University Equity & Inclusive Excellence Councils
All across the University, division- and college-level equity and inclusive excellence councils meet regularly to discuss opportunities for improvement and growth within their area. The chairs of these councils unite for monthly meetings as part of the University Equity and Inclusive Excellence Council. Together, we'll make Bucknell a more diverse, equitable and inclusive place.
2023–24 EIE Councils
Current co-chairs
Natasha Wilson (nlw007@bucknell.edu)
Carly Moss (chm022@bucknell.edu)2023-24 At a glance
- Hosted Diversity & Donuts sessions throughout the academic year highlighting current EIB topics within collegiate athletics such as combating racial and gender inequalities, celebrating Autism Awareness month in April, and how to best support mental health needs of our student-athletes.
- Michael Hardyway, a senior quarterback on the Bucknell football team, attended the 2024 Black Student-Athlete Summit in Los Angeles, Calif., which is an annual event that brings together more than 1,500 student-athletes, university professionals and industry leaders for a four-day program that offers personal and professional development resources to student-athletes.
- Celebrated National Girls & Women in Sports Day by hosting over 100+ children in a clinic where they were learning and interacting with student-athletes from 11 Bucknell women's varsity programs.
- We meet as a Council monthly to reflect on how we are achieving our goals laid out in the Bucknell Athletic Department Strategic plan. We receive annual student athlete surveys regarding their experiences within the department and university as whole to impact planning.
Current co-chairs
Anjalee Hutchinson, EIE Faculty Fellow (adn001@bucknell.edu)
Chris Martine, EIE Faculty Fellow (ctm015@bucknell.edu)2023-2024 At a glance
- Assembled the first ever A&S Community Council.
- The council met for the first time at the end of March 2024. The very first task the council agreed to work on was to craft a supplementary document to support the DEI motion for Tenure and Retention, which is being brought to the floor by FAPC in the fall of 2024. A&SCC began substantive work on the supplementary document this spring and will continue work early in the fall with the plan to complete the document by October 2024.
Current chair
Brad Putman (bjp025@bucknell.edu)Recent activities and accomplishments
- Created a "State of the College" report for the Working Group for an Inclusive Engineering Community.
- Crafted our Moonshot Case for Support.
- Made plans to make our EXCELerator program at least double in size.
- Developed proposal for the postdoc to tenure track fellow program, with the goal of recruiting and retaining a more diverse engineering faculty.
- Launched “Taking the Pulse” and “What Would I Say?” qualitative story collection for students.
- Opened the new Engineering Success Alliance space in Dana Engineering Equitable Experiences: Started the update on myBucknell to include faculty/staff resources on the College of Engineering page.
Current chair
Shana Ebright (sebright@bucknell.edu)Mission statement
The Division of Marketing & Communications embodies in its work the University's strategic commitment to building and sustaining a diverse community. Our goal is to create an environment in which all students, faculty and staff experience a sense of belonging supported by a foundation of inclusion, equity and access. Our commitment to these principles underlies all Bucknell communications, in all media, with the University's myriad audiences, as well as our daily interactions with people in our community. In our partnerships with one another and members of our community, we recognize and prioritize not only our goals and intent but also our work's impact to ensure that all are respected, fairly treated and authentically portrayed.2023-24 At a glance
- Attendance at West African Drumming Lessons hosted by the Griot Institute
- Division-wide viewing of the film, "On the Basis of Sex"
- Provided staff with copies of the Common Reading to promote conversations related to EIB topics
- Use an annual survey of divisional staff to evaluate effectiveness of EIB projects
- Continue to provide immersive experiences to engage MarComm staff
- Make sure UEIEC events are promoted and encourage attendance
- Working on a "lunch and learn" session for the fall with ISS including snap talks by international students
Current co-chairs
Kevin Mathes (kmathes@bucknell.edu)
Chris Brown (cb077@bucknell.edu)2023-24 At a glance
- Our efforts in 2023-2024 focused on lifting up a new council that united the work of two previous councils (Enrollment Management and Student Affairs).
- We will be offering discussion groups about the first-year common reading, facilitating opportunities for the division to read and engage in themes of Whitehead's text and lecture. This will be the first in a series of professional development events. Specific planning is ongoing to ensure non-exempt staff are able to participate in these events, including the ability to use time in their positions to engage in the texts, films, and other materials used in professional development opportunities.
- We are continuing the process to align the mission and goals of the SEES DEIB Council with the strategic plan, mission and goals for the division as a whole. Part of the alignment includes efforts to create some standard experiences for onboarding new employees, especially in how EIE commitments and efforts are embedded throughout the division.
- In 24-25, we will be developing systems to collect data and assess outcomes from the various units across the division. We need to be able to "tell our story" of the work we are doing and, especially, the ways that work impacts student experiences.
Current chair
Kate Suslava, EIE Faculty Fellow (ks063@bucknell.edu)2023-2024 At a glance
- Working on the EIB Definitions and vision for Freeman College of Management
- Advocating for faculty & prospective employees from underrepresented groups
- Serving as liaison with Student DEI Alliance
- Assisting college chairs with staffing proposals
- Revising review language to incorporate D&I principles
- Participating in Business School DEI Collaborative
Current co-chairs:
Lorien Beishline (lhb012@bucknell.edu)
Samantha Hart (sh057@bucknell.edu)Recent activities and accomplishments:
- Charging talent acquisition specialists to continue to work with faculty and staff search committees, with a goal of having all search committee members attend the proactive search strategies training before serving on a committee.
- Initiated several training programs over the past few months that specifically address biases when conducting performance reviews. This training was also provided to the HR Roundtable and will be continued for other groups of front-line supervisors going forward.
- Updated staff reviews to include a question specifically focused on diversity, equity and inclusion.
- Added a specific question related to DEI to the exit survey provided to all staff who resign voluntarily.
Current co-chairs
Claire Cahoon (cc065@bucknell.edu)
Jessica Cowden (jac075@bucknell.edu)2023-2024 At a glance
- Developed a robust Disability Services and Accessibility guide highlighting disability services & accessibility in the library.
- Designed and hosted a series of digital accessibility workshops for L&IT staff and groups around campus.
- Collaborated with the Office of Accessibility Resources to discuss accessibility issues as part of the University Accessibility Working Group (UAWG).
- Conducted outreach to student groups to understand DEI-related needs that L&IT can work on.
- Coordinated with the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life to create a Google Calendar outlining religious holidays and observances.
- Prototyped "chill out" study rooms with sensory-friendly materials for students during final exams.
- Held discussion groups for L&IT staff to recap and share about DEI trainings and topics.
Current chair
Sarah Porell (slp023@bucknell.edu)Mission statement
The mission of the UA DEI Council is to promote positive organizational improvement through inclusion and provide advice, leadership, accountability and participatory support on matters related to diversity, equity & inclusion on behalf of the organization. The key objective of the UA DEI Council is to fully utilize and engage every stakeholder (internal and external) to strategically build a more integrated, sustainable, diverse and inclusive environment — where everyone involved has a sense of belonging both within our division and Bucknell as a whole.In partnership with the vice president of University Advancement and the Advancement Leadership Group (ALG), the UA DEI Council develops and leads current and future diversity, equity & inclusion efforts of the University Advancement Division of Bucknell University and is aligned with the Plan for Bucknell 2025.
2023-2024 At a glance
- Provided an EIB-themed keynote speaker for our annual UA Enrichment Conference.
- Collected feedback in support of the EIE division's goal to create some framework definitions of EIB at Bucknell.
Current co-chairs
Carol Pavlick (cp030@bucknell.edu)
Megan Scherer (ms102@bucknell.edu)2023-24 At a glance
- Our newly reorganized council comprises 12 representatives from various departments within the division. We meet monthly to move forward our DEIB work.
- Created EIB definitions survey, distributed and reviewed, gathered feedback from division for EIB definitions via in person meeting
- Shared EIB definition work at department meetings to create awareness
- Updated and approved our council charter
- Reviewed and shared Modern Belonging: Your guide to implementing integrative, evidence-based strategies that promote employee well-being, inclusion, and belonging within your organization
- Attended LISTENING SESSION: Bucknell AVP Financial Planning and Business Services with external recruiting teamC
- Committee attendance at MLK events