The Division of Inclusion and Equity at GVSU has an unwavering commitment to foster stronger connections across the university and the broader community. We are excited to embark on this journey of increased communication, sharing the work within our division and the impactful strides toward advancing inclusion and equity at both the university and in the community.

To guide our path towards shared equity leadership (SEL), we have identified key pillars: strategy, coordination, collaboration, communication, and accountability. SEL is the driving force behind our actions, challenging the traditional “leader-follower” dynamic and extending an open invitation to everyone, regardless of their position, to actively participate in our charge. By sharing responsibilities and fortifying partnerships and accountability with internal and external stakeholders, our intention is to empower one another to effect significant change and cultivate a truly inclusive campus community. A crucial aspect of SEL involves formal recognition of roles and their significance, exemplified by initiatives like the I&E Activation and Accountability Leadership Team (AALT) and the revitalization of our Faculty/Staff Associations through a leadership council. We encourage you to connect with your division or college liaison to AALT for further insights, opportunities for involvement, or to join one of our FSA networks.

All your efforts have played a pivotal role in advancing our Reach Higher 2025 metrics, which underscore our dedication to fostering a culture of educational equity and an inclusive campus climate. Some notable achievements include:

- Fall 2023 saw a student enrollment of color at 20.1%, compared to our fall 2021 baseline of 17.3%.
- Fall 2023 employees of color now represent 17.6% of our entire workforce, up from the fall 2021 baseline of 16.0%.
- In terms of personal sense of belonging at GVSU, satisfaction has increased to 72.5% in fall 2023, up from 61.1% in 2021 among employees and students.

As we celebrate these milestones, we recognize the importance of doubling down on our actions. With the enrollment of the largest and most diverse class in our history, it is imperative that we work collectively to ensure the successful graduation of these students—let’s now graduate the largest and most diverse classes in our history.

Part of this effort requires our ongoing learning and development. Thank you to all those who contributed to the once again record-breaking attendance at this year’s Teach-In. For those who missed the moving and inspiration opening plenary with Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer, please check out the video which will be available only for a short time. You’ll find other opportunities for ongoing education in this newsletter.

Additionally, the division is committed to prioritizing the experiences of our most marginalized community members in our work. Recent data and reports emphasize their unique challenges, and we are committed to addressing them. Along these lines, the Division is proud to re-launch our I&E Associates Program. For 2024, we are seeking faculty or staff with expertise and focus on the Transgender/Non-Binary and Native American/Indigenous communities.

In a world where Islamophobia and antisemitism are on the rise, both on college campuses and globally, we reaffirm our core value – an inclusive and equitable community. We extend an invitation to all to join us in nurturing relationships grounded in respect, compassion, empathy, and a shared commitment to understanding one another.

Thank you for being an integral part of our journey towards a more inclusive and equitable future.

Jesse M. Bernal, Ph.D
Vice President for Inclusion & Equity
Chief of Staff to the President

The Division of Inclusion and Equity at Grand Valley State University will re-launch the Inclusion & Equity Associates Program. In its new iteration, this program seeks to uplift and represent the least represented voices within our community, promoting a sense of belonging, cultivating transparency and accountability, and fostering a culture of educational equity.

For 2024, we are seeking two associates with expertise and focus in the (1) Transgender and Non-Binary (TGNB) and (2) Native American and Indigenous communities.

Members of the Native American Advisory Council, the Division of Inclusion and Equity and Division of Student Affairs visited Arizona State University (ASU) in early November. ASU has robust programming for Native American and Indigenous initiatives, student support services and academic programs, as well as long-held relationships with the 22 Tribal Nations. The delegation met with partners across divisions and in the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community. As GVSU strives to increase our own learning and accountability, we will utilize the knowledge from this visit to develop a roadmap to excel and deepen our commitments to Michigan's first people, the Anishinaabek, and their scholars. Our delegation included Lin Bardwell, Simone Jonaitis, Levi Rickert, Jesse Bernal, Marlene Kowalski-Braun, Alisha Davis, and Callie Youngman. 

Beginning January 2024, GVSU will begin collecting optional sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) information from students, faculty and staff through the Inclusive Data Collection Project. This will enable GVSU to make informed decisions, provide culturally and socially relevant interventions, appropriately allocate resources, and further recruitment and retention efforts among historically under-represented communities. The Project has been years in the making, stemming from recommendations pre-dating and captured within the Strategic Enrollment Management Plan for LGBTQIA+ Learners. MyProfile will complement existing initiatives and programs, like MyName, that strive to create an integrative and inclusive campus experience for all. The MyProfile updates will be in Banner starting in the Winter 2024 semester with additional instructions and technical support forthcoming. Thank you to staff in the LGBT Resource Center, the LGBT Faculty/Staff Association, the Registrar's Office, and IT for their leadership in advancing this important initiative: DL McKinney, Nick Nelson, Pam Wells, Elyssa Durham, Kyle Felker, Callie Youngman and many others over the years in bringing this project to fruition.

The AALT Mentoring Sub-Team has been working to develop program outlines that meet the needs of faculty and staff. Feedback has been received through a recent mentoring interest survey and group discussions with constituents across campus. Additionally, the committee has been reviewing possible platform tools and reviewing demos to aid in the development and delivery of mentoring programs.  The sub-team is elevating the voices of Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) as well as Queer and Trans faculty and staff at GVSU to honor their needs while divesting from some of the more colonial aspects of mentoring programs. Thank you to the following people for their leadership: Jessica Jennrich (Co-Chair), Natalie Trent (Co-Chair), Andy Beachnau, Latoya Booker, Emil Delgado, Marlene Kowalski-Braun, Angelina Quezada-Reynolds, Pam Wells, Quincy Williams.

An email was sent out on October 24 announcing the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX Mandatory Reporter Training. All employees are required to participate in annual Title IX compliance training. This year, we ask that all employees complete an on-demand learning webinar provided by Academic Impressions at Mandatory Reporter Training 2023-2024. Please complete the training by December 1, 2023. The Title IX Office will receive automatic notice of all those who complete the training. Those who do not complete this by December 1 will be reminded. Supervisors will be notified at that time as well.

How to access training: This training is no cost for all GVSU employees. After clicking on the training link above, please select “Create Account/login” in the upper right hand corner and enter your GVSU email address.  This will then take you to the GVSU Central Authentication Service where you can enter your GVSU credentials to access the training for free.

Nurturing a university culture that supports faculty, staff, and students and caring for the well-being of our community continues to be the top priority of the Division of Inclusion and Equity.  With this commitment, the I&E division is intentional about creating spaces that foster a strong sense of community, which aligns with our Reach Higher 2025 commitment to promoting educational equity, by sponsoring and supporting our Faculty & Staff Affinity (FSA) groups.

Our new employee competencies ask us to continue to cultivate a desire for continuous learning. Today, we are happy to announce an expanded and robust set of opportunities seeking to build awareness, knowledge and skills through the Inclusion & Equity Institute. We encourage everyone to take advantage of these opportunities and to provide us feedback along the way.

LGBTQ FOUNDATIONS, LEVEL III: PRIVILEGE, POWER AND OPPRESSION
November 16, 2023, 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM
In the combined "Addressing Bias, Stereotypes, and Intersectionality" session, participants will delve into the complexities of bias and stereotypes that impact LGBTQIA+ individuals.

 

EMAIL COMMUNICATION STYLES ACROSS CULTURES

November 28, 2023 9:30 AM - 11:00 AM

Attendees. will look through the lens of culture to help advance their ability to communicate more effectively across culture, and in this case, by email.

All employees (including student employees) are invited to register at no cost and begin exploring hundreds of hours and learning resources in the areas of Diversity & Inclusion, Advancement, Academic Affairs, Leadership, Supervision, and Student Success with our partner, Academic Impressions. One benefit of our partnership is the ability to curate content and develop customized learning plans by reaching out to account manager Breanne Holloway. Click below to see a sample list of resources curated for centering empathy and navigating difficult conversations. Please share your feedback with us as we elevate the ongoing membership.

Recognitions & Celebrations

In recognition and celebration of Native American Heritage Month, we would like to elevate the ongoing work, stories and engagement of our Native American and Indigenous students, faculty, staff and communities.The 2023 Teach-In began with a plenary from Robin Wall Kimmerer, a mother, scientist, decorated professor, and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. Author of “Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants," Kimmerer offered an instructive framework for understanding connections to the land and the important question of “What does the Earth ask of us?”

The 2023 Teach-In began with a plenary from Robin Wall Kimmerer, a mother, scientist, decorated professor, and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. Author of “Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants," Kimmerer offered an instructive framework for understanding connections to the land and the important question of “What does the Earth ask of us?”

Lin Bardwell (Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Natives) serves as an Assistant Director in the Office of Multicultural Affairs, focused on Native American student engagement and resources. Lin and the Native American Advisory Council celebrated this fall the opening of a new student space on campus to find community and host events, especially those cultivated by the Native American Student Association. 

Faculty, staff and students are also looking to bring more indigeneity and indigenous perspectives into the classroom setting. You can read about the co-teaching of Rob Larson (Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi), an affiliate professor working with natural resources management, in the archaeological field school alongside Steven Dorland, assistant professor of anthropology. 

The Peter Secchia Military and Veterans Resource Center at GVSU hosted a variety of events to commemorate the holiday.  This included a veterans day breakfast, keynote speaker Lieutenant Jason Redman, the second annual Laker Vet Run, Walk or Fly 5K! Military Times recognized Grand Valley on its 2023 Best for Vets: Colleges list, and the Battle Creek Area Chamber of Commerce honored GVSU's Michigan Veteran Entrepreneur-Lab with a Community Service Award during the 67th Annual Armed Forces Appreciation Luncheon at Firekeepers Casino Hotel.

We are also happy to welcome Shane Scherer, the new Director of the Military and Veterans Resource Center. Shane Scherer is a California native, graduating from San Diego State University with a B.A. in Political Science. Six months after his undergraduate studies, he enlisted as a Cavalry Scout in the U.S. Army. Shane was deployed to Afghanistan from July 2008 to May 2009. Shane was medically retired in 2010 from the injuries he sustained in combat. In 2013, Shane graduated with an M.A. in Public Administration. During his tenure at GVSU, he was a fellow in the Cook’s Leadership Academy and was also awarded the Dean’s Citation for Excellence in Service to Community or Profession. For the last 8 years, Shane has been working in workforce development for both West Michigan Works, and the State of Michigan where he continued his work advocating for veterans. Shane is excited to join the team and merge his passion for helping veterans with the opportunity to come back to his alma mater as an alumnus and continue the great work his predecessor laid the groundwork for. 

The Division of Inclusion & Equity joins the Milton E. Ford LGBT Resource Center and campus community in celebrating National Coming Out Day on October 11 as well as preparations to recognize Trans Day of Remembrance on November 20. Hear from Director D.L. McKinney in their fall message and learn more about upcoming events. The GVSU LGBT Resource Center is collaborating with the GR Pride Center and GR Trans Foundation to host an event on GVSU's downtown campus.

The I&E Institute was proud to partner with Alumni Affairs, Procurement and the Bookstore to host GVSU outstanding alumnae, Shannon Cohen, for the Alumni Supplier Diversity Program in early October. In Shannon's campus presentation she reminded us that we need to share who we are and what we know as we all have gifts that can benefit the world! Shannon’s inspiration products can be found at the GVSU Bookstore in Allendale. Click here to visit Shannon's work www.shannoncohen.com.

The 2023 GVSU Teach-In celebrated its 11th year with over 1,100 participants! The Teach-In is an annual opportunity for the GVSU community to engage in mutual education around topics related to inequality, social justice, and liberation. Teams of GVSU faculty, staff, and students work collaboratively to offer informative and participatory sessions intended to raise awareness, create dialogue, and motivate action. The Teach-In committee was led by Karen Gipson with support from Ashley Jefferson, Lisa Surman and Marlene Kowalski-Braun. New members this year included important contributions from Alisha Davis, Lucy Karpukhno, Dwayne Tunstall, Jennifer Stewart, Kate Harmon, Paris Lawson, Laila McCloud, Anna Obi, Jowei Yek and Abdul Cabdulcasiis.  The Teach-In was financially supported from the Divisions of Student Affairs, Inclusion and Equity, Enrolment Development and the Provost Office.

Throughout the month of October, Disability Support Resources held several events to recognize students, faculty, and staff with disabilities. The history of National Disability Awareness Month traces back to 1945, when Congress enacted a law declaring the first week in October each year “National Employ the Physically Handicapped Week.” In 1962, the word “physically” was removed to acknowledge the employment needs and contributions of individuals with all types of disabilities. In 1988, Congress expanded the week to a month and changed the name to National Disability Awareness Month. The events that were held this year included two tabling sessions in the Kirkhof Lobby, a presentation by Michigan Rehabilitation Services of Kent County to showcase the services that they provide and a showing of the movie “Don’t worry, he won’t get far on foot”.

Grand Valley State University is committed to providing a safe and inclusive space for all students. A variety of methods are available for community members wishing to share a concern or submit a report. Please read more about your options for engaging campus resources for students, staff and faculty. Formal and informal options are available to all of GVSU's community members.