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Texas State Inclusion and Diversity Texas State University’s Action Plan to Build Capacity

Texas State University’s Action Plan to Build Capacity

Background

Texas State has adopted the rubric described in Speaking the Truth and Acting with Integrity: Confronting Challenges of Campus Racial Climate[1] as the basis for assessing our current capacity to respond to campus climate and culture crises, and for developing action plans designed to strengthen our capacity to build a more inclusive environment. The report, published in 2018, is based on a highly visible racial crisis at the University of Missouri-Columbia in the 2015-16 academic year.

 

On January 25, 2019, using the report’s rubric, the Council on Inclusive Excellence (CIE), led by Chief Diversity Officer (CDO) Ms. Ameerah McBride, categorized Texas State’s capacity as “moderate.” On January 31, 2019, Ms. McBride presented the CIE’s findings and recommendations to the President’s Cabinet. A Capacity Building Action Plan was developed and work to put it into practice began immediately. On May 29, 2019, Ms. McBride and the President’s Cabinet assessed progress, revised the Action Plan where necessary, and established timelines for completion of each action item. On November 22, 2019, and December 6, 2019, the CIE reviewed the Action Plan and made recommended changes. On January 16, 2020, and February 21, 2020, Dr. Stella Silva, interim CDO, presented the recommendations to the President’s Cabinet and the Action Plan was revised, accordingly.

 

Our Action Plan is presented below. This plan will not sit on a shelf collecting dust. This plan is a guiding document that will be used to drive our inclusion and diversity (I&D) work; it is fluid and will change; it will be regularly critiqued and evaluated for its effectiveness and revised as appropriate.

 

[1] This report represents a collaborative between the Division of Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity for the University of Missouri–Columbia; the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for the University of Missouri System; the American Council on Education Center for Policy Research and Strategy; and project co-leads/report authors Adrianna Kezar, University of Southern California, and Sharon Fries-Britt, University of Maryland.

Oversight of Action Plan

The President’s Cabinet “owns” the Action Plan, and the CIE (which meets monthly) provides guidance and assistance in implementing, evaluating, and revising, as necessary, the Action Plan. Cabinet members either serve on the CIE, or have at least one representative who serves on the CIE. Below, the Action Plan assigns persons responsible for coordinating action items. The responsible persons, who either serve on the CIE or have representatives on the CIE, are in charge of ensuring their assigned action items are completed in an effective and timely manner. Throughout the process, they are expected to seek guidance and assistance from the CIE.

Key:

◯ In progress or event is being scheduled   

⬤ Completed or process in place and is on-going

⦻ Action item is reconsidered/removed.

Goal 1: Build Trust and Respect Across Stakeholder Groups

Expand or Collapse all.

Goal 2: Invest in Continual Learning for Faculty, Staff, and Students

Goal 3: Develop a Strong Strategic Planning, Mission Statement, and Guiding Values for D&I Work