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A Message From Ana Mari Cauce: Standing Together for Justice

Dear faculty, staff and students:

We both love the University during its high-energy moments — crowded hallways and walkways, the chatter on Red Square so loud we have to close our windows to concentrate. Yet, as June rolls around, we look forward to the bittersweet joy of graduations, the warmer weather and quieter times that offer a chance to reflect, plan and relax.

Not this summer. Hours after graduates and their families proudly streamed out of Husky Stadium, we heard about the 49 people, mostly Latino gay men, slaughtered in Orlando. Yet again, hours after celebrating on the Fourth of July, there was devastating news of the death of Alton Sterling, followed almost immediately by Philando Castile, killed at the hands of police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Falcon Heights, Minnesota. There was no chance to take a breath or grieve appropriately before news came from Dallas of the five police officers fatally shot. And all this against a backdrop of international terrorist attacks in Bangladesh, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, attacks that affect our community as well. Promising lives cut short, families torn asunder, scenes of horrific violence seared into our consciousness, images of children and parents sobbing. We are heartbroken — for the dead and their families, for their friends and communities, for our country and world.

It is tempting to feel helpless and hopeless, to look for easy answers, draw a line in the sand and choose sides.

But we can’t. And we won’t.

Quote: "Our students give us hope every day that real change is possible — they challenge us to have difficult and uncomfortable conversations. They push us to reflect the world we wish to build."

The essence of our mission as a public university is to educate, shape and prepare generations of students not simply to exist in our world, but to create change for the betterment of all. We are driven to take up the biggest challenges we face, whether it’s improving the health of our communities, addressing climate change, healing a nation divided and in crisis, or forging a united path forward.

Our students give us hope every day that real change is possible — they challenge us to have difficult and uncomfortable conversations. They push us to reflect the world we wish to build. Our faculty, alumni and many in our community have shown us — both now and over many years — that education, self-reflection and determination can lead to structural, systemic progress. We have not done enough — these heartbreaking times show that clearly — but we cannot let up, even if the path forward is uncertain.

The burden of addressing racism and inequity in this country, as well as violence around the globe, falls to all of us. Too often, only those who are its direct victims carry the load. But the burden is collective, and we must, all of us, take responsibility for the environment we are creating. Our students are already getting together in groups to share their sadness and anger. We will work with them to create safe spaces for healing and analysis, and look forward to joint conversations about their, our and the University’s role in standing up to fear and hatred and violence. We are in this struggle together, and our work has never been more important.

Sincerely,

Ana Mari Cauce
President
Professor of Psychology
Jerry Baldasty
Provost & Executive Vice President
Professor, Department of Communication

President’s Blog

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Study: Perceived threats from police officers, black men predict support for policing reforms

News and Information

At a time of intense national attention on law enforcement and race, a new 91̽»¨ study suggests that racially based fear plays a role in public support for policing reforms.

The research, conducted by 91̽»¨postdoctoral researcher and July 12 in the open-access journal , used a series of experiments to gauge participants’ level of support for policing reforms in relation to whether they felt threatened by police officers or black men.

USA Today Column “The cost of criminalizing poverty” by 91̽»¨Prof. Alexes Harris

Americans often pay for their crimes twice — first with a prison sentence, then with a lifetime of  many will never be able to escape.

Last year’s scathing Department of Justice report on Ferguson, drew national attention to shameful practices to extract revenue from our poorest citizens through inordinate fines for  such as traffic violations. But much less attention has been paid to fines and fees forced on those who are convicted of felonies, which plays a similarly destructive role in our society and erodes confidence in our justice system.

 

Community Graduation Schedule!

Sourced from OMA&D Website:

OMA&D and the Samuel E. Kelly Ethnic Cultural Center will join campus partners to celebrate the Class of 2015 by hosting its annual community graduation ceremonies, June 4-12. These events recognize the success of students and their families as they begin a new chapter in their lives.

Other event partners include the AS 91̽»¨Commissions, the Q Center and the 91̽»¨Alumni Association Multicultural Alumni Partnership. Visit the Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity website for the full schedule of events.

 

Engineering Students Success Through STARS

The Washington State Academic RedShirt (STARS) program is making waves college-wide by setting students up for boundless opportunities in engineering. And it’s only in its third year. What’s next?

Race & Equity Initiative Spring Workshops Interview with Jeanette James

Over 400 91̽»¨staff and faculty are taking part in anti-bias workshops this spring. Since the pilot program launched in April 2016, most of the sessions have maxed out enrollment! Workshops are being added and there are plans to expand the program next year. Learn more in this article featuring Jeanette James, R&EI project manager.

Race & Equity Initiative Spring Workshops
Interview with Jeanette James, Manager of Strategic Initiatives and Projects, Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity

What can you tell 91̽»¨leaders about the Race & Equity Initiative workshops that are being piloted this spring?

The Race & Equity Initiative has been activefor more than a year now. We’ve engaged a lot of folks in dialogue and have been engaged by various groups, such as Black Lives Matter, all of which has helped inform the work of the Initiative. Up until this point, much of the attention has been focused on students, but now training is being piloted that will lead to the development of an anti-bias leadership program for staff and faculty.

From May through July, we’re presenting multiple sessions of three different, three-hourworkshops at all three campuses, for a total of nearly 20 offerings. Our aim has been to have at least 450 staff and faculty attend, and based on how registrations have been going, I believe we’ll exceed that. In fact, many offerings are already full, but people from any campus are welcome to attend sessions at any location as space is available.

 

What are the workshops being offered and who is presenting them?

We have with Caprice Hollins, with Rosetta Lee, and with Greg Taylor.
For the pilot we looked to folks who are known and well-regarded in the broader community, including people who have presented at the Seattle Race Conference and worked with local school districts or other public institutions. I’m really excited about the three facilitators we identified because they’re very closely knitted in terms of the kind of work we want to get done but also offer distinct perspectives.

Caprice Hollins thinks about cultural competence from a 21st century lens; she moves the discourse forward and elevates awareness by challenging the notion that we’re post-racial. Rosetta Lee focuses on cross-cultural communication and microaggressions. What are the things we say that come out wrong, that come out in ways that can be destructive and damaging to the culture and climate of an organization? Greg Taylor focuses on cognitive bias and dissonance; he really works with the unconscious bias framework and how that impacts decision making in hiring and how we interact and engage with people. [See in this issue for upcoming workshops with space available.]

Tell me about your role and the planning process for this part of the Initiative.

Since returning to the 91̽»¨and the Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity (OMA&D) in 2013, I’ve worn a variety of hats, including supporting faculty and staff affinity groups and partnering with 91̽»¨Human Resources and hiring managers on staff and faculty outreach. Recently, my role transitioned to supporting strategic initiatives within OMA&D and I’ve also been really immersed in the work of the Initiative.

Within the umbrella of the Initiative we have a few different subcommittees and one is specifically around workshops and training. Gabriel Gallardo, who sits on the Race & Equity Initiative Steering Committee, serves as the lead and has really shepherded us through the process. Other members include Ujima Donalson, Kelly Edwards, Marisa Herrera, Chiara Iacoviello, Ralina Joseph, Jonathan Kanter, Jaye Sablan, Margaret Spearmon, and myself. My role on the training and workshops team has been keeping things on track as the project manager, so of course I’m excited to see our work come to fruition with the pilot.

A key thing that’s driven our work is what we’ve been hearing from folks here at the UW. Along with their regular roles at the UW, a number of team members have been involved in the various roundtable discussions and lectures hosted over the past year, and Ed Taylor, Leilani Lewis, and I have been meeting with deans across campus to hear what the needs at the school and college level are with regards race, equity, and social justice.

Through all of that work, we’ve been getting a sense of where people are and how we might be able to offer strategies and support for moving forward. For instance, we consistently hear that 91̽»¨community members need to be better informed about microaggressions and need to really understand how their hidden biases impact people’s daily work, their classroom experience, and so on. Those kinds of concerns coupled with the overarching objectives of the Initiative gave us direction for how to focus the workshops. Ujima, Jonathan, and Margaret then took the lead on how to move people through that content and proposed a learning model around that.

 

See full article:

Professional & Organizational Development (POD): Leadership Edge Newsletter, Jamie Wilson

Increased funds to enhance faculty diversity

Starting in the 2016-17 academic year, funding allocated to build and retain a diverse and inclusive faculty across the three 91̽»¨campuses will be increased to $1 million. The funds will enable the Office for Faculty Advancement to work collaboratively with deans, chancellors and department chairs or directors, with half going toward faculty recruitment and half going toward retention.

91̽»¨students host tribal school students in Seattle

More than 90 elementary school students from three tribal schools spent a day at the 91̽»¨ late last month, part of an unusual collaboration between college students and the tribes to inspire younger students to think about going to college.

The program, Native @ UW, was sponsored by the UW’s student government, Associated Students of 91̽»¨(ASUW). Fifth- and sixth-graders from Wa He Lut Indian School in Olympia, Yakama Nation Tribal School in Yakima and Lummi Tribal Schools in Bellingham came to Seattle for the program.

http://www.seattletimes.com/education-lab/uw-students-host-tribal-school-students-in-seattle/

President Cauce’s remarks on population health

On May 3, President Ana Mari Cauce invited the University community and our partners to join in the development of a 25-year vision to advance the health and well-being of people around the world by leveraging capabilities and opportunities at the 91̽»¨and beyond.