November 15, 2021

November 2021

Newsletter

IDEA Newsletter – November 2021

News

EQUITY AND JUSTICE LEADER SHIP TEAM

Diversity, equity, and inclusion are top priorities at Scripps College. Rather than relying on one Chief Diversity Officer to lead the College’s antiracism
initiatives, Interim President Amy Marcus-Newhall has elevated the work to a three-person team–the Equity and Justice Leadership Team. The team
consists of Associate Dean of Faculty for Racial Equity Mary Hatcher-Skeers, Vice President/Secretary of the Board/Convener of the IDEA Initiative Denise Nelson Nash, and Assistant Dean and SCORE Director Marissiko Wheaton, focusing on the academic program, policy, governance, and employees, and students respectively. In appointing the team, Interim President MarcusNewhall charged them to enhance and accelerate the College’s diversity, equity, and inclusion goals and foreground antiracism work. As part of the team’s initial work, a set of new hiring practices emphasizing the College’s commitment to racial diversity was passed by the faculty, equity-minded faculty pedagogy sessions are being offered, a student campus climate survey has been launched, the Racial Justice and Equity Fellows Program has awarded grants to 3 faculty and 1 student, and work is underway with departments and divisions across the College advancing the Committee on Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity (CIDE) recommendations to develop
and support a campus-wide culture of inclusion and justice.

NATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF COLLEGIATE CAMPUS CLIMATE (NACCC )

The College is a member of the Liberal Arts College Racial Equity Alliance (LACRELA). LACRELA unites colleges across the country for high-quality professional learning experiences on an array of topics pertaining to racial equity. Since February 2021, each month eight faculty and staff members have engaged with colleagues across the country on topics ranging from supporting and retaining faculty of color to recovering from COVID-19 racial inequities. In October, the College launched, in partnership with LACRELA, the NACCC student survey to gain deeper insights into the racial climate on campus. NACCC was created to help institutions better understand the realities of belonging, inclusion, and race on campuses across the country.
Since Spring 2019, 164 institutions have administered NACCC on their campuses. As part of the NACCC customized report the College will receive on our students’ input, comparison data with other colleges will also be provided along with recommendations to make meaningful change at Scripps. CIDE will be tasked with reviewing the results and making recommendations to the senior team. Faculty and staff surveys will be administered in subsequent years.

LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

In 2019, the Decolonizing Scripps CIDE working group was formed to assess and propose what actions and commitments Scripps College can make in order to develop meaningful relationships with Indigenous communities in order to acknowledge and learn about:
1) the ongoing impact of settler colonialism;
2) the diverse and vibrant histories, cultures, and politics of Indigenous people today; and
3) existing or desirable practices of reparation and restoration.

After a 2-year research and engagement process, the working group recommended the development and adoption of a land acknowledgement to go hand-in-hand with tangible and long-term institutional commitments. During the summer of 2021, the senior team endorsed the recommendation to approve a land acknowledgement that will be included on the College’s website. The working group continues its work on statement language.

November is Native American Heritage Month

UPCOMING EVENTS

A Conversation with Rick Chavolla

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 5-7 P.M.

In celebration of Native Heritage Month, SCORE welcomes the Claremont College community to join us for a dialogue about the Landback movement with Indigenous activist and educator Rick Chavolla. This event is co-sponsored by the Native Initiatives office.
RSVP: https://forms.gle/B9W3wmPco25Q2bxp6

Student Dinner & Conversation with Equity & Justice Leadership Team

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 6:00 P.M

Students, come meet with Mary Hatcher-Skeers, Denise Nelson Nash, and Marissiko Wheaton.
Space is limited, please RSVP tohttps://forms.gle/oAoJ3YmNjcJWBjDn6

This event is funded by the Creating Community Fund

Shoutout

The Racial Justice and Equity Fellowship Program

The Racial Justice and Equity Fellowship Program provides grants to faculty and students for research, internships, and community engagement projects designed to advance scholarship and explore topics relevant to the following: racial justice; inequality; equity; criminal justice reform; intersectional, interracial, and intraracial violence; community-engaged projects; and related areas.

SPRING 21 STUDENT AWARDEE
Blessing Roland-Magaji – Examining the impacts of the pandemic on the achievement gap in STEM

FALL 21 FACULTY AWARDEES
Jasmine Baetz – community engagement and campus education project in racial justice and equity discourses
Melissa Messinas – study examining social emotional learning (SEL) competencies cultivated and taught in Indigenous diasporic communities
Maryan Soliman – research on the history of Black Studies Center at the Claremont Colleges .