I am a champion of inclusive collaboration as the engine needed to advance impactful change.
Example:
Throughout the pandemic, I was called upon to help lead and guide CU Denver’s approach to ensuring the safety of our campus community and the continuation of high quality teaching and learning environments throughout all phases of the pandemic.
Over the course of two and a half years, I participated as a member of our Pandemic Planning and Safe Return Steering Committee and co-led our focus on teaching and learning. At the beginning of the pandemic, in March of 2020, the teams I co-led were instrumental in implementing a quick shift to remote teaching, and as we anticipated a return to campus, our teams planned a phased return to in-person teaching.
To ensure we were serving ALL students well, our teams included faculty, staff and students, and together we co-created our team norms and approaches. This approach fostered a safe environment of authenticity, ensured all voices were heard, and supported the courageous sharing of ideas. Empowering diversity and guiding inclusive collaboration resulted in a safer campus, increased attention on student success, deployed innovative initiatives and approaches, and made inequities visible and actionable.
Example changes made include providing students with computers, creating safe access to computers and the internet on campus, providing faculty with a teaching and learning tool kit that included strategies and approaches for delivering remote classes that were mindful of the unique experiences and challenges minoritized students were facing.
We clarified and codified the definitions and approaches guiding our various class formats in documents that were visually savvy with one designed specifically for faculty and one designed specifically for students.
We acted on the bias inherent in testing programs like Proctorio and offered bias-reducing testing strategies and approaches. In addition, we retooled our classrooms to deliver education flexibly – students could zoom remotely, attend in-person socially distanced, or engage self-paced online.
We secured clear masks to facilitate lip reading and increase access to nuanced facial expressions. We developed a plan to increase earn-and-learn opportunities for students that also impacted faculty success in delivering classes remotely. We instituted a student assistant program in which students were trained to support the zoom environment – managing break out rooms, and addressing student issues associated with technology and access.
By ensuring a diverse team was at the table, and working with intent to ensure we were addressing the needs of minoritized students and marginalized groups, we achieved safe and productive teaching and learning environments that supported student and faculty success.