Fostering an Inclusive Community

The CALS Equity and Diversity Committee (EDC) leads many of the college’s diversity and inclusion efforts. Announcements about EDC-led events and activities are posted in eCALS, as are college-led events/activities.

The CALS Office of Academic Affairs strives to be a leader in preparing students to be culturally competent global citizens, and is committed to serving and supporting all students to help them get the most out of their UW experience. Visit the office’s Student Resources for more information.

The purpose of the CALS graduate programs coordinator meeting is to enhance communication and coordination between CALS academic departments and central administration when it comes to opportunities, challenges and needs. Graduate program coordinators are professional staff members who work with faculty and students, and are often tasked to relay information to different groups. The college recognizes their unique role and seeks to support them in their work.

The purpose of the CALS department diversity representatives meeting is to enhance communication and coordination between CALS academic departments and central administration when it comes to inclusion.

Department diversity representatives will focus on the following strategic goals:

• Establish a broader sense of community that extends across CALS departments and administration
• Share and discuss current rends–both promising and challenging–within departments and CALS more broadly to identify themes and inform collective action
• Advocate to ensure the groups learning and insights positively influence departments’ decision-making processes around diversity-related topics
• Invest in building individual and collective awareness and capacity to move initiatives forward in alignment with the CALS mission
• Identify aspects of departmental operations in need of greater support and/or coordination from CALS administration, and vice versa

The role of a department diversity representative is to:

• Participate in department diversity representative meetings
• Ensure that updates are standing items on department meeting agendas
• Help identify the major challenges facing the department, using whichever mechanisms of feedback are most useful (e.g., CALS climate survey, one-on-one conversations, small group discussions, consultations with leadership)
• Become familiar with issues relating to diversity, climate, and inclusion through professional development activities (e.g., conference/workshop attendance, LCICE Workshops, reading group)
• Understand processes relating to equity and diversity, including whom to contact for issues such as grievances, hate and bias reporting
• Serve as an advocate for communicating information in departments regarding upcoming programs, workshops, or activities relating to diversity, climate, and inclusion
• Be a point of contact for programs seeking partnerships on diversity related activities (e.g., student group visits, outreach events)