September 28, 2020
Back to School
As we get ready to start the Autumn quarter I just want to thank everyone in the community that continued to work on improving SAFS with respect to equity and inclusion over the summer. In particular I would like to thank Amy Fox who spearheaded a dialogue with faculty throughout the summer, wrapping up with peer group accountability last week. I can say the experience was transformative and I can see this will lead to improvements on numerous fronts going forward.
Building on the action items the SAFS community identified in the spring, a number of individuals worked on addressing issues falling under the general themes of
- Departmental Governance around DEI
- Recruitment
- Retention (Welcoming Environment)
- Teaching
Many persons met throughout the summer to discuss these topics, and everyone can see the current status of items here. I would encourage everyone to engage with these items on the OARS-SAFS platform by both making inquiries and providing solutions. While this has been an integrated team effort I would like to thank Andre Punt, Luke Tornabene, and Mark Scheuerell who volunteered to record the activities throughout the summer. The summer culminated with a Faculty Retreat where we had great conversations on what has been done, and where we are heading. I look forward to continue working with folks and be on the lookout for a revised SAFS website where we hope to streamline communication with the community with respect to equity and inclusion. Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions. ~ Steven Roberts