The Chancellor’s Workgroup on Diversity and Inclusion released a report on Monday with recommendations on how Syracuse University can increase diversity and inclusion on campus and ensure equality and acceptance for marginalized groups.

Here are seven takeaways from the report:

Chief diversity officer
The workgroup recommended that the university hire a chief diversity officer who would report directly to the chancellor and be a member of the chancellor’s executive team. The chief diversity officer, as defined in the report, would be someone who “coordinates, leads, enhances, and in some instances supervises formal diversity capabilities of the institution.”
James Duah-Agyeman currently serves as the chief diversity officer for SU’s Division of Student Affairs, according to the Office of Multicultural Affairs website. He was appointed by then-Chancellor Nancy Cantor in 2006. He is also currently the director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs.

All State University of New York schools, including the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, already have chief diversity officers. Under New York state Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s diversity policy, all SUNY schools are required to employ a chief diversity officer.

Diversity and Inclusion Council
The workgroup also recommended the establishment of a Diversity and Inclusion Council that would report to the chief diversity officer. The council would help implement a university-wide strategy on diversity and inclusion, according to the report.

Ombuds Office

The workgroup suggested the creation of an Ombuds Office led by an official ombudsman, who would act as an informal, confidential resource for students, faculty and staff to raise concerns about SU and the administration.
The Graduate Student Organization passed a resolution in December 2014 calling for the creation of an ombudsman. At the time of the resolution’s passing, 300 colleges and universities around the country had an Ombuds Office.

Increase hiring faculty and staff of color and other underrepresented groups

Faculty and staff at SU should reflect the diversity of the country, the report said. To achieve this, the workgroup recommended the university adopt a standardized set of hiring guidelines using best practices to ensure diversity.

Deans and vice presidents should be responsible for incentivizing increased diversity in their departments, the workgroup said in the report.
The lack of faculty and staff of color was repeatedly mentioned at an open forum hosted by the workgroup in December.

Incoming freshmen
The workgroup made two recommendations about educating incoming freshmen about issues of race, ethnicity and other matters relating to diversity and inclusion. The first recommendation was to change the New Student Orientation curriculum to “deepen understandings and forge relationships across racial, ethnic, religious, and other lines.”
The workgroup also suggested the university create and require that all students take a first-year forum class on diversity and inclusion.

Accessibility 

The workgroup made a number of recommendations about accessibility on campus for people with disabilities, including conducting a comprehensive accessibility audit, developing a Physical Access Plan that would aim to remove physical barriers to accessibility over time and creating a centralized budget for faculty and staff disability accommodations.

STOP BIAS website

The workgroup said the STOP BIAS reporting system, which allows students to anonymously report instances of discrimination and harassment, should be strengthened. This is a different conclusion than what the Working Group on Free Speech came to when it released its report on the state of free speech on campus in November.

The free speech report said the STOP BIAS reporting system is problematic in its current state and suggested that the STOP BIAS website be controlled by students — instead of the university — so people would not suffer consequences from the university for engaging in protected free speech.
Some members of the SU community expressed concern with the current STOP BIAS system on March 10 at an open forum hosted by the Graduate Student Organization about the free speech report.

Published on March 21, 2016 at 11:55 pm

Contact Rachel: rsandler@syr.edu