Clarksville, TN – The Austin Peay State University (APSU) College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics on Friday released a diversity and inclusion statement and pledged to fight “any form of racism, discrimination or prejudice.”
As part of that pledge, the college announced an action plan to lower barriers that hinder equality and access to resources for underrepresented groups.
“We stand with all groups and individuals working to condemn all forms of oppression,” the statement reads. “We recognize we need to do better.”
College of STEM faculty and staff have launched the action plan and will continue to do so through the spring semester, said Dr. Kallina Dunkle, associate dean of the college. They have been working on the statement and action plan since June.
“A lot of us in the college are passionate about trying to make things more equitable and getting students of color and women more involved with these fields, and making it easier for all students,” Dunkle said.
A Diversity and Inclusion Committee called for in the plan formed earlier this semester and has been meeting routinely, Dunkle said. The committee comprises representatives from every department in the college.
The college also has:
- Hosted a diversity and inclusion townhall, called “CoSTEM Conversations,” and has another planned for November 10th.
- Hosted a featured speaker from an underrepresented group in its CoSTEM Lecture Series.
“The big thing is we didn’t want to just have a static statement, this wasn’t about just putting something on the website and saying, ‘Oh, yeah, we care about this,’” Dunkle said. “The point was to create a plan for action. We wanted something we can update and modify every year as a community.”
The Diversity and Inclusion Committee will evaluate the successes and failures of the action plan each year, she said.
“We can make changes in some of our teaching and in some of the ways that we run things in the college,” Dunkle said. “We’re not going to change all of the systemic issues in the United States overnight, but if we can start to work for those changes in our own community, we can make a difference.”
The APSU Department of Agriculture also is offering a one-credit hour class in the spring called “Diversity in Agriculture and Natural Resources” that will explore self-awareness, cultural awareness, multiculturism, privilege and discrimination.
What does the action plan call for?
The diversity and inclusion statement recognizes that the faculty and staff of the college do not reflect the student community.
“In 2019-2020, 41% of students across campus (43% in the college) self-identified as persons of color, while only 21% of our faculty and staff identified as persons of color,” the statement reads. “Forty percent of faculty and staff in the college identified as female, while across campus 59% of students (44% in the college) identified as female.”
The college vows to correct these imbalances in representation – which can raise barriers for students and how they identify with mentors in their fields – by instituting several action items. In the action plan, the college vows to:
- Form a Diversity and Inclusion Committee to provide oversight and to evaluate proposed actions in the plan and discuss future actions “to further a collective college-wide effort towards institutional change.”
- Educate faculty and staff to act as advocates for students.
- Launch “CoSTEM Conversations,” a monthly forum for students and employees to share stories, concerns and ideas.
- Feature speakers from underrepresented groups in the CoSTEM Lecture Series.
- Establish CoSTEM Learns, a forum for employees and students to learn through reading, listening, viewing and discussing materials on systemic racism, ethnic oppression and gender equality.
- Provide pedagogical resources that foster diverse, inclusive and equitable learning for students.
- Recruit and retain faculty, staff and students from underrepresented groups.
- Collect and share demographic data to determine future diversity and inclusion needs.
- Support scholarships for underrepresented groups.
- Support Austin Peay State University’s diversity mission.
“I care about this, and I care about the students,” Dunkle said. “I know I might not understand everything yet, but I know there are changes that need to be made. So, I think just having that spirit overall in the college and continuing to work on this to make sure we’re making progress is important.”
To learn more
- To read the full statement and action plan go to www.apsu.edu/costem/diversity_inclusion_costem.php.
- To learn more about the APSU College of STEM, visit apsu.edu/costem.
