Faculty Success: Faculty Belonging and Inclusion
St. Edward’s University fosters an inclusive and welcoming environment that respects the dignity and worth of each person. Our university's mission, guided by Holy Cross values, calls us to actively pursue an inclusive, equitable, and justice-oriented environment for all.
The Office of Academic Initiatives and Faculty Success promotes social engagement, personal growth, and academic excellence for faculty across the university. It provides faculty with resources that can be incorporated into every aspect of their jobs and throughout their professional lives on the hilltop.
For more information, contact Faculty Success.
Faculty Belonging and Inclusion on the Hilltop
Increasing our Sense of Belonging
Faculty Community Building Events
These monthly events are offered throughout the academic year and provide opportunities for faculty from all academic schools to meet each other and connect in an informal setting. They encourage social engagement among peers.
Consultations
Consultations are available to individual faculty members, faculty committees, and colleagues within Academic Affairs on various topics, including bias, search committee processes, and faculty recruitment and retention initiatives, among others.
Professional Development Workshops
Workshops on the topics below are available throughout the academic year.
- Immigrant identities
- The impact of microaggressions
- Culturally responsive and asset-based pedagogies
- Understanding diverse social identities and their intersections
- Creating the optimal classroom environment during challenging times
Professional Development Training
Implicit Bias Training is offered to Faculty Search Committees as part of the hiring process. The training, a collaboration with Human Resources, walks the search committee through an inclusive hiring process and guides them in utilizing best practices in their outreach, recruitment, and advertising strategies to attract qualified candidates and expand the applicant pool’s diversity. It also provides clarification and guidance on developing rubrics and matrices for conducting an equitable search process.
University-wide Faculty Mentorship Program: CLiMB
Supported by the Office of Academic Initiatives and Faculty Success, and the Center for Teaching Excellence. Mentorship promotes collegiality, community, and professional development for faculty across the university.
CLiMB is a university-wide mentorship program developed and led by faculty
Mentorship fosters collegiality, community, and professional development, making faculty feel valued and accountable for creating a supportive environment. It plays a significant role in faculty retention and aligns with our university’s mission.
At the university, school, and departmental levels, mentorship can greatly benefit incoming faculty by helping them understand the culture, current practices, available resources, organizational structure, and networking opportunities. Additionally, it enhances excellence in teaching and learning, research, and service contributions.
CLiMB Program Goals
- Promote and provide formal and informal mentoring to faculty across the university.
- Support faculty retention initiatives and foster a sense of belonging.
- Connect incoming and current faculty to the greater university community.
Provide consultation and collaboration opportunities for faculty to:
a) Engage in scholarly activities.
b) Plan career and professional development opportunities.
c) Identify support for research, technical, and grant writing, and publication.
d) Apply and implement innovative pedagogical approaches.
Collaborations Supported by the Office of Academic Initiatives and Faculty Success
The Office of Academic Initiatives and Faculty Success collaborates and supports the FCDI. Below is a description of the committee, contact information, and ways to get involved.
The Faculty Committee on Diversity and Inclusion (FCDI) is committed to providing educational opportunities for students of varied cultural, religious, academic, and economic backgrounds. The committee values the diversity on our campus and works to understand and promote it. The committee aligns its work with university-wide goals, focusing on having a diverse faculty that helps students broaden their national and international perspectives and enhance the possibilities for personal and institutional growth that such diversity provides.
The FCDI welcomes all faculty and staff who wish to volunteer to serve on the committee.
Committee Vision
Create and sustain a civil and robust dialogue about the value of diversity and inclusivity within the faculty and staff community.
Relevance to St. Edward’s University
In line with St. Edward’s University's mission, we are committed to providing educational opportunities for students from diverse cultural, religious, educational, and economic backgrounds. Further, as stated in our Operating Principles, we value the diversity on our campus and commit to understanding and promoting it. One particularly salient consideration in meeting these university-wide goals is having a diverse faculty that helps students broaden their national and international perspectives and enhance the possibilities for personal and institutional growth such diversity provides.
FCDI Leadership: Co-Chairpersons
- Andrea Holgado, Professor of Biology and Director of Undergraduate Research and McNair Scholars Program
- Emily Bernate, Associate Professor of Spanish
Ways to Get Involved
- Email FCDI Co-Chairs: Andrea Holgado or Emily Bernate
- Join the committee.
- Seek mentorship.
- Promote attention to diversity and inclusion in your coursework and at the departmental, school, and university levels.
- Suggest diversity and inclusion topics for professional development opportunities.
“Being a member of a group that holds diversity as a value has added to my complete faculty experience.”
– Anna Escamilla, Social Work
Definitions
- Diversity
A diverse faculty and staff community refers to colleagues of varied social identities, abilities, and experiences, with an explicit focus on representing identities that have been historically underrepresented in academia and oppressed by systems of power and privilege. - Inclusion
Inclusion is defined as active, intentional, and ongoing engagement with and empowerment of individuals of diverse identities and backgrounds within university processes, activities, and decision-making. Inclusion is a practice of valuing and seeking diversity.
“This committee holds the important role of ensuring that St. Edward’s continues to focus on ways to improve the diversity, inclusion, and equality of the faculty body.”
– Kelly E. Green, Psychology