State of Diversity 2023 - Opening Remarks

Dr. Marco Barker Author

12/01/2023 Added

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Dr. Marco Barker delivers opening remarks to the Office of Diversity and Inclusion State of Diversity 2023 event.

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[00:00:08.700]So great to see everyone out this morning.
[00:00:12.180]Let me welcome you to our 2023 State of Diversity.
[00:00:16.380]My name is Marco Barker
[00:00:17.760]and I serve as vice chancellor
[00:00:19.320]for Diversity and Inclusion here at UNL
[00:00:22.650]and an associate professor of practice
[00:00:24.750]in the Department of Education Administration
[00:00:27.300]in the College of Education and Human Sciences.
[00:00:30.000]I want to thank you for joining us this morning
[00:00:32.520]for the fifth annual State of Diversity.
[00:00:35.130]Today's event will occur in two parts,
[00:00:38.250]this updates portion and then a later panel discussion
[00:00:42.750]in the Nebraska Union Swanson Auditorium.
[00:00:45.660]To begin our program,
[00:00:46.710]I felt that it was important for us
[00:00:48.330]to begin with an acknowledgement.
[00:00:52.170]Today's program occurs on the city campus
[00:00:55.230]of the University of Nebraska in the city of Lincoln.
[00:00:58.380]Our university carries the designation
[00:01:00.780]of a land grant institution
[00:01:02.790]which calls for us to be of service to the state of Nebraska
[00:01:06.780]and to create access and opportunities within, among,
[00:01:11.070]and beyond the walls of our institution.
[00:01:14.580]The mission has resulted,
[00:01:15.840]this mission has resulted in campuses
[00:01:17.700]and programs across the state
[00:01:20.010]that rest on the ancestral homelands
[00:01:21.750]of many indigenous tribes.
[00:01:24.030]For our indigenous and American Indian friends and allies,
[00:01:27.060]the land upon which we walk
[00:01:28.800]has always been a relative to them.
[00:01:31.800]The land holds a deeply spiritual, emotional,
[00:01:35.880]and physical bond with its original peoples
[00:01:38.850]which must be honored
[00:01:40.020]by first acknowledging said relationship
[00:01:42.930]and the history that comes along with it.
[00:01:46.080]Our programs, campuses, and offices
[00:01:48.510]currently reside on the past, present,
[00:01:50.100]and future homelands of the Pawnee, Ponca, Otoe-Missouria,
[00:01:54.690]Omaha, Lakota, Arapaho, Cheyenne,
[00:02:00.240]Apache, and Kaw peoples,
[00:02:02.280]as well as the relocated Ho-Chunk or Winnebago,
[00:02:05.190]Ioway and Sac and Fox People.
[00:02:08.550]Land acknowledgements are not substitutes
[00:02:11.190]for relationships with indigenous people,
[00:02:13.440]but they can represent an important first step.
[00:02:16.710]This knowledge and the centering of indigenous peoples
[00:02:19.590]allows us to better understand the legacies
[00:02:21.540]of more than 150 years of displacement,
[00:02:25.110]violence, settlement, and survival
[00:02:28.020]which inform our past, present, and future.
[00:02:31.920]To move beyond land acknowledgements,
[00:02:33.960]we invite you to find ways to learn more, reflect, and act.
[00:02:39.750]Consider supporting the University of Nebraska
[00:02:42.150]Intertribal Exchange or UNITE
[00:02:44.070]who worked with us to refine this acknowledgement.
[00:02:47.340]The Native American Coalition and Nebraska Extension,
[00:02:51.030]the Mid-America Transportation Centers Native Youth Projects
[00:02:54.120]in the College of Engineering,
[00:02:56.250]Indigenous Studies and the Institute for Ethnic Studies,
[00:03:00.090]Native American Projects in the Center
[00:03:02.130]for Great Plain Studies,
[00:03:04.620]and the Indigenous Roots Teacher Education Program
[00:03:07.170]in the College of Education and Human Sciences.
[00:03:10.050]You can also obtain more information
[00:03:11.610]by visiting the Nebraska Commission for Indian Affairs
[00:03:14.400]in the state of Nebraska.
[00:03:16.860]Also visiting the Native Land resource site and map
[00:03:20.550]and for more information can be found
[00:03:22.500]at our site at diversity.unl.edu.
[00:03:28.050]So before I provide campus updates,
[00:03:31.710]I thought that I would highlight work happening
[00:03:34.110]in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion Inclusion.
[00:03:37.440]Our first area is supporting academic excellence
[00:03:40.290]through student and faculty engagement
[00:03:42.450]which captures our progress
[00:03:43.860]towards supporting faculty and student success.
[00:03:47.160]These are efforts that strengthen
[00:03:48.630]UNL's academic standing and reputation
[00:03:51.960]and improves student outcomes,
[00:03:54.150]key elements in any institution
[00:03:56.280]striving to be an AAU institution,
[00:03:59.790]one of the goals of Chancellor Bennett.
[00:04:01.950]I will highlight three efforts.
[00:04:05.940]Our Office of Academic Success and Intercultural Services,
[00:04:09.180]also known as OASIS,
[00:04:10.710]continues to advance our commitment
[00:04:12.570]to inclusive student excellence
[00:04:14.100]where every student feels a sense of belonging
[00:04:16.950]and that they can thrive.
[00:04:19.050]We achieve this through two major ways.
[00:04:21.210]The first is the Success Scholars Program
[00:04:23.970]which welcomed over 251 first year students
[00:04:26.720]to Nebraska this year
[00:04:28.290]and provides them with peer mentoring and staff support,
[00:04:31.950]along with academic and cultural programming
[00:04:34.680]and a first semester transition course.
[00:04:37.530]The second way OASIS offers experiences for all students
[00:04:41.580]aimed at increasing a student's cultural awareness,
[00:04:44.220]their resilience, confidence
[00:04:46.590]through outreach and engagement.
[00:04:49.620]You might be interested to know
[00:04:51.480]that a little more than one out of two student scholars
[00:04:54.810]of the Success Program
[00:04:56.130]identify as a first generation college student.
[00:05:00.030]51% of scholars achieve a 22 or higher on their ACT
[00:05:05.370]and 51% of incoming Success scholars
[00:05:08.280]identify as a person of color.
[00:05:11.010]The program also boasts that 761 students
[00:05:14.730]who went through the program their first year,
[00:05:17.485]47% of them earned a GPA of 3.5 or higher.
[00:05:22.830]We have also seen the first year retention rate
[00:05:24.810]of scholars over the last five years average above 80%.
[00:05:29.370]This points to the increased resources and networks
[00:05:32.280]and supports across the institution
[00:05:34.530]including our OASIS staff
[00:05:37.020]and the tenacity and strength of our Promise scholars.
[00:05:40.800]I am thankful to the wonderful team of members
[00:05:43.440]in the Jackie Gaughan Multicultural Center
[00:05:44.970]who make this impact possible.
[00:05:47.700]Will members of our OASIS staff please stand
[00:05:50.160]or wave your hand so that we can recognize you, OASIS.
[00:05:53.161](audience applauding)
[00:06:04.530]They will tell you that they are a small,
[00:06:06.000]but mighty team over in the Gaughan Center.
[00:06:08.940]I also wanna say that in addition to our staff,
[00:06:11.340]we are just honored
[00:06:12.870]and privileged to be able to have 20 student peer mentors
[00:06:15.870]and an admin team who also make this program possible,
[00:06:19.170]and you can see some of them pictured here in the photo.
[00:06:23.970]We remain laser focused on retaining faculty
[00:06:26.520]and staff at Nebraska.
[00:06:28.530]To shore up our ability to do this effectively,
[00:06:31.680]we want and need to know why people leave.
[00:06:35.490]This allows us to identify and address issues, gaps,
[00:06:38.910]and limitations in keeping top talent at the institution.
[00:06:43.440]ODI has been partnering
[00:06:44.760]with the EVC's Office of Academic and Faculty Affairs
[00:06:48.000]on conducting faculty exit interviews
[00:06:49.830]to learn more how we can improve our environment.
[00:06:54.090]Research shows inequities exist
[00:06:55.860]in the faculty evaluation process
[00:06:57.990]and that they are most likely to be seen
[00:06:59.820]along racial and ethnic sex, gender identity,
[00:07:03.150]and tenure and non-tenure lines.
[00:07:05.430]A strong evaluation system enables us
[00:07:07.380]to best support our faculty
[00:07:08.970]and our academic core.
[00:07:11.880]A small task force was formed to develop recommendations
[00:07:14.850]for addressing structural barriers
[00:07:16.530]and evaluations that might impede faculty success.
[00:07:20.130]This group of faculty and administrators
[00:07:22.500]led by Dr. Gwen Combs
[00:07:24.030]in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion
[00:07:25.740]and in the College of Business
[00:07:27.270]in which Bischoff in the Institute of Agriculture
[00:07:30.030]and Natural Resources created a report.
[00:07:32.700]The report which will be released shortly
[00:07:35.610]includes principles and recommendations on formal
[00:07:38.160]and informal mechanisms for providing feedback
[00:07:41.820]on performance and professional contributions
[00:07:43.980]throughout a faculty member's career.
[00:07:46.680]This work followed the work
[00:07:48.180]of a similar CIAD task force that develop guidance
[00:07:51.870]and a training for incorporating inclusive excellence
[00:07:54.510]in staff evaluations and goal setting.
[00:07:58.380]Our second area is creating institutional support systems
[00:08:01.650]which captures our ability to develop formal structures
[00:08:04.680]and policies that not only build people's capacity
[00:08:07.890]to implement inclusive excellence,
[00:08:09.510]but also ensure that there are
[00:08:10.710]structures that better support
[00:08:12.480]and affirm members of our campus community.
[00:08:15.630]Policies provide a guiding framework
[00:08:17.580]for how we do business at Nebraska.
[00:08:19.860]The current policy in progress that we're working through
[00:08:22.470]has been the work of a group
[00:08:23.610]led by ODI director Neeta Kantamneni.
[00:08:26.760]She, along with Stephanie Perman
[00:08:28.470]who I see in the back, hi, Stephanie,
[00:08:30.690]in the College of Law
[00:08:31.800]and John Raible, a professor emeritus
[00:08:33.570]in the College of Education and Human Sciences
[00:08:35.700]have been developing a policy that provides guidance to
[00:08:38.850]and information for departments and units
[00:08:41.100]on the different religious observances and practices
[00:08:44.220]and what to consider when accommodating for
[00:08:46.860]and being respectful of such observances.
[00:08:49.410]More information will be forthcoming regarding this policy.
[00:08:53.280]Our third area is strengthening
[00:08:55.140]the University of Nebraska workforce
[00:08:57.240]which captures our ability to attract, onboard, retain,
[00:09:01.260]and support our number one resource, our people.
[00:09:05.730]These efforts align
[00:09:06.690]directly with the imperative made
[00:09:08.430]by the University of Nebraska system president, Ted Carter,
[00:09:11.460]and Governor Jim Pillen to make Nebraska our state
[00:09:14.400]and our university a place of choice to work and live.
[00:09:18.870]I will highlight one of our efforts in this space.
[00:09:21.960]Our BRIDGE Program, abbreviated here,
[00:09:24.150]stands for Breakthrough Recruitment
[00:09:25.740]for Inclusive Diversity, Growth, and Excellence.
[00:09:28.020]We love long acronyms in our office.
[00:09:31.800]As a reminder, it reflects our resource guide
[00:09:34.590]and learning module for developing job descriptions,
[00:09:37.350]rubrics, and inclusive search processes.
[00:09:41.130]Last year we implemented an ambassador program
[00:09:43.710]where faculty and staff underwent special training
[00:09:46.380]to support search committees.
[00:09:47.790]Here you can see that our office
[00:09:49.530]was able to meet 27 of the 37 requests for ambassadors.
[00:09:53.760]These searches range from dean searches
[00:09:55.800]to assistant professors.
[00:09:57.630]What we hear from community members
[00:09:58.950]is that having a person on the search committee
[00:10:02.700]with greater knowledge and expertise
[00:10:04.530]on conducting inclusive searches
[00:10:06.360]fosters greater accountability, innovation, and perspective.
[00:10:11.580]We are completing further analysis of the program
[00:10:13.680]to determine its viability
[00:10:15.630]and financial sustainability beyond this year?
[00:10:20.220]Our fourth area is building alumni,
[00:10:23.220]industry and community relationships which indicates why
[00:10:26.580]and how we see external partnerships and relationships
[00:10:29.970]as critical to advancing inclusive excellence at UNL,
[00:10:33.270]in Nebraska, and beyond.
[00:10:36.960]The National Diversity Advisory Board,
[00:10:38.610]who had their first meeting actually during homecoming
[00:10:41.100]a few weeks ago,
[00:10:42.210]represent a group of alums and friends of the university
[00:10:44.730]committed to our institutional goals
[00:10:46.560]of making inclusive excellence
[00:10:47.940]and diversity a greater priority
[00:10:49.890]which is part of our N2025 goals
[00:10:52.470]and assisting UNL in its land-grant mission
[00:10:55.170]to be a place of access
[00:10:56.850]and opportunity for all.
[00:10:58.800]You can see some of our members pictured here
[00:11:00.690]joined by ASUN President Paul Pechous
[00:11:03.660]and Ellie Clinch of the NU Foundation.
[00:11:07.650]Over the last two years,
[00:11:09.000]ODI has made an intentional effort
[00:11:11.400]on being more visible in the community
[00:11:13.680]with a focus on increasing UNL'S participation
[00:11:16.470]and cultural-specific community events.
[00:11:19.560]These have included events like the Harbor's Moon Festival,
[00:11:22.860]Lincoln's Juneteenth Celebration, Pride Festival,
[00:11:26.580]and the Latino Festival.
[00:11:28.920]These events allow us to create
[00:11:30.870]and really increase our engagement with community members
[00:11:33.690]while connecting people with resources
[00:11:35.910]and learning more about the communities
[00:11:37.650]that we serve as a public institution.
[00:11:40.380]In this picture, you can see ODI team member, Emy Kata,
[00:11:43.560]engaging a family on the history trivia game that we had
[00:11:46.530]during this year's university-hosted Juneteenth celebration.
[00:11:52.470]In the current environment
[00:11:53.610]and then I don't have to tell all of you,
[00:11:54.840]but in this current environment where there is polarization
[00:11:57.540]and hate fueled by bias and discrimination,
[00:12:00.450]this fifth and last area recognizes the power that comes
[00:12:03.660]from connecting with each other, talking across differences,
[00:12:06.810]and developing skills and approaches to managing conflict.
[00:12:11.370]One of the longer standing programs
[00:12:12.960]at centers dialogue at its core is Husker Dialogues.
[00:12:16.920]Shown here are over 1,500 first year students
[00:12:19.890]who heard personal stories from upper class students
[00:12:22.860]like ASUN President Paul Pechous
[00:12:24.893]and UNL gym student athlete, Sam Phillips.
[00:12:28.260]Students had the opportunity to meet
[00:12:29.760]and engage other students in small dialogue groups
[00:12:32.490]facilitated by trained faculty, staff, and students
[00:12:36.240]and who received information about ways to get involved
[00:12:39.120]and expand their learning beyond Husker Dialogues.
[00:12:42.210]At the center of this picture
[00:12:43.350]in the effort is Charlie Foster from ODI.
[00:12:47.220]If you were or have ever been a Husker Dialogue facilitator,
[00:12:50.250]would you please stand and raise your hand.
[00:12:52.410]If you've been a Husker Dialogues, right?
[00:12:54.750]Look around the room, right?
[00:12:55.980]This is collective action in motion, thank you.
[00:12:59.460]It does take each of us doing our part
[00:13:02.910]and with collective effort.
[00:13:04.980]Of our total participants,
[00:13:06.450]we have learned that nine out of 10 of them
[00:13:08.670]agreed that they were more confident in engaging
[00:13:11.700]in brave conversations following Husker Dialogues
[00:13:14.400]and felt the experience was thought provoking and engaging.
[00:13:18.810]The student stories certainly made
[00:13:20.430]an impression on student participants
[00:13:22.080]and serve as a point of discussion for our groups.
[00:13:26.700]With over 300 members,
[00:13:28.410]NCLUDE, which stands for Nebraska Community of Learners
[00:13:31.410]Understanding Diversity through Education,
[00:13:33.150]I told you we love long acronyms,
[00:13:35.190]the longer the better,
[00:13:36.870]is a large community of individuals who are simply curious
[00:13:41.070]about inclusion and inclusive excellence.
[00:13:43.920]We create opportunities for members to learn together
[00:13:47.430]through smaller group discussion groups that are created
[00:13:50.790]and hosted by or anchored by,
[00:13:52.710]the term we use, NCLUDE members.
[00:13:55.290]This effort is led by ODI's assistant vice chancellor
[00:13:57.900]for Inclusive Leadership and Learning, Jennifer PeeksMease,
[00:14:00.930]who is pictured here sharing how people can get engaged.
[00:14:03.660]And so shameless plug for anyone who wants to join NCLUDE
[00:14:07.170]and anyone who is curious about a topic
[00:14:09.900]can host or anchor a group,
[00:14:11.190]and we provide support for you through that process.
[00:14:15.270]Through NCLUDE, we were able to reach
[00:14:16.890]113 participants in the spring of 2023
[00:14:20.970]and increase the program's reach an impact in fall 2023
[00:14:24.840]with a more than 50% increase in participants.
[00:14:27.930]This year's 18 NCLUDE groups
[00:14:30.060]range from topics including storytelling
[00:14:33.420]all the way to empowering international students.
[00:14:37.950]NCLUDE is one approach
[00:14:39.150]that ODI utilizes to foster learning and knowledge building.
[00:14:42.390]In the 22-23 academic year,
[00:14:46.530]ODI provided over 100 education
[00:14:49.350]and professional learning experiences
[00:14:51.300]and information sessions.
[00:14:53.250]Last year, we reached just over 3,700 individuals.
[00:14:57.090]This reflected about 350 some odd faculty,
[00:15:01.170]686 staff, a little over 1,200 students,
[00:15:04.920]and almost 1,500 community members
[00:15:07.380]through our education delivery and tabling.
[00:15:11.970]The DEI Impact Awards organized
[00:15:14.190]by senior assistant vice chancellor Dr. Nkenge Friday
[00:15:16.890]recognizes individuals or groups who have demonstrated
[00:15:19.800]a significant contribution toward creating a diverse
[00:15:22.230]and inclusive UNL community
[00:15:24.390]through the implementation of policies,
[00:15:26.730]research in their practice, initiatives, and programs
[00:15:31.170]that all reflect the UNL core values and beliefs.
[00:15:35.040]This year was the inaugural honoring
[00:15:37.200]of the DEI Alumni Award.
[00:15:39.630]The recipient was College of Law graduate,
[00:15:41.700]Jose Soto, pictured here.
[00:15:45.750]We are also pleased to announce
[00:15:47.280]the release of this year's annual report.
[00:15:50.310]While there are a number of efforts
[00:15:51.900]occurring across the institution,
[00:15:53.850]this report highlights only a few efforts
[00:15:56.250]and accomplishments of our office
[00:15:58.080]along with colleges, units, and programs
[00:16:01.260]again, across the span of the university.
[00:16:04.140]This report is made possible
[00:16:05.640]through the work of our team members
[00:16:06.960]like Dr. Friday and Germán Ávila.
[00:16:09.870]I should also say and recognize
[00:16:11.580]that with all of this work that you've seen,
[00:16:14.940]it would not be possible
[00:16:16.140]without a strong support system and planning team.
[00:16:18.450]So I also want to personally thank
[00:16:20.850]our executive specialist, Jerry Harner,
[00:16:23.610]our administrative support specialist, Rhonda Taylor,
[00:16:25.890]and event coordinator, Adriana Martinez,
[00:16:28.050]and our graduate assistants
[00:16:29.070]for all of their work that they do.
[00:16:30.600]Please join me in thanking them.
[00:16:32.071](audience applauding)
[00:16:40.740]I didn't see Adriana,
[00:16:41.670]but Jerry and Rhonda, raise your hands
[00:16:43.290]so people can actually see you, don't be shy.
[00:16:45.720]Thank you, thank you, thank you.
[00:16:49.064](audience applauding) Absolutely.
[00:16:53.670]We all know how important our admin teams
[00:16:56.280]are to getting the work done
[00:16:57.630]and so I am always indebted
[00:17:01.200]and grateful for their work and contributions.

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State of Diversity 2023 - Opening Remarks

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