December 2020 & January 2021

What a harrowing and transformative year! The subtle and not-so-subtle societal, personal, psychological, civic, and institutional changes we've all experienced (and are experiencing) will likely reverberate for years to come. How we think about community—both its creation and perpetuation—has forever changed. How we think about and value each other and our connections to each other have changed and, for many of us, deepened. Absence and time and circumstance, it seems, have forced us (or, given us the opportunity) to more intentionally focus on our values and priorities. 

We here at BU D&I have seen, in this community, a fantastic display of focus in recent months. The number of you who are actively engaged in change-making has exponentially increased. In this year-end newsletter (we won't be here in December), we want to reflect just some of the work happening around BU. (We can't reflect all of it because there is so much!) You and your commitments to enact a more just, equitable, and inclusive community are also transformative!

Our big takeaway? Even as we are not able to physically be together just yet, we are together. Just look at all of the work we are doing together! We are, indeed, thankful.

Be safe. Have a good end-of-year. We'll see you here in 2021.

Take good care.

BU D&I

2020-2021 Inclusive Catalyst Grants

Allies & Advocates in Action

1. Developing a bibliography focused on antiracism as it relates to marketing, communications, imagery, etc.
2. Interrogating issues such as the influential role language plays in community perceptions and helping to catalyze equitable environments.
3. How power structures include and exclude people.
4. Normalizing difficult conversations on topics such as racism and equity.

1. Increasing applications from underrepresented students.
2. Increasing admission offers to and matriculation by underrepresented students.
3. Developing a sense of community that fosters success for underrepresented students.

This year, they held a virtual visit for prospective underrepresented Ph.D. applicants; participated in student recruitment at two virtual events for underrepresented prospective Ph.D. students hosted by the 4th Annual Initiative for Maximizing Student Development Program from San Diego State University and the Black Doctoral Network, and held a virtual onboarding welcome reception for first-year Ph.D. students at BU from underrepresented groups.

Information Services & Technology (IS&T)
Under the leadership of Vice President of IS&T Tracy Schroeder, Information Services & Technology has formed a Task Force for diversity and inclusion planning, comprised of a diverse cross-section of IS&T and local IT staff members. Chaired by Director of Systems Engineering Josie Debaere and Director of Educational Technology Ernie Perez, the Task Force will ground itself in the fundamental principles of diversity education and awareness. It will also assess the current state of diversity and inclusion and formulate objectives for achieving significant progress in the BU technology services community over the next two calendar years (2021–2022). While a holistic plan is expected by May 31, 2021, the task force may bring forward iterative recommendations for implementation and assessment throughout its work.

Office of the President
In September 2020, the Antiracism Working Group, a permanent 18-member committee of faculty and staff reporting to the President and chaired by Senior Diversity Officer Andrea Taylor, was charged with examining and addressing institutional racial climate, bias, and with working to promote best practices that foster diversity, equity, and inclusion.

In June, President Brown announced the formation of a Community Safety Advisory Group to be charged with examining how the BU Police Department could better ensure the well-being of the community, particularly employees and students of color and other underrepresented or marginalized groups. Associate Provost and Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore and Dean Angela Onwuachi-Willig chaired a committee which solicited campus community input concerning the membership of the new group and how it can best represent the interests of different University constituencies, and they have submitted a report to the President.

President Brown charged a Mascot Committee, chaired by Dean Harvey Young and Vice President for Alumni Relations Steve Hall, with examining whether it is time to rename the campus mascot, Rhett. The group is composed of students, administrators, faculty, and alumni. Read more here.

School of Medicine & Boston University Medical Group
The School of Medicine's Diversity & Inclusion Office, led by Associate Dean John I Polk, MD, has undertaken a series of collaborative efforts on the Medical Campus, chief among them:

1. In collaboration with Boston University Medical Group, developing an Equity Glossary;
2. Beginning the process of developing a Boston University School of Medicine data dashboard to more fully report out the demographic data on the Medical Campus;
3. Working with the School of Medicine's Clinical and Translational Science Institute and others to develop a Junior Faculty Research Initiative based on the National Institutes of Health Diversity Supplement of the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Care Disparities (to be launched in Jan 2021). This program will provide  junior faculty from underrepresented groups with a structured mentored pathway for scholarly work.
4. Hosting a week-long celebration of the life and legacy of Rebecca Lee Crumpler, the first African American woman to receive an MD degree in the US. Crumpler received her MD degree in 1864 from the New England Female Medical College, which became the Boston University School of Medicine in 1874.

Happenings

Center for Latin American Studies & BU Arts Initiative

Adela Pineda, Director of the Center of Latin American Studies and Ty Furman, Managing Director of BU Arts Initiatives invite any interested faculty to join them in a conversation about developing a series of arts programs around indigenous voices of the Americas for the academic year 21/22. We define the arts very broadly from dance, theatre, poetry, literature, visual, music, film, and more. If you are interested please join us to discuss the possibilities!

Howard Thurman Center

After a year filled with pain, hardship and suffering due to the pandemics of COVID-19 and systemic racism, the final Student-Faculty Forum of 2020 will look to regeneration. Specifically, how to bring health, repair, recovery, growth, and new life to where there was once damage, disease, and destruction.

Featuring:

• Katherine Kennedy, Director of the Howard Thurman Center for Common Ground
• Harvey Young, Dean of the College of Fine Arts
• Timothy Longman, Director ad interim, of the African Studies Center; Director of the Institute on Culture, Religion, and World Affairs; Professor of International Relations and Political Science 

Moderated by:

• Virginia Sapiro, Professor, Department of Political Science; Women’s, Gender, & Sexuality Studies Program, and Dean Emerita of the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences.

BU D&I Faculty & Staff Community Networks