Dear UMBC Community,
Welcome to the fall 2023 semester! I hope you had an enjoyable summer.
In the whirlwind four months since I joined UMBC as the vice president for institutional equity and chief diversity officer, I have spent a great deal of time observing, listening, and learning, while engaging with many students, faculty, staff, and administrators. Thank you to all who have taken the time to share your perspectives, as well as for the warm UMBC welcome!
Whether I was meeting with shared governance leaders or various student organizations, serving as a DEI mentor for incoming Meyerhoff scholars, participating in SafeZone or restorative practices trainings, meeting with the Religious Council, learning about our global education initiatives, or touring UMBC-Shady Grove (just to name a few), two things were evident. First, this community has deep pride and love for UMBC. Second, you are genuinely committed to the shared work of ensuring a safe, welcoming, diverse, and inclusive environment for everyone within the UMBC community.
For me, this confirmed that I have come to the right place at the right time. You have my commitment to be a collaborative, intentional, and communicative partner as we move into this transformative time. To that end, I want to share some updates about the exciting work that has occurred these past few months and provide an overview of my vision for the newly created Division of Institutional Equity at UMBC.
Division of Institutional Equity
The Division of Institutional Equity will grow to consist of three core components as described further below. Melessia Jasper, who served previously as an executive administrative assistant in administration and finance, is now supporting me and the Division of Institutional Equity.
1. Office of Equity and Civil Rights (ECR)
We have renamed the Office of Equity and Inclusion (OEI) as the Office of Equity and Civil Rights (ECR). This new name unequivocally reflects the university's commitment to ensuring civil rights protections for everyone within our UMBC community. ECR is, and will continue to be, the campus resource for reporting and addressing matters related to sexual misconduct (including sexual assault, sexual harassment, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking), discrimination, harassment, and hate/bias on the basis of race, creed, color, religion, sex, gender, pregnancy, ancestry, age, gender identity or expression, national origin, veterans status, marital status, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, or genetic information.
You can reach ECR here:
Administration Building, 10th Floor
Telephone: 410-455-1717
Email: ecr@umbc.edu (general inquiries); ecrtraining@umbc.edu (training-related inquiries)
Website: ecr.umbc.edu
We are making progress in building a full ECR team. The office is currently staffed by an interim director and Title IX coordinator, Leah Reynolds, and our civil rights investigator, Erica Arrington. We are currently conducting searches to fill three permanent positions within the office: ECR director/Title IX coordinator, case manager, and training and prevention manager. I extend my gratitude to the members of the search committees who have been working diligently to move this process forward.
2. Centering Inclusive Excellence
In tandem with ECR, the Division of Institutional Equity will center inclusive excellence by fostering broad campus implementation of diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility, and belonging initiatives for students, faculty, and staff. These initiatives will support work that is already under way across campus, while seeking opportunities and resources to expand upon the scope and assess the impact of these efforts. I will also seek to partner with academic and administrative units to identify fellows to serve as liaisons to the division who will implement targeted initiatives within their respective areas.
3. Expanding the Use of Restorative Practices
There is great work being done on campus around the use of restorative practices and a broad recognition of the benefits of using restorative practices in various settings. The Division of Institutional Equity will continue to support this work while seeking to expand the use of restorative practices to address reports of incidents that allege some harm but do not involve conduct that would constitute a violation of university policies. Opportunities to incorporate restorative practices in certain circumstances when a policy violation is alleged but the parties do not desire to pursue a formal resolution process will also be explored.
Looking Ahead
In addition to the infrastructure-building work outlined above, our division plans several key initiatives for this academic year.
- Strategic Planning: The Division of Institutional Equity will begin a strategic planning process that aligns with the university's strategic priorities and considers the Inclusion Council recommendations.
- Response to the SCOTUS Decision on Race-Conscious Admissions: UMBC remains steadfast in our commitment to diversity. Following President Valerie Sheares Ashby's communication to the campus community, we have convened a working group of broad university representation tasked with helping to conduct a comprehensive review of all university programs and activities related to all protected categories. The group's work is under way and will be instrumental in ensuring that the university remains compliant with the court's decision and other mandates under federal, state, and local laws. My sincere thanks to the working group members for serving as liaisons for their respective academic/administrative units.
- Training and Education: We will renew our emphasis on campus-wide education and training for all students, faculty, and staff. This includes a mandatory online Title IX training for all students that launched in early August, an online training for all Responsible Employees to be launched in the fall, and in-person training for faculty and staff beginning in the spring. Training and education for specific groups will continue to be provided upon request.
- Title IX Regulatory Changes: New Title IX regulations are expected to be released in October 2023. This will likely necessitate revisions to existing policies and procedures. Campus-wide outreach will occur to update the community on the new regulations and any policy changes.
- Campus Climate Survey: The next campus climate survey on sexual misconduct, diversity, and inclusion will be administered in spring 2024.
Most importantly, I will continue to listen, learn, and engage with the campus community; the work to advance institutional equity is our collective endeavor. I will support those already engaged in this work and actively seek new voices as we all work together to embody our shared value of inclusive excellence.
In continued partnership,
Tanyka M. Barber
Vice President for Institutional Equity and Chief Diversity Officer
