INTERCULTURAL AFFAIRS | The Office of Intercultural Affairs and all of our campus partners have been working diligently since this past summer to incite positive change at LMU. As we all work toward becoming an anti-racist institution, we will provide routine updates so that the whole community may remain connected and informed.
Addressing Demands
The Office of Intercultural Affairs is launching the “Addressing Demands” webpage to track university responses and progress in addressing #BlackatLMU demands. Note that this page will be updated as new information is available, with at least one update per semester – each November and April. To receive alerts when the page is updated, please sign up here.
OIA Buzz – Cabinet Associates Program
We welcome this year’s cohort for the Cabinet Associate’s Program (formerly Senior VP Fellows):
1. Lydia Ammossow | Director of LMU Radio
Mentor: Tom Poon, Ph.D. | Executive Vice President and Provost
2. Stefan Bradley, Ph.D. | Professor of African American Studies and Diversity & Inclusion Coordinator for BCLA
Mentor: John Kiralla | Senior Vice President for Marketing, Communications, and External Communications
3. Rebecca Hong, Ed.D. | Senior Director of Educational Effectiveness and Assessment
Mentor: Craig Pintens | Senior Vice President for Athletics and Athletics Director
4. Carla Marcantonio | Associate Professor and Chair of Film and TV Studies
Mentor: Lynne Scarboro | Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer
5. Gustavo Vejarano | Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Mentor: John Sebastian, Ph.D. | Vice President for Mission and Ministry
The LMU Anti-Racism Project – Updates and Highlights
Virtual Forum Series
On Sept. 15, OIA kicked off our monthly series of speakers and facilitated discussion to promote the development of LMU as an anti-racist institution through campus-wide dialogue and education.
September 15: Whose Free Speech?
Keynote Speaker: Michelle Deutchman, J.D. – executive director of the National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement at UC Irvine
Departmental Sponsors:
- Office of Intercultural Affairs
- Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs
- Ethnic and Intercultural Services
- ASLMU
- Intercultural Facilitators
Save the Dates:
Upcoming Forums on “The Costs of Racism: From Trauma to Public Health”
Oct. 14, 2020 – 5-6:30 p.m.
Title: “Healing and Liberation: Addressing the Trauma of Racism”
Keynote Speaker: Thema Bryant-Davis, Ph.D. – associate professor of psychology and director of the Culture and Trauma Research Lab at Pepperdine University.
Register Here.
Nov. 12, 2020 – 3-4:30 p.m.
Title: “Dying of Whiteness: How the Politics of Racial Resentment Is Killing America’s Heartland”
Keynote Speaker: Jonathan Metzl, Ph.D. – Frederick B. Rentschler II Professor of Sociology and Psychiatry and director of the Center for Medicine, Health, and Society at Vanderbilt University
Hosted by the Sociology Department, BCLA
Contact Professor Rachel Washburn for more information.
Systemic Analysis Updates
There are three more Systemic Analysis Workshops planned this semester. Register here to attend one of the upcoming dates:
- Oct. 7 | 11-noon
- Oct. 14 | 11-noon
Is your unit engaging in systemic analysis already? Submit a Qualtrics survey on your Systemic Analysis process:
As units move through the eight-step systemic analysis process, all are asked to submit to the Office of Intercultural Affairs (OIA) the following through a Qualtrics Report Form:
- Process – Describe your systemic analysis process (e.g. held listening sessions, conducted an audit of policies, reviewed data, etc.) and preliminary findings.
- Issues Identified – Describe challenges/problems/issues that you have identified as a topic of concern in your unit.
- Action Steps – Describe the action steps that will be taken to address these issues identified through the systemic analysis.
- Outcomes – Describe outcomes and how they will be assessed.
NOTE: Units are not expected to have a full systemic analysis complete upon submission to Qualtrics. Simply report on any efforts taken so far, and continue to submit progress to Qualtrics as new updates are available. The first progress report deadline is November 1. OIA will publish regular updates (based on Qualtrics submissions) in LMU This Week. Additionally, ongoing documentation of progress and reports will be available on the OIA website. These reporting measures are in place to ensure maximum transparency and accountability towards a more equitable university.
Systemic Analysis Report Out Sessions
Sept. 15: Career and Professional Development and Computer Science Department:
Register to attend an upcoming session
Reporting sessions will occur every other Tuesday from 4-5 p.m., beginning Sept. 15
- Sept. 29: William H. Hannon Library, Loyola Law School
- Oct. 13: Information Technology Services, Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts
- Oct. 27: Public Safety, College of Business Administration
- Nov. 10: Athletics, LMU Honors
- Nov. 24: Theatre Arts, [second unit TBD]
Staff Equity Scorecard
The Equity Scorecard provides a data-driven component to our institutional Systemic Analysis process. The Equity Scorecard is a process and an assessment tool for institutional change in higher education that utilizes institutional data to monitor progress toward equity for historically underrepresented students in four areas: access, retention, success and institutional receptivity (Bensimon, 2004).
The Staff Equity Scorecard has been developed by OIA with data provided by Human Resources. It is available to view for Loyola Law School and LMU’s Westchester campus:
Visit The LMU Anti-Racism Project web page for more information and continuous updates on these initiatives.
Continuity of Community: Community Check-in Survey | Deadline Oct. 16
The Community Check-in Survey provides a snapshot of how LMU is doing during COVID-19 in these areas: sense of community; level of disruption due to COVID-19; remote learning experience; perception of LMU/LLS. Participants were also asked about what has been most challenging and helpful strategies during COVID-19. Participants provided suggestions on what would continue to keep them connected to the campus. This brief highlights data from 1,443 LMU faculty, staff and students.
We acknowledge that the picture painted by the first survey is very limited: It took place before staff furloughs, before the video of George Floyd’s killing went viral, and before the protests began. The second survey is scheduled for October to assess our new virtual campus as well as community morale related to COVID-19 and racial justice. Access the April survey briefing here.
We welcome all staff, students, and faculty to fill out the Community Check-in Survey by Friday, October 16.
Contact OIA@lmu.edu for questions and concerns.
