ARC Updates

Fall 2023 Community Update

ARC Spring/Summer Update

The University’s Anti-Racism Committee (ARC) provides this update of its work through the Spring and Summer 2023.  During this period, the ARC has expanded its membership and focused on identifying goals for development of an initial action plan. 

Membership

The membership of the ARC provides representation across the University Community.  The ARC is composed of the following individuals currently:

• Christopher Jones, J.D. (co-chair), Senior Diversity & Inclusion Officer (christopher_jones@redlands.edu)
• Adriana Alvarado, Ph.D. (co-chair, Associate Professor, School of Education (adriana_alvarado@redlands.edu)
• Anne Cavender, Ph.D., Associate Provost for Faculty and Academic Innovation, Senior International Officer (anne_cavender@redlands.edu)  
• Nora Pulskamp, Director, Native Student Programs (nora_pulskamp@redlands.edu)
• Monique Stennis, Senior Director of Diversity Initiatives (monique_stennis@redlands.edu)
• Laura Zamora, Associate Vice President, Human Resources (laura_zamora@redlands.edu)
• Faculty Representative – Maria Munoz, Ph.D., Professor, CAS (maria_munoz@redlands.edu)
• Staff Representative – Kay Thomas, Past President, URSA (kay_thomas@redlands.edu)
• Student Representative – Breanna Naylor, ASUR Senator
• Alumni Representative – Adam Gottlieb, University of Redlands Alumni Board (aagottlieb92@gmail.com)
• BSFSAA Representative – Nicol Howard, Ph.D., Dean, School of Education (nicol_howard@redlands.edu)
• UCIC Representative – Iyan Barrera-Sandri (iyan_barrera-sandri@redlands.edu)
• CULTURA Representative – Jennifer Solis (jennifer_solis@redlands.edu)

Goals

The ARC subcommittees have each developed a list of recommendations and have been at work this summer prioritizing and aligning them to a timeframe based on expected completion time for achieving short, intermediate, and long-term goals. 

The “immediate” group would include: 1) those items that can be done without investments of further resources, and 2) do not need any outside assistance (e.g., consultant). 

By way of example, each subcommittee has identified a few short-term goals to share in this report.

Transformation Committee

1. Review and Development of Metrics (using those established by the Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award as a model, or others as identified through vetted standards).
   Examples of metrics used include:
1. The six-year graduation rates of full-time undergraduate students according to (federally-recognized) racial groups.
2. Efforts used by the institution to improve retention and graduation rates for historically underrepresented and first-generation students.
3. Levels of support in underrepresented communities.
2. Complete research of other institutions to determine criteria for honorific (non-financial based) naming.

Personnel Committee

1. Make ranges for each job classification available to the public online. 
2. Training for evaluators/supervisors who are completing performance evaluations for employees. To include best practices in completing "open boxes."  The “open box” refers to ambiguous questions that are broad—like “Describe the ways the employee’s performance met your expectations”—are questions where bias is more prevalent because people are more likely to rely on stereotypes, including gender or race, when making decisions where there are no criteria that is applied consistently.
3. Revise performance evaluation process to include goals related to racial equity/justice and a mechanism for accountability. 

Academic Committee

1. Examine how students and faculty are orientated towards support services to ensure equitable access for BIPOC students.
2. Gather data to understand why BIPOC students are or are not participating in University’s programs of distinction, including honor programs and societies, scholarship selection, and competitive degree programs.

Fall Forums

The ARC will hold two open forums in September to discuss its work and draft plan.  The objective of these forums is to present the goals identified by the subcommittees and to take input from the university community.  The forums will be at different times to accommodate schedule differences for faculty, staff, and students.  The forums will be held as follows: