Nov. 12, 2020
Presenters: Dr. Willie Fleming and representatives from Academic Affairs and Human Resources
Related accountability review points:
- Office of Human Resources to partner with BFSA to develop resources that aid in the recruitment and retention of Black faculty/staff.
- Increase the percentage of Black and Brown tenured-track faculty, upper administration and full-time staff by no less than 25% by 2023.
Summary of presentation:
- Then-Chief Diversity Officer Willie Fleming gave a presentation about implicit bias in the recruitment process, including how to review position descriptions to ensure the language is accurate and inclusive.
- Dr. James Denniston, coordinator of faculty diversity recruitment and inclusion initiatives in the Division of Academic Affairs, presented information about faculty search committee resources and toolkits. Notably, he shared that Interim Provost Heather Norris gave directives in Oct. 2020 for departments to, among other tasks, continue refining recruitment plans, rubrics, interview questions, departmental search committee policies and position descriptions.
- Shelley Leder, the lead talent acquisition specialist in the Office of Human Resources, shared specific action steps in the university’s recruitment process that ensure diversity, equity and inclusion are being considered.
- The group discussed ways to build on the current recruitment and retention strategies and practices. Specifically, Chancellor Everts addressed a question about advocating for resources for the university at the state level and provided a brief overview of her advocacy efforts for state funding, which include changing App State’s peer comparison group.
Next steps:
- Moving forward, members of the Chancellor’s Cabinet will continue their work and report to the Accountability Team regarding progress, challenges and plans for accomplishing specific action items. The Accountability Team meets monthly.