Diederich Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

The Diederich College of Communication is committed to being a community that provides for equity, supports diversity, and creates an environment of inclusion. We have created the following College Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Plan to identify steps that we must take and to hold ourselves accountable. This work represents our college efforts to enact the work of Marquette’s strategic plan theme, Culture of Inclusion.

Our plan is rooted in Marquette’s Catholic and Jesuit values that call us to devote our careers and lives to the pursuit social justice. This includes a specific call to address racism in all its forms. To this end in June of 2020, faculty of the college offered this statement to students that outlined our commitments and addressed work that needed to be done. In addition, the college affirms the need to stand with journalists and other communication professionals who seek to report on and tell the stories of injustice.

This plan is a working document; it lays out a roadmap for the college. We will continue to engage our entire community to adapt and respond to our changing world. We invite our entire Diederich College and Milwaukee communities to become a part of the transformation process. 

To download a PowerPoint version of the Diederich Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Plan, click here.

Diversity and Inclusion Plan: College Level Goals

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Representation

Diederich Goals for Representation

Goal 1: Increase number of students of color in first year class
  • Ongoing – Formulate a data informed strategy for recruitment of diverse student population
    • Research current state of first year class, identify opportunities and barriers
    • Review plan on annual basis
  • Fall 2021 Class – Target 30% of class students of color; actual enrollment 36%
  • Fall 2022 Class – Target 32%
  • Fall 2023 class – Target 35%
Goal 2: Implement specific strategy for recruitment and retention of diverse staff and faculty
  • Established recruitment guidelines for staff and faculty in Spring 2021
    • Target 40% by 2025
  • Identify barriers to and best practices for faculty retention (e.g., mentoring) by Feb 2021; establish strategies by May 2021; in progress Fall 2021

Environment (Internal Engagement)

Diederich Goals for Environment

Goal 1: Increase representation in student participation of co-curricular activities and leadership
  • Audit student participation in college sponsored clubs, student media, C-Lead, student agency, O’Brien, MUPS, music ensembles, etc: ongoing
  • Set targets for growth to be measured in Dec 2020 (to be measured in Dec 2021): no action as of Fall 2021
  • Develop specific mentoring and recruitment strategies: ongoing
Goal 2: Provide ongoing training and workshops for student involvement in diversity and inclusion programs
  • Provide student-facing workshop once per semester beginning Fall 2020: in progress
  • Leadership training/mentoring for student leaders on inclusion beginning Fall 2020: in progress
Goal 3: Implement a faculty development program on equity and inclusion

 

Tactics
Progress Points

College wide workshop/training once per semester during regularly scheduled meeting

August 20, 2020: the Diederich College attended a virtual training on unconscious bias offered by Judge Derek Mosley.

Increase faculty participation in workshops and programming outside college

  • 50% of faculty attended program (university symposium, Unlearning Racism, reading group, etc.) by May of 2021

  • 65% participation by May of 2022

  • 85% participation by May of 2023

Fall 2021: all faculty and staff participating in Personal Skill for an Inclusive Campus along with group discussions during monthly college-wide meetings

Goal 4: Coordinate consistent messages across college platforms and spaces that are welcoming, inclusive, and accessible for all
  • Audit website, speakers, programming for inclusive language and topics by Spring of 2021
  • Develop protocol to evaluate programming and content choices by May 2021
  • Worked with student affairs in higher education graduate students in Spring 2021 to audit physical spaces for accessibility and representation: ongoing
  • Develop strategy to improve spaces: ongoing

Scholarship & Learning

Diederich Goals for Scholarship & Learning

Goal 1: Increase research that focus on needs of underrepresented populations
  • Audit of current research by Feb 2021: ongoing
  • Plan for incentivizing work by May 2021: ongoing
  • Set benchmarks by May 2021 to be measured Feb of 2023: ongoing
Goal 2: Intentional recruitment practices to ensure hiring faculty who are prepared to teach in a diverse and inclusive classroom
  • Protocol for construction of job ads and recruitment plans (August 2021): completed
  • Guideline for interviewing/ campus visit practices (November 2021): in progress
  • Selection criteria (November 2021): in progress
Goal 3: Ensure use of inclusive design in course design and instruction
  • Audit of syllabi for use of inclusive design principles:
    • 25% of required courses by May 2021: in progress
    • 50% of required course by May 2022
    • 75% of required course by May 2023

Engaging Diverse Communities

Diederich Goals for Engaging Diverse Communities

Goal 1: Develop a research culture that embraces community-based research
  • Create structures to identify potential community partners for research projects 
    • Plan by Fall 2022
  • Incentivize community-based research
    • Plan by May 2021: ongoing
  • Develop specific criteria for including community-based research and activity in promotion and tenure process
    • Fall 2022
Goal 2: Create educational and professional opportunities for students to engage with diverse communities
Tactics
Progress Points

Diederich experiences focused on diverse communities (e.g., Univision)

  • One f2f experience a year beginning Spring 2022

  • One digital experience beginning Spring 2020

Diederich Dialogues: "Keeping It Real: How to Have Crucial Conversations about Race" was held on Monday, Sept. 14 at noon. 

Virtual Anti-Racism Workshop through the Cassandra Voss Center at St. Norbert

Create community-based research and creative practicum for graduate and undergrad students.

  • Fall 2022 (first offering)

  

Career workshops and/or fairs based on community-based organizations

  • Spring 2022