'This is just the beginning of the project … it's not the end'
Vice President for Inclusive Excellence and Belonging discusses mandatory DEI workshop for faculty and staff
Participants march in a peaceful protest advocating for change on Saturday, April 20, on South Washington St. The marching began in front of the Bovee UC and trailed around campus. (Soli Gordon | CM Life)
Following the events that occurred in April of 2024, it was reported that the Central Michigan University Board of Trustees would implement an "inclusive excellence training" in the Fall 2024 semester.
Now halfway through the semester, it's been revealed it is still in the works. The training is now set to launch on Jan. 20, 2025 to enhance learning environments and insert inclusive practices.
Shawna Patterson-Stephens is the vice president for Inclusive Excellence and Belonging at Central Michigan University and is responsible for providing vision, strategy and synergy around issues relating to diversity, equity, inclusion, justice and belonging.
Patterson-Stephens said the mandatory workshop is currently being led by the Office for Institution Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
“We want to keep it (the workshop) about an hour and a half long and online to make sure that it’s accessible to all sorts of faculty and staff regardless of their position on campus,” Patterson-Stephens said. “We have a required module and supplemental modules that go further into detail about specific topics that are quick but easily attainable points of information.”
Patterson-Stephens said she wants to make sure the instruction is a quality product and is mindful of the way the content is structured.
“We want to make sure the workshop is as engaging and informative as possible,” Patterson-Stephens said.
Patterson-Stephens said the coaching will be similar to other required courses for faculty and staff such as FERPA (Family Education Rights and Privacy Act) by using the Success Factors program. Individual faculty and staff members will receive their own email where they can have access to the workshop.
What makes this product stand out from any of the other optional available ones? It's going to be mandatory and required according to Patterson-Stephens. She said the content is synthesized in one place and focuses on feedback from faculty and staff.
First year students and transfer students have a similar required training which can be accessed on the Office of Institutional Diversity Equity and Inclusion's webpage any time.
Patterson-Stephens said she is hoping to help people understand the importance of ensuring students are able to engage in a pluralistic learning environment, one that values and supports a variety of cultures, ideologies and learning approaches.
“The goal is to create a learning environment that is healthy and provides opportunities for growth and learning,” Patterson-Stephens said. “We’re trying to reduce any barriers that would get in the way of that learning.”
She said many people have questions on how to embed inclusive excellence in their daily practice.
“Regardless of what your role is on campus, it can sometimes be difficult to connect the idea or theory between what people are doing every day," Patterson-Stephens said. "But the goal is to help people better be able to make that connection."
Patterson-Stephens said another thing she hopes the teaching can accomplish is to uplift the work that is taking place in other units across campus so students and staff alike are aware of what’s available.
“Students have always been able to engage with the Institute for Transformative Dialogue,” she said. “There are always programs that are coming out from different units such as lectures, professional development opportunities, online training … they just haven’t been required.”
Patterson-Stephens said during the events that occurred in April of 2024, the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Justice and Belonging Strategic Plan were working to develop a framework for what it means to provide training for senior leadership.
“It was expedited, I would acknowledge, by some of the events that occurred in April … I would not indicate otherwise,” she said. “However it was always built into the structure of what we were trying to do around diversity, equity and inclusion on campus.”
Patterson-Stephens said at the end of the session, there will be an opportunity to share additional thoughts and feedback on what participants would like to see in the future.
“This is just the beginning of the project … it's not the end,” she said. “In many capacities, in the very near future, we’re hoping to be able to meet a variety of skill sets in developing this workshop.”
More information on the upcoming workshop can be found on the CMU New's webpage.
