Updates on Activities

After convening for the first time at a meeting on March 26, 2008, the CEC began by identifying an effective and efficient organizational structure for the group and assessing and prioritizing areas of greatest need. Since then, we have been actively engaged in addressing a variety of policy, curricular, recruitment, and campus/work life issues on campus. What follows, below, is a summary of those activities.

Policies/Organizational Structure/Communication

Completed:
	Worked with the four colleges to ensure that the University’s existing diversity statement is printed on all their recruitment and application materials.
	Set up separate funding for diversity programming that entities on campus can request to support events and activities that advance the CEC's mission.
	Created centralized “Achieving Equity and Community at Lehigh” website (Fall 2009) for disseminating information about current status and action plan for improvement. Since then, the site has been "centralized" to become a university-wide page.
	Held a series of "Town Hall" meetings to get a better sense of the campuswide equity and community needs.
	Created a list of diversity, multiculturalism, social justice courses offered at Lehigh for the CEC website.
	Proposed a proactive Bias Response Protocol that makes clear the University's zero-tolerance for such incidents and worked with University leadership on creating the plan (to be implemented Fall 2011).
	Worked with the "shepherds" of the Strategic Planning Implementation Group (SPIG) to assure discussions of equity and community are integrated into strategic planning throughout the process as it rolls out to all the various units/departments across campus.
	Worked with University Relations on consolidating web-based communications about equity and community initiatives into one location (specifically, the "Building a Community of Respect" and harassment information posted online).
	Proposed the creation of a cabinet-level position and office focused on Equity and Community (Vice Provost for Academic Diversity position created and filled Spring 2011 by Dr. Henry Odi).
	Proposed the creation of a “Foundations of Equity and Community” statement that the entire campus can agree to and “sign off” on.
	Proposed the CEC be restructured to become a more effective resource for the new Vice Provost for Academic Diversity.
In process: Summer 2011
	Continuing to work with the University General Counsel's Office, the Vice Provost for Student Affairs, and the Chief of University Police to improve the content of Campus Safety Bulletins that are broadcast in the event of a crime.
	Drafting improved language that we should be using campuswide to discuss issues of multiculturalism and diversity.
To begin: Fall 2011
	Will work with Institutional Research on improving access to data on specific indicators relevant to diversity and multiculturalism (recruitment, retention, and the like). Will also begin benchmarking these data against our “peer institutions.”

Curriculum/Scholarship

Completed:
	Implemented the first two “Faculty Development Seminars on Social Justice in the Classroom.”
	Drafted and presented to the faculty a syllabus statement that began the discussion about the value we put on fostering a supportive and welcoming learning environment that respects myriad viewpoints.
	Worked with the directors of the academic programs in related fields (Africana Studies, Latin American Studies, Asian Studies, and Women’s Studies) and the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences on finalizing the CEC's short- and long-term recommendations for further strengthening their respective curricular areas through additional faculty lines, endowed chairs, help with infrastructure issues, and the like.
In process: Summer 2011
	Working with First-Year Experience implementation team to assure issues of diversity and multiculturalism are part of the required first-year course.
To begin: Fall 2011
	Will follow up with appropriate decision makers on the progress of the new Islamic Studies program.
	Will begin exploring innovative ways to bring together academics and service (service learning).
	Will begin planning for the creation of social justice (SJ) designated courses with potential distribution requirements for all students.

Recruitment

Completed:
	Worked in partnership with Admissions to draft a question and accompanying evaluation rubric for the AY09-10 undergraduate admission application that will help identify those students who hold the values we are interested in fostering on campus.
	Worked in partnership with Admissions on improving the training of the tour guides and the messages they convey to prospective students.
	Submitted recommendations for a process that would allow Target of Opportunity Faculty Hiring, including a proposed annual budget line sufficient to hire qualified minority faculty (and women faculty in selected disciplines) by one of two paths: the traditional Target of Opportunity hire, which involves seeking out and hiring a faculty member who brings a particular distinctiveness to the University in the absence of an organized search; or within an authorized departmental search, providing funds to hire a highly qualified minority applicant whose subject expertise differs from the specific fields targeted by the department.
	Worked with Admissions to understand the admissions process better ourselves so that we might make additional recommendations about ways in which Lehigh can more effectively communicate to diverse prospective students that the community will be supportive and that this will be a welcoming campus climate.
To begin: Fall 2011
	Will explore how each unit can set and meet goals for recruiting diverse staff and faculty as part of strategic planning process.

Campus Life/Work Life

Completed:
	Worked in partnership with University leadership to better understand the impact of the economic crisis on Lehigh from the perspective of the CEC’s mission, to help improve communication about our plans for addressing the situation, and to help maximize equitable and community-building outcomes—particularly for staff.
	Added two non-exempt staff positions on the CEC and met with ERAC to see how the CEC can facilitate staff having a stronger voice across campus.
	Proposed that policy for announcing the deaths of currently employed faculty and staff be updated to be more equitable across constituencies. New policy was drafted by HR in Fall 2009.
	Drafted a proposal advocating that the University be closed for "regular business" on January 19, 2012, the MLK holiday, so that the entire campus community can, instead, participate in special programming during Lehigh's first Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service.
	Worked with Greek Life coordinators and fraternity/sorority members to support the commUNITY project, an initiative designed to give students the opportunity to go outside their comfort zones and create change on campus.
	Worked with Timothy Gardner to propose that Lehigh collectively support a Bethlehem City Non-Discrimination Ordinance, which passed Spring 2011.
In process: Summer 2011
	Engaged in discussions of how to address the needs of our at-risk student population and the graduation gap amongst student sub-populations.