Intent and Purpose
St. Olaf seeks to ensure that it is free of structures and ways of functioning that systematically disadvantage certain cohorts within the campus community. Over time, the policies, processes and practices developed to serve students, staff and faculty members may fail to keep pace with changing needs and circumstances. Regular examination of these policies, processes and practices can confirm that they continue to serve their intended purpose and that they are not inadvertently presenting barriers to students and employees by reviewing workflow and collecting feedback from those whom they affect, or indicate when they should be revised.
ST. OLAF JOINS LIBERAL ARTS
COLLEGES RACIAL EQUITY
LEADERSHIP ALLIANCE
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“Membership in the Alliance gives us the opportunity to learn with and from other colleges like us and from leading experts working on diversity, equity, and inclusion.”
President
David R. Anderson ’74
PARTNERS IN ACHIEVING GOAL 4
- Campus Ministry
- Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer (liaison with Northfield Chamber of Commerce)
- Disability Access Services
- Financial Aid
- Government, Corporate and Foundation Relations
- Human Resources
- Director of Taylor Center for Equity and Inclusion
- Registrar
- Residence Life
- Vice President of Student Life (liaison with Northfield municipal government and police department)
- Tenure and Promotion and Faculty Governance committees.
4A: Eliminate any institutional barriers to the full participation of students in high-quality co-curricular programs and activities, so that the racial, ethnic, and gender composition of these programs and activities is similar to that of the student body as a whole (an existing goal of the St. Olaf Strategic Plan)
- The college has been tracking the rates of participation in key co-curricular programs and activities for several years, and reporting on outcomes as part of its Strategic Plan Progress Report (II.1).
- In addition to analyzing student participation in co-curricular activities according to the categories of race, international status, and gender, include consideration of income, first-generation status.
4B: Examine campus-wide communications, policies, processes and practices; gather user feedback
- In response to concerns expressed by students, the “payment due” amount triggering holds on registration was raised from $300 to $2000.
- In response to concerns expressed by students, the requirement for students to make a deposit to register for the upcoming year has been discontinued.
- Through a single request to the Registrar’s Office, students may now specify the name they wish used in most college records and communications, and in the directory (transcripts and other official records such as financial aid and billing still require a legal name change).
- Faculty and staff can indicate a “preferred name” for all communications.
- Recreation and Athletics established a RESA Transgender and Gender Non-Binary Participation Policy in 2018/19.
- The requirement to identify gender for registering for certain “Studies in Physical Movement” courses has been removed. The one remaining gender-specific course is weight training, for which any student is invited to register.
- A bias incident report procedure was put into place in 2017/18.
- Establish a timeline for systematically reviewing policies, processes and practices as part of regular reviews of units and departments.
- Establish standard procedures by which departments advertise student work and research positions and by which students are evaluated for employment
- Assess the experience of student, faculty and staff “clients” of offices
- Assess faculty and staff personnel review processes regularly.
4C: Examine personnel processes for faculty and staff, including hiring, training and development, performance and tenure and promotion reviews for elements of bias
- The processes for hiring faculty members to tenure track and full-time term positions, from the search approval process to hiring, are designed to develop a robust and diverse applicant pool. See also appendix 1A.
- The Office of Human Resources has revamped all staff job descriptions, including analyzing the qualifications for each job, to ensure the College is not unnecessarily excluding people.
- St. Olaf is a member of the Consortium for Faculty Diversity, helping develop the pipeline of candidates of color interested in careers at liberal arts colleges.
- An enhanced equity statement now appears on the Human Resources pages for both faculty and staff positions, was developed in response to the recommendations of a “Leadership to Legacy” team looking into hiring diverse staff members.
- The Tenure and Promotion Committee annually reports to the Faculty Life Committee regarding the faculty review process.
- For initiators of tenure and promotion reviews, members of their departments, and members of the Tenure and Promotion reviews, include information about how bias affects feedback about women faculty and faculty of color.
4D: Collaborate with the local community on matters touching on the needs of students and employees as Northfield residents as these involve issues related to diversity
- The college collaborates with the mayor and city administrator, school district superintendence, hospital administrator, and Carleton College to explore issues related to thriving of students, staff and faculty in Northfield.
- St. Olaf participates on Northfield’s Human Rights Commission, which has as its mission, “to secure for all citizens equal opportunity in employment, housing, public accommodations, public services, and education.”
- Work with the Northfield Downtown Development Corporation and reach out to the Chamber of Commerce to consider ways in which downtown businesses can continue to improve services for students, staff and faculty.
- Reach out to other local and regional organizations devoted to assuring that Northfield and neighboring communities are equitable and welcoming.