Faces of Inclusive Excellence Honoree: Stephanie Reikes, Math Learning Specialist/Lecturer Tutoring and Academic Support 

The annual Faces of Inclusive Excellence publication debuts at each Diversity Symposium. The honorees are selected from a set of nominations that Institute Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion seeks each summer. This year, OUE’s Stephanie Reikes from Tutoring & Academic Support (TAS) was selected for this honor. Stephanie also shares an appointment in the School of Math, where she teaches College Algebra, Learning Support Math, and Pre-Calculus courses. She also coordinates the Learning Assistant (LA)program for TAS.

A Starting Point 

As we discussed at last week’s OUE Fall town hall, over the past year, I have been proud of the significant work we have collectively done to advance our DEI efforts in OUE. Examples have included new efforts to prioritize DEI in hiring practices; the Technology of Participation Training with Seva Gandhi (which 18 OUE staff members completed); conducting an Equity Audit Survey in Spring ’21 (with a ~64% response rate) that formed the basis of our discussions at our town hall; planning for DEI content in GT1000, and more. However, to me, these recognitions and accomplishments are just the starting point, and our work will continue. I am constantly reminded that I am very privileged to work with such outstanding colleagues who care so deeply about making our world a better place for everyone.  

Congratulations, again, to the OUE Equity Collective, Stephanie Reikes, and all of you who have contributed to our diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in OUE and across GT this year. Please do not forget that the Equity Collective is hosting a speaker event with Dr. Bettina Love, an award-winning author & Athletic Association Endowed Professor at UGA. The event is October 12, from 10 am-11 am, and an RSVP is requested as space is limited (even virtually): forms.office.com/r/qiFaQZMTAc. 

Warmly,

Steven