As announced in August and endorsed by President Michael R. Lovell and the Offices of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion, Student Affairs, and Human Resources, Marquette this spring semester will roll out Faculty and Staff: Personal Skills for a Diverse Campus, a new required online diversity, equity and inclusion learning program for all faculty and staff.
A pilot group comprising the College of Nursing, the Diederich College of Communication, University Advancement, Human Resources and University Relations recently completed the program’s three modules. More than two-thirds of the employees in the pilot group have completed all three modules.
Aligned with our values as a Catholic, Jesuit university and articulated in our strategic plan, Beyond Boundaries, Personal Skills for a Diverse Campus aims to improve our campus climate by increasing our awareness of our own personal biases and reflecting upon how inequalities embedded in our practices, processes and structures impede our progress.
Starting in February, all Marquette employees (except for those who participated in the fall pilot) will receive an email from Safe Colleges, with a link and login instructions to access the program, which includes three modules that will take approximately three hours total to complete, including comprehension checks and culminating quizzes. The modules will be spaced out over three months (February, March and April) — faculty and staff will have a full month to complete each module.
A set of frequently asked questions is available online.
As a complement to the online program, the Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion offers supplemental discussion guides and group workshops on implicit bias and microaggressions as a place for processing and discussion, available to offices, departments, colleges, or divisions upon request. A variety of additional learning opportunities and resources on these topics are also available. To learn more about this opportunity, contact Jacki Black, director for Hispanic initiatives and diversity and inclusion educational programming.
Marquette is committed to becoming a more inclusive community in which all our diverse stakeholders feel a sense of belonging and are able to thrive. Educational opportunities like Personal Skills for a Diverse Campus help push us as a community toward these goals.
Personal Skills for a Diverse Campus was vetted by representatives from the Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion and the Department of Human Resources, along with volunteers from the University Committee on Equity and Inclusion and Employee Resource Group leadership.
Reminders will be shared at the start of the spring semester. Watch Marquette Today for updates.
