As the Division of Student Life (DSL) at the University of Iowa, we must acknowledge that our organization is a representation of our larger society which has historically privileged many as well as equally disenfranchised and marginalized others. The time is ripe to begin to live our espoused value of excellence through diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). Our broader campus has gone through an interactive process and established a diversity, equity, and inclusion action plan for the entire campus.

The following goals and strategies can guide the Division of Student Life to more fully realizing its possibility and responsibility to create an equitable and inclusive organization. We want to be leaders in showing how engaging authentically across cultural differences only strengthens an organization and results in a better experience for all. The DSL DEI Action Plan is in alignment with the mission and strategic plan of the Division of Student Life.

Table of contents

Goal 1: Systemic and Structural

Identify and revise inequitable policies, practices, and programs in order to create a culture where healing, equitable, and sustained change will happen.

Strategy 1

The Division of Student Life and its departments will engage in ongoing recommendations on how to be a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive through biweekly and monthly communications.

Updates

No updates currently

Strategy 2

Develop decision making tree to determine how the Division of Student Life and it's departments are incorporating diversity, equity and inclusion in decision making processes.

Updates

  • DEI Implementation Team co-chairs reached out to University Housing & Dining (UH&D) for their model on decision making to use as a potential framework. (Fall 2019)
  • Developing a Decision-Making Tree (DMT) resource which includes DEI criteria which ensure that the full breadth of social identities is consistently involved for all units within DSL. (Summer 2020)
  • The work group is continuing to develop a Decision-Making Tree (DMT) resource and the target date for completion is fall 2021. (Spring 2021)

Strategy 3

Display a land acknowledgement statement to acknowledge that indigenous communities were the original inhabitants of this land, and outline options to be more directly engaged with the indigenous communities of Iowa.

Updates

  • The Native American Council, in collaboration with stakeholders, drafted a land acknowledgement for use at the University of Iowa. The land acknowledgement is currently being reviewed by stakeholders. Individuals interested in learning more about land acknowledgements can complete the BUILD Land Acknowledgement session. (Spring 2020)
  • Collaborating with Native American Council on finishing a room in the Iowa Memorial Union to acknowledge and celebrate the native and indigenous history of the land on which the University of Iowa resides. (Summer 2020)
  • Creating a coordinated set of actions to acknowledge and celebrate native and indigenous history with a target completion date of fall 2021. (Spring 2021)

Strategy 4

Partner with Human Resources (HR) to develop action orientated activities that create opportunities for ongoing DEI conversation through peer networks and other mechanisms.

Updates

  • Nine DSL staff members: Adam R., Teri S., Ewa B., Kimmie A., Maria B., Amy B., Nikki H., Martha P., Tammy S., completed the Facilitating Difficult Dialogue for Advanced Facilitators course in Summer 2019. (Fall 2019)
  • Staff across the Division of Student Life are participating in the Being Circles Pilot Project, a joint effort launched by the University of Iowa College of Education, the University of Iowa Division of Student Life, and The Multicultural Initiatives Research Team Institute in fall 2020. (Summer 2020)
  • Two White Accountability Space groups began in summer 2020 and are continuing into the fall semester. Data is being collected to inform possible future expansion of the offering. (Summer 2020)
  • White Allyship conversations are being offered on a recurring basis with a mix of specific topics and open-ended conversation beginning in summer 2020, continuing in fall. (Summer 2020)
  • Two White Accountability Space groups will complete their meetings in late summer 2021, and data will be collected and analyzed in fall 2021 to determine possible future expansion. (Spring 2021)
  • Dr. Maria G. Bruno is facilitating DEI dialogue with the Executive Leadership Team as they read and discuss the book Caste by Isabela Wilkerson (Recommended by UI consultant, Dr. Rusty Barcelo). (Spring 2021)

Strategy 5

Conduct a critical review of the organizational structure to determine the best way to expand and support the Division's DEI capacity for diversity, equity, and inclusion work.

Updates

  • Failed search for DSL HR trainer. Re-examined approach in December 2019 to better support retention and engagement strategies. (Fall 2019). Due to the financial impacts of COVID-19, DSL will not be hiring for this position at this time. Once financials stabilize at the University of Iowa, we will revisit hiring for this position. (Summer 2020)
  • Report submitted in December 2019 from Collateral Assignment Innovation Team to DSL Executive Leadership Team. (Fall 2019)
  • DEI Implementation co-chairs are working on a proposal for a DSL Training Team. (Spring 2020)
  • Due to realignment and staff changes, we have trained 13 DSL staff to become Implicit Bias Trainers. (Spring 2021)

Strategy 6

Conduct needs assessment to identify gaps in diversity, equity, and inclusion training and develop strategies to move forward.

Collaborate with HR on developing training to address ongoing gaps and gaps identified by needs assessment.

Updates

  • Needs assessment has been drafted and will be administered in fall 2020. (Summer 2020)
  • Completed a needs assessment and are designing training and programing around needs identified. (Spring 2021)

Strategy 7

  • Create a comprehensive skill building plan for staff from majority groups, including clear pathways to mentoring, involvement and partnership opportunities.
  • Develop implicit bias and inclusivity training for all employees, beginning with all new employees to support staff professional development opportunities.
  • Develop tailored implicit bias and supervision training to equip supervisors with tools to support an inclusive, equitable workplace.
  • Explore opportunities for merit staff members to participate in Division training and programs while maintaining necessary service levels.
  • Reward individuals engaged in DEI work beyond their assigned responsibilities.

Updates

  • DEI Implementation co-chairs are working on a proposal for a DSL Training Team. (Spring 2020)
  • University of Iowa Human Resources (UIHR) rolled out supervisory training for the campus in January 2020. DSL will build upon this foundational training for supervisors. (Spring 2020)
  • Co-chairs are outlining training plan for the Division and are meeting with staff with the Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion to outline options for implicit bias training. (Summer 2020)
  • Implicit bias train the trainer will be offered in spring 2021 for 13 staff in DSL. (Fall 2020)
  • In collaboration with DDEI, 13 DSL staff have been trained as Implicit Bias Trainers. Currently developing schedule to offer training for all DSL staff for the 2021-2022 academic year. (Spring 2021)

Strategy 8

Create a culture where all staff members engage in annual diversity, equity, and inclusion professional development to support leadership and skill development.

Updates

  • DEI Implementation co-chairs are working on a proposal for a DSL Training Team. (Spring 2020)
  • Developing an Iowa GROW-type process to assist supervisors in having regular DEI conversations with their employees. A pilot group of supervisors to implement and test the initiative will be identified in fall 2020 and with the goal of beginning with the pilot group in spring 2021. (Summer 2020)
  • Recruited and held initial meeting with participants in the first IDEA pilot group. Training sessions were held in January and the pilot will begin in spring 2021. Pilot supervisors will participate in monthly meetings and a wrap-up mini-retreat at the end of the semester. (Fall 2020)
  • The first IDEA pilot was completed in spring 2021. Participant data has been collected and is being analyzed; a mini-retreat with spring 2021 participants will be held in June 2021, and participants for the second IDEA pilot (to take place in fall 2021) will be identified and trained during summer 2021. (Spring 2021)

Strategy 9

Enhance student involvement in decision making opportunities by creating a centralized DSL student advisory committee available to all units, and preparing students to serve on advisory committees, task forces, etc. in order to serve effectively

Contribute to a culture of student involvement by including students in decisions via committees, Hawkeye Engage opportunities, practica, internships, and other methods that don’t overtax and tokenize.

Updates

  • There are various advisory committees across the Division of Student Life including Dean of Student’s Advisory Committee, University Counseling Service Advisory Committee, Student Health Student Advisory Committee, Associated Residence Halls, and the Student Advisory Committee on Sexual Misconduct. (Fall 2019)
  • Developing a plan to create a centralized DSL DEI Student Advisory Committee. (Summer 2020)
  • Partnered with the Dean of Students Advisory Board and other student organizations to integrate student participation and feedback into the DSL DEI Action Plan Implementation Team and its subcommittees. (Summer 2020)
  • Proposal for the new Student Action Committee completed, and two staff advisors identified. Proposal is being sent to Executive Leadership Team for approval. (Fall 2020)
  • The two staff advisors for the new Student Action Committee have been recruited, and are now working to implement the group in fall 2021. (Spring 2021)

Strategy 10

Encourage DSL staff members to become DEI trainers to expand training capacity.

Updates

  • Report submitted in December 2019 from Collateral Assignment Innovation Team to DSL Executive Leadership Team. (Fall 2019)
  • Two internships will be offered in the Office of the Vice President for Student Life in fall 2020. (Summer 2020)
  • Two DSL staff members completed internship opportunities within the Office of the Vice President for Student Life. (Spring 2021)
  • DSL will be providing experiential development opportunities, which are one component of a comprehensive professional development plan for staff. To meet the needs of staff across the Division, three different categories of experiential development opportunities are available, engagement, observation, and immersion. These three categories are intended to be complementary and provide a variety of opportunities to a wide range of staff. (Spring 2021)

Strategy 11

Revise “first-come, first-serve” and other processes that are inequitable and disadvantage underrepresented students and advantage majority students (example, cost structures of housing options, housing assignment processes, support for student organizations, etc.) as appropriate. Engage with diverse voices to ensure the impact of processes are understood.

Updates

  • As a part of the Center for Student Involvement and Leadership program review, now three new offices, Student Engagement and Campus Programs; Leadership, Service, and Civic Engagement; and Fraternity and Sorority Life; there will be a review of the offices' process and procedures. (Fall 2019)
  • Beginning work with students to create a method for gathering information from students about DSL policies/practices/programs that result in differential/detrimental impact for marginalized students. (Summer 2020)

Goal 2: Structural Sustainability

Create a sustainable structure to support the DSL as a diverse, equitable, and inclusive organization.

Strategy 1

The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Action Plan co-chairs will develop accountability measures and provide direction and leadership on innovative diversity approaches. The Executive Director of Belonging and Inclusion will coordinate and establish relationships with other DEI leaders across campus.

Updates

  • Dr. Maria Bruno, the Executive Director of Belonging & Inclusion and Assistant to the Vice President for Student Life, was hired and began October 7, 2019. (Fall 2019)
  • Dr. Rusty Barcelo is serving as a consultant for the DSL DEI Action Plan co-chairs. Dr. Barcelo has also met with the Division of Student Life Leadership Team. (Spring 2021)

Strategy 2

Collaborate with campus partners create formal and informal mentoring opportunities for students.

Updates

  • The Division of Student Life is partnering with the Graduate College to provide programming specifically designed to better support graduate students, with a focus on graduate students of color. (Fall 2019)
  • Partnered with the Graduate College and facilitated one year of monthly Connecting Communities workshops to allow marginalized graduate students a sense of community, relationship building, and mentorship. Co-chairs developed opportunities for students to engage in research and practicum experiences, and there was an increase in BIPOC student participation. (Spring 2021)

Strategy 3

Hold members of the Leadership Team and Executive Leadership Team accountable for annual unit diversity, equity, and inclusion goals.

Updates

  • Division of Student Life leadership actively involved with the implementation of the DSL DEI Action Plan. (Fall 2019)
  • DSL executive leaders and leadership team are encouraged to incorporate DEI goals in their units. The results have ranged from voluntary learning opportunities, DEI dialogues, book discussions, and professional development though external training. (Spring 2021)

Strategy 4

Partner with the Division of DEI, to conduct DEI climate assessments every two years and use results to inform future iterations of the DSL DEI plan.

Create standard questions related to DEI effectiveness for use in student assessment/surveys of our programs.

Create audit processes to regularly evaluate departmental policies, practices, programs, and physical spaces from a DEI perspective.

Collaborate with student government and advisory boards for student input across division DEI effectiveness.

Updates

  • Executive Director of Belonging & Inclusion consulting with HR on a repository for policies and procedures. (Fall 2019)
  • DEI Implementation Team co-chairs are serving on the Faculty and Staff DEI Climate Survey work group, in collaboration with DDEI. (Spring 2020)
  • The Assessment Council discussed standard DEI questions for use across DSL. (Spring 2020)
  • The Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion will conduct the faculty/staff climate survey every two years. (Spring 2021)
  • Connected with the Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion on including Division of Student Life specific questions in future faculty/staff climate surveys. (Spring 2021)

Strategy 5

Partner with Assessment, Improvement, and Research to create diversity, equity, and inclusion metrics and evaluations across departments.

Use exit and stay interview data to regularly inform decisions about and improvement to division, department, and unit climate.

Updates

  • Exit interview information is shared with respective department leader. DSL HR is working on an expanded exit survey and researching viability of “stay” interviews. (Fall 2019)
  • DEI goal included in DSL Strategic Plan. (Spring 2020)
  • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion questions have been added to the Division of Student Life Program Review process. (Spring 2021)

Strategy 6

Ensure every department within the Division has diverse staff members working together to generate and implement sustainable diversity, equity, and inclusion practices.

Updates

  • DSL Human Resources actively working to recruit a diverse workforce. (Fall 2019)

Strategy 7

Support promising and effective student programs (e.g., Hawkeye Service Breaks, Hawkeye Talent Initiative, Hubbard Scholars, Womxn of Color Network, Iowa N.E.W. Leadership, etc.) in reaching increased numbers of students with underrepresented and marginalized identities.

Updates

  • The implementation of Swipe across the Division provided data to better understand the various student groups the Division is serving and not serving. (Fall 2019)
  • Hawkeye Talent Initiative expanding beyond the state of Iowa in Fall 2020. (Spring 2020)

Strategy 8

Identify the essential diversity, equity, and inclusion learning outcomes for all student employees and deliver training in ways that ensure consistency.

Updates

  • Piloted the employee Anti-Harassment training with a group of student employees in University Dining. The Director of the Office of the Sexual Misconduct Response Coordinator and the Executive Director of Belonging & Inclusion developing a proposal to expand the program to share with Division leadership. (Spring 2020)
  • Developing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) learning outcomes for student employees in conjunction with a work group outlining overall learning outcomes for student employees. (Fall 2020)

Strategy 9

Develop innovative communication strategies so students are better informed about programs and services that support pathways to engagement and sense of belonging.

Updates

  • Student Engagement and Campus Programs is helping students become more engaged throughout their time at UI through engagement advising. (Spring 2020)
  • Engagement Advising was provided virtually through the 2020-2021 academic year. (Spring 2021)
  • Engagement Advising staff met with various campus partners to increase awareness of this resource for students, and established a partnership with UI REACH to engage REACH students in engagement advising. (Spring 2021)

Strategy 10

Partner with the Trans Inclusivity Coalition to increase trans and gender inclusive practices such as restrooms, medical care, and support for name/pronoun use.

Updates

Strategy 11

Outline a master plan to create a multicultural center and renovate the existing cultural/resource center.

Updates

  • Maria Bruno, Tab Wiggins, Multicultural & International Student Support & Engagement (MISSE) staff, and student leadership are in conversation with the President's Office and Campus Planning on next steps. (Spring 2020)
  • Dr. Maria Bruno, Thomas Arce, and Adele Vanarsdale completed the Cultural Neighborhood Phase Two planning meetings. A series of workshops occurred in January 2021, where over one hundred individuals, including students, staff, faculty, alumni, and community partners, participated. (Spring 2021)

Strategy 12

Provide more resources for cultural heritage/history months and affinity graduations.

Provide designated funds to the University Lecture Committee for a Diversity Scholars Series highlighting thought leaders in diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Updates

  • University of Iowa Student Government (UISG) provided funding in support of the cultural centers. (Fall 2019)
  • USG continues to provide financial support for the Cultural Centers. (Spring 2021)

Strategy 13

Increase awareness of and solicit feedback about revised staff recruitment practices for continuous improvement.

Thoroughly integrate the new universal competencies into job descriptions and performance appraisal and provide training on assessing diversity, equity, and inclusion performance.

Updates

  • New UI universal competencies added to employee performance appraisals. (Fall 2019)
  • Creating a rubric for employees that outlines specific work behaviors for each level of the diversity, equity, and inclusion universal competency. (Fall 2020)
  • Finalized a rubric for DSL employees that outlines specific work behaviors for each level of the diversity, equity, and inclusion universal competency to aid supervisors in their ability to assess DEI employee goals. (Spring 2021)

Strategy 14

Create and implement a comprehensive new staff orientation/onboarding process that focuses on skill building and values.

Updates

No updates currently

Strategy 15

Create a comprehensive retention plan for staff members of color, including clear pathways to mentoring, involvement and leadership opportunities.

Updates

  • The Division hosted the DSL Solutions Lab in spring of 2018 with the objective to create and commit to a plan for evolving how we recruit and retain a more diverse staff and inclusive culture reflective of our vision in the DSL. Some recommendations from the Solutions Lab have been implemented. (Fall 2019)
  • Outlining recommendations based on campus climate data to prioritize the development of a comprehensive retention plan for staff members of color, including clear pathways to mentoring, involvement, and leadership opportunities. (Spring 2021)

Goal 3: Culturally Inclusive Practices

Implement strong, genuine, and consistently communicated culturally inclusive practices that reinforce of Division of Student Life values.

Strategy 1

Share our DEI values, goals, and expectations during recruitment and onboarding.

Reinforce a culture committed to DEI by providing positive, authentic awards identified by staff members.

Updates

  • Creating subcommittee to collaborate with HR team to explore current processes and consider options for change/growth. (Summer 2020)
  • Implemented the DEI Change Agent awards to celebrate the DEI work of staff. (Summer 2020)
  • Exploring unit-specific strategies to compile a master list of what is currently in practice. (Summer 2020)
  • Proposed program to develop relationships and outreach strategies with local high schools in Johnson County. (Spring 2021)
  • Reviewing and updating Pilot Ambassador Program Proposal. (Summer 2021)
  • Researching opportunities to provide BIPOC staff with differential pay, and/or flex/comp time for actively participating in DEI efforts. (Summer 2021)

Strategy 2

Outline diversity, equity, and inclusion standards for Division publications in alignment with University of Iowa guidelines.

Updates

Strategy 3

Provide practice centered diversity, equity, and inclusion training to increase skill building.

Updates

  • Reviewing and categorizing existing training opportunities that currently exist (at UI and beyond). (Summer 2020)
  • Reviewing and assessing DEI-related training that is currently required by the DSL and/or unit. (Summer 2020)
  • Creating a resource list to outline options for growth and development. (Summer 2020)

Strategy 4

Build supportive networks of staff members across and within culturally different groups to work together on strategic priorities.

Create a culture where multiple responsive feedback loops are utilized when engaging in daily work. Staff should ask the following questions:

  • How are we doing on this project?
  • Is there any perspective and experience that we are leaving out?
  • If so, do we know why? If not, how might we make changes?

Updates

  • DEI Implementation Team will explore various models such as the Student Success Team (SST), DSL Solutions Lab, and the #DoesUILoveMe processes in order to evaluate what worked well, where there are areas of improvement, and if similar processes could be used. (Fall 2019)
  • Reviewing DSL-wide action groups and committees that have been established in the past to assess which components will best sustain and drive this work. (Summer 2020)
  • Researching ways to obtain quantitative and qualitative data from DSL collectively and within individual units. (Summer 2020)
  • Reviewing strategies currently implemented within units to guide decision-making. (Summer 2020)

Strategy 5

Include diversity, equity, and inclusion training during On Common Ground (OCG) or institute training during the hour following OCG.

Updates

  • Time during and after On Common Ground has been used for different staff programming, but has yet to be used for training purposes. The DEI Implementation Team will collaborate with the Staff Development Committee to see what programming has been done thus far and incorporate training into future On Common Ground programming. (Fall 2019)
  • Proposed plan to create and implement DEI training program during and after monthly On Common Ground meetings. (Summer 2021)