Progress Reports and College Policies

DEIA Progress Report, 2022-2023 Action Steps

As of June 26, 2023

Goal: The Bryn Mawr College community will have a deep and nuanced understanding of structural racism, and the process by which power, privilege, and oppression in many dimensions are sustained.

Actions:

The President’s Office continued to support Teach-ins led by students, faculty and staff, assisted by two paid student coordinators. A total of 27 Teach-In sessions were held, 13 of which attracted 10+ attendees.

The Racial Justice Fund supported a pilot Praxis course, Advancing Racial Justice, taught by Professor of Social Work and Social Research Darlyne Bailey. Ten students (8 BMC, 2 HC) worked on capacity-building projects with three community organizations: Neighbors Helping Neighbors, Youth Art and Self-Empowerment Project, and the Korean-American Association of Philadelphia.

The Change Agent Fund sponsored three projects:

  • Two trainers brought to campus in Fall 2022 to train campus change agents (students, faculty, and staff)
  • Creation of a website for an online mentoring handbook for faculty and staff to begin creating a “culture of mentoring on campus”
  • Spring 2023 workshop led by four campus presenters speaking about model projects to advance anti-racist practices.

The fund was administered by The Impact Center and determined by a committee of students, faculty, and staff. The Campaign for Anti-Racist Literacy at BMC (CARLA) was an active facilitator of the above activities.

The Curriculum Committee approved sixty-seven courses proposed to meet the new Power, Inequity, and Justice requirement that will go into effect for the class of 2027. These are tagged PIJ.

Black History Month programming:

  • A robust array of undergraduate programming was developed by Sisterhood* and Assistant Dean Joi Dallas with support from campus administrative offices, highlighted by keynote speaker Dr. Patrice Douglass.
  • GSSWSR co-hosted a Black History Month Alumni Panel in collaboration with the GSSWSR Black Alumni Group and Alumnae Relations and Development.
  • GSAS hosted a virtual Black at Bryn Mawr tour.

The President’s Office launched a new distinguished speaker series, Advancing Inclusive Excellence, in March 2023 to bring outside expertise to campus to inform our work on inclusivity and addressing structural barriers. The inaugural program featured Tuajuanda Jordan, President of St. Mary’s College of Maryland, and Freeman Hrabowski, President Emeritus of UMBC, speaking on inclusion and success in STEM.

  • Nearly 150 students, faculty and staff participated and response was strongly positive.
  • In spite of intensive outreach by students, faculty, and staff, a point of view survey revealed that many community members were unaware of the program. We will continue to work to improve awareness of this important series.

THRIVE sessions for first-year students intended to reduce harm caused by ignorance or bias and to promote positive social interaction included:

  • the Black at Bryn Mawr tour followed by a session on intersectionality
  • a session on calling in/ calling out and approaches to difficult conversations
  • a session on the academic and social Honor Code, including participation in small group scenarios on holding peers accountable for violations.

THRIVE participants were surveyed to assess impact. Based on results, the THRIVE curriculum for Fall 2023 will devote additional time to developing social and emotional awareness and to practicing conflict resolution strategies.

Online training modules on preventing discrimination and harassment and on committing to DEI are now required of all staff and are part of new staff orientation sessions.

Bryn Mawr joined LACRELA (Liberal Arts Colleges Racial Equity Leadership Alliance) in fall 2020 to access new professional development resources and campus climate assessment tools for the staff and faculty. This has not yielded the benefits the College had hoped. LACRELA has not consistently provided the resources promised and is currently reorganizing. The College is considering alternative external sources to support our DEIA organizational goals.

The President’s Office and Provost’s Office supported a variety of faculty gatherings intended to build community and belonging across the faculty. The Provost’s Office also addressed many issues that were raised as part of exit interviews of departing faculty. This work is ongoing.

Goal: Address structural issues and barriers to equity and inclusion for students, faculty, and staff.

Actions:

Of 11 tenure-track searches completed during 2022-2023, six resulted in appointments of new faculty members who identify as BIPOC.

  • In fall 2022, 35.3% of Bryn Mawr’s tenured and tenure-track faculty identified as BIPOC. In the most recent comparative data (2021) published in the Chronicle of Higher Education, Bryn Mawr’s faculty diversity exceeded that of all but two of the 18 COFHE liberal arts colleges.
  • Retention of faculty of color improved in FY23.

The percentage of staff who identify as BIPOC increased to 25.3% as of the fall 2022 census date (compared to 22.4% in fall 2020).

The College focused FY24 budget increases on supporting its people, including hourly rate increases for students and for hourly staff in the lowest salary ranges as well as an additional overall salary pool increase of 6.75% for both staff and faculty.

During 2022-2023, GSSWSR worked with an outside consultant to assess inequities that may exist in its policies and practices and to implement training in response to the assessment.

Improvements in Access Services and accessibility:

Increased staffing for Access Services: in FY23 a graduate assistant was hired to work with the office director. For FY24, the College has hired a new full-time assistant director (beginning June 2022) and the director will become full-time.

Access Services will implement the YuJa Enterprise Platform that allows faculty to audit their syllabi and course materials for accessibility.

Accessibility improvements to buildings and grounds, including:

  • the Controller’s Office (including Student Accounts and Payroll) being moved to an accessible location
  • development of a wayfinding plan to assist people in finding accessible parking and entrances to buildings.

LITS continues robust workshops, consultation, and provision of new tools to support accessibility for students and faculty.

The Financial Aid Office is gathering data to determine possibilities for further enhancements to financial aid in the 2024-2025 academic year.

Following NAGPRA guidelines, LITS staff have held conversations with many tribes concerning repatriation of materials, and several repatriations are in process. The Departmental Collections Working Group will be reconvened to craft a policy to share with faculty.

The Title IX Officer provided Title IX training to dorm leadership teams at the beginning of the academic year and brought in an external group to provide Title IX training to all first-year undergraduates in August. The Student Engagement Office also provided a Title IX FAQ brochure for first-year students.

The Title IX Officer also provided information and resources to new GSAS students and TAs and to new staff and faculty at their respective orientations.

Goal: Create a campus environment where all students, faculty, and staff have a sense of thriving and belonging

Actions:

The College will pilot the Intercultural Living and Learning Center for FY24 to provide additional affinity housing and serve as a hub for community building and learning within the Center and for the whole campus with support from the Impact Center.

The Campus Safety department will become part of the Undergraduate Dean’s division in summer 2023 with the goals of re-imagining safety and support and enhancing relationships with students.

  • A Campus Safety Liaison will join the staff in July 2023 to work with officers to facilitate positive relationships with students. The Liaison will provide training and mediation necessary to resolve student conflicts; conduct wellness checks; and respond to calls from students who are experiencing duress to connect them with College resources.

A new TriCo supervisor development program was launched that includes training on creating an inclusive work environment to support departmental supervisors.

GSAS offered DEIA workshops during orientation and inclusive pedagogy workshops for TAs.

GSSWSR created a Center for Student Success to support non-traditional students.

The Provost’s Office continues to support course releases for junior faculty engaging in DEIA work. The Provost notes fewer junior faculty applied in FY23.

The Provost and the Chair of CAP provided faculty with a high-level summary of faculty exit interviews held during summer 2022.

Following a summer 2022 pilot, the College launched the Dialogue Project to build capacity for active listening, examine complex ideas, and engage in open exchange. Associate Dean Ann-Therese Ortíz and Interfaith Chaplain Rabbi Nora Woods led a seven-week session each semester for a cohort of students, faculty and staff; the Project will continue in 2023-2024. We are exploring an option for advanced training of participants with the goal of developing additional Dialogue Project facilitators and other possibilities for engaging those with this training to support community growth.

Goal: Create narratives that support belonging

Actions:

In March 2023, the Board of Trustees announced its decision to remove the inscription of M. Carey Thomas’s name from the main entrance to Old Library. Stones are scheduled to be removed in August 2023.

The President launched what will be a community process of reclaiming Old Library with two events in April that will inform planning for 2023-2024. A point of view survey found broad awareness of the launch and its goals.

The ARCH Project, Bryn Mawr’s collaboration with Monument Lab to help address the question “What stories are missing from Bryn Mawr?”:

  • hosted a September 2022 community update and conversation
  • sponsored two courses (from History, History of Art) engaging issues of memorialization and monuments
  • Led a call for proposals, public presentations, and selection of a lasting artwork, “Don’t Forget to Remember (Me),” to be created by Nekisha Durrett.

The third Who Built Bryn Mawr? project was completed in summer 2022, resulting in the exhibit (physical and digital) “Why Build Bryn Mawr?” about the College’s founding.

  • Faculty and staff have created a sustainable plan for the ongoing initiative. The summer 2023 project focuses on the experience of Asian students.

Information about College history projects now has increased visibility via

  • A new exhibit on the first floor of Old Library
  • A reorganized and redesigned web presence.

The Chief Communications Officer has developed a new plan for communicating about DEIA work and its impact that is being implemented for the 2023-2024 year.

The Campus Partnerships for Equity and Anti-Racism (CPEAR) continues to support accountability, communication, and strategic support for progress across all areas of the College. Members also participated in Dialogue Project sessions to add to their leadership skill sets.

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Related Contacts

The Impact Center for Community, Equity, and Understanding
610-526-6592
pensby@brynmawr.edu

Campus Partnership for Equity and Anti-Racism
Co-Conveners: Dee Matthews (Creative Writing) and Ann-Therese Ortíz (The Impact Center)
cpear@brynmawr.edu

Ruth Lindeborg (President’s Office)
610-526-5157
rlindebo@brynmawr.edu