UWM Racial Justice and Equity Program
Spring 2022 Sessions
(Questions can be directed to Dr. Liz Drame at erdrame@uwm.edu)
Fireside Chats: A Personal Dialogue on Race. Fireside Chats are framed around topics related to implicit bias, microaggressions, allyship, and intersectionality of identities. This is a safe space where faculty and staff have open and honest conversations on ways to recognize and have a positive impact on areas of inclusion in the workplace. Commitments/Expectations: Participants agree to make this a brave space, Make “I” statements and not “You” statements Know When to Step up or Step back, Remember Kindness, and Be Present.
Date(s): March 3, April 7, or May 5
Time: 12:00 -1:30 p.m.
Modality: In-person
Locations: March 3 at Student Union W191; April 7 at Alumni Fireside Lounge (to be confirmed); Mary 5 at Alumni Fireside Lounge (to be confirmed)
Registration Cap: 20
Audience: Staff and faculty
Inclusive Teaching as Antiracist Practice. This development session will open with a brief presentation of antiracist pedagogical terms and concepts, and then will provide space for attendees to discuss and brainstorm concrete applications of these in our teaching. The focus will be on our growing edges and where we hope to strengthen our teaching practice. Commitments/Expectations: Circumstances permitting, this will be an in-person workshop — attendance and participation expected. Opening welcome & presentation will include discussion guidelines.
Date: Wednesday, February 16
Time: 1:00–2:30 p.m.
Modality: In person, with online resources (which we hope to add to as an outcome of the workshop). If circumstances require, we can shift to a virtual synchronous gathering.
Location: CETL Teaching Lab, Engelmann B73
Registration Cap: 25
Audience: Staff and faculty
Navigating Racial “Missteps” and Fostering Repair in Interpersonal Relationships. This is intended to facilitate conversations within a cross-racial group of individuals about specific scenarios dealing with potential missteps or errors of judgment related to race. The goal is to enable people to learn how to identify and intervene positively in such situations, based on things they learned in the RJEP. Each of the three sessions will focus on collectively unpacking interpersonal scenarios in which individuals made a mistake or error of judgment or caused unintended harm because of a lack of knowledge or practice in perceiving and navigating racial dynamics. Participants will be asked to share with facilitators in advance specific scenarios that they would like to be considered. Scenarios could involve something that a participant witnessed, something they experienced, or something in which they participated. Commitments/Expectations: Participants would be expected to complete some pre-work, to anonymously submit scenarios in advance of the meetings, and to engage honestly and authentically in two sessions. Participants will be expected to attend both sessions.
Dates: March 29 and April 26
Time: 1:00-2:30 p.m.
Modality: In-person
Location: Chapman Hall, Room 211 (Regents Room)
Registration Cap: 12
Audience: Staff and faculty
Pre-Work: Completion of RJEP; review of community guidelines and basic introduction to having productive conversations about race; personal reflection and submission of scenarios.
Going Deeper into Implicit Racial Bias. This development session will explore and extend our understanding of implicit racial bias after watching a short video clip explaining the concept in more detail.
Date: Thursday, March 10
Time: 12:00-1:00 p.m.
Modality: In-person
Location: Chapman Hall, Room 211 (Regents Room)
Registration Cap: 25
Audience: Staff and faculty
De-Mystifying the Conduct Process. Students frequently express confusion regarding the operation of the student conduct and discriminatory conduct processes – from which office receives and responds to these reports, to what constitutes reportable conduct, to how free speech rights impact what conduct can and can’t be sanctioned. This development session is an attempt to “de-mystify” the conduct processes, providing an overview of the process, review of real-life cases with free speech implications, and discussion of alternative responses when conduct can’t be formally sanctioned by the institution.
Date: Tuesday, April 5
Time: 3-4:30 p.m.
Modality: In-person
Location: Alumni Fireside Lounge (to be confirmed)
Registration Cap: 50
Audience: Students
Exploring Allyship for Racial Equity. Many of us want to actively work against racial injustices when we observe it at the moment. We also want to be proactive, activating personal behavior shifts that result in meaningful change and progress toward racial equity. We also want to do this in ways that do not create harm for racialized and/or minoritized people. This session will discuss different types of allyship, including concepts like being an accomplice or co-conspiratorship, as well as examples of performative allyship.
Date: Thursday, April 14
Time: 12:00-1:30 p.m.
Modality: In-person
Location: Chapman Hall, Room 211 (Regents Room)
Registration Cap: 35
Audience: Employees and students
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PAST PROGRAMMING
UWM Racial Justice and Equity Program
To bring about transformational change from within, Chancellor Mark Mone and Vice Chancellor Joan Prince charged a small group of faculty and staff to develop a training that would serve as a foundational step in UWM’s path toward racial equity. This approach was chosen with the understanding that each member of the campus community has a role to play in making UWM a more just and equitable place. Led by Dr. Chia Youyee Vang (Associate Vice Chancellor and Professor of History), the curriculum development team included Karen Massetti-Moran (Associate Director, Human Resources), Jamie Cimpl-Wiemer (Director, Equity and Diversity Services), Dr. Elizabeth Drame (Professor and Chair, Teaching and Learning) and Dr. Sara VanderHaagen (Associate Professor, Communication).
Based on best practices from researchers and practitioners, UWM’s Racial Justice and Equity Program is a five-module professional development opportunity for employees to learn and reflect about the negative impact of racial injustice throughout U.S. history and how race shapes our society today. These modules provide information to help individuals understand the influence of implicit racial biases on our behavior, and they recommend practical actions we can take to combat racism and foster inclusion and belonging for all. Because this training is crucial for all UWM employees, Chancellor Mone and his extended cabinet members went through it in December 2020. The program consists of the following components:
• UWM Commitment Messages from Chancellor Mark Mone and Vice Chancellor Joan Prince
• Program Introduction
• Module 1: Self-Assessment
• Module 2: History of Race
• Module 3: Power and Privilege
• Module 4: The Power of Implicit (Unconscious) Bias
• Module 5: Allyship Fundamentals and Leadership Actions to Foster Belonging
Modules 2-5 include required materials to review and short quizzes. Each module provides additional suggestions for those interested in deepening knowledge. While individuals can complete the modules in one sitting, or multiple sittings, it is recommended that you take time to deeply reflect and engage in potential action in between modules. The training is estimated to take 3.5 hours (excluding optional materials). Modules can be completed on your own or with others. A limited number of facilitated group sessions will be offered during Spring 2021 in the form of six-week discussion cohorts. Each cohort will offer participants weekly opportunities for deeper exploration and discussion of the content with a small group. You may sign up for a facilitated cohort below. If you choose to form your own group to discuss the modules, you can obtain a facilitation guide from Associate Vice Chancellor Chia Youyee Vang. Employees will have until May 30, 2021 to complete the training. Upon completion, you will receive an email notification with a PDF file of training materials for future reference.
Looking for the list of facilitators and their schedules from Spring 2021?
You can find it here.