John Carroll University Division of
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
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Volume 5, Issue 1: August 26, 2021 |
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R.I.S.E.* Up Newsletter
*Reinforcing Inclusion through Skill-building and Education
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"BLUE STREAKS ARE BACK!"
This is the message we are seeing across campus, as students return to campus for a fully in-person semester at last. The Class of 2025 started their orientation week today with "Living the Mission Day," a day full of events, activities, service, prayer, fun and companionship (see photos below). It is an exciting time to be at JCU and we are looking forward to a great fall semester!
Even amid the celebratory mood here on campus, however, we recognize that it has been a traumatic few weeks around the world and the nation: a deadly earthquake in Haiti, floods in Tennessee; wildfires in California; the chaotic withdrawal of the U.S. military from Afghanistan; and new surges of the COVID-19 delta variant around the country. This global context is never far from our minds, even as we celebrate the hopeful fresh start of a new semester. As our University mission says -- an important goal of a John Carroll education is to become "aware of the interdependence of all humanity; and sensitive to the need for social justice in response to current social pressures and problems."
Nobel Peace Prize laureate and education activist Malala Yousafzai may know better than most about the importance of an education in a world fraught with so much suffering. She reminds us in this moment that the work we do here as an educational institution matters to the world -- that what we do here, if we do it well, can make a measurable difference in ending such social evils as poverty, ignorance and terrorism. She reminds us, in this moment where we are looking ahead with great hope, to take our responsibility to the world seriously.
Welcome to a new academic year! This work is important. Let's do it well.
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Sincerely,
Tiffany Galvin Green, Ph.D.,
Vice President for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
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A group of JCU students gather for a group photo during today's Living the Mission Day events |
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A group of JCU students learn how to paddle a dragon boat on the Cuyahoga River during today's Living the Mission Day events |
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Introducing the 2021-22 DEI Division Staff |
Many changes are afoot in the DEI Division this fall! We are starting the academic year with some new faces in our offices, along with some familiar faces whose roles have shifted. |
In the Center for Student Diversity & Inclusion, a familiar face is occupying a new role: we are delighted to report that former Assistant Director Selen Zarrelli '20G is now the CSDI Director. Her team this year includes returning Graduate Assistant Angela Aviquivil '19 and -- joining us next week -- brand-new Wayfinders Program Coordinator, Kendra Cundiff '20.
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In our Student Accessibility Services office, Director Allison West Kaskey is joined by two new additions to her team: Administrative Assistant Elizabeth Cross '85, and Graduate Assistant Stephanie Newrones '20. We are also pleased to report that former Graduate Assistant Elise Williams '21G has returned to SAS this fall in a new role, Accessibility Specialist. Last but not least, Graduate Assistant Ella McNamara '20 is returning this fall in her second year in that role. |
Finally, in the DEI Division Office, Vice President for DEI Tiffany Galvin Green is supported in many institution-wide DEI initiatives by Title IX Coordinator Dan Fotoples '10 and DEI Administrative Coordinator Megan Wilson-Reitz '10G.
Did you notice another detail in all these photos? The graduation years tell another great part of our story: more than 80% of our DEI division staff this year are proud alumni of John Carroll, serving their alma mater by working every day to make it a more diverse, inclusive and equitable place to work, live, and learn.
Our team is ready to take on whatever the year brings. Blue Streaks are Back!
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Multicultural Welcome Celebration |
All JCU students, faculty and staff are invited to join the Center for Student Diversity and Inclusion's first kick-off event of the fall semester on Monday, August 30, 2021. The celebration begins at 5:00 p.m. in the Jardine Room at Lombardo Student Center.
There will be opportunities to chat with students while enjoying delicious food, meet cultural student organization leaders and celebrate the 10-year anniversary of CSDI!
All are welcome to join us through the whole time or just to stop by to say hi! RSVP is not required.
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Congratulations Angela Aviquivil! |
Angela Aviquivil, pur graduate assistant in the Center for Student Diversity and Inclusion, has been selected as the 2021 recipient of the Ignatian Medal for the Outstanding Graduate Assistant in Jesuit Student Affairs by the Jesuit Association of Student Personnel Administrators.
This medal is conferred on individuals who have distinguished themselves in the early years of their careers. Ignatian Medal recipients may have brought a strong sense of leadership to their job, have demonstrated a high level of skill or ability, or have shown an early record of success that stands above the norm. This award is given annually to a graduate student who demonstrates a strong commitment to Jesuit student affairs.
Please join us in congratulating Angela on this well-deserved honor!
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Please join us in offering our congratulations to the three newest recipients of a 2021-22 DEI Champion Badge:
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Jurell Sison, Assistant Director of Campus Ministry
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Tainne Dallas, Assistant Director, CAS Professional Development Program
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Julianne Poremba, Enrollment Specialist
These three colleagues have each received a blue badge for their contributions to the university's diversity, equity and inclusion goals and initiatives so far this year.
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Jewish High Holy Days - Sept. 6-16 |
While the University closes in honor of the Labor Day holiday next weekend, our Jewish community members will be preparing for the beginning of the High Holy Days: Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, will begin at sundown on Monday, September 6, and end on the evening of Wednesday, September 8. Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, begins at sundown on Wednesday, September 15 and ends on Thursday evening, September 16.
These days are a time of repentance, reflection and renewal and are the most sacred days in the Jewish calendar. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are typically observed through refraining from work, attending synagogue services and family gatherings. Yom Kippur is also a day of rigorous fasting and prayer.
Please join us in wishing our Jewish students, faculty, staff, and neighbors L’Shana Tovah, a happy New Year. May you be inscribed [in the Book of Life] - G’mar chatima tovah.
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R.I.S.E. Higher: Featured Article of the Week |
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Universal Design for Learning
Making Your Online Courses Engaging and Accessible for All Students
Elena Chudaeva, The Teaching Professor, August 9, 2021
Universal Design for Learning (UDL), developed by CAST, is an international framework for educators to design content for all learners. The UDL framework guides the design of instructional goals, assessment, methods, and materials that can be customized and adjusted to meet individual needs.
UDL is typically thought of only in terms of satisfying ADA requirements by making content accessible to students with disabilities. But in reality, it is much more than that. Studies show that integrating multiple senses when encountering new information improves understanding and retention, and thus UDL can improve learning for all students.
...The UDL guidelines offer a set of concrete suggestions that teachers can apply to any discipline or domain to ensure that all learners are able to access and participate in meaningful and challenging learning opportunities. These guidelines also provide opportunities for teachers to be creative and let their personalities shine in online learning environments.
*JCU has a campus wide subscription to this publication. JCU users should log on to The Teaching Professor using their JCU credentials to access this article.
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Announcements from our network... |
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75th Annual One World Day
August 29, 11 am - 6 pm
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The Cleveland Cultural Gardens' 75th annual One World Day is returning on August 29! Reflecting a theme of peace through mutual understanding, One World Day features a naturalization ceremony, cultural performances, garden exhibitors, authentic diverse ethnic food, children's programs and more. |
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Podcast of the Week: The Argument
"Are Workplace Diversity Programs Doing More Harm than Good?"
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It’s time to rethink what’s working in the modern workplace and what’s failing. Amid a pandemic that overturned how so many work, increased calls for racial and social justice put a new pressure on companies to ensure — or at least to seem as if they ensure — equality among their employees. Diversity, equity and inclusion (D.E.I.) programs are an increasingly popular solution deployed by management. But do these initiatives do marginalized employees any good? And who are the true beneficiaries of diversity programs, anyway?
Jane Coaston has spent years on the receiving end of diversity initiatives, and for that reason, she’s skeptical. To debate D.E.I. programs’ efficacy, she brought together Dr. Sonia Kang, an associate professor of organizational behavior and human resource management who studies identity, diversity and inclusion at the University of Toronto, and Lily Zheng, a D.E.I. strategy consultant and public speaker, to argue what works and doesn’t when it comes to making workplaces fair for all.
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Other articles we're reading this week ...
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We Must Name Systemic Changes in Support of DEI. It is time to not just say the system in academe is inequitable but also to start putting our finger on the particular pieces that require a reset (Inside Higher Ed, August 24)
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The March of the Karens -- The name has come to represent an entitled and belligerent white woman. But what does this narrative say — and elide — about racism and sexism today? (T: The New York Times Style Magazine, August 12)
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10 Course Policies to Rethink on Your Fall Syllabus: How to adapt your syllabi to better help students in what promises to be another complicated semester. (Chronicle of Higher Ed, August 11)
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Reckoning with American Indian boarding schools requires accountability, not pity. It’s a story of U.S. misdeeds, but also Native resilience. (The Washington Post, August 18)
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‘You can’t think yourself out of racism’: Black religion scholars call for conversion. Black religion scholars say their work is routinely undervalued and their advancement blocked by a bias that sees the study of Black religious experience as secondary to white theology. (Religion News Service, August 18)
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Podcast: What Prevents Isolation and Dropout for Nontraditional Students? Connection. Online and adult learners don’t always get “that camaraderie, that rah-rah feel that you typically expect,” says the founder of Upswing, which provides tutoring and coaching to keep students on track. (The Chronicle of Higher Education, August 5)
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Corporate America’s $50 billion promise: An analysis of racial justice pledges after George Floyd’s death reveals the limits of corporate power to effect change (The Washington Post, August 23, 2021)
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Practicing the Equitable, Transformative Pedagogy We Preach: We see disparate student success rates year in and year out, yet we don't know how to change that, as most of us weren't taught better ways to teach. (Inside Higher Ed, August 16)
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Updating the Trigger Warning in Contentious Times: With sexual assaults, racism and anxiety spiraling on college campuses, such warnings are needed now more than ever, (Inside Higher Ed, August 25)
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