Students, staff and faculty who would like to engage in a conversation about how will advance diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging over the next several years may attend a May 23 public forum hosted by the IDEA Council.
The IDEA Council is the campus body charged with prioritizing the goals of the Inclusion, Diversity and Excellence in Academics (IDEA) Plan, the university’s blueprint for creating a more inclusive campus environment.
If you go
Who: Students, faculty, staff
What: IDEA Council forum
When: Monday, May 23, 10–11:30 a.m.
Where: UMC, Room 235, and Zoom
The council’s public forum will take place from 10 to 11:30 a.m., both in person in Room 235 at the University Memorial Center and via Zoom. Students, staff and faculty who wish to attend the hybrid event must before the forum.
“We welcome all members of the campus community to our first-ever public forum, where we will discuss the collaborative work the council envisions across campus,” said council co-chair Teresa Hernández, talent acquisition diversity, equity and inclusion recruitment program manager in Human Resources. “Our conversation will center around the IDEA Plan’s priorities and the five DEI goals inspired by the plan.”
In addition, the council will update the campus community on its recommendations over the past academic year, Hernández added.
Senior Vice Chancellor for DEI Sonia DeLuca Fernández and her team will also attend the public forum to participate in discussions and answer questions about the campus’s next steps for promoting DEI following the Campus Culture Survey.
Council members, who represent a cross-section of schools, colleges and administrative departments across campus, convened for the first time in late 2019 and have issued recommendations on a variety of initiatives to promote greater diversity, equity and inclusion at .
Recently, a council recommendation led to the expansion of all-gender bathrooms on campus, and another will provide support for faculty and staff affinity groups on campus during the upcoming academic year.
The council’s work over the past two years also has focused on recommendations in support of the recruitment, retention and success of students, staff and faculty from minoritized and historically underrepresented groups.