FY23 Initiatives
The FY23 council was composed of 47 faculty, staff, graduate, and undergraduate students from our diverse SBS units. This year's co-chairs are Antonio “Tom-Zé” Bacelar da Silva from the Center for Latin American Studies and Arlette Cordery from the Dean’s Office.
The council worked on various DEI projects within the college such as assisting the Dean with the strategic plan and developing a search advocate program to enhance equitable and diverse hiring practices. Other council projects included a new award that faculty, staff, and students can apply for to support DEI-related initiatives, creating paths to belonging with student groups across campus, curating DEI videos and seminars, and exploring DEI training programs and incentives. Visit our website or contact Jeannine Relly, Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs & Inclusion, and Arlette Cordery, Coordinator of Strategic Projects, for more information.
FY21-22 Initiatives
The college DEI council and initiatives were led by Maribel Alvarez, Faculty of the Southwest Center, and Farid Matuk, Associate Professor of English. Accomplishments include the expansion of the council members to include graduate and undergraduate students for the first time, hosting a DEI-focused webinar for Student Admitted Day, and identifying funding support for a DEI Graduate Research Fellow and an Undergrad Fellow to help advance the council initiatives.
The council also focused on various forms of DEI curriculum such as the creation of the JEDI Leadership Academy that first took place in August 2021. This student-led, week-long seminar had in-depth exploration of Mass Incarceration, Justice, and Higher Education and is now offered every year. The council also supported Dr. Michelle Tellez in the design and submission of a proposal to create a JEDI Minor, which is now offered in the College of SBS. Lastly, SBS faculty Dr. Kelsey John worked closely with UA central Native American leaders Karen Francis-Begay and Levi Esquerra in crafting an official university-wide land acknowledgment statement in consultation with the Pascua Yaqui Tribe and the Tohono O'odhom Nation.