Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Antiracism in the Curriculum

Academic Affairs has increased and highlighted racial justice and antiracism in the curriculum by developing new coursework focused on antiracism and racial justice. Many of these new courses will be taught during the Intersession and Spring 2021. Several departments are also incorporating antiracism throughout their curriculum rather than in selected courses. Academic Affairs is tagging antiracist courses every semester to ensure that students can easily find them.

PRODiG Fellowship

SUNY Geneseo participates in the SUNY PRODiG Fellowship Consortia as part of its efforts to increase the representation of historically underrepresented faculty in its nationally-recognized student-focused community. The current PRODiG fellow is Bruno Renaro-Hannan in the department of Anthropology, and the college is in the process of another round of hiring for 2021-22. 

Revised Curriculum

The revised curriculum includes a requirement for antiracist curricular development and a new general education program.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Communication Plan

Communication plan includes event promotion resources for cultural clubs/activities, ongoing updates about DEI initiatives and actions, and mechanisms for soliciting and sharing suggestions for new initiatives.

New Public Art Policy

In response to the demands issued in summer 2020 by the Concerned Students Coalition, the Student Association is leading a mural project, under the leadership of Xiara Colón. This initiative prompted the College to develop a public art policy that would create a pathway for project ideas like this to be officially proposed and approved.

Cultivating Community - dialogues for the Fall 2020 semester were anchored by the theme “From Values to Action: Becoming an Antiracist College.”

Diversity Summit - a full day of diversity-focused sessions hosted by members of the campus community.

Indigenous People’s Day - the President’s Commission on Diversity and Community is exploring a special observance in support of Indigenous People.

Voter Education - efforts to get out the vote take place annually leading up to Election Day. In 2020, Student and Campus Life, in partnership with Academic Affairs and the Office of Diversity and Equity, executed robust programming before, during and after the election. Recognizing the significance of the Presidential election in particular, the team mobilized to get out the vote prior to the election, and worked to support the Geneseo campus community during and after Election Day. For a full list of resources see Post-Election Allies, Programming & Resources.

Black History Month Events - An annual month-long series of events supports the college’s ongoing effort to become an antiracist college. The events to celebrate Black History Month are organized by the Antiracism and DEI Education Subcommittee of the President's Commission on Diversity and Community with support of the Provost's Office. 

Memorial for Victims of Racial Violence and Injustice - Students are working with the Office of Student Life to create memorial artwork dedicated to victims of racial violence and injustice. It will be displayed temporarily in the Kinetic Gallery within the MacVittie College Union while a more permanent location is explored.

Advancing Cultural Competency Certificate

The Advancing Cultural Competency Certificate  Designed to help staff, faculty, and administrators contribute meaningfully to our campus climate where all of our members thrive this certificate supports our ongoing efforts to enhance diversity and inclusion. It is available to all employees including classified staff, Campus Auxiliary Services employees, faculty, professional staff, and administrators.

Intergroup Dialogue - Across the country, Intergroup Dialogue programs have been promoting empathy and awareness, and ultimately positively transforming campus climates. We have been laying the foundation for an Intergroup Dialogue program here at Geneseo. This spring, Chief Diversity Officer robbie routenberg will teach a Dialogue Facilitation Training course (XLRN 288) to prepare students to facilitate conversations that raise awareness of social justice principles such as social identity, privilege and oppression, and power and conflict. Some enrolled students will help facilitate Intergroup Dialogue courses in Fall 2021.

Deepening Personal Understanding through 21-Day Racial Equity Challenge

In addition to campus-specific initiatives, the College also participates in relevant regional activities including the recent 21-Day Racial Equity Challenge sponsored by the Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce and United Way of Greater Rochester. More than 100,000 community members and 460 organizations participated. A number of campus leaders were among them, notably the entire University Police Department, Residence Life leadership, divisional directors within Student and Campus Life, members of Cabinet and Campus Auxiliary Services employees. The initiative allowed participants to deepen their understanding of and willingness to confront racism, bias, and other social inequities.

Academic Affairs Focus Groups

As part of Academic Affairs’ division-level racial justice plan. It held focus groups with faculty and staff of color in spring 2021. Results are used to better understand climate issues and make informed improvements. 

Faculty and Staff Leadership Program

The faculty and staff leadership program is under way with its first cohort of participants who are leaders from across the campus community. The inaugural session includes a three-hour training on Equity-Minded Leadership, as well as other areas of leadership development, and is designed to promote relationship building and foster collaboration skills, as well as increase awareness and appreciation for various campus roles and responsibilities.

Campus Auxiliary Services - Campus Auxiliary Services (CAS) engages with students across campus about service offerings to serve a more racially-diverse population. A regular meeting with the five student directors of its Board has been established to focus on reviewing how CAS services support the College experience for all students, in particular students from diverse cultural backgrounds. CAS is exploring several new opportunities, including the feasibility of establishing a hair salon on campus to better serve specialized needs that are not currently fully met in the greater Livingston County region.

Transportation - Using ridership data and student feedback, bus routes are offered to nearby urban areas, including the city of Rochester’s Transit Center.

All Gender Bathrooms Update - The College recently converted all single-use bathrooms to all-gender bathrooms, putting 16 more online. There are now 74 on campus. Some of the new locations include additional all-gender bathrooms in the Clark Service Building, Mary Jemison Dining Hall, Schrader Hall, Steuben Hall, Letchworth Dining Hall, Newton Hall, Merritt Athletic Center, Putnam Hall, Blake Hall and several in the Brodie Fine Arts building.

Campus Auxiliary Services Supports Minority and Women-Owned Enterprises - Slightly over 17.5 percent of eligible spending was with Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises (MWBE), during the first quarter of 2021. On a New York state fiscal year basis CAS also had a 41 percent MWBE utilization rate, which is the third highest among SUNY Auxiliary Service Association (SASA) members, and is particularly notable due to constraints caused by the pandemic.

Campus Climate Study - the President’s Commission on Diversity and Community conducts a bi-annual campus climate study to survey faculty, staff and students.

Enrollment Management Develops New Processes and Models to be More Inclusive - Becoming a more inclusive college that attracts and supports more BIPOC, low-income, and first-generation students requires a comprehensive approach. Enrollment management has revamped its evaluation process, eliminating bias testing requirements such as the SAT/ACT, and restructuring the need-based financial aid model, focusing on affordability. The need-based model considers the need-level of students, combined with academic data to determine how much institutional aid should be applied to their financial aid package. This approach applies more funding to students with the least financial resources.

Advisory Committee on Campus Safety - Recognizing that a modern conversation about campus safety must involve greater focus on law enforcement operations, accountability, and transparency, the College’s Advisory Committee on Campus Safety comprises a diverse group of faculty, staff, and students. In addition to the traditional responsibilities focusing on environmental and personal safety, the Committee conducts reviews of all University Police Command investigations into personnel complaints and use of force incidents.

Academic Affairs Student Advisory Group - The Provost’s Office is creating an advisory group of students from McNair, AOP, and Trio SSS to ensure student voices are incorporated into the academic planning process.

New Living-Learning Community in Erie Hall - A new living-learning community has been established in Erie Hall. Umoja House will create an engaged intellectual community where students of diverse backgrounds can come together in a supportive environment to celebrate their identities while nurturing their leadership skills