Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee

Written by

The College of Engineering Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee.

Chair: Dean Manos Maragakis

Co-Chair: Kelly J. Cross, PhD

Background

The university wide climate assessment findings suggest the University is in a prime position to actualize its commitment to promote an inclusive campus and to institute organizational structures that respond to the needs of its dynamic campus community. At the University of Nevada, Reno, a percentage of respondents (21%) indicated that they personally had experienced exclusionary, intimidating, offensive and/or hostile conduct. Also, more than half of academic and administrative faculty and classified staff seriously considered leaving the University at some point during their time employed on campus. In response, the College of engineering formed its first diversity, equity, and inclusion committee in Fall 2019, co-chaired by the Dean. The engineering program at the University of Nevada, Reno was established in 1889 as the School of Mechanic Arts and Mining and later in 1905, as the College of Engineering.  Since that time, the College has enjoyed continuous growth in undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as steady increases in research and outreach activities.

Mission

Inspired by its land-grant foundation, the University of Nevada, Reno provides outstanding learning, discovery, and engagement programs that serve the economic, social, environmental, and cultural needs of the citizens of Nevada, the nation, and the world. The University recognizes and embraces the critical importance of diversity in preparing students for global citizenship and is committed to a culture of excellence, inclusion, and accessibility. Based on the belief that a diverse community of engineering professionals better serves a diverse society, the College of Engineering at the University of Nevada Reno is committed to maintaining and enhancing an inclusive community with open collaboration, equal access, and equality for our entire campus community. The College strives at the highest level to attract, develop, and support qualified persons of diverse backgrounds through collaboration and innovation to participate in its’ educational, research, and outreach missions and programs in order to advance the field of engineering and society at the local, regional, national, and global levels.  The College of Engineering is focused on striving for inclusive excellence by

• Committed leadership
• Dedicated financial and human resources
• Understanding of current and historical institutional context
• Accountability and data collection
• Intersectional Approach

Vision

The vision for diversity within the College of Engineering is to achieve national recognition as a leading institution in inclusive excellence based on the ASEE professional society standard

• Deans pledge

We define diversity as the condition of having different fundamental characteristics or being composed of differing elements; the inclusion of different types of people (such as people of different races or cultures) in a group or organization.

The CoEN Diversity committee recognizes that many dimensions exist that describe human beings and speak to the human experience, such as race and ethnicity, gender and gender identity, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, language, culture, national origin, religious commitments, age, physical and mental ability status, neurodiversity, learning preferences, military status, immigration status, citizenship status, political perspectives among other identity categories.

We define equity as the condition of having justice according to natural law or right, specifically the freedom from bias or favoritism or inconsistent treatment.

The CoEN Diversity committee will promote equality of access, opportunity, outcomes, engagement/contribution, and reward/compensation by actively challenging and responding to bias, harassment, and discrimination in our college. We are committed to provide an environment of equal opportunity for all persons so that they can maximize their potential. Any form of discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, ability status, religion, height, weight or veteran status as prescribed by University policy is prohibited.

We define inclusion as the act, activities, and policies of including or the state of being included.

The CoEN Diversity committee is committed to pursuing deliberate efforts to ensure that our college is a place where differences are valued, different perspectives are respectfully heard and where every individual feels a sense of belonging. We know that by building a critical mass of diverse groups and creating a vibrant climate of inclusiveness, we can more effectively leverage the resources of diversity to advance our collective capabilities.

Diversity Statement

Inspired by its land-grant foundation, the University of Nevada, Reno provides outstanding learning, discovery, and engagement programs that serve the economic, social, environmental, and cultural needs of the citizens of Nevada, the nation, and the world. The University recognizes and embraces the critical importance of diversity in preparing students for global citizenship and is committed to a culture of excellence, inclusion, and accessibility.

Based on the belief that a diverse community of engineering professionals better serves a diverse society, the College of Engineering at the University of Nevada Reno is committed to maintaining and enhancing an inclusive community with open collaboration, equal access, and equality for our entire campus community. The College strives at the highest level to attract, develop, and support qualified persons of diverse backgrounds through collaboration and innovation to participate in its’ educational, research, and outreach missions and programs in order to advance the field of engineering and society at the local, regional, national, and global levels.

Strategic Goals

To accomplish its mission and achieve its vision the College has set the following strategic goals.

Strategic Objectives/Priorities

To achieve these goals the College has set the following major strategic objectives:

• Develop an Assessment Strategy to Evaluate DEI goals
• Secure Asynchronous Training modules for committee and faculty/staff: Safe Zone, Managing Bias, Power and Privilege, & Multicultural Awareness
• Required Diversity Statements included on syllabus (draft text available below)
• Multicultural Awareness Student training: course and training module

Strategic Tasks

To achieve these objectives the College has set the following strategic tasks:

• Diversity statement and information on the college opening page with goal

Resources needed to accomplish the tasks

The following resources are needed to accomplish the above strategic tasks:

• Suggested language for syllabi from the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. 

Strategies to accomplish tasks and accountability

The following major strategies will be used to accomplish the strategic tasks: