Diversity Program Review Team

Letter of Support from Provost Christopher Alan Bracey

The George Washington University is home to a vibrant community of scholars and employees hailing from all around the world – we are a truly global university. In our classrooms, research spaces, and offices, we are challenged and strengthened by a diversity of thought, experience, and perspective, enabling us to gain a deeper understanding of the world and our own community.

We have a shared responsibility to ensure that our university is nondiscriminatory and harassment-free, and that all members of our community feel welcome to learn, teach, and work to their fullest potential in an inclusive and equitable environment. GW has at times fallen short of this goal, and we have more work to do. As we witness continued bias, discrimination, racism, and other forms of oppression across the country and around the world, we must do everything we can to identify, acknowledge, and work to end, through informed action, any such inequities affecting members of our community.

With the Diversity Program Review Team, we are now taking another significant step toward positive change and building a more inclusive environment, amplifying the voices and experiences of all members of our community. The engagement of the entire community will be critical as we undertake this collaborative, university-wide, and transparent initiative.

Jump to Topic

Background
Charge
Timeline
Community Engagement
Updates
Feedback
FAQs
Team Membership
Advisory Councils
Contact

Background

In January 2021, the university embarked on a process to review, understand, and take action towards becoming the most inclusive campus possible for all members of the GW community. The Office of the Provost announced that it would conduct a diversity audit and invited organizations to submit proposals to support and guide us through the audit process. After reviewing the submissions, Provost Bracey determined that a better approach would be to utilize GW community members to conduct a comprehensive review of our efforts to impact diversity, equity, and inclusion among our student, staff, and faculty cohorts.

In partnership with the Office for Diversity, Equity and Community Engagement (ODECE), led by Caroline Laguerre-Brown, we developed a diversity program review proposal and timeline that prioritizes the voices and experiences of all members in our community. In addition to significant involvement from students, staff, faculty, and the Board of Trustees, the draft proposal includes a thorough review of current policies and practices, focus groups and interviews, and an external review by a selected board of scholars leading this type of work nationally. This independent evaluation will be critical in informing our efforts moving forward. The university intends to review the findings and recommendations advanced by the review process, and develop a diversity action plan that includes goals, action items, and regular assessments to track our progress.

Charge

The GW Diversity Program Review Team (DPRT) will be appointed by the Provost and will be tasked with conducting a campus diversity, equity, and inclusion program review and producing a final report rooted in data and scholarship. That review will also include a fresh look and analysis of the benefits of student diversity at GW and its contributions to the educational environment. The review process will be a collaborative, university-wide, and transparent initiative to determine progress made and areas of opportunity, and to propose long-term ways to address structural issues impacting members of our community. The DPRT’s work will be grounded in campus climate research and scholarship, and an anti-racist and intersectional framework that uplifts all voices and experiences, while critically examining our policies, practices, and procedures.

The phases of the review process will include the following:

Phase I: Establish the Diversity Program Review Team, chaired by the Office for Diversity, Equity and Community Engagement and reporting to Provost Bracey
Phase II: Collaboratively determine areas of focus and collect appropriate data
Phase III: Launch a campus-wide diversity climate survey
Phase IV: Create reports and executive summaries describing areas of focus, including themes, areas of opportunity, and recommendations informed by quantitative & qualitative data
Phase V: Host GW community-wide forums
Phase VI: Engage a nominated external review team to review and assess the DPRT's work and make recommendations
Phase VII: Submit concrete action plan forward for university leadership, including specific deliverables, timeline, and resources needed

The DPRT will be the main working group for the diversity program review. We will also engage a broader group of constituents through the use of several advisory councils that include deans, students, faculty, and staff.

Timeline

Presentations and sessions for DPRT
Sub-groups meet to determine and finalize plan
Climate survey administered

Fall data collection planning
Report development and writing

Data collection and review

Community forums on survey results
Draft reports completed by sub-groups and comprehensive report compiled
External review of comprehensive DPR reports begins

External review of comprehensive DPR report concludes
Recommended diversity action plan submitted to leadership

Community Engagement

Climate Survey

As a critical step in its fact-finding process, the Diversity Program Review Team, in collaboration with the Office of Survey Research and Analysis, created a climate survey to gather information about the current university climate related to diversity, equity, and inclusion for students, faculty, and staff. The survey closed on Friday, May 27, 2022.

On March 7 and March 8, 2023, Provost Bracey and Vice Provost Laguerre-Brown hosted community forums to share high-level findings from the climate survey and gather feedback from the community regarding the results.

Climate Survey Findings

Climate Survey Executive Summary

Climate Survey Community Forums Presentation

Feedback

Please submit feedback regarding the climate survey findings via the feedback form:

Climate Survey Feedback

Updates

Thursday, March 9, 2023: Diversity Program Review Climate Survey Findings Suggest Paths Forward

Tuesday, March 7 and Wednesday, March 8, 2023: Community Forums Held to Share Climate Survey Findings

Monday, March 6, 2023: Diversity Program Review Climate Survey Identifies GW’s Strengths, Opportunities

Friday, February 24, 2023: Diversity Program Review Climate Survey Community Forums to Take Place in March

Friday, May 27, 2022: GW Climate Survey Closed

Tuesday, April 19, 2022: GW Climate Survey Now Open

Monday, April 18, 2022: Diversity Program Review Climate Survey Opens Tuesday, April 19

Tuesday, February 15, 2022: Announcing the Diversity Program Review Team

FAQs

What is campus climate?: We define climate as “the current attitudes, behaviors, and standards of faculty, staff, administrators and students concerning the level of respect for individual needs, abilities, and potential” (Hurtado, 1992; Rankin, 2001).
Why is a positive climate important?: Rankin’s research maintains that positive personal experiences with campus climate and positive perceptions of campus climate generally equate to successful outcomes. Examples of successful outcomes include positive educational experiences and healthy identity development for students, productivity and sense of value for faculty and staff, and overall well-being for all.
Why did GW administer a climate survey?: This survey was designed to assist GW with gathering information about the current university climate related to diversity, equity, and inclusion for students, faculty, and staff. Though the climate in a community is ever-changing, the survey will enable the Diversity Program Review Team to understand in real time the experiences of members of our community. Community participation in this process was critical and will inform the recommendations and actions GW takes going forward to improve the university climate.
How was the survey developed?: The Diversity Program Review Team partnered with the Office of Survey Research and Analysis to develop the survey internally. It was rooted in scholarship and research and uses questions based on vetted questions from national climate surveys.
Who was eligible to take the survey?: Students, faculty, and staff who attend or are employed at The George Washington University were eligible to take the survey.
How did the university ensure anonymity of responses?: All individual responses were anonymous and no identifiers were used to track respondents. Data has been aggregated and analyzed, and results are being shared publicly with the GW community only for groups large enough to preclude individual identification.
Why was this a population survey and not a sample survey?: It is important to create opportunities to maximize participation and inclusivity and to reach historically underrepresented populations in the community. Random sampling may cause us to “miss” certain populations, particularly those with small numbers
What is the university doing with the data from the results?: The Office of Survey Research has aggregated and analyzed the data from the results and created a report for the Diversity Program Review Team and university leadership. The results of the survey, supplemented with other information-gathering, will be used to inform the diversity action plan for leadership.
Where can I see the survey findings?: Findings are available above this FAQ section.
How can I provide feedback on the survey findings?: Please go here to submit feedback on the climate survey findings.
How were the community forums structured?: In each forum, the Office of Survey Research and Analysis reviewed the methodology behind creating the climate survey, and Vice Provost Laguerre-Brown and Associate Vice Provost West provided overall findings and major themes from the survey’s results. All presenters participated in a Q&A period for members of the community.
What happens next in the process?: The Diversity Program Review Team will continue to review the survey results, the community’s feedback, and other tools and sources of information in order to inform their final recommendations for the diversity action plan. A group of external reviewers will review the recommendations and provide feedback on the DPRT’s recommendations.

The Diversity Program Review Team will continue to review the survey results, the community’s feedback, and other tools and sources of information in order to inform their final recommendations for the diversity action plan. A group of external reviewers will review the recommendations and provide feedback on the DPRT’s recommendations.

Team Membership

Central Team

Caroline Laguerre-Brown, Vice Provost, Diversity, Equity, and Community Engagement (Chair)

Jordan West, Associate Vice Provost, Diversity, Equity and Community Engagement

Faculty Sub-Group

Jennifer James, Co-Chair; Director, Africana Studies Program and Associate Professor of English, CCAS

Forrest Maltzman, Co-Chair; Professor of Political Science, CCAS

Lorena A. Barba, Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, SEAS

Cheryl Beil, Associate Provost, Academic Planning and Assessment

Don Braman, Associate Professor of Law, GW Law

Jennifer M. Brinkerhoff, Professor of International Affairs, International Business, and Public Policy & Public Administration, ESIA

Candice Chen, Associate Professor in Health Policy and Management, GWSPH

Wendy Ellis, Assistant Professor in Global Health and Director of the Center for Community Resilience, GWSPH

Kathleen Griffith, Assistant Dean, PhD Program in Nursing; Associate Professor, Department of Acute and Chronic Care, SON

Emily Hammond, Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs & Glen Earl Weston Research Professor of Law, GW Law

Yolanda Haywood, Senior Associate Dean for Diversity, Inclusion & Faculty Affairs; Co-chair, The Anti-Racism Coalition (ARC); Professor of Emergency Medicine, SMHS

Shaista Khilji, Professor of Human and Organizational Learning & International Affairs, GSEHD

Irene Oh, Chair, Religion Department and Associate Professor of Religion, CCAS

Howard Straker, Director, Physician Assistant/MPH Program and Assistant Professor of Physician Assistant Studies, SMHS

Sarah Wagner, Professor of Anthropology, CCAS

Student Sub-Group

Mike Williams, Chair; Assistant Dean, Student Affairs, SON

Kate Carpenter, SMPA '23

Imani Cheers, Associate Professor of Media and Public Affairs, CCAS

Colette Coleman, Vice Provost for Student Affairs & Dean of Students

Stephen Forssell, Director, LGBT Health Policy & Practice, CCAS

Abigail Francis, Executive Secretary of Academic Affairs, Student Association, CCAS/ESIA

Jay Goff, Vice Provost for Enrollment and Student Success

Emily A. Lou, GW Presidential Fellow, MPH Candidate, GWSPH '23

Jendi Samai, J.D. Candidate, GW Law '23

Tanya Vogel, Director, Athletics

Yan Xu, Vice President, Student Association, ESIA '24

Christian Zidouemba, President, Student Association, ESIA

Staff Sub-Group

Natasha Kazeem, Chair; Executive Associate Dean, Operations & Chief Operating Officer, GWSPH

Amy Cohen, Executive Director, Honey W. Nashman Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service

S'Monita Jackson, Associate Vice President, Financial Management Divisions

Sabrina Minor, Vice President & Chief People Officer

Pilar Segura Little, Graduate Consultant & Dean's Diversity Council, F. David Fowler Career Center, GWSB

Mafona Shea, Human Resource Management and Development, CCAS and LAI

Jessica Tischler, Assistant Vice President, Office of Equal Employment Opportunity and Access

Advisory Councils

Administrator Council
Deans Advisory Council
Faculty Advisory Council
Student Advisory Council
Staff Advisory Council
Office of Diversity, Equity and Community Engagement Leadership Team
Collaborative for Inclusive Excellence

Contact

Please email [email protected] with any questions.