Equity, Diversity & Inclusion

Making our campus a safe and inclusive space is paramount to our Jesuit mission and tradition. The Office of Equity and Diversity provides resources, support and training for all faculty staff and students to promote three basic principles of a safe and welcoming campus: Equity - Diversity -Inclusivity.

Please explore our website to discover what we offer and feel free to contact our office with your questions and feedback!

Non-Discrimination Statement for Printed Materials

Demonstrating our commitment to an open, inclusive learning and working environment is important to us. Please include our statement of non-discrimination on all printed materials recruiting new faculty, staff and students, prospective students and their families, as well as class syllabi.

Non-Discrimination Statement

The �Ӱ�ԭ�� is committed to providing an educational, residential, and working environment that is free from harassment and discrimination. Members of the �Ӱ�ԭ�� community, applicants for employment or admissions, guests and visitors have the right to be free from harassment or discrimination based on race, color, creed, religion, ancestry, gender, sex, pregnancy and related conditions, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, genetic information, national origin, ethnicity, family responsibilities, marital status, veteran or military status, citizenship status, or any other status protected by applicable law.

Sexual harassment, including sexual violence, is a form of sex discrimination prohibited by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. The �Ӱ�ԭ�� prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in its educational, extracurricular, athletic, or other programs or in the context of employment.

The �Ӱ�ԭ�� will promptly address reports of discrimination under the �Ӱ�ԭ�� Non-Discrimination and Anti-Harassment Policy or the Sexual Harassment and Sexual Misconduct Policy, Anyone who has questions about the above referenced policies , or wishes to report a possible violation of one of the policies should contact:

Elizabeth M. Garcia
Title IX Coordinator
The Office of Equity and Diversity
Institute of Molecular Biology & Medicine, Suite 315

800 Linden Street, Scranton, PA 18510
elizabeth.garcia2@scranton.edu
(570) 941-6645
/equity-diversity/

Gender Inclusive and Accessible Restrooms

The �Ӱ�ԭ�� provides several gender inclusive and accessible restrooms throughout campus.

Click images for full size documents.

Resources for Faculty

The Office of Equity and Diversity offers a wide array of resources for faculty.

Visit the OED page for information on:

Important language to include on your syllabus for students
Your role as a required reporter
Video workshops on implementing inclusive pedagogy in partnership with colleagues
Toolkit for Inclusionary Recruitment and Hiring
Web resources for incorporating diversity and inclusion in the classroom environment

Training

OED provides multiple training opportunities for faculty, staff and students, both in person (when campus is open), and online.Visit the OED webpage to view available topics.

We are pleased to offer the SafeColleges online training library for you to access anytime.

Employees: Use your Royal ID number to enter.
Students: Use your Royal ID number to login.

Recruiting the BEST Talent for Your Department

The �Ӱ�ԭ�� recognizes that its faculty and staff are fundamental to its success, and therefore, it is committed to developing a diverse and inclusive workforce. It embraces an inclusive campus community that values the expression of differences in ways that promote excellence in teaching, learning, personal development and institutional success. The �Ӱ�ԭ�� is an EEO Educator and Employer

A Strategy Toolkit to Recruit an Excellent & Diverse Faculty

The search process requires intentionality. The purpose of this Tool Kit is to assist search committees and hiring managers to expand and diversify the candidate pool in the hiring process. It contains resources to help guide and support recruitment and hiring more diverse employees. This Tool Kit is intended to provide interested search committees and hiring managers with information only. It in no way replaces the Recruitment, Selection and Record Keeping Requirements for Faculty Search Committees, Hiring Managers and Department Chairs document on the Provost’s website or the Electronic On-Line process in Human Resources.

Diversity Initiatives Grants Available for Programming

Commitment to Diversity Education

The �Ӱ�ԭ�� values diversity as a critical and integral part of its mission. It is the intention of the �Ӱ�ԭ�� Administration and Board of Trustees to promote initiatives that energize the commitment to diversity and inclusion, provide opportunity for inter-cultural engagement as well as expand opportunities for multicultural experiences for our community. The Office of Equity and Diversity oversees, supports and sponsors the development and growth of diversity awareness education programs that promote inclusivity and incorporate the foundation of the �Ӱ�ԭ��’s new strategic plan: Our Core, Our Community, and Our Commitments. Applicants are encouraged to consider these principles when drafting proposals. The strategic plan may be found here: Strategic Plan 2020

Formore information, view previous projects and to apply for a grant, please visit our website: /equity-diversity/diversity-initiative.shtml.

Diversity & Inclusion Recorded Programs for Faculty, Staff and Students

OED is delighted to feature special presentations that educate, enlighten and promote diverse and inclusive thinking and practices on our campus.

Employees and students are invited to access these recorded events and send questions and feedback to OED.

Video Resources

Finding and Forging Brave Spaces: The Theory and Practice of Co-creating Inclusive and Equitable Learning Opportunities through Pedagogical Partnership - On Friday, May 8th, Dr. Alison Cook-Sather offered an in depth look at developing and implementing best practices for inclusive pedagogy. Her four part workshop included introducing the idea of pedagogical partnership, exploring the experience of others practicing these partnerships, sharing the current inclusive work and experience of the attendees; and applying strategies to implement the practice of pedagogical partnerships.
Racial Diversity: On Friday, February 21^st, Dr. Tiffany Bordonada offered a workshop on Racial Diversity. Dr. Bordonada is an assistant professor in the Department of Counseling and Human Services and co-director of the Clinical Mental Health Counseling graduate program. Dr. Bordonada will expand on the importance of a productive and equal learning environment for all. She spoke about teaching strategies and reflective student assignments that celebrate diversity and increase racial awareness.
All About Gender: On Thursday, February 27^th, Dr. Paul Datti presented All About Gender. Dr. Datti is an associate professor at the �Ӱ�ԭ�� where he directs the Counseling and Human Services program. Dr. Datti discussed the terms related to gender identity, reducing sexism and cisgenderism, adopting inclusive language and actions, and reducing bias and avoiding misgendering.
Veteran Students: On Friday, May 1st, Dr. Mary Troy presented a workshop discussing Veteran student and issues related to their experience in higher education. Dr. Troy is an assistant professor in the Counseling and Human Services department. Her presentation highlighted veteran student challenges in starting and finishing college, and strategies for veteran student retention and success.
Intercultural Dialogue in a Diverse World: On Wednesday, April 22, Dr. Tiffany Bordonada presented part six of the faculty and staff Formula for Success: D+I + A Better U! diversity and inclusion lunch and learn series. In this recorded Zoom session, Dr. Bordonada discussed the purpose of intercultural communication, the challenges and benefits of engaging in dialogue across cultures, and strategies to enhance intercultural dialogue and celebrate diversity through communication.
Accommodations and Beyond: Inclusive Strategies for Online and Classroom Teaching: On Tuesday, July 14, Dr. Rebecca Spirito Dalgin, Ph.D., CRC, CPRP, Professor in the Department of Counseling and Human Services and the Rehabilitation Counseling Masters Degree program director, discussed best practices to include students of all abilities and backgrounds and convey respect. For faculty and students with disabilities, the classroom and online education settings may present certain challenges that need accommodation and consideration. This workshop focused on inclusive practices faculty can employ for students with disabilities. Topics such as classroom accommodations, disability inclusive language, confidentiality/disclosure and stigma, universal design, and available resources were addressed.
Rebuilding Our Wounded World: A Catholic Response to the Sin of Racism: On Monday, November 9, 2020, Dean Michelle Maldonado, Ph.D., Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, discussed recent Church documents addressing the social sin of racism, the image of God as the foundation of recognizing our full humanity equally, and a vision of justice that calls for a conversion of the heart.
A Call to Conversion: Eliminating Anti-Black Racism as a Jesuit, Catholic �Ӱ�ԭ�� presented by Dr. Mary Wardell-Ghirarduzzi, February 25, 2021, demonstrated how our Ignatian values and traditions are tied to racial justice work, and teach us how to use our gifts for racial justice. In her work, Dr. Wardell relates, “To ensure the fulfillment of the Universal Apostolic Preference of walking with the poor, the excluded, the outcasts of the world as an act of reconciliation and justice, I would like to offer a reparational framework for racial justice and reconciliation informed by teshuva for Jesuit universities and social works.” She believes it is essential that we “Rebuild our institutional cultures with empathy, accountability, and liberation” The move towards reconciliation and racial justice “will occur when we address anti-Black racism and racial injustice on our campuses.”
Community-Based Learning as a Critical Pedagogy presented March 23, 2021, by Dr. Tania D. Mitchell, Ed.D., associate professor of higher education at the �Ӱ�ԭ�� of Minnesota. This workshop explores community-based learning as a critical pedagogy with a focus on three core elements, in alignment with our Jesuit mission: attention to social change, working to redistribute power, and fostering authentic community relationships. Dr. Mitchell shares best practices in service learning toward creating a more just community, including understanding the impact of race and class in community engagement, using reflective and dialogic teaching tools and strategies, and forming reciprocal community-based partnerships that foster authentic solidarity.
Antiracist Teaching presented April 15th and 22nd by Dr. Milagros Castillo-Montoya, Ed.D., Both workshops focus on antiracist teaching. The first introduces key cross-disciplinary elements of antiracist teaching, engage in practicing one of these elements, and consider how those elements align with Catholic and Jesuit values. In the second workshop, faculty will apply one element of antiracist teaching to their own teaching and work in disciplinary-related teams to improve an element of their teaching to advance antiracist teaching.
Uncovering Scranton's Native Past, a diversity and inclusion lunch and learn presented by Dr. Adam Pratt, Ph.D., April 20, 2021. Dr. Pratt will delves into the groups of Native people’s that lived in the northeastern Pennsylvania area, when, and what happened to them; the steps toward creating a Native Land Acknowledgement Statement; and, what other actions the �Ӱ�ԭ�� should make toward addressing past injustices.
Reflection on Anti-Asian Violence Panel Discussion and Q&A - A special panel discussion reflecting on the roots of anti-Asian violence, discriminatory immigration acts and laws, and harmful stereotyping that continues to impact the Asian community today.
- Dr. Meghan Ashlin Rich , Ph.D., discusses the history of Asian immigration to the U.S., highlighting the exclusionary immigration acts and discriminatory laws aimed at limiting and restricting Asian Americans and Asian immigration, post-1965 immigration trends and the “pan-ethnic” Asian American identity, constructed in the face of discrimination, and explained aspects of the “model minority” and gendered stereotypes, and the harm they cause to Asian Americans.
- Dr. Amitava Krishna Dutt, Ph.D., discusses anti-Asian violence in the US, with respect to Asian immigration, general issues about “nationalism and race/ethnicity issues concerning Asians in the US in particular, involving social, political and economic factors, and finally, about how attitudes are influenced by some politicians for their personal benefit.
- Dr. Jingyi Song, Ph.D., depicts the various dimensions of ethnicity, culture, ideology, politics and economic policies that shape the anti-Chinese sentiment leading to the Riot.
  
  This program is being sponsored by the Office of Equity and Diversity, Asian Studies, The CAS Dean's Office, The Provost's Office and the Cross Cultural Centers.
A Business Case for Diversity & Inclusion in the Marketplace The D+I = A Better U! lunch and learn presented by Dr. Abhijit Roy, DBA, professor of marketing and the William and Elizabeth Burkavage Fellow in Business Ethics & Social Responsibility from 2014-2018. Dr. Roy discusses why businesses should focus on diverse characteristics in their management, employees and customers, how businesses should think beyond traditional benchmarks of diversity, and when businesses should leverage diverse business processes to attract a broader segment of the market.
Jesuits & Slavery: A History in Search of Understanding presented by Rev. David Collins, S.J., Haub director of Catholic Studies and associate professor of History at Georgetown �Ӱ�ԭ��/ Fr. Collins is an internationally recognized expert in processes of historical truth and reconciliation and led Georgetown �Ӱ�ԭ��’s Working Group on Slavery, Memory and Reconciliation, which has garnered national attention since 2015. This event provides an overview of the participation by the Society of Jesus in slaveholding from the 16th to the 19th centuries and will explore what this legacy of racial injustice and anti-Black racism means for all U.S. Jesuit institutions, including The �Ӱ�ԭ��, today.

This presentation with Q&A and discussion was held via Zoom and an in-person watch party. This event was co-sponsored by the �Ӱ�ԭ��’s Jesuit Center, Office of Equity and Diversity, Council on Diversity and Inclusion’s Institutional Black History subcommittee, Multicultural Center, and Office of Community Relations.

The Lenape: Past, Present and Future presented by Mr. Curtis Zunigha, an enrolled member, and serving as Chief from 1994-1998, of the Delaware Tribe of Indians in Oklahoma, and co-director of the Lenape Center (thelenapecenter.com) a nonprofit arts and cultural education organization based in New York City. Mr. Zunigha’s presentation centers around the story or the Lenape people who inhabited the Lackawanna and Delaware River Valleys, our Land Acknowledgement statement and what it truly means, and essential steps going forward in service of social justice.
Mr. Zunigha has over 35 years of experience as a practitioner of Lenape/Delaware culture, language, customs and traditions.
The Lenape Culture Today presented by Mr. Curtis Zunigha, co-founder and co-director of the Lenape Center in New York, NY, former Chief of the Delaware Tribe of Indians based in Oklahoma from 1994-1998, and currently a member of the Cherokee Nation.

Scranton's Story: Our Nation's Story - Forced Removal of the Lenape People: History and Homecoming, presented by Curtis Zunigha.

All These Isms: Understanding Privilege, Power, and Oppression presented by Dr. Paul Datti, professor in counseling and human services. Dr. Paul Datti discusses “Isms,” such as racism, sexism, cisgenderism, able-ism, and more. He will show examples of privilege and how it gives power to some and excludes others, and highlight the importance of social justice in Jesuit education to reduce incidents of discrimination and harassment in the learning and working environment.

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Office of Equity & Diversity

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