As we mark the one-year anniversary of the ribbon cutting of the Multicultural Student Organization Office, we are pleased to present the work accomplished this year to support the ten demands brought forward by student leaders 18 months ago.
We remain appreciative of the courageous students in the Class of 2016 who asked the College to take a good hard look at our campus culture. We are grateful for their activism and we thank all students, faculty, administration, and staff, who have helped ensure progress on making Simmons a more inclusive community.So many people have approached this work with passion and energy because they recognize the importance of diversity, inclusion and equity at Simmons. We believe, and hope, everyone can agree that we are firmly on a path to being the Simmons community we all know we can be.
Throughout this academic year, we have shared detailed updates via the Thursday "Thoughts from the President" message on the progress we are making on diversity and inclusion at Simmons. We hope you read all of the updates. They appeared on:
- September 15, 2016
- October 20, 2016
- December 1, 2016
- January 26, 2017
- April 20, 2017
But, while we believe we are making progress, we recognize that we still have a notable journey ahead of us. Since, we could not achieve everything in the ten demands in just one year, we dedicated time and resources to implementing the following Simmons College FY16/17 Diversity & Inclusion goals. As you will read in the update, these goals support the ten demands and all our work benefits the entire Simmons community.
Simmons College FY16/17 Diversity & Inclusion Goals | Goal Supports |
Goal #1 Develop Philosophy & Mission of Diversity and Inclusive Excellence Goal #2 Develop New Health Services/Support Goal #3 Implement Training for Faculty, Staff and Students Goal #4 Implement Bias Response Protocol Goal #5 Plan & Implement Curriculum Enhancements Goal #6 Hire Diverse Faculty and Staff Goal #7 Student Recruiting Goal #8 Create Multicultural Center Proposal for FY18 Goal #9 Develop Strong Programming Goal #10 Make D & I Prominent in our Strategic Plan - Strategy 2022 | All Ten Demands Demand One Demand Three Demand Three Demand Four Demand Eight Demands Six & Nine Demand Seven Demands Two & Five Demand Ten |
Simmons College D & I Goal #1: Develop Philosophy & Mission of Diversity and Inclusive Excellence
Supports All Ten Demands
We developed our philosophy of diversity and inclusion, shared it widely with the entire community and it was unanimously endorsed by our Board of Trustees. It is located on our website and states among many points that:
Simmons is committed to inclusive excellence in all aspects of an individual's community experience. Our values, vision and mission mandate that we strive to create an environment that is free from bias, prejudice, discrimination and hurtful/hateful acts that can prevent each member from thriving in the Simmons community.
We strive to ensure that all decisions concerning the educational experiences and progress of students is based on considerations appropriate to an academic institution and not on factors such as race, color, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, religion, age, national origin, ancestry, disability, or veteran status.
Simmons College D & I Goal #2: Develop New Health Services/Support
Supports Demand #1 - That Simmons lives up to its core values by: putting students first, preparing students for life's work, creating opportunities, and investing in community. These values cannot be met unless Simmons financially commits to meeting the needs of students of color. This can be done through: increasing mental and physical health services that are accessible to students by increasing the number of trained and competent staff members for positions at the health center, counseling center, and nutritional services.
Lead: Vice President for Student Affairs Sarah Neill
Actions Taken:
Our Health and Counseling Centers have made considerable progress in response to an increasingly diverse student body with a growing need for service. These efforts have included the addition of experienced clinical staff, expansion of hours of operation, increases in representation of staff and interns of color, expanded outreach efforts and specialized training for clinical staff. In addition, the College has provided a wide range of health and fitness related programs in support of fostering a healthy and engaged student body.
- The Counseling Center welcomed a new full-time clinician, Bianca Blakesley, who now serves as a dedicated Outreach Coordinator. This year she began with outreach to affinity organizations, and in partnership with a clinical intern has offered a QPOC support group. She will expand her efforts in the coming year in response to student needs and concerns. The Center hopes to add an additional part-time clinician in the fall to meet a growing demand for service and balance support for outreach and community interventions.
- The Counseling Center has continued in its commitment to recruit a diverse pool of interns and clinical staff. This year the counseling staff has two full-time staff of color and 4/6 trainees are women of color. Next year, 3/6 trainees will be women of color.
- The Health Center has also worked to improve access through expansion of hours and an increase in staffing. The Center is now open two evenings per week, Mondays and Tuesdays, with staff on site until 7:00 PM. In an effort to create weekend appointment availability, it has been open most Saturdays this semester from 9AM-2PM for urgent care appointments. We have prioritized extending hours at anticipated times of high volume at the HC (ie. peak flu season).
- The Health Center has added 36 nurse practitioner-hours weekly, through the hire of two part-time staff NPs, Jamie Jefferson and Alayna Richardson. Jamie has particular expertise in women's health, having worked at Planned Parenthood and within the BIDMC OB/GYN department. The Center will add a part-time physician, Dr. Catherine Rea-Lyon, to staff in the fall of 2017. Catherine currently works as a family physician where she has a developed a focus on adolescent and women's health.
- This year the Health Center partnered with a team of students involved in the Simmons World Challenge, whose group project focused on the treatment of transgender and gender nonconforming students at college health centers. Together they organized a training session entitled "Gender Identity and Cultural Competency" for Health Center staff, led by a staff member of Transgender Health Program at the Fenway Community Health Center. They are planning a future training session focused specifically on medical treatment of transgender and gender non-conforming students. Plans are also underway for a joint Health and Counseling Center training on culturally responsive health/mental health care for the fall.
- The Health and Counseling Centers are committed to ensuring their clinical staff are knowledgeable and responsive to the needs of an increasingly diverse student body. The Centers will continue to stay in tune with our student population through student survey work, visits to SGA forums, and the development of a Student Health Advisory Committee.
- In addition to these efforts, through the FIT@Simmons program, our team in the Office of Student Leadership Activities has offered a broad array of fitness and wellness programs for students free of charge. Examples of such programs have included meditation, yoga, outdoor recreational activities and more traditional classes such as Zumba, Kick-boxing and Spinning. The response from students has been overwhelmingly positive with over 2,200 individuals participating in classes in the past year alone. We hope to expand upon these offerings in the coming year in response to student demand with the understanding that such offerings provide important social outlets are quite beneficial to student health, wellbeing and success.
Simmons College D & I Goal #3: Implement Training for Faculty, Staff and Students
Supports Demand #3 - We demand that all faculty and staff of Simmons College be put through rigorous diversity training that emphasizes the requirement that they address micro-aggressions and mis- information in class. As part of this, we also demand that faculty are incentivized to participate in racial justice work as part of the tenure and promotion processes. That the FACES/FYS provide ample training for student facilitators, development curriculum that reflects the history of Boston.
Leads: Provost Katie Conboy; Assistant Vice President, Diversity & Inclusion Lisa Smith-McQueenie; Assistant Vice President, Talent and Human Capital Strategy Sarah Miller
Actions Taken:
Faculty Professional Development – Diversity & Inclusion
Our Center for Excellence in Teaching, in partnership with Romney & Associates, designed a one-day seminar experience for faculty to address issues of diversity, inclusion and equity in the classroom. The Inclusive Excellence Seminar has been successful in beginning to reach the wide range of areas that contribute to a more inclusive learning experience in the classroom for all students. The training is required for all full-time faculty.
To date, 141 faculty have participated in this daylong seminar. Our goal for this year is to provide this opportunity to 160 faculty and we are confident it will be achieved. The ninth, and final, seminar for this year is scheduled for June 2, 2017. Two additional seminars will be offered in the fall to accommodate new and current full-time faculty.
Planning for the next iteration of the Inclusive Excellence Seminar (II) is underway. It will incorporate feedback from faculty and students regarding the classroom experience, inclusive instruction, and curriculum enhancement. And, it will expand upon previous learnings and continue to address topics like managing difficult conversations, equity in teaching and learning, and responsible pedagogy.
Staff Professional Development – Diversity & Inclusion
This January, we required all staff to complete four, online training diversity and inclusion modules:- Diversity Benefits for Higher Education Employees
- Respect and Inclusion Series: The Power of Respectful Language
- Respect and Inclusion Series: Transition to Respect
- Respect and Inclusion Series: Uncovering Implicit Bias
To date, 70% of staff have completed the four modules. We will continue to send reminders to remaining staff until they have completed the modules.
Currently, THCS is developing plans for training opportunities to include experiential sessions with trained facilitators. We hope to offer the first opportunity to student-facing staff members this fall.
Student Training Opportunities – Diversity & Inclusion
Student Affairs and Diversity & Inclusion partnered to create a multiple-session student leader training series. Aspiring student leaders were required to participate in the Student Multicultural Leadership Conference in January and will remain on campus after finals in May to participate in training designed to address inter/intrapersonal awareness, cultural humility, and inclusive excellence. The third (and traditional) training opportunity occurs in August, annually. Kudos to all the RAs, OLs, and organization leaders who have or will participate!
The Like Minds Coalition sponsored a series of Campus Conversations on Race. This 5-week series brought students together to discuss issues of race and related matters. It was peer co-facilitated by students who are trained to facilitate conversations using a case study model.
Simmons College D & I Goal #4: Implement Bias Response Protocol
Supports Demand #3 - We would like to see repercussions for racist actions performed by professors and administrators or staff. Our micro- and macro-aggressions should be taken seriously and met with the highest level of urgency and care.
Lead: Assistant Vice President, Diversity & Inclusion Lisa Smith-McQueenie
Actions Taken:
Bias Response Protocol
We created the Bias Response Protocol (BRP) to inform, instruct, and support those who have been affected by bias. Additionally, the BPR was designed to educate and to raise awareness in our community about bias and hate incidents that detract from our goal of an inclusive community that is affirming of all members.
We are completing the six-month pilot implementation phase of the Bias Response Protocol. About twenty reports have been received through the online bias report form or the EthicsPoint report form. The issues raised in the reports include matters of racial/ethnic, gender and ability bias. Our Community Advocates and Bias Response Team have met regularly to ensure that all reports and involved persons are being given the attention they deserve. We will make adjustments to the protocol based on the six- month pilot and formally launch the Bias Response Protocol in Fall 2017.
Simmons College D & I Goal #5: Plan and Implement Curriculum Enhancements
Supports Demand #4 - We demand an overhaul of the curriculum that includes and highlights the contributions of people of color across all disciplines. We also demand that this curricular overhaul be student-centered by actively including students of color in the voting, negotiation and decision-making process in academic curriculum committees.
Leads: Provost Katie Conboy and Academic Deans
Actions Taken:
Teaching for Inclusive Excellence Seminar
141 faculty members participated in this full-day workshop and training that put substantial emphasis on inclusive curriculum development. Topics addressed in the seminar included:- Description of a framework for designing an inclusive course/curriculum, with the aim of designing an "explicitly centralizing" course as part of the Inclusive Excellence Framework.
- Strategies to operationalize the concept of a "curricular thread" related to inclusion and equity in program learning objectives and curriculum maps.
- Creation of diversity-focused learning outcomes for each course.
- Understanding what "diversifying course content" means:
- Considering both the content itself and the diversity of the authors.
- Selecting examples, metaphors, case studies, project topics, etc. that incorporate diversity.
- Creating assignments that integrate diversity concepts; creating.
- Discussing/Identifying next steps and further resources for course redesign.
- All school-based Curriculum Committees have added student members.
- In AY 2017-18, the ad hoc University-wide Undergraduate Curriculum Committee and the ad-hoc University-wide Graduate Curriculum Committee will also each include a student member.
Curricular Review by Schools
All schools have been engaged in curricular review processes throughout AY 2016-17. Examples include:- The School of Library and Information Science's Dean's Fellow for Diversity and Inclusion reviewed the syllabi for the required courses and many of the electives and noted the inclusion of diversity and inclusion topics in each. Those teaching the core courses have been working together to ensure that students are exposed to these courses in all sections of the core courses. This work is ongoing.
- Co-chairs of the Nursing Curriculum Committee are assessing the inclusion of cultural awareness and sensitivity across the curriculum.
- The Curriculum Committee in the School of Social Work added two questions to their course proposal forms: How does the course integrate diversity, oppression and cultural issues? How does the course content require students to apply knowledge about diverse populations? Recommendations from the Curriculum Committee are sent to the faculty members. If indicated, the recommendation will include a stipulation that the course be revised to meet both criteria.
- Departments and programs in the College of Arts and Sciences will undergo a curriculum assessment in Fall 2017. Chairs, Directors, and faculty will examine discipline-based best practices around inclusive curricula.
- The School of Management faculty have implemented several recommendations from the May 2016 Report of the SOM Faculty Diversity Task Force, including managing faculty discussions on creating a culture of inclusion in faculty retreats, faculty meetings and curriculum committee meetings, and drafting a tool for faculty to use in assessing their courses for diversity and inclusion pedagogy and content. The final tool should be available in Fall 2017.
Simmons College D & I Goal #6: Hire Diverse Faculty and Staff
Supports Demand #8 - We demand an increase in the number of Faculty of Color and Staff of Color at Simmons across all academic disciplines and administrative roles. This increase should meet a 30% minimum representation across all colleges, matching the ratio of students of color in the student body. We also demand institutional support and mentorship for staff of color.
Leads: Provost Conboy and Academic Deans (faculty); Amy White, Senior Vice President, Institutional Advancement (staff)
Actions Taken:
THCS Diversity Training: This year, each member of the recruiting team completed a formalized Diversity Recruitment Certification Training to leverage best practices for local and national searches in attracting diverse talent.
- Hiring Training: To help instill best practices when recruiting for faculty and staff, in January 2017 the College launched two trainings through Campus Answers, a Division of Workplace Answers. These trainings, noted below, are required for all faculty and staff who are, or who will be, supporting a hiring process, to complete in advance of the start of a search.
- Interviewing for Higher Education Hiring Committees
- Higher Education Staff Candidates
- Job Advertisements: All externally posted faculty and staff jobs are now advertised on the following posting vehicles geared toward attracting a more diverse pool of candidates:
- Increasing Diverse Hires: While recruiting and retaining efforts to increase the diversity of the faculty and staff population at the College take time and collaboration across many functions, there have been significant efforts over the last year to advancing these goals. As a result, we have made some progress since last May in increasing the diversity of the talent who joined our community.
- During the onboarding process, new hires have the option to self-disclose and provide self- identification information. Over the last year (May 2016 – May 2017), the percentage of new hires (faculty and staff), who chose to self-disclose and who self-identified as ‘Non White' was 31%, an increase of 8 percentage points from the prior year. (Non-White is defined as one of the following: American Indian, Alaska Native, Asian, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino or two or more races).
| 2016 - 2017 | Total Hires from 5/16 - 5/17 | % of Hires Who Self Disclosed | % Who Self Disclosed as Non-White |
| Staff Hires | 125 | 94% | 31% |
| Faculty Hires | 418 | 80% | 31% |
| Total Hires | 543 |
| 2015 - 2016 | Total Hires from 5/15 - 5/16 | % of Hires Who Self Disclosed | % Who Self Disclosed as Non-White |
| Staff Hires | 78 | 70% | 23% |
| Faculty Hires | 416 | 51% | 23% |
| Total Hires | 494 |
Simmons College D & I Goal #7: Student Recruiting
Supports Demand #6 - We demand an overhaul of the office of admissions at Simmons College which includes: We want an honest portrayal of the demographics of people of color on this campus. While we understand that the MOST program is a crucial part of multicultural student recruitment, it provides unrealistic expectations for prospective students regarding the level of representation of people of color at the College. We also demand an increase in the resources allocated for the recruitment of students of color, including having more people of color working in the office of admissions. There should be at least one staff member focused on managing and creating events for the mentorships in the MOST program.
Supports Demand #9 - We demand that the college meet the financial needs of students of color through merit and need-based scholarships, giving special consideration for first-generation students of color.
Lead: VP for Enrollment Management John Dolan
Actions Taken:- The MOST program has been strengthened with the addition of a panel of current ALANA students who talked candidly about their challenges and the opportunities of being a Simmons student.
- The Admission team continued its successful track-record of recruiting students of color. The incoming class for Fall 2017 is diverse with 30% of domestic students self-identifying as African American or Latinex or Asian or Native American. There are 12 International students, 18 US Dual Citizen students, 9 US Permanent Resident students, and 4 US Citizen students who grew up abroad. There are 34 states and territories and 9 countries represented. Additionally, 15% of our class will be the first in their family to attend college. Simmons College proudly remains one of the most accessible private institutions in the region as measured by the socio-economics of our entering classes.
- Unfortunately, Simmons College does not have the financial wherewithal to meet the full financial needs of all students of color. We remain committed to helping all students find more financial assistance. Financial aid counselors met with the BSO president in spring 2016 to discuss workshops and timeframes that would be most helpful to students as they seek additional aid. New programs were implemented beginning fall 2016 as noted below.
- A Financial Aid Workshop took place on Thursday, October 20th. The presentation, focused on Early FAFSA, was co-sponsored by the Black Student Organization (BSO) through the leadership of Jordan Jackson, BSO President and by our Enrollment Management division. The workshop was well attended, with many students bringing their own laptops and filling out the FAFSA in conjunction with the presentation. Changes to definitions in the FAFSA this year and what "Prior Prior Year" (PPY) means for students and families filing out the FAFSA were explained.
- The second #SimsMatch event was hosted by the Outside Scholarships Team on Friday, October 21st. This event is designed for any Simmons student, undergraduate or graduate, interested in finding and applying for outside scholarship support. Over 300 students participated in our Outside Scholarships website& twitter account event. Students sent an email or tweeted the #SimsMatch team with information about themselves. From there, the Outside Scholarship Team matched students with outside scholarships for which they were eligible to apply. By the end of the day, the team had matched 327 students with outside scholarship opportunities. As messages kept arriving over the weekend and into the next week, the matches grew to nearly 350 students.
- Students were matched with scholarship awards that ranged from $500 to $10,000. As a result of #SimsMatch, Simmons students have the potential to win up to $1 Million in outside scholarships! We think the Fall 2016 #SimsMatch event was a real success.
Simmons College D & I Goal #8: Develop Multicultural Center Proposal
Supports Demand #7 - We demand a Multicultural Student Office in the Student Activities Center on the Academic campus as a safe community space where we as students of color can gather and support each other. As part of this initiative, we demand that there be increased staff to support the Assistant Provost for Diversity and Inclusion.
Lead: Assistant Vice President, Diversity & Inclusion Lisa Smith-McQueenie
Actions Taken:
- We renovated and fully furnished the Multicultural Student Office, a large dynamic space to be shared by student affinity groups. The official opening was Monday, May 2, 2016.
- We prepared and submitted a proposal for the establishment of the Simmons Multicultural Center. The proposal included funding requests for staffing, programming and renovations. All three funding requests were approved for FY 18 implementation.
- We disseminated a Resources Survey to all students to ascertain the resource priorities of a Multicultural Center. Over 1,700 students (undergraduate, graduate, on campus and online) responded to the survey. Here are some key topline findings:
- Simmons students are very positive about the creation of a Multicultural Center, regardless of their own race/ethnic background, and whether they feel much personal benefit or how often they would visit.
- The number one priority for the Multicultural Center should be "programming" and "educational opportunities", followed by "staffing" and "physical space".
- ALANA students felt that "a social place" was the most important benefit to them of a Multicultural Center.
- Students who identified as white saw "educational opportunities" as their main personal benefit of a Multicultural Center.
- Students saw "raising awareness" and "providing educational opportunities", and creating "a college space that affirms diversity" as the two main benefits to the entire campus community.
Simmons College D & I Goal #9: Develop Strong Programming
Supports Demand #5 - We demand a practicing professional civil rights lawyer to represent students of color. This lawyer will be paid by the college to inform students of their rights with no financial burden to students or student activity fees.
Leads: Vice President & General Counsel Kathy Rogers, Assistant Vice President, Diversity & Inclusion Lisa Smith-McQueenie
Actions Taken:
- The Office of the General Counsel presented a panel on Civil Rights Law designed to educate students, faculty and staff about their civil rights on Wednesday, December 7, 2016 from 4-5 p.m. in the MCB, room C-103. Attendees had the opportunity to pose questions to lawyers, Jessie Rossman and Sophia Hall, working in the area of civil rights law.
Supports Demand #2 - Simmons College has a culture of tokenizing students of color. We recognize that this makes students relive the trauma that they experience on a daily basis, sometimes at the hands of their peers and professors, which is why we demand institutional support for students of color, especially black students, in the face of trauma and other racial events on campus, nationally and in the world at large. This includes timely response to these events that facilitates healing for our communities.
Actions Taken:
- On November 9, 2016, the community gathered in Common Grounds to be together and to process responses and reactions to the election outcome. There were many speakers - students, faculty and staff - who shared a variety of perspectives, observations and concerns. Directly after the community gathering, a post-election discussion panel What Just Happened? was presented to a standing room only audience, eager to understand the election cycle and implications of the outcome. The presentations of Professors Abel Amado, Mark Bellamy, Kristen Dukes, Denise Horn and Lena Zuckerwise and the follow-on discussion with the audience provided a start to the process of navigating critical challenges and issues. We hosted a 2016 Election Recap Webinar for our Simmons Alumnae/i Network and our Student Life division hosted three lunchtime sessions open to all students the week following the election to address post-election concerns. There was staff present to offer support to students and assist in facilitating conversations.
- On December 8, 2016 at 11am in SOM 501/502, members of the Diversity and Inclusion Action Council (DIAC) hosted a community meeting to launch the Bias Response Protocol and to discuss the six-month pilot implementation.
- From January 23 – February 27, 2017, Campus Conversations on Race (CCOR) took place - a six-week module that engaged participants in deep conversations around issues and impact of race on a college campus. CCOR gave students a new perspective of communities of color around them and helped to equip them with the skills to talk about race in the classroom and beyond. Student facilitators were trained prior to the sessions and paired with a peer to lead.
- On January 27, 2017, Annual Student Multicultural Leadership Conference (SMLC) - a day of workshops and experiential activities designed to provide current and future Simmons student leaders to learn the inclusive leadership skills necessary to be informed and inclusive, not only in their roles at Simmons, but beyond.
- The Dotson Faculty and Mentors are continuing to support SNHS students and faculty in attempts to create warm inclusive T-L environments in all settings.
Simmons College D & I Goal #10: Make D & I Prominent in Strategy 2022
Supports Demand #10 - We demand that all of these requests be addressed in the strategic planning for the college with a concrete timeline that is before the end of the Fall 2015 semester.
Leads: Provost Katie Conboy and Assistant Vice President, Diversity & Inclusion Lisa Smith-McQueenie
Actions Taken:
Simmons Strategic Plan - Strategy 2022
One of the five strategic goals in the Simmons College 2022 Strategic Plan is to make our community a warm, welcoming, inclusive place that appreciates, values, and respects the humanity, dignity, diversity, and contributions of all its members. Many D & I goals and tactics are identified in the Strategy 2022. We have made some notable progress on this goal this year with the help and commitment from faculty, staff, students, and administrators. Here is D & I content from Strategy 2022:
Foster a diverse, welcoming, and inclusive community. (Community Culture Redesign)
3.1. Establish leadership and responsibility for fostering diversity, inclusion and equity at Simmons College.
- Establish and articulate a College diversity and inclusion philosophy, mission, and vision
- Develop a formal, universally accepted definition for diversity, inclusion, equity, and inclusive excellence at Simmons College.
- Develop and finalize elements of the Diversity Strategic Plan as a part of Strategy 2022.
3.2. Create a campus climate, a welcoming culture, and clear policies to ensure that each member of our community experiences regard for their humanity, diversity, dignity, and contributions — and that there are clear protocols for action when policies are violated.
- Clearly define diversity goals for faculty and staff hiring and for student recruitment.
- Develop and implement a bias protocol for the College utilizing a bias response team structure.
- Prepare and submit a proposal for Simmons Multicultural Center reflecting private university best practices.
3.3. Increase the knowledge and skills of faculty, staff, and students to meet the challenges and seek opportunities to build and sustain a diverse and inclusive community.
- Decide on a shared baseline of knowledge about diversity and inclusion across the community and create appropriate educational training and experiential opportunities for faculty, staff, and students.
3.4. Review the curriculum and co-curriculum in order to enhance, develop, and implement programs and activities designed to foster inclusive excellence for all constituencies and enhance diversity in various forms.
- Implement comprehensive approaches to address diversity and inclusion in the classroom and school experiences of students. Fill curricular gaps.
- Revise student course evaluations to include feedback about the inclusion of D&I content and the student experience in the classroom environment.
3.5. Design and implement a comprehensive and collective system of responsibility, accountability, and recognition for all diversity and inclusion efforts to sustain a campus culture that promotes our values and mission.
- Develop and implement an ongoing communication plan including updates to key constituencies.
- Assess and track the progress of the College's goals for diversity and inclusion; evaluate the impact of initiatives as a part of the College's strategic plan and implementation.