So far, a new program offered by the University of Iowa Chief Diversity Office (CDO) designed to help faculty and staff strengthen diversity and inclusion has received a great deal of interest. The BUILD (Building University of Iowa Leadership for Diversity) initiative—a non-credit bearing certificate opportunity—started offering classes this fall.
“The response has been very positive and, so far, we have several hundred people signed up for various courses,” says Lindsay Jarratt, diversity resources manager for the CDO who oversees the program. “We’re trying to create a place where people can come and continually increase their knowledge and skills, and hopefully it’s a safe place to learn.”
Spring classes are already open for registration and can be found in the Learning and Development section of employee self service section of the UI website. All courses start with BUILD in the title. You can also learn more about the BUILD initiative on the CDO’s website.
To earn the BUILD certificate, faculty and staff must complete a minimum 13 hours of work—two core courses and at least five electives. Right now, the initiative offers about 25 classes where participants can learn everything from skills for relationship and coalition-building across difference to methods for navigating conflict while respecting diverse opinions, backgrounds, and identities.
“At the very minimum, I hope this will empower members of our community to work as allies who promote an inclusive and diverse environment on our campus,” says Jarratt. “I believe that’s everyone’s responsibility, and it’s not hard if you have the skills, knowledge, and confidence to contribute to that vision.”
Lee Seedorff, senior associate director of international student and scholar services, is taking several BUILD initiative courses. She says she was interested in the program because UI International Programs does something similar—and she’d enjoy continuing to improve her skills.
“It’s part of our mission to improve skill building and awareness, and this is exactly the type of thing that I think is important,” says Seedorff. “I think a program like this is essential and should actually be required. No matter how well we as an institution or individuals think we’re doing with multicultural outreach and inclusion, there’s always room for everyone to improve.”
The hope that faculty and staff who take BUILD courses are able to find multiple topics that promote their continued growth and development is exactly one of the reasons Diane Finnerty says she was attracted to being an instructor for two courses.
“I specifically am excited to provide offerings related to the research on implicit bias because we often talk about being committed to diversity, but lack concrete strategies for putting that commitment into practice,” says Finnerty, assistant provost for faculty in the Office of the Executive Vice President & Provost. “The research on implicit bias offers several promising evidence-based strategies that each of us can take individually and collectively as search committees to reduce the influence of bias in our everyday decisions.”
Jarratt says working with campus partners, like Finnerty, is an important part of the initiative, and the CDO will be collaborating with a number of other organizations and departments for spring courses.
“That’s one of our primary goals because there is a wealth of expertise across campus. We’re hoping to partner with faculty and staff to share research and workshops they’ve created to continue the conversation," says Jarratt. "We also want our courses to rotate and evolve, so that it’s clear there isn’t an endpoint in our need to continue improving our efforts for diversity and inclusion."
Right now, courses are only available for faculty and staff. But Jarratt hopes the CDO can eventually offer the BUILD initiative for students and the community.
“There seems to be a real hunger for this type of opportunity and for chances to reflect and dialogue, and gain knowledge and skills,” she says.