Citizen Science Faculty Take DEI Mini-Course

For the first time, all faculty teaching in Citizen Science participated in a required mini-course about the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion and how they apply to their work as CitSci instructors. Led by Interim Dean of Graduate Studies Michael Sadowski and Dean of Inclusive Excellence Kahan Sablo, the mini-course was an abbreviated version of Sadowski's graduate-level class, Identity, Culture, and the Classroom, which he teaches in the Master of Arts in Teaching Program.

All 28 CitSci faculty members read and discussed chapters from books such as Beverly Daniel Tatum's “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?” and Other Conversations About Race, Mica Pollock's Everyday Antiracism, and Sadowski's In a Queer Voice. They discussed how systemic racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, and ableism affect people's lives in the classroom, in the sciences, and in society. They learned about the principles of universal design for accessibility, and Dean Sablo led a session on navigating challenging classroom conversations about racism and other issues. Participants explored ways to build safe community for discussion in their sections, and as a final assignment, each instructor completed and shared an “outline of practice,” articulating how the lessons of the mini-course and considerations of identity and DEI would inform their practice as CitSci instructors.

Deans Sablo and Sadowski view the CitSci mini-course as a pilot they hope to replicate with other faculty groups around campus. An important goal of the work, they say, is to engage faculty in these critical conversations with one another so that they feel better equipped to engage in them with students.

Faculty Recruitment and Hiring

Several high-profile faculty searches are currently underway for appointments slated to begin in the 2021–22 academic year.

Students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to participate in all searches this spring as we reaffirm the College's commitment to building a diverse and representative professoriate for the future. This semester brings the prospect of transformative appointments in Philosophy, Classics, Art History, Political Theory, History, Computer Science, Theater and Performance, and Photography. Stay tuned for further updates in the coming months.

Members of the Planning and Appointments Committee are revising the Faculty Handbook to update and strengthen inclusive search processes. The Office of the Dean of the College is working closely with Human Resources and the dean of inclusive excellence to analyze EEO-1/Affirmative Action voluntary reporting data, search by search, as the College focuses on recruiting and retaining a diverse faculty.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Workshops and Training

With the close of 2020, Bard employees completed two to three hours of mandatory online trainings addressing prevention of harassment and discrimination in the workplace and how to create an equitable classroom, office, and workplace.

Required Everfi modules included:
Harassment Prevention
Managing Bias
Diversity and Inclusion

Ongoing educational opportunities in January have been jump-started, beginning with a half-day antiracism workshop with expert educator Dax-Devlon Ross for professional staff in Admission, Student Accounts, Financial Aid, and the Registrar's Office. A series of five subsequent trainings are being designed for faculty and administrators at Bard to be held over the course of the spring semester. On February 5, Professor Catherine Denial of Knox College will lead “Compassionate Pedagogy for Traumatic Time,” a faculty workshop on inclusive practices in the classroom to be sponsored by the Center for Faculty and Curricular Development and the Office of the Dean of the College.