Annual Report on Diversity

Strengthening the University’s efforts in diversity, equity, and inclusion has been among my highest priorities since my appointment as interim president earlier this year. I said in my first message to the University community that I believe we can draw strength from our shared commitment to the ideal of “Meliora.” We strive to create a culture where everyone feels welcome, respected, included, and valued.

In the past several months, the University has taken steps to improve aspects of our climate and build a culture of respect. In support of that mission, the University is strengthening policies, clarifying processes, expanding resources, and responding to recommendations detailed in the White Report and the Commission on Women and Gender Equity in Academia’s report. But the process of change necessarily requires more than rewriting policies and creating new administrative offices and positions. These are important steps forward, but to truly achieve our aspirations, our community must be unified in continuing to embrace a vision of our expectations for diversity, equity, and inclusion—and of what we as a community stand for. Our new Vision and Values Statement, reflecting input from all corners of the University, serves as a foundation for that process and is designed to work with already established school and department efforts, such as URMC’s ICARE and the College’s Communal Principles.

My expectation is that our new Vision and Values Statement will help define our mutually understood values and provide a template for the ways in which we work and interact. As we make progress toward these mutual goals, we will draw on the substantial body of work created by the Commission on Race and Diversity in 2016 as well as two groups that issued reports in 2018, the Commission on Women and Gender Equity in Academia and the Student Task Force to Review Sexual Misconduct. A significant factor in the continued success of these ongoing efforts will be the establishment of a University-wide Office of Equity and Inclusion and the appointment of a Vice President for Equity and Inclusion, who will be the University’s chief diversity officer. I have just launched a national search for that position. That individual will report to a new University president once that individual begins work, which is expected to be July 1, 2019.

This year our community lost a dear friend and champion of diversity and inclusion efforts on campus and beyond. Paul J. Burgett—musician, scholar, teacher, and University leader for more than half a century—leaves behind a legacy of valuing every individual and committing to the ideals of our Meliora motto. The substantial impact he made here on so many levels will bolster our efforts to make our University more equitable and inclusive long into the future.

As I have said before, the University of Rochester has an opportunity to be a model for other institutions, not just in the letter of our policies and procedures but in the spirit of our actions, measured by our respect for each other and our differences in a campus community that is safe and inclusive for all.

President Richard Feldman

Establishing University-Wide Vision and Values Statement

Diversity, equity, and inclusion are grounded in the University’s core Vision and Values. Over the last year, Vivian Lewis, vice provost for Faculty Development and Diversity and deputy to the president, chaired a 13-member committee of faculty, staff, and students that crafted a new Vision and Values Statement for the University. The committee made a concerted effort to incorporate feedback from the University community while developing the statement, including in-person sessions on campus and an online feedback form. This Vision and Values Statement works in dialogue with the Medical Center’s ICARE Values and the College’s Communal Principles and other unit-based values statements. In the spirit of Meliora, the statement is intended to guide the institution’s strategic vision and to help set expectations and norms around a culture of respect for the institution. It is intended to be a guide for all members of our community as we go about our daily activities and a reminder of how we view and treat each other as members of a diverse organization. As a University committed to principles of inclusion, mutual respect, and civil discourse, we all must continue to do our part—individually and collectively—to ensure that our community is one where everyone feels welcome, valued, and respected.

The Vision and Values committee, now chaired by Joan Saab, vice povost for Academic Affairs, and Maggie Cousin, assistant vice provost for diversity, has begun a process of implementation, jump-starting conversations in the University community about our shared institutional values, especially in smaller units and departments. These unit-level dialogues will create opportunities for real action and change to occur. The Vision and Values Statement has already been rolled out at new faculty orientations and to the University Management Team and was highlighted at several venues during Meliora Weekend.

Formation of the University Diversity and Equity Council

As one of his first actions as president, Richard Feldman created the University Diversity and Equity Council (UDEC), a successor group to the Presidential Diversity Council and the Presidential Diversity and Implementation Committee formed in December 2016 following the release of the report of the Commission on Race and Diversity. The UDEC is a relatively large council composed of faculty, staff, and students from across the University, and its executive committee functions as an advisory group to the president and reviews recommendations and ideas coming from various sources around campus. The UDEC is charged to collaborate, share best practices, report on progress, and identify University priorities, goals, and requirements. Currently, President Feldman serves as chair of the UDEC. He anticipates the new Vice President for Equity and Inclusion, to be hired in the coming year, will lead the UDEC in the future. In its advisory role, this group has reviewed a number of significant actions of broad University consequence focused on diversity and equity.

Qualitative Study of University Diversity Climate and Recommendations for the Future, Including the Creation of a New Office of Equity and Inclusion and the Appointment of a New Vice President for Equity and Inclusion

This past spring, President Feldman engaged DeEtta Jones and Associates, a nationally known consulting firm with specific expertise in workplace culture, diversity, and inclusion, to assess the University’s current diversity climate and programmatic resources; to make recommendations for a new University-wide equity, diversity, and inclusion office; and to draft a position description for a person to lead that office. Representatives of the firm visited campus three times between April and June 2018 to meet with key stakeholders, totaling seven days of in-person meetings, with an additional 5–10 hours of virtual meetings. Their time on campus utilized a qualitative research approach by incorporating onsite interviews and focus groups as well as comparative analysis of best practices at peer institutions. They stressed that to move forward, the University must take care to respond well to feedback from all members of its community.

In response to the recommendations of DeEtta Jones and Associates, and with the full support of the UDEC, President Feldman is has launched a search for a new Vice President for Equity and Inclusion, who will be the University’s chief diversity officer and will report directly to the president. Given the urgency of creating this new position and office, the initial efforts in identifying a search consultant and launching the search for the new vice president will progress in parallel with the ongoing presidential search. We anticipate that the new president, once identified, will be involved in the final selection of the new vice president and chief diversity officer.

The Vice President for Equity and Inclusion will oversee a new office consisting of two associate vice presidents, one focused on compliance (Title IX, Equal Opportunity, ADA, Affirmative Action, investigations), and the other focused on equity and inclusion (recruitment, retention, climate, programming, training, reporting, and accountability).

To begin the work of bringing together the disparate units working in the area of compliance, President Feldman has asked Richard S. Crummins, currently deputy general counsel, to serve in an interim role as the associate vice president for equal opportunity. In this capacity, Crummins will report directly to the president, thereby moving this element of the University’s compliance function out of the Office of Counsel. Crummins has extensive knowledge and experience in these areas, having served in the University’s Office of Counsel since 1997.

The second unit within the new office will be focused on recruitment, retention, support, and climate for faculty, staff, and students. Serving as its interim leader will be Maggie Kearney, vice provost and dean of graduate studies. She will serve as the associate vice president for diversity and inclusion and will lead University-wide initiatives in training, reporting, programming and conferences, and accountability. In this capacity, Kearney will also report to President Feldman.

Assessing Faculty Gender-Based Pay Equity

The Office of Institutional Research (OIR) is undertaking an analysis of gender-based pay equity (GPE) for nonclinical faculty at the University of Rochester at the request of Provost Robert Clark. The goal is to ascertain whether salaries reflect differences (on average) by gender when adjusting for several key factors such as rank, years of experience, discipline, chair positions, or endowed professorships. An earlier initiative was undertaken several years ago at the direction of the then dean of the Faculty for Arts, Sciences & Engineering, Peter Lennie, to examine GPE in AS&E.

Looking beyond AS&E, OIR has set out to understand how we might conduct a broader, University-wide analysis for nonclinical faculty. Two avenues are being pursued. First, OIR attempted to locate external data for benchmarking and reached out to peers to understand what they are doing to assess GPE. Second, OIR is working in cooperation with a committee of faculty selected in conjunction with the Faculty Senate to select and implement models to evaluate our own salary data.

Mandatory Diversity Education & Training for Faculty and Staff

This summer, the Office of Human Resources launched a mandatory online diversity learning series, available through MyPath. The two-part curriculum focuses on unconscious bias, sexual harassment, and Title IX. These trainings are intended to provide a common baseline knowledge and vocabulary for all faculty and staff. The Office of Staff Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and the Implicit Bias Team are also hosting a series of two-hour, in-person sessions intended for continued learning and discussion concerning the topic of implicit bias. The Experiential Implicit Bias series is intended to supplement the mandatory Unconscious Bias Awareness training module in MyPath. A new web page on the University’s Diversity and Inclusion website focuses on both mandatory and voluntary educational opportunities, including

• Diversity Learning Series
• Experiential Implicit Bias Series
• MyPath Online Education
• Ongoing In-person Opportunities
• Education and Training Events

National Recognition of the School of Nursing for Excellence in Diversity

For the second straight year, the School of Nursing (SON) received the Health Professions Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine. The award is the only national honor recognizing U.S. medical, dental, pharmacy, nursing, osteopathic, and allied health schools that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion.

This section of the report aims to focus first on broad initiatives to improve climate, including the Office for Faculty Development and Diversity, some new initiatives around disability, and some detail about graduate students across schools and then moves into school- and unit-based reports.

Office for Faculty Development and Diversity

The mission of the Office for Faculty Development and Diversity is to help recruit and advance underrepresented minorities and women to the University faculty. The main tactic for accomplishing these goals is to work with deans and faculty diversity officers to implement strategies and support for the hiring, retention, and promotion of a more diverse faculty. The faculty diversity officers, two faculty members from each school nominated by their deans, work within each school to inform faculty searches, strengthen pipeline initiatives, assess progress, develop new programming, and raise awareness of the importance of diversity and inclusion. For information about faculty demographics, please visit the diversity dashboard.

Special Opportunities Fund

The Special Opportunities Fund remains an important resource for deans and department chairs who need additional support for recruiting and retaining a more diverse faculty. By supplementing available school resources, the fund has facilitated creating new faculty positions, dual career support, research funding, interdisciplinary work, and programming designed to promote a more inclusive climate. Since its inception in 2007, the fund has provided more than $5 million to hire or retain a total of 43 faculty throughout all seven schools.

During the 2017–18 academic year, the fund helped to support 10 faculty, seven of whom are people of color. Four programs and a visiting scholar were also supported. (For financial information and more details about the fund commitments, see Appendix D.)

The Special Opportunities Fund also provided bridge funding for the Gateways Music Festival at the Eastman School of Music, whose mission is to connect and support professional classical musicians of African descent. The fund has also built capacity for sustainability through other funding sources, including multiyear foundation grants and funds from the National Endowment for the Arts and the City of Rochester, and supported a Susan B. Anthony Center program focused specifically on finding new ways to reach other disenfranchised communities. The fund enabled the creation of a new handbook, Trans@Rochester, and also made it possible to support face-to-face training on unconscious bias in research and academic workplace settings to more than 900 staff, students, and faculty members.

To supplement the recruitment and retention opportunities brought about by the Special Opportunities Fund, the Office for Faculty Development and Diversity also attends several recruitment fairs to meet individuals seeking faculty and postdoctoral positions. The office utilizes several database systems to expand the pool for searches across the institution, maintains an internal database of candidates who are interested in the University, and works to develop relationships at the Black Doctoral Network, the Chronicle-Vitae Recruiter, Higher Education Recruitment Consortium, the Registry, and the Southern Regional Educational Board.

Faculty Development

The Office for Faculty Development and Diversity also has built a suite of career development programs and large community events focused on educating and promoting dialogue in order to build an inclusive community.

The Office for Faculty Development and Diversity continued to offer signature programs for faculty: UR Year One and Conversations with New Academic Leaders. This year, both were well received, with presentations by faculty, staff, and alumni given to more than 800 attendees.

New this year, the Provost’s Office and the Office for Faculty Development and Diversity announced a fellowship program for staff and faculty aimed at building and embracing our diverse community. The Inclusive Climate Leadership Fellowship is a competitive two-year fellowship for staff and faculty who are passionate about incorporating diversity and inclusion into their careers at the University. The first cohort of fellows began work on their projects on July 1, 2018. Their projects reach multiple constituents and areas of the University; we expect to report on the results of these projects in next year’s Diversity and Inclusion Report.

The Office for Faculty Development and Diversity sponsors a collaboration with the National Institutes of Health–funded BUILD (Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity) Initiative, which includes Xavier University in New Orleans. The office partnered with Xavier to provide opportunities for students to do summer research at the University and for our faculty to collaborate with Xavier’s faculty. In 2018, two scholars came to Rochester as part of the Project PATHWAYS initiative. Chandler Golden worked with Dena Swanson of the Warner School, studying life event stressors among adolescents in the City of Rochester. Golden developed a research study where she plans to explore parents’ mental health and how it influences parenting African American/Black adolescents. Olivia Griswold worked with Elizabeth Handley of the Mt. Hope Family Center. Griswold studied child maltreatment, early childhood adversity, family dynamics, and poverty effects on child and adolescent development. The intent of this program is to encourage participants to consider returning to the University for their graduate studies.

The Future Faculty workshop series, also sponsored by the Office for Faculty Development and Diversity, provides a means of connecting graduate students across the University to prepare the next generation of faculty and to give Rochester graduates and fellows a competitive edge in the academic marketplace. It offers information and hands-on experience with aspects of faculty life not traditionally part of the graduate curriculums, including innovative teaching, assessing learning, diversity and inclusion, and employing technology in teaching.

Susan B. Anthony Center

The Office for Faculty Development and Diversity also includes the Susan B. Anthony Center, which works to bring awareness to and advocate for social justice and equality. The center’s work is conducted in the spirit of Susan B. Anthony, who fought tirelessly throughout her life for the betterment of disenfranchised populations. Center staff collaborate with the University community and partner with a wide range of local, national, and international organizations to fulfill the center’s goal of translating research into policy.

This year, to further the professional development of the University’s faculty, the Susan B. Anthony Center partnered with the Office for Faculty Development and Diversity, the Office of the Vice Dean for Research at the School of Medicine and Dentistry, and the Textbook and Academic Authors Association to bring development coach Tara Gray to Rochester. Gray serves as an associate professor of criminal justice and as the first director of the Teaching Academy at New Mexico State University (NMSU). She gave two workshops: “Publish and Flourish: Become a Prolific Scholar” and “Ten Ways to Manage Your Time.” Both were well attended and well received by University of Rochester faculty and staff.

The Susan B. Anthony Center also added new student engagement programming to its offerings this year. The Susan B. Anthony Center Ambassadors Program gives students the opportunity to volunteer in the Rochester community at nonprofit agencies, allowing students flexibility to volunteer to increase their civic engagement and community-building skills. As a follow-up to the Trans@Rochester handbook, the Susan B. Anthony Center and student Bruno Sacatucua worked with the Office for Faculty Development and Diversity, the Office for Minority Student Affairs, and Admissions to create a Handbook for Underrepresented Ethnicities (HUE). This 37-page handbook was launched in October 2017 and has received overwhelmingly positive feedback from the University community.

Diversifying Disability

Student organizations focused on disability and Deaf identity at the University of Rochester have continued to grow and diversify over the last year. For example, one of the newest Students’ Association–recognized student organizations is Students for Chronic Illness Visibility, a group that has garnered notable support and participation among students in the College. Organizations not explicitly focused on disability in their mission have also sponsored and hosted programming focused on combatting ableism, demonstrating a commitment to and appreciation for disability issues among the wider student body. Undergraduate and graduate students with disabilities across the University convened a series of three advocacy meetings in the spring 2018 semester during which campus accessibility and disability-related concerns were openly discussed and captured. Students plan to share these insights and recommendations with University leadership in the fall of 2018, with the goal of pushing the campus toward greater accessibility and empowerment of students with disabilities.

Services for students with disabilities are provided within individual schools. Each school has a designated access coordinator who requests and maintains disability-related documents, certifies eligibility for services, and determines and develops plans for reasonable academic accommodations. Over the last year, Arts, Sciences & Engineering moved disability services from within the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning to a stand-alone Office of Disability Resources at the College.

Graduate and Professional Students

Graduate students form the pipeline of future faculty, so increasing faculty diversity at the University (and elsewhere) depends upon enhancing graduate student diversity. These students will be in great demand as professors and mentors once they receive degrees. University master’s and doctoral programs have made headway over the past 10 years, but challenges remain. While international students and Asian students from the U.S. are fairly well represented in master’s and doctoral programs, Black, Hispanic, Native American, Pacific Islander, and mixed-race students are less so. Overall, the University has made progress over the past 10 years in increasing the percentage of entering graduate students who are underrepresented minorities, but STEM fields continue to face the most significant challenges.

School and Unit Based Reports

Each school or unit works to address its local climate in its own unique way; some of this work is described below.

The University continues to strengthen its commitment at every level to serving and engaging with the Rochester community. As the largest employer in the Rochester region, the University provides significant economic, educational, medical, cultural, and social benefit to the surrounding communities. Programs and activities serving the community bring diverse people together and leverage faculty, student, and employee skills, talents, and passions. Some of these efforts are highlighted below:

Arts, Sciences & Engineering

The Rochester Center for Community Leadership, which operates many diverse programs in the local community and leads AS&E’s efforts at embedding community engagement in credit-bearing courses, is currently leading the institution’s application to receive classification as a community-engaged campus by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Education.

In 2017–18, the Kearns Center collaborated with more than 60 Rochester faculty members in numerous departments. Faculty members hosted student researchers, taught 21 courses for Rochester City School District (RCSD) students in Upward Bound and Upward Bound Math/Science, and presented multiple talks and workshops. The center served more than 2,000 RCSD students through the Upward Bound, Upward Bound Math/Science, and Talent Search precollegiate programs in four high schools. Over the summer, the Kearns Center supported 97 undergraduates from the University of Rochester and other institutions from all over the country in research labs, internships, and classes. Three of the Kearns Center’s precollege scholars at East High School also participated in a science exploration program that saw their scientific contributions sent into space with NASA.

School of Nursing

The School of Nursing is committed to diversity and inclusion within the community where students, faculty, and staff live, learn, and work. This year, the SON cosponsored Rochester Black Pride, which has an important Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, Intersex, and Two-Spirit (LGBTQI2S) focus that celebrates gender and sexual diversity within Rochester’s Black communities. The SON is proud of its roles as an ally in recognizing and supporting the Black LGBTQI2S community’s effort to create anti-racism and anti-oppression environments that affirm not only the diversity of Black sexualities but the richness and diversity of Black culture(s)—all of which are important components of health and positive well-being.

The SON is also supporting the development of the National Black Nurses’ Association (NBNA) in the greater Rochester area. SON’s outreach for the NBNA initiative is not limited to University of Rochester–affiliated nurses and students, but it is open to all nurses and students in Rochester and the surrounding communities.

Eastman Institute for Oral Health

Eastman Institute for Oral Health (EIOH) has been steeped in a tradition of community service since opening in 1917 and is now the largest provider of oral health care to underserved populations in the Rochester region. Studies show that these populations are best accommodated with services provided in the communities where they live. The EIOH considers outreach and partnerships with other community organizations a key factor in reaching and effectively treating this population. EIOH’s affiliations and partnerships include ABC Head Start, Al Sigl Community of Agencies, Highlands at Pittsford, Hillside Children’s Center, Jewish Home, Lifespan, Mary Cariola Children’s Center, Rochester City School District, Rochester Refugee Center, Salvation Army, Special Olympics, St. Ann’s Community, and Volunteers of America.

The Simon Business School

The Simon School student body (with support from staff) has ongoing partnerships with multiple community organizations and each year works to deepen those relationships. Partners include Foodlink and Habitat for Humanity, where Simon was recognized for a 100+ volunteer build day and home dedication. Simon students have also participated in Secret Santa programs with multiple local charities. The Simon Business School and Minority Male Leadership Association also have a mentorship and college prep program with Vertus High School, an all-male charter school in the Rochester City School District. The organization provides monthly programs for 35 senior students at Vertus. In addition, Simon recently created a Board Fellowship Program, which provides internship and project opportunities for students on a local non-profit board.

Eastman School of Music

The Eastman School of Music Diversity Committee sponsored a second “PRISM”-style concert at East High School in April 2108, bringing more than two dozen Eastman students to East High School for shared musical performances. This is the third year of interactions with East High School around the topic of diversity of musical experience. The ROCmusic initiative, an after-school music program jointly sponsored by Eastman School of Music and various Rochester partners, has expanded to a second site within the city and continues to enroll students.

The Gateways Music Festival, in association with the Eastman School of Music, is one of the programs supported by the Special Opportunities Fund. The festival, which received a substantial grant from the Mellon Foundation in late 2017 to build infrastructure capacity, celebrates the participation and achievement of professional classical musicians of African descent by bringing 125 of the nation’s top solo, chamber music, and orchestral musicians to Rochester each summer for a six-day series of recitals, chamber music performances, and a full orchestra concert. The festival is one of the many ways Eastman expresses its commitment to a rich and diverse musical environment.

Susan B. Anthony Center

The Susan B. Anthony Center’s efforts have always extended beyond campus. Last summer, the Susan B. Anthony Center and University student Torrey Wyatt disseminated a survey to assess the needs of the transgender and gender nonconforming population of Western New York. This survey collected information from 134 subjects, and the Susan B. Anthony Center is currently analyzing the findings for dissemination. Some preliminary data were presented at the International Family Violence and Child Victimization Research Conference in July 2018.

Warner School

At the Warner School, the Center for Urban Education Success (CUES) was created to support the success of K–12 urban schools. Grounded in the University’s partnership with Rochester’s East High School, CUES brings together the Warner School’s educational programs, community outreach, and research about urban schools and the University’s work at East. The center’s goal is to expand opportunities to apply quality research-based solutions at East and to leverage the knowledge gained at East to achieve greater reach in the revitalization of K–12 urban education nationally. This year, CUES received a significant gift from the Konar Foundation to create a new endowed directorship position to lead CUES. Shaun Nelms, superintendent of East Upper and Lower Schools in Rochester and formerly an affiliated faculty member of CUES, was installed as the inaugural director to fill this endowed position. This gift allows Warner to continue demonstrating its commitment to supporting the academic success and well-being of students in urban communities and sharing its process with other schools and districts.

University IT

In order to build a pipeline of diverse talent in the Rochester area, University IT sponsors college and high-school internship programs. The high-school internship program is run in collaboration with the Rochester City School District and the Hillside Work-Scholarship Program. Over the years, University IT has mentored 14 high-school students through the program, with several students completing multiple internships. One of our students is still working in University IT as an IT merchandiser in the UR Tech Store; another is a Monroe County deputy sheriff. University IT welcomed three high-school students in the summer of 2018.

To successfully implement sustainable change, the University must be resolute in continuing to identify and address the diversity, equity, and inclusion challenges within the organization. To have meaningful impact, all members of the community will be expected to understand and encouraged to champion the University’s Vision and Values Statement. From senior leaders to staff and faculty to students, each individual must ensure that the University of Rochester welcomes, includes, and values everyone.

There are many opportunities for continued improvement. Recruitment and retention of a more diverse staff, faculty, and student body in all schools and departments must continue to be a priority. Training and education on unconscious bias and cultural literacy are also going to be critical as the University continues to embrace a more inclusive and diverse environment. We anticipate substantial progress in the coming year as we move toward creating a new central office for diversity, equity, and inclusion.

The appendices that follow include more specifics about events and awards that occurred this year, and also are a comprehensive accounting of the work that has been done on the recommendations from the Commission on Race and Diversity. While we have addressed many of the recommendations, the gaps that remain will be addressed in the coming year, and will create a direction for activities as the University moves towards a new central office for diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Appendix A

Celebrating Successes

Presidential Diversity Award

Established in 2010, the Presidential Diversity Award recognizes the accomplishments of members of the University of Rochester community who contribute to diversity and inclusion through exemplary leadership. Community members from all facets of the University, including faculty, staff, students, units, departments, and teams, are eligible to be nominated. Past recipients and nominees have demonstrated a commitment to diversity and inclusion through recruitment and retention efforts, teaching, research, multicultural programming, cultural competency, and community outreach initiatives. The recipients of the 2018 Presidential Diversity Award were Jonathan Wetherbee ’08, School of Nursing Staff Diversity Officer, and Molly Murdock, doctoral student at the Eastman School of Music.

Throughout his 10-year career at the University, Wetherbee has taken on an ever-increasing leadership role in a number of programs and initiatives supporting respect and dignity for all people. Murdock is an advocate for gender equity in music performance and scholarship. Recognizing the lack of female composers being taught in music classes at all education levels, she collaborated with like-minded students at the Eastman School of Music and other institutions to create a website, Music Theory Examples by Women, to highlight music created by women. She also uses social media platforms to promote dialogue surrounding gender and racial equity in music.

The Susan B. Anthony Legacy Awards

The Susan B. Anthony Legacy Awards are a 60-year tradition honoring exceptional women in the University of Rochester community. This year, seven exceptional undergraduate women were presented with awards. Andrea Holland, a motivational speaker and communications coach, delivered the keynote address. Additionally, a new award, the Susan B. Anthony Center Community Champion Award, was presented to the organizers of the VoteTilla event that celebrated the centennial of New York women’s voting rights. VoteTilla was a week-long navigational celebrating 100 years of women’s voices and votes in New York State that took place along the Erie Canal and ended with a weekend celebration in Rochester, July 17–23, 2017. With a core of five rented canal boats, VoteTilla set out from Seneca Falls, New York, and traveled to Rochester and finished the journey with a parade to the National Susan B. Anthony Museum & House and celebrations around town.

Eastman Diversity Award

The Eastman School of Music recently established the Eastman Diversity Award. In 2018, procedures were developed; nominations were solicited from faculty, staff, and students, including the Eastman Community Music School; and a sub-committee was formed to select the first recipient. The inaugural award was presented to Elizabeth West Marvin, professor of music theory. When the Eastman Diversity Committee was formed in 2007–2008, Marvin was one of the first faculty members to join the effort to establish a vision and an action plan that would address diversity and inclusion at Eastman. She subsequently chaired this committee and helped to create a strategic plan that continues to guide the school’s diversity agenda today. Among the accomplishments from this plan include the addition of a diversity statement to the Eastman mission statement; the expanded training for search committees to identify diverse candidates; and the creation of the Eastman Departmental Diversity Initiative (EDDI). Betsy Marvin was presented this inaugural Diversity Award in recognition of her sustained commitment to diversity and equity throughout her years on the Eastman faculty.

School of Medicine and Dentistry: Faculty Diversity Award

Established in 2013, the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry Faculty Diversity Award recognizes the exceptional contributions and accomplishments of medical school faculty to fostering a diverse and inclusive medical school community. The 2017 recipient was Catherine (Kate) Cerulli, director, Susan B. Anthony Center, and associate professor of psychiatry, School of Medicine and Dentistry. Cerulli was recognized for her exceptional contributions and accomplishments in fostering a diverse and inclusive medical school community.

School of Nursing: Mary Dombeck Diversity Enhancement Faculty and Staff Awards

Established in 2007, the Mary Dombeck Diversity Enhancement Awards recognize faculty and staff members at the School of Nursing (SON) who have demonstrated a significant commitment to enhancing diversity at SON, and who have created and implemented diversity and inclusiveness action plans. The 2017 recipient was Yvette Conyers, RN, MSN, FNP-C, CTN-B, instructor of clinical nursing. Conyers is a member of the school’s diversity council and a founding member of the LIFT program. She was also recently appointed the Medical Center’s representative to the Structural Racism Project for Agencies, sponsored by St. Joseph’s Neighborhood Center and Catholic Family Center.

Appendix B

2017–2018 Major Diversity and Inclusion Events

October 6–7, 2017

Simon Business School Diversity Conference: Experience Our Culture of Inclusion

• Keynote Speaker: Alyssa Whitfield, founder and executive director of Dress for Success Rochester
• Other events included the Dale Carnegie Professional Development Session; the Diversity Leadership panel; and a Simon Social with Panel, Alumni, and Current Students.

October 13, 2017

Stanton/Anthony Breakfast and Conversation

• Keynote Speaker: Elise L. Scott, founding director of the Ronald W. Walters Leadership and Public Policy Center at Howard University
• The panel discussion that followed featured Dr. Scott; the Honorable Teresa D. Johnson, Rochester City Court Judge; and the Honorable Jenean Hampton ’03S (MBA), lieutenant governor of Kentucky. The panel was moderated by Purdue University political science professor Valeria Sinclair-Chapman, PhD.

November 8, 2017

National First Generation Celebration Day

Learn more about this event.

November 9, 2017

Neilly Series Lecture: Brit Bennett

Bennett’s lecture focused on her recent novel, The Mothers, an emotionally perceptive story about community, love, and ambition. She examined the roles demanded of young black women and men and the hypocrisy sometimes inherent in their community’s expectations.

November 10, 2017

Annual Research Conference: Food Justice: Exploring Our Culture’s Complexity

• Keynote Speaker: Dr. Margot Finn
• A focus on food-justice-created opportunities for multidisciplinary dialogue and innovative research to expand our lens on the complexity of food within various cultures
• Learn more about this event.

November 13, 2017

Native American Signed Language Preservation Talk

Mariah Gladstone explained the path to Native American sign language revitalization—and how securing a future for the first universal sign language secures a future for Native youth, strengthens cultural redevelopment, and builds exchange across the United States.

November 13, 2017

Breaking the Bubble: Re-energizing the Legacy of Frederick Douglass

The year 2018 marks the 200th anniversary of one of our nation’s heroes: Frederick Douglass. He did the most important work of his life in Rochester, so there is nowhere better to celebrate his contributions to our nation as well as to our city.

November 14, 2017

Ninth Annual Two Icons Lecture: Visual Activism

• Keynote Speaker: Zanele Muholi
• Zanele Muholi is a South African artist and visual activist working in photography, video, and installation

November 28, 2017

Diversity Seminar Series: Best Practices When Working with Interpreters

• Presenter: Elizabeth (Ballard) Butcher
• January 19, 2018 Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Address
• Keynote Speaker: Maria Hinojosa
• Learn more about this event.

January 25, 2018

Tana Grady-Weliky Lecture: From the Bedside to C-Suite: My Path to Champion for Workplace Health and Well-Being

• Guest Lecturer: Marleece, Barber, MD, MPH
• Learn more about this event.

January 25, 2018

Martin Luther King Jr. Community Action Fair

• This event was an opportunity to bring Rochester and the University community together in an effort to focus our energies on community engagement and to remind us of the richness and power of our community’s diversity.
• Learn more about this event.

February 28, 2018

From Slavery to Citizenship: The Case of Toussaint in New York

• Keynote: Annette Gabriel-Joseph
• Gabriel-Joseph examined the idea of citizenship through the life of Pierre Toussaint, an enslaved man from Saint-Domingue who arrived in New York City as part of the household of Jean Bérard, a French planter fleeing the Haitian Revolution.

March 26, 2018

Exploring Disabilities in Academia

• Keynote Speaker: Dr. Diane Wiener, director of the Syracuse University Disability Cultural Center
• In addition to her graduate student and faculty presentation, Wiener also facilitated another conversation with students and administrators on disability advocacy.

April 5, 2018

One Million Abolitionists

• Keynote Speaker: Kenneth B. Morris Jr.
• Kenneth B. Morris Jr. is the great-great-great-grandson of Frederick Douglass and the great-great-grandson of Booker T. Washington. Morris gave a presentation about the history of his family, the pressure he felt growing up in the shadow of his esteemed ancestors, and his work today fighting against modern slavery as president of Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives.

April 9, 2018

Transgender Health and Wellness Conference

• Keynote Speakers: Carolyn Wolf-Gould, MD, and Rev. Moonhawk River Stone, MS, LMHC
• This one-day Transgender Health and Wellness conference educated physicians, medical providers, and the community about how to offer welcoming and affirming health care to transgender individuals.
• Learn more about this event.

April 13, 2018

2018 Diversity Conference: Overcoming the Invisible

• Keynote Speaker: Ana Navarro
• Presented by: The Office for Faculty Development and Diversity
• Learn more about this event.

April 17, 2018

Rainbow Lecture: Trans*: A Quick and Quirky Guide to Gender Variability

• Keynote Speaker: Jack Halberstam
• Learn more about this event.

April 19. 2018

Emerging Scholars Symposium: Black Climates in an Age of Crisis

Learn more about this event.

April 28, 2018

Third Annual Youth Conference: Character Becomes Destiny

• Keynote Speaker: Roland S. Martin
• Presented by: The Healthcare Technology Youth Apprenticeship Program
• Learn more about this event.

September 20, 2018

10th Annual Two Icons Lecture #HappinessIsPolitical: Black Women, Diasporic Heart, and the Journey of Emotional Wellness

• Keynote Speaker: Bianca Williams
• Bianca Williams is a black feminist cultural anthropologist who focuses on topics related to race, gender, and activism, including black feminist leadership and pedagogy, most recently in the Black Lives Matter movement.
• Learn more about this event.

September 26, 2018

The Battles of History: Representing African Americans in the African and Caribbean Imagination, Frederick Douglass Institute

Keynote: Romuald Fonkoua