race-based structural inequities impact social, political, economic outcomes in every institution and system in this country. The presentation provided community leaders with a basic understanding of how racism is structural in nature and what that means to our efforts to eliminate racial disparities.

October 2019, Clemson University partnered with AnMed Health to host the Racial Equity Institute's two-day Phase I workshop to develop the capacity of participants to better understand racism in its institutional and structural forms. Moving away from a focus on personal bigotry and bias, this workshop presented a historical, cultural, and structural analysis of racism. Topics covered include our fish/lake/groundwater analysis of structural racism; understanding and controlling implicit bias; race, poverty, and place; markedness theory; institutional power arrangements and power brokers; importance of definitions of race and racism; history and legacy of race in American economic and policy development; racial identity and its interaction with institutional culture.

With shared language and a clearer understanding of how institutions and systems are producing unjust and inequitable outcomes, participants left the training better equipped to begin to work for change. 

7. SC Women in Higher Education Women of Color Workshop

As many of today’s higher education leaders begin to retire, we face a significant challenge. The higher education community must cultivate a diverse and robust pool of leaders to fill these positions and help lead colleges and universities in the years ahead. The American Council on Education’s (ACE) Leadership Programs, offers a wide range of programs and initiatives to prepare the next generation of higher education leaders.

The South Carolina ACE Women’s Network, South Carolina Women in Higher Education (SCWHE), organizes annual events to provide professional development and networking opportunities for women at all levels in higher education administration. One of those events is the Women of Color Workshop.

The workshop featured interactive presentations and a networking luncheon centered on promoting greater awareness of the challenges and opportunities women face as they seek to achieve a work/life balance. There was also time for participants to informally network and collaborate with women across disciplines or even across institutions.

Clemson University’s support of the SCWHE Women of Color Workshop over the past two years demonstrates the institutions commitment to building a talent pipeline of women of color, encouraging personal and professional growth, leadership skills and development, and the empowerment for women of color at all stages of their career to pursue higher level positions in their respective fields.

8. Search Committee Best Practices Workshops

A more diverse student body, faculty, and staff is fundamental to Clemson’s ability to provide educational experiences that prepare students to thrive in 21st century workplaces and communities. ClemsonForward, the university's strategic plan, will enhance resources for the recruitment and retention of top talent from all racial groups and socioeconomic backgrounds, with specific focus on underrepresented minorities.

Similar to most institutions, search committees play a vital role in in position development, recruitment, screening, interviews, references, evaluation, and integration of a new faculty or staff member into the institution. 

To demonstrate the university's clear commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, Josh Brown, Ashley Strickland, and Danielle Arrington in the Office of Human Resources partnered with me to design and facilitate Search Committee Best Practices Workshops.

These workshops addressed current research about implicit bias, diversity, the changing legal landscape in hiring, inclusive employment principles, practical strategies for each stage of the search process, and effective ways to advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion on a search committee. 

Cynthia Sims, an expert in organizational leadership and assistant professor at Clemson University, developed an interactive case study as part of her role with TIGERS Advance (Transforming the Institution through Gender Equity, Retention and Support) a National Science Foundation (NSF) funded initiative designed to reduce systemic gender inequity.

When I shared that I was working with Human Resources to develop search committee, she volunteered to facilitate her case study to help participants develop an in-depth understanding of implicit bias. 

The workshops provided over 100 search committee members, from all areas of the university, with best practices in recruitment, an understanding of organizational development and how these important strategies link the University’s faculty and staff recruitment to the success of the ClemsonForward strategic plan. 

In conclusion, "diversity training" is often viewed by faculty and staff as a short-term program or skill building exercise that is done to them. Clemson University has shifted to "diversity education," which empowers faculty and staff to develop knowledge, skills, and abilities over the long term and to integrate that knowledge into their daily interactions.  Creating a continuous learning environment keeps faculty and staff engaged and reinforces the message that diversity is an ongoing part of our culture and not a one shot deal.

In addition to eight diversity education initiatives highlighted in this article, there are many educational tools that Clemson University offers that faculty, staff, and students can use on a daily basis to help foster a culture of inclusiveness, including: department led team meetings on diversity topics, online education modules, newsletter articles, international festivals, performances, speakers, intergroup dialogues, a university wide diversity council, commissions, etc. 

In combination with Clemson Forward, the university's strategic plan that supports an inclusive community, these tools empower faculty and staff to take responsibility in educating themselves about the people that they work with and the students that they serve. With the richness offered by diversity, there will never be an end point where anyone can say that they have learned it all. Instead, faculty and staff understand that inclusiveness requires a commitment to life long learning in understanding, valuing, and leveraging differences.