Tiffany Bailey (she/her), Romance Studies (French Language and Literature), PhD Candidate

Ariya Blow (she/her), Major in Political Science, Class of 2024

Chip Celenza (he/him), Associate Professor of Biology

Maria Datel (she/her), Master Lecturer, Spanish

Sasha Gilmore (she/her), Earth & Environment, PhD Candidate

Keanna Goddard (she/her), Major in African American and Black Diaspora Studies, Class of 2025

Danielle Kane (she/her), Deputy Title IX and DEI Coordinator, CAS D&I (joined in November 2022)

Gwen Kordonowy (she/her), Master Lecturer and Associate Director, Writing Program

Jay LoMonaco (they/them), Major in Physics and Astronomy, Class of 2024

Emma Lovett (she/her), Astronomy, PhD Candidate

Michelle Njoroge (she/her), Academic Advisor, CAS Academic Advising

Vincent L. Stephens (he/him), Associate Dean for Diversity & Inclusion (ADDI), CAS D&I (Chair)

The 2021-2022 DIAT team included the following members:

• • Cynthia Brossman, Director, Learning Resource Network and CAS STEM Outreach
  • Carian Diaz, Deputy Title IX Coordinator, CAS D&I
  • Kyna Hamill, Director of CAS Core Curriculum & Senior Lecturer
  • Lily Johnson, Major in Economics, Class of 2022
  • Grace Lee, Major in International Relations, Class of 2022
  • Swati Mehta Rani, Lecturer, Writing Program
  • Jade Muyambo, International Affairs, MA Candidate
  • Angela Seliga, Physiology Laboratory Manager, Biology Department
  • Karina Sembe, Romance Studies (Spanish), PhD Candidate
  • Vincent L. Stephens, Associate Dean for Diversity & Inclusion (ADDI), CAS D&I
  • Louis Chudei-Sokei, Professor of English & Director of the African American Studies Program (Co-chair)
  • Maurice Lee, Professor of English (Co-chair)

The 2020-2021 Academic Year was an assessment year for DIAT.

After assessing the needs of CAS and considering relevant, impactful, and sustainable initiatives, DIAT created and submitted a report to the Dean and ADDI on April 21, 2021. The report proposed initiatives related to the following six categories:

• • CAS DEI holistic curricular initiatives
  • CAS student DEI outreach and leadership initiatives
  • Faculty and departmental equity initiatives
  • Formal compensation for DEI committee leadership
  • Dedicated URG graduate student recruitment funding
  • Funding a CAS Postdoctoral Fellows program

The 2021-2022 DIAT team included the following members:

• • Cynthia Brossman, Director, Learning Resource Network and CAS STEM Outreach
  • Carian Diaz, Deputy Title IX Coordinator, CAS D&I
  • Wally Fulweiler, Professor of Biology and Earth & Environment
  • Kyna Hamill, Director of CAS Core Curriculum & Senior Lecturer
  • Lily Johnson, Major in Economics, Class of 2022
  • Grace Lee, Major in International Relations, Class of 2022
  • Maurice Lee, Professor of English (Faculty Co-Advisor)
  • Swati Mehta Rani, Lecturer, Writing Program
  • Jade Muyambo, International Affairs, MA Candidate
  • Angela Seliga, Physiology Laboratory Manager, Biology Department (Staff Co-Advisor)
  • Karina Sembe, Romance Studies (Spanish), PhD Candidate
  • Vincent L. Stephens, Associate Dean for Diversity & Inclusion (ADDI), CAS D&I (Chair)

The 2021-2022 Academic Year was an implementation year for DIAT.

In Summer 2021 the CAS Dean and ADDI reviewed DIAT’s proposals and discussed ways to align it with CAS’s 2020-30 goals and place them in context with other CAS initiatives. Those conversations spawned three charges intended to shape the Team’s implementation focus for 2021-22. With these charges in mind, DIAT was organized into three subcommittees. These subcommittees and their outcomes are listed below:

Student D&I Council

Members: Lily Johnson (Chair), Carian Diaz, Jade Muyambo, Angela Seliga; with assistance from Maria Ordoñez

Charge: Establish CAS supported undergraduate and graduate student D&I focused councils.

Outcomes:

• • Promoted the opportunity for the CAS D&I Student Council (Undergraduate) and attracted 35 applicants. Note: Recruitment and selection of Graduate Students was put on hold until further notice.
  • Selected 15 students from a range of majors and class years to form the inaugural CAS D&I Student Council.
  • Selected a Faculty Advisor for the Council: Dr. Didem Vardar-Ulu, Lecturer, Department of Chemistry.
  • Held the first Council meeting on March 30, 2022, which were followed by two more meetings in April and May 2022. The Council will continue to meet virtually throughout Summer 2022 in preparation for the fall.
  • The Council has begun making decisions about its structure and its plans for Fall 2022. Some of these plans include: approving mini-grants for student-led D&I projects (CAS-specific), creating their own D&I initiative, collaborating with other student leaders, etc.

Remaining work:

• • Summer 2022: Work on Graduate Student engagement.
  • Fall 2022: Council will reconvene with 12 members, given that there were 3 graduating seniors.

Departmental Equity Subcommittee

Members: Mo Lee (Chair), Cynthia Brossman, Wally Fulweiler, Grace Lee

Charge: Establish annual CAS Faculty and Departmental protocols for assessing equity.

Outcomes:

• • Assessed the ways that CAS departments & programs are documenting their DEI work; created a spreadsheet documenting this as a tool for comparison and improvement.
  • Worked closely with multiple partners to develop a standardized protocol for annual data requests (related to DEI). However, there are some complications related to logistics, data classification, privacy issues, and the bandwidth of the Data Analytics team.
  • Tried to assist with faculty recognition for DEI work by targeting the Faculty Annual Report form (FAR), but reached an impasse due to concerns about structure and evaluation processes.

Remaining Work:

• • Summer 2022: Pilot the standardized protocol for annual data requests (related to DEI).
  • Summer-Fall 2022: Further action will be taken regarding concerns for Faculty & Staff including examining and revising CAS’s Faculty Expectations documents.

Inclusive Pedagogy Institute Subcommittee

Members: Kyna Hamill (Chair), Swati Mehta Rani, Karina Sembe; with assistance from Vincent L. Stephens

Charge: Establish an annual CAS Inclusive Pedagogy Institute (IPI) comprised of a summer seminar, and fall and spring consultations. The Institute is a collaborative endeavor between CAS and key partners aiming to respond to concerns from students and faculty about the need for welcoming, inclusive, and supportive learning environments.

Outcomes:

• • Established the blueprint for the IPI in Fall 2021.
  • Scaled up from a CAS to a campus-wide endeavor by collaborating with the Provost Office’s Inclusive Pedagogy Working group.
  • Promoted the IPI opportunity and attracted 50+ applications; 24 Faculty members from a wide range of colleges, disciplines, and ranks were then selected to participate.
  • Scheduled, planned, and developed a curriculum for the Summer 2022 IPI, taking place from June 7-9. The curriculum includes internal and external facilitator, and covers topics including: Universal design, courageous conversations, inquiry as stance, and alternate grading methods.
  • June 7-9, 2022: CAS DIAT developed and co-sponsored the first Inclusive Pedagogy Institute with the Center for Teaching & Learning (CTL) and the Inclusive Pedagogy Initiative (Provost’s Office). The inaugural IPI cohort (24 faculty) participated in three days of learning facilitated by an array of external and internal experts on best practices for inclusive pedagogy.
  • June 6-8, 2023: CAS, the CTL, and the Inclusive Pedagogy Institute host the second annual inclusive Pedagogy Institute. The multidisciplinary cohort is comprised of faculty from BU Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, GMS, CAS, College of Computing and data Sciences (CDS), College of Fine Arts (CFA), College of General Sciences (CGS), and School of Public Health (SPH)
  • 2022-23: The CAS Student DEI Council completes its first academic year. Highlights include hosting a discussion panel on DEI in STEM fields on March 27, 2023, awarding multiple grants for student led CAS initiatives, and hosting an end of semester trivia event for students.

This year DIAT received nearly 40 applications from the CAS Community. After a thorough review of applications, the selection committee welcomed the following new cohort members:

Tiffany Bailey (she/her), Romance Studies (French Language and Literature), PhD Candidate

Margaret Beck (she/her), Professor of Mathematics and Statistics

Chip Celenza (he/him), Associate Professor of Biology

Sasha Gilmore (she/her), Earth & Environment, PhD Candidate

Derek Healey (him/her/they/sé/said), Graduate Program Administrator, Anthropology

Gwen Kordonowy (she/her), Master Lecturer and Associate Director, Writing Program

Jay LoMonaco (she/her), Major in Physics and Astronomy, Class of 2024

Emma Lovett (she/her), Astronomy, PhD Candidate

Michelle Njoroge (she/her), Academic Advisor, CAS Academic Advising

Aasiya Norris (she/her), Major in Political Science, Class of 2023

James Rhee (he/him), Major in Political Science, Class of 2025

Vincent L. Stephens (he/him), Associate Dean for Diversity & Inclusion (ADDI), CAS D&I (Chair)

The 2022-2023 Academic Year will be an assessment year for DIAT.

The new members are charged with conducting a DEIAJ focused assessment comprised of exploring and gathering information in areas potentially warranting systemic responses to exclusion and inequity. In 2023-2024 (implementation year), DIAT will focus on refining proposed initiatives and implementation.

Stay tuned for updates on goals, subcommittees, and proposed initiatives!

The 2022-2023 Academic Year was an assessment year for DIAT.

Disability subcommittee

Mission:

1. Assess how BU/CAS is currently doing regarding accessibility by both a) reaching out to Disability and Access Services to ask them and b) reaching out to students (maybe also faculty) to see what their experiences in CAS are like. The latter piece could be achieved by sending out a survey in the CAS and D&I newsletters, sending the survey to specific student groups, and possibly also having an accessibility office hour hosted by subcommittee members so people could provide feedback in-person if they
2. Define what “accessibility” means, with the goal of perhaps broadening the definition to include things related to, g., the use of deadnames. The idea is that accessibility should encompass everything that goes into making a safe and equitable space for all people to learn and work in.
3. Engage with the literature to determine what current accessibility best practices are.

Members:

• Margaret Beck
• Jay LoMonaco
• Sasha Gilmore

First year student experience subcommittee

Mission: The CAS DIAT First Year Success Subcommittee aims to assess the efficacy of first year programming, for both graduate and undergraduate students, in creating a sense of belonging and fostering community for our students. We aim to better understand the needs of first year students recognizing the diversity of experiences for first-generation students, international students, students with disabilities, and those from various racial and socioeconomic backgrounds. Through this assessment we aim to create recommendations for faculty, staff, and CAS student organizations to increase their accessibility and to promote equity based on the diverse needs of students. Lastly, we aim to encourage collaboration between established and successful programs to increase visibility and ease of access to campus resources.

Members:

• Emma Lovett
• Michelle Njoroge
• James Rhee

Undergraduate DEI awareness subcommittee

Mission: How do undergraduate students at BU perceive CAS DEI initiatives? Are they aware of them and are they seeing the changes they advocated for during and after the summer of 2020? We want to know what DEI strategies are most effective from an undergraduate perspective. This subcommittee seeks to assess the most effective information gathering pathways for understanding what students experience culturally in CAS departments and programs and what they might need from them. Through an initial survey targeted at first-year CAS students, we want to gain information to inform best DEI practices and implement them to positively impact CAS students. Administering this survey will also raise awareness in new students that CAS DEI exists and wants to work for them. Looking forward, we want to survey students further along in their academic journey at BU to determine if and how DEI initiatives have impacted their experience. We will acknowledge CAS’s progress in terms of DEI and continue to strive to support students’ needs.

Members:

• Aasiya Norris
• Chip Celenza
• Derek Healey
• Gwen Kordonowy
• Tiffany Bailey