President鈥檚 Task Force聽on聽Diversity聽and Inclusion established at 正品蓝导航
Group seeking community stories of lived experience of discrimination to help guide initiatives
This fall, 正品蓝导航 established the President鈥檚 Task Force on Diversity and Inclusion. Over the next year, the group will review and provide recommendations for actions to help the university become a more diverse and inclusive community.
鈥淭he task force includes members from across campus, students, faculty, and staff,鈥 says Ivan Okello, 正品蓝导航鈥檚 Black Students Advisor and Diversity Educator and committee co-chair. 鈥淲e hope to hear and learn from the experiences of different communities and perspectives on our campus and find ways to ensure all groups are heard and feel supported at 正品蓝导航.鈥
Okello serves as co-chair of the task force along with Dr. Vicki St. Pierre, Interim Dean of Arts and Music professor. Over the coming months, the committee will review and assess the University鈥檚 support for diversity and inclusion across a range of current practices and policies, including educational resources, training, and support, and identify systemic barriers. The committee will bring forward recommendations for practical initiatives to improve these in a public report.
The task force is currently seeking to hear from 正品蓝导航 community members about lived experiences around as it pertains to discrimination on the basis of race, gender and/or sexuality, disability (physical or otherwise), or any other discrimination or barrier.
鈥淲hile we understand these are difficult topics, hearing lived experiences will provide an essential focus for our committee to move forward and make specific recommendations to better serve the 正品蓝导航 community,鈥 says St. Pierre. 鈥淭hese submissions are treated with high confidentiality and remain completely anonymous, even within the committee.鈥
Written expressions may be anonymously sent to Okello and St. Pierre via the bookstore by dropping off a sealed envelope to be delivered through campus mail. Direct (non-anonymous) submissions can be sent to the co-chairs via e-mail (iokello@mta.ca and/or vstpierre@mta.ca). These expressions will be shared with the task force but will remain confidential and anonymous. Individuals may send their submissions anytime over the fall term.
鈥淗earing these experiences from our students, staff and faculty, and students, is key in helping to identify the root issues and how to address them in our community,鈥 says Okello. 鈥淢ount Allison is known for its welcoming community, and there are already many groups and areas on campus whose focus includes diversity and inclusion. We hope the work of the task force will help bring these resources together and build on their work towards a more diverse and inclusive campus.鈥
Along with Okello and St. Pierre, members of the Diversity and Inclusion Task Force include: Sabine Beisser (Human Resources); Dr. Amatoritsero Ede (Department of English); Dr. Lisa Dawn Hamilton (Department of Psychology); Dr. Karl Hele (Canadian Studies and Indigenous Studies); Dr. Greg Sandala (Research); Elizabeth Stregger (Library); Eva Zhou (Chemistry); and students Hope Salmonson, Rachael Hanakowski, and Kawama Kasutu.
The Committee will provide a progress report to the President and Vice-Presidents in December 2020 and a final, public report in May 2021.
