TOR38: Equity, Diversity, Inclusion (EDI) and Anti Oppression Task Force

Belonging is at the core of Fanshawe's mission to unlock potential. When we harness the power of equity, diversity, inclusion (EDI), and anti-oppression frameworks, we unlock immense innovative potential for our work as a College and within our communities.

When our students feel like they belong, they experience higher academic performance, better retention, and healthier responses to stressors (Blodorn, 2018). When organizations cultivate and invest in diverse leaders who foster a sense of belonging, they are more likely to outperform their metrics and goals. When team members feel like they belong, they are more productive and experience more satisfaction in their jobs (Richard, 2020). When researchers feel like they belong within diverse research teams and communities, they are more likely to reach radical research breakthroughs (Nielsen, 2017). When we equip our students with the tools and competencies to be anti-oppressive change agents, we contribute to a cascading effect of social change and support our industry partners with an ever-growing need for employees who are equitable, inclusive, and innovative thinkers.

But we achieve these benefits only when we do the work of EDI and anti-oppression well. We achieve these benefits only when we identify and dismantle barriers to full participation for equity-deserving groups, when we foster inclusive classroom and learning experiences for our students, when we intentionally recruit and advance equity-deserving employees, and when we make the work of dismantling systems of oppression like racism, colonization, ableism, transphobia, homophobia, and sexism a shared accountability of all campus community members.

The EDI and Anti-Oppression Task Force exists to position the College to achieve that mission of an authentic sense of belonging for every student, staff member, and every faculty member. It serves to imagine and aspire to a College in which EDI is embedded and intertwined in all our core activities, strategies, and processes; in which our students, faculty, and staff are empowered to achieve social change; and in which we harness an evolving social consciousness in and around our campus communities.

As an advisory body to the President and Executive Leadership Team, the Task Force will consider and make recommendations on a number of core themes, including:

• Diverse representation
• Equitable and inclusive working environments
• Equitable and inclusive curriculum and pedagogy
• Equitable and inclusive research environments
• Accessible spaces and inclusive campus climates

2. DEFINITIONS

3. MEMBERSHIP AND TERMS OF OFFICE

3.1. Chair and Members

The Task Force is chaired by the Director, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. In addition to the Chair, the Task Force will have a target membership of between 20-30 individuals. This will consist of at least 5 students, at least 5 support staff, at least 5 faculty members, and at least 2 administrators (of which at least 1 should be an academic administrator). The Anti-Racism and Inclusion Specialist (or alternate, as needed) will also serve as an ex-officio and administrative resource for the Task Force.

3.2. Diversity and Experiences

The Task Force's primary membership goal is diverse representation, including members with diverse lived experiences, representation of diverse professional experiences, and diverse geographical representation from Fanshawe's various campuses. Members should have a demonstrated commitment to EDI and anti-oppression and a direct understanding of barriers faced by equity-deserving communities. Members should be current students, staff, or faculty at Fanshawe. Members need not be full-time students or full-time employees to apply.

3.3. Term

Student members should commit to serve a term of 1-year, with the possibility of a 1-year extension. Other members will serve an initial term of minimum of 2 years.

3.4. Membership Selection Process

An initial call for expressions of interest will be initiated prior to formation of the Task Force. Prospective members will be asked to share relevant professional and lived experiences that they believe would contribute to Task Force conversations inclusive of the depth and breadth of experiences in the College community. The Chair will consider all expressions of interest and constitute a Task Force representative of the College community. After members complete an initial first term, the Task Force will reconsider the mandate of the group and consider subsequent nomination and re-nomination processes.

Membership in the Working Groups will be by invitation, with standing members from relevant functional areas of the College. Any additional members in the Working Groups will be at the discretion of the Working Group co-chairs.

3.5. Review of Membership and Terms of Reference

The Task Force, its mandate, and the Terms of Reference will be reviewed at the end of the first 2-year term, at which time membership will also be reassessed. A revolving membership process may be established to ensure Task Force memory while encouraging new membership.

3.6. Workload and Meeting Participation

Members should be prepared to attend either bi-weekly or monthly meetings, depending on the stage and volume of the Task Force's work. The Task Force will meet bi-weekly initially to accelerate work on priority areas and continue to meet bi-weekly for a number of months. Members should endeavour to attend the vast majority of Task Force meetings, and membership will be discontinued if members miss 2 or more meetings over the course of a semester, except cases of individual accommodation and exempting faculty and students from this requirement in the June/July/August months. Members should also allocate time to review meeting materials ahead of scheduled meeting times and complete pre- and post-meeting activities as required (e.g., completing pre- and post-meeting surveys).

3.7. Supervisor Support

Supervisors are encouraged to support employees to apply for and be part of the Task Force. For staff (support or admin) members, attendance on the Task Force should normally be part of regular work hours. For faculty members, hours spent attending the Task Force meetings would be part of complementary function hours on the SWF.

3.8. Withdrawal

Members may withdraw by informing the Chair. The Chair may opt to leave the spot vacant or initiate a process to call for expression of interest to fill the spot.

3.9. Duties of the Chair

The Chair, the Director of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, will:

3.9.1. Plan the Task Force through its activities and ensuring that activities advance the Task Force mission

3.9.2. Synthesize feedback from Task Force members in the creation of relevant work product (e.g., Strategic Framework, Action Plan, etc.)

3.9.3. Report regularly to the President and Executive Leadership Team on Task Force and Working Group recommendations

3.9.4. Serve as conduit between President, ELT, the Task Force, and Working Groups to ensure work product is consistently reflective of Task Force recommendations and Executive responses

3.9.5. Serve as subject matter expert for the Working Groups

3.9.6. Share meeting materials and agendas at least one week prior to the Task Force meetings

3.10. Duties of Members

All members will:

3.10.1. Actively attend all meetings of the Task Force, subject to the Workload and Meeting Participation provision of the Terms of Reference

3.10.2. Engage in meetings actively, having reviewed and completed pre-meeting work and activities

3.10.3. Through various lenses of lived and professional experiences and informal consultations with relevant stakeholders:

• aid the Task Force in identifying individual, interpersonal, and systemic barriers to full participation for equity-deserving communities
• recommend priority EDI and anti-oppression themes for the College to address
• recommend relevant and achievable EDI and anti-oppression actions to achieve institutional goals
• provide feedback on proposed actions, strategies, and planning documents presented to the Task Force for review and consideration
• share with the Working Groups relevant feedback
• Serve as a conduit to communities in which the Member is a part (e.g., colleagues, schools, programs, etc.) to extend the reach of the College's EDI and anti-oppression activities and solicit feedback related to the Task Force's work
• Serve as an example of EDI- and anti-oppression-informed action and thus commit to continually expanding EDI competencies through further training and education
• Develop and maintain a culture of support, aspiration, honesty, and openness, in which members recognize the diversity of approaches to EDI and anti-oppression work and communicate openly about perspectives and experiences
• At all times, commit to interactions that are inclusive and consistent with P08: Respectful College Community and Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination and the Ontario Human Rights Code

3.11. Duties of Ex-Officio Task Force Support

The Anti-Racism and Inclusion Specialist will:

3.11.1. Provide administrative support to the Task Force by coordinating, planning, and booking meetings

3.11.2. Provide research and advice to the Task Force on relevant EDI and anti-oppression best practices to guide discussions and advance the Task Force's recommendations

4. MEETINGS AND CONDUCT OF BUSINESS

4.1. Guiding Principles

The Task Force is guided by the following principles:

• The Task Force and Working Groups recognize that learning and working environments are enriched by diverse representation and intentional consideration of equity and inclusion
• The Task Force and Working Groups recognize that EDI and anti-oppression strategies evolve best from consultative processes with affected and impacted stakeholders
• The Task Force and Working Groups will strive to foster safe and welcoming environments for members to feel comfortable sharing their experiences
• The Task Force and Working Groups will aim to embed sense of transparency and accountability in their progress and activities
• The Task Force and Working Groups will aim to model the equitable, inclusive, and anti-oppressive interactions and behaviour it asks of the broader college community

4.2. Goals

The Task Force will aim to achieve the following goals:

• Utilizing an intersectional and collaborative lens, provide advice and recommendations to the President and Executive Leadership Team on matters of equity, diversity, inclusion, anti-racism, anti-oppression, and indices of belonging
• Provide a forum and platform to consider and bring institutional focus to the insights and experiences of equity-deserving students, faculty, and staff
• Provide feedback, recommendations, and strategic focus on the College's EDI and anti-oppression activities
• Identify and catalogue individual, interpersonal, and systemic barriers to full participation for equity-deserving communities, such as policies and processes, recruitment and admissions, program structure and curriculum, equitable employee recruitment and selection, campus culture, and personal accountabilities such as training, education, awareness, and interpersonal interactions
• Recommend priority EDI and anti-oppression themes for the College to address aforementioned barriers
• Provide the Working Groups with high-level goals and objectives to achieve progress in specific functional areas
• Recommend relevant and achievable EDI and anti-oppression actions to achieve institutional goals
• Provide feedback on proposed actions, strategies, and planning documents presented to the Task Force for review
• Serve as the institutional committee with responsibility to establish and oversee the College's EDI and Anti-Oppression Strategic Framework
• Serve as the institutional committee with responsibility to establish and oversee the College's EDI and Anti-Oppression Action Plan
• Review actions and project timelines established by the Working Groups and recommend institutional metrics to track progress toward campuses where every student, staff, and faculty feels an authentic sense of belonging

4.3. Decision-Making Structure

The Task Force will bring together campus community members with diverse lived and professional experience to identify barriers at the College, isolate priority themes, and establish overarching goals for an EDI and Anti-Oppression Strategic Framework. The Task Force will isolate priority themes and advise the President and ELT on recommended overarching goals for an EDI and Anti-Oppression Strategic Framework.

In a collaborative process with the main Task Force, a number of Working Groups will advance priority projects and activities to achieve and implement the goals and recommendations of the Task Force. The Working Groups will report to the Task Force with proposed timelines for action and collaboratively will determine achievable strategic outcomes and appropriate metrics to assess progress. This process will ultimately culminate in the creation of an EDI and Anti-Oppression Action Plan, which the Task Force will be responsible for monitoring, updating, and evaluating.

The Task Force and Working Groups will aim to operate by consensus and will not identify members as voting or non-voting. The Director, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion serves as the conduit between the Task Force and executive leadership in drafting and approving the Strategic Framework and Action Plan documents.

4.4. Quorum

Quorum will be established when half of the Task Force members are present.

4.5. Meeting Format

Task Force meetings will be held virtually but transition to a hybrid (in-person/remote) when possible. A work plan will be distributed to Task Force members, covering the broad themes and priorities of the Task Force and targeted deadlines for completion of initial work product.

4.6. Agendas and Minutes

Formal agendas and meeting materials will be circulated at least one week prior to the Task Force meeting, but Task Force members are free to raise additional issues for inclusion in the agenda and meeting discussions. Minutes will be kept as internal records for Task Force members to remain apprised of the work. They will be circulated to Task Force Members to ensure accuracy. Meetings will not be recorded to allow for open and free-flowing discussion. Periodic Task Force updates will be prepared for the broader College community.

4.7. Working Groups

A number of Working Groups will be established to execute on the goals and recommendations identified by the Task Force and coordinate existing EDI activities happening within various functional areas. These Working Groups may be adjusted, as the work of the Task Force evolves.

The following Working Groups will be established when the Task Force is constituted and will begin their work in the months following:

• EDI in Student Recruitment and Retention Working Group
• Inclusive Campus Climates Working Group
• Equitable Employment Working Group
• Accessible Environments Working Group
• EDI in Research Working Group
• EDI in Curriculum and Pedagogy Working Group

5. REFERENCES

Blodorn, A., Murphy, M.C.,Walton, G., Logel, C., Yeager, D., & College Transition Collaborative Staff (June 2018). Preliminary Intervention Results: Prematriculation Social-Belonging Intervention. The Social-Belonging Intervention Project. Twenty-three separate reports for each of our twenty-three school partners.

Richard, O., Triana, M.d.C., & Li, M. (2020). The effects of racial diversity congruence between upper management and lower management on firm productivity. Academy of Management Journal 64(5).

Nielsen, M. Alegria, S., Borjeson, L, & Schiebinger, L. (2017). Gender diversity leads to better science. PNAS 114(8), 1740-1742.

6. ADDENDA

None.