Thank you to everyone who participated in Tuesday’s meeting!
We were joined by Jeff Kenney from OSU’s Office of Institutional Diversity, who shared new guidance for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Learning. It was wonderful to see the excitement from the group about this new resource!
DEI Learning Guidance
If you have not had a chance to check out the guidance, take a few moments to do so: https://diversity.oregonstate.edu/guidance-diversity-equity-and-inclusion-learning.
As Jeff explained, this resource serves as a “place to begin” for any member of the OSU community, where they can start to make sense of cultural competence and chart a path for their learning, the learning of others and the transformation of their respective organizations. Below are a few key takeaways from our meeting:
- The guidance could be useful in the onboarding and development of Extension volunteers and advisory board members, as well as employees.
- Programs would find it useful in their planning to increase access to historically under served audiences.
- The searchable case study library (found here) generated a lot of interest from the group. Thanks to our DEI Specialist’s involvement with this project, many of them are written specifically with Extension work in mind!
- OID also offers consultations and professional development opportunities for facilitated or specific DEI learning needs. More info can be found on their Diversity Education webpage: https://diversity.oregonstate.edu/diversity-education
In our conversation with Jeff, we also discussed the upcoming OSU online training, Creating Inclusive Communities, which is set to launch in the next year. This training will be voluntary for faculty and staff, but some meeting attendees expressed that they would like to see Extension make it mandatory as part of our onboarding process. As the training gets closer to launch, Diversity Champions may be engaged as pilot testers to provide feedback. We will keep you posted on this!
What’s Next? (Current 2020 Cohort)
Join us on May 5 to begin to explore the concept of Intersectionality, with Maria Chavez-Haroldson. You will remember Maria from past Diversity Champion events, including our March team meeting, and her bio is included below for your reference.
Maria Chavez-Haroldson is the owner of EDI Consulting, an Equity, Diversity, and Inclusive organizational development consulting business, established in 2009. Maria has been facilitating conflict resolution sessions by applying an Appreciative Inqauityh model. Her doctoral research study explored the lived experiences of LatinX Chief Diversity Officers in higher education. She has served as the Vice President of Organizational Development at Metropolitan Group, a social change agency; Director -Office of Inclusion & Intercultural Relations for Oregon Youth Authority; Associate Director for the Center for Latin@ Studies and Engagement at Oregon State University; Executive Director for CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates); LBCC Parenting Instructor; Director of Crime Victim Unit (Yamhill County District Attorney’s Office); National/International Adjunct-Faculty with the Conference of Western Attorneys General Alliance Partnership (Judicial Reform Initiatives); and, Qualified Mental Health Professional working with immigrant families. She enjoys serving as an EDI professional coach and thinking partner with, and alongside organizational leaders seeking to become equitable and inclusive practitioners who honor diversity.
Homework (Current 2020 Cohort)
Before May 5, please watch the short videos below and jot down any reactions or questions in your journal:
- Newcastle University: What is Intersectionality? (3 min)
- The Advocate, Queer 101: What is Intersectionality? (3 min)
- *Trigger Warning* Video contains stories of police violence and violence against women: KimberléCrenshaw: The Urgency of Intersectionality (18 min)
As a reminder, Jeff is available for any follow up questions you may have (jeff.kenney@oregonstate.edu), and you are always encouraged to reach out to our office if you need any support. Thank you again, and I look forward to seeing everyone in a month!
In partnership,
Your DEI team
