Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
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| Dear Silver Community,
March celebrates the accomplishments of women worldwide and honors the continuous fight for access and equity. However, this month’s celebration is wrought with the loss of life, pain, and suffering that continue in our communities. We must recommit ourselves to the unfinished business from the past as we address the issues of today.
Disruption to eliminate systemic racism compels us to think more broadly about social justice work. So, as I examine my unconscious bias and barriers, I ask you to do the same. Moreover, I call for the community to be reflective in the unpacking of systemic oppression in our work and to build institutional capacity that supports diversity, equity, and inclusion work for students, faculty, and staff at Silver. We must remain courageous, continue to build shared meaning, and move forward with greater urgency to our work. Together, we can eliminate systemic oppression as we build accountability, community, transparency, and trust at Silver.
Richeleen Dashield
Director, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
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| TrustHow are we following through on our responsibility to antiracism? What actions are we taking to ensure all members of the Silver community are protected against bias?
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Action Against Racism: Pedagogy SupportsFaculty Peer Consultation ProgramOne of the Action Against Racism (AAR) items at our School is to bolster the capacity of full and part-time faculty to navigate and address discussions on racism and other forms of bias and exclusion, and to facilitate self-reflection with regard to these issues in the classroom. In accordance with this action item, a new program was announced to the faculty: the Faculty Peer Consultation Program. In this program faculty experts serve as peer mentors and facilitators for small groups of faculty interested in exploring areas of their pedagogy related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. See the full announcement from Dean Neil Guterman here.
Meet the Peer ConsultantsStudents and Faculty submitted nominations for Dr. Zoila Del-Villar, Amanda Mays, LMSW, and Dr. Robert Hawkins. Full program description and bios are available online, accessible with your NYU credentials.
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Action Against Racism: Antiracism SeminarThe following is an update from the Action Against Racism work group: Antiracism Seminar. Their goal is to work towards antiracism training during new student orientation.
This past academic year, the Antiracism Seminar group conducted two antiracism trainings as part of incoming student orientations in the fall and spring. We opened up the training with a "Movement, Not a Moment" panel with faculty and alumni, broke out into our caucus spaces, and then came together to debrief. This spring, we also opened up the orientation with a session on Student Support by Associate Dean Courtney O'Mealley and Director of DEI Richeleen Dashield, which introduced students to various resources for bias incidents and climate support at Silver.
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Action Against Racism: MSW Program Curriculum
The following is an excerpt from the notes of the AAR MSW Program Curriculum committee March meeting on the evolving antiracist curriculum. In addition to this excerpt, more steps are being taken to increase transparency, including notes from the meetings to be shared with the Graduate Student Association.
Most of the MSW syllabi across HB, Policy, Practice, and Research have been revised with a few exceptions. New electives will incorporate critical theories and perspectives moving forward while existing electives need to be revised. One challenge involves evaluation: how have these changes improved competency acquisition and skill levels among students, as well as delivery of the material? Triangulating a few data points were discussed, for example, student course and instructor evaluations; instructor’s qualitative assessment; and randomly reviewing assignments and evaluation. The Committee is thinking of developing a short assessment tool (10-15 questions) to get better data on this question. This topic will remain on the agenda for the semester with an emphasis on rigor and validity.
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| TransparencyHow, when, and to whom are we communicating important information? Are we only communicating when it is easy or also when it is not?
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| Silver Reflections: A Question and Answer with the Admissions OfficeDid you know silver is the most reflective metal? Just like the metal, we reflect on our anti-oppressive practices. The following is a question and answer with the Admissions Office about their commitment to social justice. Thank you to the entire Admissions and Enrollment Services team for their thoughtful responses.
Q: How does the Admissions Office advance social justice in its work?
A: Our office seeks to make the application process as inclusive and equitable as possible. We recruit to increase the diversity of our school with focused outreach to HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities), HSIs (Hispanic Serving Institutions), and NY CUNY and SUNY schools. Our scholarship process aims to bring about more diversity in the program by reducing the cost of tuition, providing fee waivers, and not requiring the GRE. We have a lot to do still, but we are on the path to advancing social justice by making sure our process is not biased and encourages diversity for our school.
Q: How does the Admissions Office hold itself accountable for antiracism?
A: Our office meets once a week (during a segment of our staff meeting) to discuss issues of inclusion and to explore how we can be an office with greater transparency. We want to be accountable for our actions as an office and push forward an antiracist agenda in all areas. We developed a working document with several suggestions to advance antiracism and action items for our office to address.
Q: What is the hard truth about the admissions process?
A: The process is inherently subjective in many ways due to the nature of how applications are evaluated. This is mitigated as much as possible by multiple readings of applications and training and an extensive manual to help guide our readers. One of our suggestions for improving this process is to implement an antiracism component to help address issues of bias when reading applications.
Q: What is something everyone should know about the Admissions Office that they might not know?
A: We host a "happy hour" Zoom meeting every week to talk about non-work-related things. We hold a few "game nights" using on-line trivia games. When in-person, we held yearly strategic planning retreats as well as fun events such as archery, a sailboat ride, lunches, etc. We have a “pet” mouse in the office named “Marvin” who was probably attracted to our Friday baked goods. We also hold the best pre-winter break potluck with a variety of foods and desserts.
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| CommunityHow are we creating an environment for healing and working together? Are we resisting isolation and allowing ourselves to be seen?
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BIPOC Student and Alumni Affinity Group
BIPOC affinity groups play an important role in building an inclusive community. We create space to identify ways that our racial identities shape how we navigate the world and how we dialogue about areas of need that are based upon lived experiences. This affinity group provides an opportunity to practice vulnerability, self-reflection, and critical thinking.
Time and location: 1st Thursday of the month, including Thursday April 1 at 7:00 PM EDT on Zoom.
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Restorative Justice Training - Second Cohort AnnouncedWe received such overwhelming interest in our Restorative Justice Training Program that we've added a second round! As part of a transformative community initiative connected to the Silver Climate Support, the Offices of DEI and Inclusive Engagement and Student Life partnered to host a Restorative Justice training facilitated by the University of San Diego's Center for Restorative Justice. Participants will learn how to proactively practice healthy work relationships, good communication skills, skills to de-escalate harm, and incorporate healing into our everyday lives.
Participants: Doctoral students, faculty, and staff (limited space available)
Time and Location: The next cohort will meet on April 9 and 16 at 10:00 AM EDT on Zoom.
Registration Details: If you are a doctoral student, faculty, or staff, you can sign up through email at silver.DEI@nyu.edu.
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Public Event: Race and Democracy in AmericaHosted by the United States Centre as part of the Phelan Family Lecture Series, speaker Khalil Gibran Muhammad is Professor of History, Race and Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School and the Suzanne Young Murray Professor at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Studies. Khalil’s scholarship examines the broad intersections of race, democracy, inequality, and criminal justice in modern U.S. history.
Time and Location: Tuesday, March 30, 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM EDT / 4:00 - 5:00 PM CET on Zoom.
Registration Details: The event is free and open to the public. Registration via Zoom is required; you can register here.
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| AccountabilityHow are we holding each other accountable for antiracism?
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Biweekly, Faculty and Staff White Accountability CohortWe invite Silver staff, administrators, and full-time and adjunct faculty to join a new biweekly meeting for the purpose of holding white faculty and staff accountable to realize, share about, and ultimately interrupt racism within themselves and at the School and in society. This time is being offered to provide an additional meeting opportunity for those with more challenging schedules. The group will begin our work through a collective study of the book Me and White Supremacy by Layla Saad through sharing our reflections, questions, and resources.
Time and Location: Biweekly starting on Friday April 2, from 10:00 - 11:30 AM EDT on Zoom.
Contact: Please email silver.fs.whiteaccountability@nyu.edu for more information and to receive calendar invites, which include the chapter the group is reading and a link to the corresponding discussion questions.
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Global Scholars and Innovators Series: A Conversation with C. Riley Snorton, PhD
Dr. Snorton is a Professor of English Language and Literature at the University of Chicago, and a cultural theorist focusing on race, sexuality, and gender. He will be discussing his book, Black on Both Sides: A Racial History of Trans Identity, which identifies the intersections between Blackness and transness from the nineteenth century to the present day. Please join the Office of Global Inclusion and Strategic Innovation for a moderated discussion with Dr. Lisa Coleman in honor of Trans Day of Visibility (TDOV).
Time and Location: Wednesday, March 31, 1:00 - 2:00 PM EDT on Zoom.
Registration Details: This event is free and open to the public. Registration via Zoom is required; you can register here.
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Diversity Discussion: Confronting Anti-Asian HateJoin the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute as they deep dive into the anti-Asian hate crimes that are sweeping the nation and the effects it has on Asian American journalists and students. As social workers, it is important to know how to discuss these incidents and how to be effective allies for a community in crisis and fear. The panel will be moderated by Adjunct Professor Betty Ming Liu and will feature Michael Luo, editor of newyorker.com and The New Yorker; Jay Caspian Kang, writer-at-large for The New York Times Magazine; and Sophia Wang, NYU journalism undergrad and the president of NYU’s Coalition of Minority Journalists.
Time and Location: Monday, March 29, 6:00 - 7:00 PM EDT on Zoom
Registration Details: This event is free and open to the public. Registration via Zoom is required; you can register here.
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| Misogyny and Racism in Violence Against the Asian Community
In this 8 minute podcast, Dr. Nancy Yuen places both race and gender at the center of the discussion on the attack against Asian women in Atlanta.
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| Advancing Racial Equity
See this comprehensive guide on advancing racial equity including questions, activities, and a full transcription of the webinar series by the American Public Health Association.
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Common White Supremacist Errors in Organizational Culture
In this book excerpt, Kenneth Jones and Tema Okun outline the characteristics of white supremacy in organizations and provide methods to resist it.
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| Share Antiracism Resources!If you have antiracism resources you would like to share for the next edition of the newsletter we have limited spots available. Please email silver.DEI@nyu.edu with the subject "DEI Newsletter Submission."
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