UC College of Arts and Sciences releases statement on equity, inclusion and excellence

Our work began when the college made the commitment to hire of our first associate dean for inclusive excellence and community partnership, Littisha A. Bates, even before the current crises enveloped our country. At that time, we also asked all units in the college to discuss, explore, and summarize what inclusive excellence means for them. These are cornerstones, upon which we will edify our building, a building that, incidentally, already has some bricks in place, as detailed below. These efforts mark the beginning of the strategic planning, goal setting and action for the college which we initiated this year. In addition, we have added more action items directly inspired by the listening sessions held with A&S faculty and staff over the past weeks. We publicly share them in an effort to keep us honest and accountable.

1. We have supported four innovation proposals that are specifically in support of underrepresented minority students, of which three, providing assistance of $38,000, are specifically for initiatives for Black students and faculty.
2. The college financially sponsors a summer bridge program for underrepresented minority students in STEM fields in conjunction with UC's College of Engineering and Applied Science.
3. Independently, there are initiatives by a number of our faculty in connection with the Cincinnati Public Schools that support underrepresented students, both in their current scholastic efforts and in their transition to the university. We thank those faculty members and donors who are committed to and have supported these efforts, and we encourage them to connect with Dr. Bates so we can collect them in a repository of our current initiatives in the college.
4. The college has numerous endowed scholarships for underrepresented and first-generation college students. The dean and the development office have made this a priority in our strategic fundraising plans.
5. College leadership and faculty represent the overwhelming majority in the university’s representation in the National Science Foundation ASPIRE grants targeted at increasing the presence of underrepresented minority faculty in STEM fields (6 out of 10 members).
6. As we move to implement the College of Arts and Sciences' 21st Century Strategic Core review, we pledge to make inclusive excellence one of its guiding principles.
7. The dean will move $33,000 or one-third of his Next Lives Here Innovation funds in 2021 to support initiatives coming out of his office.
8. The dean will personally donate initial funding for a College of Arts and Sciences Scholarship meant to commemorate the struggles of underrepresented students against systemic barriers and injustice. Information about the scholarship will be made public to attract further donation in establishing an endowment.
   
9. We will implement 360-degree evaluations that allow staff to discuss their direct supervisors and office climate without fear of reprimand.
10. The Associate Dean’s office will create an Anti-Racism Consortium with college-wide representation. The group will examine college practices and policies, working to reform policies that are not explicitly anti-racist.
11. We seek to enlist graduate and undergraduate councils to review courses that count toward UC's diversity, equity and inclusion breadth of knowledge to ensure all courses meet the intent of the breadth of knowledge code.
12. The college will launch a publicly available dashboard that measures diversity, equity and inclusion demographics as well the outcomes from our initiatives.
    
13. As per recommendations of our students, we will hold safe listening sessions for A&S students and alumni.

We are committed to being an anti-racist, just college where we all are heard, feel safe and valued while being collectively accountable for our culture.