Antiracism Efforts at Adelphi – A 2020–2021 Update

Dear Adelphi Community,

In our June 24, 2020, letter to the community, we outlined a plan of action to work toward equity and engage in antiracist practices on our campus. Over the course of this past 2020–2021 academic year, this work has been ongoing and a collaborative effort throughout campus. Hundreds of our community members have rolled up their sleeves to implement transformational change.

Our work during the past year has been grouped into eight broad areas, each explored in greater detail below my signature.

While there is more work to be done, I am proud to share highlights of our progress to date, which can also be found on our diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) website. In addition to the narrative results currently available on the DEI website, we are developing a dashboard of evidence-based metrics that will be available in the fall.

Looking ahead to 2021–2022, I am energized by the continuation of this important work as we dismantle barriers of systemic racism in our own community and in greater society. Additionally, I am committed to continuing the broader DEI agenda, ensuring a campus that is supportive and welcoming for all students, faculty and staff—free of discrimination against race, ethnicity, religion, age, ability, sex or other identifying factors.

Thank you for your partnership and commitment in this difficult and critical work. I continue to welcome your ideas on the priorities still to be addressed. Please share them with me at audiversity@adelphi.edu.

P.S.: The Office of DEI invites our Adelphi community to recognize Juneteenth together. Please stay tuned for a forthcoming invitation to a virtual event.

Yours,

Jacqueline Jones LaMon, JD
Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

1. Dismantle racism in academic systems.
   • The Academic Diversity Implementation Team (ADIT) was launched in Fall 2020 to evaluate curriculum and general education, and examine educational requirements pertaining to race, diversity and social injustice. Led by Marsha J. Tyson Darling, PhD, professor and director of African, Black and Caribbean Studies, during the fall, and Charles Cal ’95, MS ’01, MBA ’03, clinical assistant professor of nursing, during the spring, the team is instrumental in identifying both unit and University-level academic-related areas that need addressing.
   • With the ultimate goal of tracking and addressing microaggressions in the classroom experienced by Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) faculty and students, a series of microaggression and implicit bias workshops were completed in the majority of the schools/colleges to enhance awareness of the problem.
   • To examine systems of power that perpetuate racism, all members of Unit Peer Review Committees (UPRC) and the Faculty Committee on Reappointment, Tenure and Promotion were offered cultural competence, implicit bias and microaggression workshops; 90 percent of all members completed the suite.
2. Engage the student perspective in dismantling racism in our community.
   • The Equitable Adelphi Action Team, a student-centered council, was launched in Fall 2020. Comprised of both undergraduate and graduate student leaders, the council made recommendations to the Office of the Provost to decolonize the curriculum, add multicultural offerings throughout coursework, and to offer additional trainings for faculty to address issues regarding campus climate.
   • As a result, ADIT is preparing recommendations of courses offered across the University on antiracism.
3. Combat racism and social injustices at the school and department level.
   • Each individual college and school was charged with developing evidence-based strategic diversity plans (with diversity statements), focusing on antiracism, hiring and retention of diverse faculty and staff, and recruitment and retention of diverse students. Additionally, all were charged with creating unit diversity councils, who are able to provide review of their school’s strategic plan and ensure an antiracism focus. The following colleges and schools now have active unit diversity councils:

     College of Arts and Sciences
     College of Education and Health Sciences
     College of Nursing and Public Health
     College of Professional and Continuing Studies
     Gordon F. Derner School of Psychology
     Robert B. Willumstad School of Business
     School of Social Work
     University Libraries

4. Establish regular meetings with Adelphi’s Department of Public Safety and Transportation, the Garden City and Nassau County Police Departments, and the Garden City Village Board of Trustees.
   • Adelphi’s Department of Public Safety and Transportation has seen a great deal of change this year. The department, now under the direction of Gene Palma, vice president of University wellness, safety and administration, has recently welcomed Shaun Kelly as its new captain of operations. Captain Kelly has begun foundational work to transform training of the team and improve regular advocacy with local and regional law enforcement.
   • All officers and supervisory staff have completed a foundational session exploring DEI engagement.
   • The Department of Public Safety and Transportation and the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion sponsored a community forum, “Public Safety, Law Enforcement and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion,” to further community engagement.
5. Dismantle racism in hiring and promotion practices.
   • All active faculty search committees completed implicit bias training; all Unit Peer Review Committees and the Faculty Committee on Reappointment, Tenure and Promotion were provided with training. Academic deans played an active role in furthering diversity in the hiring process, and worked with the Office of the Provost to implement mentoring plans in their schools/colleges.
   • Our board of trustees participated in a multi-session engagement, exploring DEI fundamentals as well as considerations specific to their roles as trustees. Similarly, an engagement session was delivered to the president’s cabinet (consisting of the president, executive leadership, deans, associate deans and senior leaders).
6. Design and improve the University’s diversity student recruitment and retention plan.
   • University Admissions implemented a test-optional policy, including extension of the policy for 2022–2023 admissions applicants. Additionally, to build on access and affordability, the University increased the percentage of need met for newly enrolling students, driving down financial aid gaps for many applicants.
   • The University modified its merit scholarship policy, removing the pressures of minimum grade point average (GPA) requirements to maintain academic awards. This shift in gift aid policy was done with student success in mind.
   • Prospective students were engaged throughout the year with personal invitations to attend our virtual multicultural events and build an early sense of community and support within our multicultural student clubs, organizations and academic departments.
   • Recruitment of historically underrepresented communities expanded through efforts including College Awareness Day, the Hispanic Community Partnership Program, and partnership opportunities with community organizations and special college advising outlets to counsel students on the college application process. Additionally, we continued our bilingual and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)-compliant recruitment opportunities, including information sessions, publications and campus tours.
   • We expanded our fundraising for the President’s Student Success Scholarship and multicultural scholarships, maximizing additional aid for students in need.
   • We presented a preliminary redesign of student enrollment services, including the University Registrar, Student Financial Services, Student Account Services, and Cashiers and Billing to better support students, providing the tools and flexibility necessary to maximize retention, progression and affordability. This One-Stop Enrollment Services Center is expected to unfold over the coming 2021–2022 academic year.
   • Student success coaching models were launched, assisting in the retention and support of vulnerable students.
   • LGBTQ+ efforts were expanded to support our community members, including the ability for members of our transgender community to use preferred names on identification cards, establishment of new scholarship opportunities, and creation of empowerment groups for transgender and gender-nonconforming students and queer people of color.
7. Build resource libraries and structures to advance antiracism work.
   • Our library purchased a significant number of materials, including books, journals and an audio/video collection, and created a new LibGuide to highlight diversity, equity and inclusion works and resources.
   • The Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation Campus Center launched its website and expanded its work to erase structural barriers to equal treatment and opportunity on campus.
   • Ongoing special events, including University Libraries’ Critical Knowledge Forum series, set out to challenge and educate our community, including advancement of antiracism work.
8. Improve the system for reporting discrimination, bias and abuse.
   • The University completed an external review of the systems for reporting of discrimination, bias and abuse, including an evaluation of student conduct, Title IX, human resources, public safety, residence life, the hotline and any other area which may receive regular complaints or reports. Resulting from its findings, we are now creating a centralized office to provide guidance on and holistically address reported concerns, under the guidance of Gene Palma, vice president of University wellness, safety and administration.