University of Wisconsin Oshkosh
The COLS Equity, Diversity, and Inclusive Climate (EDIC) Committee at UW Oshkosh seeks to exemplify and celebrate the values of UWO through real-life examples.
After a spring and summer that brought new challenges to the campus community and added urgency to equity initiatives, EDIC would like to recognize some of the people who worked hard to make UWO a more inclusive and diverse climate. Associate Vice Chancellor for Inclusive Excellence and Chief Diversity Officer Dr. Damira Grady will work with the entire campus community to promote a diverse and inclusive environment. We cannot wait to see the changes she brings. We are also pleased that advocacy efforts led to the hiring of a new Director of Hmong Studies, Dr. Mai See Thao who will lead a certificate program covering the topics of race, gender, refugee experiences, displacement, and globalization. All of us can’t help smiling remembering McNair Scholar Joy Evans when she became the director of UWO’s first food pantry, opening new resources to campus food insecurity. We’re also happy to hear about the finalizing of an Indigenous Studies program and the Land Acknowledgement statement; the hiring of a new director of the Men of Color and Latino/a/Hispanic initiatives; that the Office of Human Resources Equal Opportunity Equity and Affirmative Action created a Workplace Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisory council; and Student Affairs created a Diversity and Inclusive Action Committee; a working group was charged to recruit diverse new faculty members; and Wendell Ray brought his extensive radio experience to UWO’s director of radio services seat. We’re happy that UWO received a $300,000 grant from the United States Department of Justice to enhance programs reducing domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking on campus. We support UWO’s decision to join the Culture of Respect Collective; and North Scott residence hall’s multi-cultural themed floor; the multi-cultural mural on Albee Hall dedicated to representing all diverse groups on campus; the Fredrich March Theatre name change to the Theatre Arts Center; the increased focus on LGBTQIA+ faculty, student and staff equity training; and increased Titan Advantage Program enrollment, serving first-year low-income students; the new mental health resources on campus; and continued federally funded Student Support Services for first generation students. We’re proud of our Associate Dean of Students Houa Xiong was named a top Asian American leader. We transformed the playbook of online teaching to help students learn. We hosted a 21-day racial equity habit building challenge. And our Alumni made us proud speaking out against racial injustice. All these experiences, initiatives and new opportunities continue to make UW Oshkosh a diverse, equitable and inclusive climate. Moving forward, we are also happy to announce that the EDIC will begin honoring one student each month for their willingness to ensure inclusivity in the campus community. Faculty, staff, or students across all three UWO campuses may nominate students who have demonstrated dedication to equity and inclusion in the Oshkosh, Fond du Lac, or Fox Valley campuses. The EDIC committee will open nominations beginning Spring 2021. Stay tuned for more details to come!
0 Comments
History of the MPA and City Partnership Since 2009, the City of Oshkosh has partnered with Master of Public Administration (MPA) graduate students and faculty to conduct the Oshkosh Citizen Survey. Each spring, residents are asked questions pertaining to several areas, such as their quality of life, feelings of safety, and their perceptions on the quality and importance of city services related to public safety, public works, community services, economic development, parks, and transportation. Such surveys are a common way for municipalities to engage residents and get their feedback, which can help staff set priorities and make improvements based on the concerns of their community. Challenges to Representation One of the key challenges with municipal surveys is achieving representativeness of the actual community. The people that respond to such surveys are often overwhelmingly white, middle-class, and aged 60 and above. Lacking input from diverse voices, the results are skewed to reflect the perceptions and needs of privileged groups. And the community members that are more acutely impacted by and/or rely on city services fail to be heard. When Dr. Sam Larson joined the UWO public administration faculty and took the lead on the Oshkosh Citizen Survey, increasing representation of communities of color was one of her key goals. It was also on the minds of Administrative Staff. For instance, out of 309 respondents to the 2016 survey, 97% identified as white, whereas 90.5% of Oshkosh residents are white according to the 2010 Census. That year, the survey included a question that asked: “The City of Oshkosh is currently studying the feasibility of creating a Diversity Coordinator position. The purpose of the position would be to address issues and identify solutions to make Oshkosh a more inclusive and welcoming community. How supportive would you be for the creation of such a position?” Only 28% were supportive, which is not surprising given only 3% of respondents belonged to communities of color. Other demographic characteristics where also far from the actual 2010 Census figures. In 2017, 40.5% of respondents made more than $150,000 annually, which was 13 times higher than the actual Oshkosh community. None made less than $25,000 per year, whereas 28% of Oshkosh residents fit into that income category. No ethnicity question was included in the survey, while 2.7% of Oshkosh residents identify as Hispanic or Latino. And whereas 39.3% of Oshkosh residents are under age 40, only 14% of survey respondents were between 18-39 years old. New Recruitment Strategies In 2018, several steps were taken to enhance outreach and recruit participants from communities of color, young adults and millennials in their 20s and 30s, and low-income residents. Whereas previous surveys were mailed to a random selection of residents using the City of Oshkosh utility data, the research team introduced two new methods to increase diversity of respondents. First, field surveys were conducted by the research team. They physically went to various locations throughout the City to recruit, such as the Oshkosh Public Library, Oshkosh GO Transit System, and the Kids & Cops Basketball Game hosted by Fit Oshkosh. Second, the City contracted with Polco, an online polling company designed to connect local government with its citizens. The UWO research team used Polco to distribute the survey online. The ability to reach additional participants and determine representativeness in real time was a major advantage of the service. In 2019, the City moved to a fully online survey. By implementing these strategies over the past two years, the survey has become more representative of Oshkosh residents. In 2019, 5.4% of respondents identified as people of color, compared to .8% in 2017. In addition, 2.9% identified as Hispanic or Latino in 2019, compared to 2.7% in the 2010 Census. And 16% lived in a household with an annual income under $25,000, whereas no survey respondents selected that income category two years prior. Progress is being made. However, the research team still has work to do. In 2020, additional measures are being taken to enhance representation with the leadership of two graduate research assistants. Raabia Waheed: Leading Outreach to Diversify Voice Raabia Waheed was born in Pakistan. She was 14 years old when her parents made the difficult decision to migrate to the U.S. so their children could benefit from superior education, plentiful job opportunities and live the American dream. She obtained a BS in Psychology from UWO and is now pursing her Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree. Raabia is honored to be a part of MPA program that has given her the opportunity to work with the City of Oshkosh. Raabia’s dream is to work as a public servant and give back to her community. As a person belonging from a minority group and further having an extensive background in education, Raabia is applying her networking skills to enhance diverse perspectives. She has created flyers, recruited participants through social media, and tabled with the help of her sister, Abeer Dar, at the Oshkosh Public Library, UW Oshkosh Reeve Union, Oshkosh Convention Center, Appleton Islamic Center, and Neenah Mosque. Additionally, Raabia has led efforts to partner with minority-owned businesses, such as the Oshkosh Mediterranean Food Market, to hand out survey flyers to multi-ethnic customers. Raabia is utilizing her ethnic background to recruit family and friends. Raabia’s mother, Akeela Jabeen, has also assisted with outreach to multi-racial Oshkosh community members, including refugees and recent immigrants of the Oshkosh city, whose voices matter as much as local Oshkosh citizens, but are often overlooked. As an MPA student, Raabia emphasizes that “students’ voices and feedback play an essential role in improving city services and setting priorities.” UW Oshkosh faculty also understand the importance of diverse voices. Raabia’s former supervisor, Alicia Johnson, Director of Women’s Center, and Raabia’s former adviser and professor, Courtney Bauder, Program Director of Social Justice Minor, have agreed to help by administering the survey to their students. With Raabia’s contribution, we expect to see a considerable uptick in respondent representativeness. Rattana Akey: Analyzing Results to Ensure Representation Rattana Akey grew up in Thailand and has lived in United Stated of America since 2005. She is a Master of Public Administration candidate graduating in Spring 2020 and the STEP Citizen Survey Research Assistant this year. Rattana is honored to be part of this team and collaboratively enjoys working on the Oshkosh Citizen Survey Project.
Trained through the MPA program, Rattana has applied research and analysis skills to recruit participants for the Citizen Survey Project. She has also used her life experiences working with various ethnic backgrounds to meet goals of representation and communicate with groups in a culturally appropriate manner. Rattana has contacted campus leaders and asked them to share the survey, including the LGBTQ+ Resource Center, the UWO Library, American Indian Student Services, and the Men of Color and Latino/a Hispanic Initiatives. Rattana encourages all to participate in 2020, noting: “As the City is trying to create more inclusive and supportive community, all Oshkosh citizens are encouraged to actively participate in the Citizen Survey. Due to the critical role for all active citizens, sharing their voice by engaging in the Citizen Survey will help shape the community into a better place to live.” Notably, Rattana is preparing a weekly demographic report, which is used to track how representative survey respondents are compared to Oshkosh as a whole. This is allowing the team to conduct further outreach to groups with scarce participation. This year, she is also creating a trends report of the citizen survey results from 2009-2020. This longitudinal analysis will provide a broader understanding of increases in respondent representativeness over time. More importantly, it will illustrate how participant perceptions have changed in response to questions that ask if Oshkosh is A place accepting of diversity and A place moving in the right direction. City staff are especially interested to see how perceptions have changed over time and to understand which quality of life indicators and services residents have most identified as needing the greatest attention. How You Can Help The research team encourages all Oshkosh residents to participate in the 2020 Oshkosh Citizen Survey. It takes just 5-10 minutes to complete. The survey will be open until Friday, April 24. As the spread of coronavirus continues and Governor Evers’ “Safer at Home” order is now in effect, the team has limited opportunities to recruit through tabling and community outreach. However, the 2020 Oshkosh Citizen Survey is a great way for residents to share their feedback on safety and city services during this emergency. By Laurie Schlosser It was almost a year ago when Social Justice Minor Program Director Courtney Bauder noticed breaking news from New Zealand when he returned home from teaching a class at University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. He feared an earthquake similar to those that had devastated Christchurch in 2010 and 2011. But to his horror, he saw there was an active shooter at Al Noor Mosque and later Linwood Islamic Center during their day of prayer. There were 51 members of the Muslim community who lost their lives. Having taken students to this destination in January the past four years, Bauder knew that if he had another opportunity to accompany students to Christchurch, they would stop to pay their respects. Bauder and a contingent from UW Oshkosh had that opportunity last month. Students who were on a study abroad trip to Australia and New Zealand continue to reflect on their visit to Masjid Al Noor mosque―paying their respects as the one-year anniversary of a terrorist shooting approaches. The visit to the Christchurch mosque wasn’t on the itinerary, but many students were interested in visiting after hearing about the shooting that occurred March 15, 2019. Students thought they would stop and view a memorial outside Al Noor Mosque, quickly pay their respects and be on their way. Instead, they were welcomed inside―despite the members initially not knowing who they were or why they were there. In observation of the religious customs, members provided students with proper dress and hair coverings before going from the foyer and into the mosque. Dreadful day “A year ago their blessed mosque was unfortunately attacked by a man filled with hatred,” said Emily Behling, a senior from Eau Claire who is working on a dual major in early childhood/special education. The UWO students witnessed a prayer session and marveled at the courage of the survivors and their calm, welcoming demeanor. Behling, who is student teaching at Read Elementary School in Oshkosh, said the experience has forever changed her. “This even hits a bit harder being a soon-to-be teacher and knowing that this same tragedy could very well happen to my own future students, school or even community―like it did a short while ago with the students and officer in Oshkosh,” she said. “Even trying to picture any child or person experience such hatred breaks my heart.” Rachel McKay of Muskego, a senior biology student, said standing in the room where so many people lost their lives was an experience that is difficult to put into words. She said she felt a combination of deep sadness and deep admiration―sadness for the people whose lives were taken in such a devastating way, and admiration for a community that continues to welcome strangers and inspire hope. McKay said the Imam (equivalent of a minister or pastor), who survived the terrorist shooting, described the events in graphic detail. “It was hard to listen at moments, imagining the fear and trauma the shooter inflicted that day,” she said, adding that the Imam said “the people killed are martyrs for peace, martyrs for love.” The shooter tried to “divide” them, the Imam said, but it did not and they have been shown compassion from the community and world. West Bend native Ashlyn Stauske, a junior dual elementary education/special education major, was deeply moved by the experience and said she began crying as soon as she wrapped a scarf around her head to go into the mosque. Her emotions ranged from honor, sadness and anger. Oshkosh connection The Imam finished sharing details of the attack and implored students to move beyond hate and spread love. As the group assembled for a photo, Bauder told the Imam the story of Duaa Ahmad, the high school student from Oshkosh West High School, who had helped fellow students find refuge at Masjid Qamar Oshkosh Mosque during a recent shooting incident. “I heard that story. That is where you are from?” the Imam said in a moment that linked the two groups. Later, as Stauske reflected on the day, she hoped people felt a sense of pride―”pride because out of such a terrible tragedy came hope, pride because there are still loving people and pride because two religions came into one place and it did not hurt.” Stauske said she went on the trip because she had not traveled and wanted to gain cultural awareness. “Now, since this trip, I realized there are so many important things going on in other countries that I would never have known about if I didn’t go,” she said, adding she plans to continue traveling and learning. Nicole Heil, a junior anthropology major from Grafton, said she paid her respects outside the mosque but did not go inside. A student who had told her the Imam said he didn’t understand why the shooting happened since they had not done anything wrong to the community and they had been shown only compassion and understanding by those around them. Behling said the bus ride to their hostel was silent and when they got back, people sat in their rooms in silence. “A piece of my heart remains at the mosque with those courageous men, women and children” who welcomed the group from UWO, she said. Bauder called the opportunity to pay respects at Masjid Al Noor mosque one of the “more humbling and transformative experiences of his life.” The 2019 International Symposium on Society and Resource Management (ISSRM) Conference: Sustainability and the Land Ethic in the Anthropocene: A Thinking Community’ Explores Critical Issues in Leopold’s Backyard. The conference is being held at UWO June 2-6. All other members of the committee are COLS faculty. For those interested in presenting at the conference, abstracts are due on February 5. In addition, one of the highlights of the conference includes a partnership with the Sustainable Development Institute (SDI) of the Menominee Nation. SDI is organizing and facilitating a panel with the tentative title of, “Indigenous Perspectives of People and Place in the Great Lakes Region: Looking Beyond Leopold’s Backyard.” More info on the conference can be found at: https://www4.iasnr.org/international-symposium-on-society-and-resource-management-issrm/
The Equity, Diversity, and Inclusive Climate committee is proud to spotlight the work of Dr. Jennifer Considine, professor and chair of the department of communication studies. Dr. Considine is a scholar of organizational communication whose research has investigated student learning about diversity, communication about spirituality during end of life care, and narratives of emotion in employment contexts. She teaches a variety of communication studies courses, including introduction to communication studies, introduction to organizational communication, organizational rhetoric, business and professional speaking, communication in nonprofit organizations, and the senior capstone. Dr. Considine also serves as the chair for the Interfaith Dialogue and Education Alliance (IDEA) at UW Oshkosh. IDEA provides the UW Oshkosh community with opportunities to learn about and engage in dialogue about worldview, particularly related to faith and non-faith traditions. The recent achievements of this committee include opening a quiet reflection space for use by the campus community in Dempsey 323, distributing an interfaith list of worship groups in the Oshkosh area, presentation of interfaith dialogue workshops on campus, and sponsoring Rohina Malik and Eboo Patel’s presentations. Look for IDEA’s upcoming event, “Moving Past Hate” which brings together the son of a victim of the Oak Creek Sikh temple shooting and a former white supremacist to discuss hate and forgiveness. This event is scheduled for Monday, April 8th, 2019 from 6-8 pm in the Reeve Union ballroom. Please join the EDIC committee in thanking Jennifer Considine for her work to achieve equity, support diversity, and build inclusive climates at UW Oshkosh.
|
UWO EDICWelcome to the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh (UW Oshkosh) Equity, Diversity, Inclusive Climate (EDIC) Blog. Through this blog we will highlight the work that our committee is doing around issues of diversity and inclusion at UW Oshkosh. Archives
October 2020
Categories |