Presented by:

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Sharece M. Bunn (she/her) - University of Washington

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Morgan Keller (he/him) - Wesleyan University

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The ABCs of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in International Students and Scholars Offices�

Learning Objectives�

1. Identify ways to incorporate DEI work into hiring, onboarding, student & scholar programming, professional development, and office culture.
2. List overarching DEI goals for your place of work.
3. List strategies for self-work and improvement to prepare for DEI Work.

Who are we?

Morgan Keller (he/him)

White

Cisgender

Male

Currently Able-Bodied

Father & Husband

Binational Family

Sharece M. Bunn (she/her)

White

Cisgender

Female

Currently Able-Bodied

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Assistant Director of International Student Advising at University of Washington

Director of the Office of International Student Affairs at Wesleyan University

Why the ABCs?

ABC’s of DEI for ISS Survey Results

• Currently incorporating DEI principles into: advising, recruitment, enrollment, ISAB, not incorporating
• Ideas for incorporating DEI into work: student “ambassadors” to advise staff, more DEI in orientation, deliberate inclusion of international students in institutional DEIJ plans, training needed for ISSS staff
• Primary challenges: time and capacity, unconscious bias in interview process, upper level university support, DEI feels too separated from ISSS and DEI’s goals don’t always align with ISSS
• Resources:
• Interstride (digital platform with employment webinars, networking and more for international students)
• NAFSA sessions related to DEI
• Social Justice and International Education: Research, Practice, and Perspectives by LaNitra Berger

The ABCs of DEI Work in ISSS

A: access, ability status, anti-racism, affinity groups, ableism, allyship, acculturation vs. assimilation

B: beliefs, building understanding/culture, bias, belonging, BIPOC, BLM

C: calling in vs. calling out, culture, collaboration, check our biases, cultural appropriation, cisgender, classism

D: decolonizing, diversity, discrimination, disability, denial

E: equity, equality, equal rights amendment, environment, ethnocentrism vs. ethnorelativism, empowerment, ESL

F: feminism, feminist theory, FGLI

G: gender non-conforming, global citizenship, generational learning, global context

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H: (challenging) heteronormativity, homophobia, HBCU

I: identity, inclusion/inclusivity, inclusive language, implicit bias tests, intercultural competency, intersectionality, Indigenous

J: justice

K: Karen, knowledge-building

L: LGBTQIA+ support, linguistic relativity

M: multiculturalism, multilingualism, mentorship, microaggressions vs. microaffirmations, marginalization

N: names matter! neopronouns, non-binary, neocolonialism

O: oppression, othering, outgroup bias

P: privilege, power, pronouns, patriarchy, prejudice, People-First Language, PWI, PGP, POC

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Q: queer ally, questioning, QPOC

R: racial equity, racism, refugees

S: socio-economic status (SES); self-education, safe space, systemic racism, stereotypes

T: training, transgender, tokenism, TCKs

U: understanding global context in conversations, undocumented, underrepresented

V: validation, veterans

W: women, white supremacy, worldview

X: xenophobia

Y: YOU can make change happen! Starts with YOU

Z: ze/zir, zero sum game

Hiring

Hiring

• Form a diverse search committee (race, gender, age, and department rep. required at Wes).
• Promote the job to attract a diverse applicant pool.
• Ask DEIJ questions in applications/interviews.
• Educate search committee/participants on implicit/unconscious bias.
• Incorporate international students into each search and value their feedback!
• Resource: Implicit-Association Test (IAT)

With your small group, answer the questions!

And, take notes on your worksheet!

• Choose words or phrases that would help you embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion when hiring new professional staff and student workers.
• How is your office currently enhancing diversity, equity, and inclusion when hiring new employees?
• How can you improve?

The ABCs of DEI Work in ISSS

A: access, ability status, anti-racism, affinity groups, ableism, allyship, acculturation vs. assimilation

B: beliefs, building understanding/culture, bias, belonging, BIPOC, BLM

C: calling in vs. calling out, culture, collaboration, check our biases, cultural appropriation, cisgender, classism

D: decolonizing, diversity, discrimination, disability, denial

E: equity, equality, equal rights amendment, environment, ethnocentrism vs. ethnorelativism, empowerment, ESL

F: feminism, feminist theory, FGLI

G: gender non-conforming, global citizenship, generational learning, global context

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H: (challenging) heteronormativity, homophobia, HBCU

I: identity, inclusion/inclusivity, inclusive language, implicit bias tests, intercultural competency, intersectionality, Indigenous

J: justice

K: Karen, knowledge-building

L: LGBTQIA+ support, linguistic relativity

M: multiculturalism, multilingualism, mentorship, microaggressions vs. microaffirmations, marginalization

N: names matter! neopronouns, non-binary, neocolonialism

O: oppression, othering, outgroup bias

P: privilege, power, pronouns, patriarchy, prejudice, People-First Language, PWI, PGP, POC

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Q: queer ally, questioning, QPOC

R: racial equity, racism, refugees

S: socio-economic status (SES); self-education, safe space, systemic racism, stereotypes

T: training, transgender, tokenism, TCKs

U: understanding global context in conversations, undocumented, underrepresented

V: validation, veterans

W: women, white supremacy, worldview

X: xenophobia

Y: YOU can make change happen! Starts with YOU

Z: ze/zir, zero sum game

Onboarding

Onboarding

New Employees (& Students)

• Build connections
• Support allyship and affinity group participation
• Sense of belonging
• (Racial caucuses; ethnic communities; family and child support; gender-based support groups; queer communities, and MORE)
• Establish mentorship practices for new employees

With your small group, answer the questions!

And, take notes on your worksheet!

• Choose words or phrases that would help you embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion when onboarding new professional staff and student workers.
• How is your office currently enhancing diversity, equity, and inclusion when onboarding new employees?
• How can you improve?

The ABCs of DEI Work in ISSS

A: access, ability status, anti-racism, affinity groups, ableism, allyship, acculturation vs. assimilation

B: beliefs, building understanding/culture, bias, belonging, BIPOC, BLM

C: calling in vs. calling out, culture, collaboration, check our biases, cultural appropriation, cisgender, classism

D: decolonizing, diversity, discrimination, disability, denial

E: equity, equality, equal rights amendment, environment, ethnocentrism vs. ethnorelativism, empowerment, ESL

F: feminism, feminist theory, FGLI

G: gender non-conforming, global citizenship, generational learning, global context

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H: (challenging) heteronormativity, homophobia, HBCU

I: identity, inclusion/inclusivity, inclusive language, implicit bias tests, intercultural competency, intersectionality, Indigenous

J: justice

K: Karen, knowledge-building

L: LGBTQIA+ support, linguistic relativity

M: multiculturalism, multilingualism, mentorship, microaggressions vs. microaffirmations, marginalization

N: names matter! neopronouns, non-binary, neocolonialism

O: oppression, othering, outgroup bias

P: privilege, power, pronouns, patriarchy, prejudice, People-First Language, PWI, PGP, POC

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Q: queer ally, questioning, QPOC

R: racial equity, racism, refugees

S: socio-economic status (SES); self-education, safe space, systemic racism, stereotypes

T: training, transgender, tokenism, TCKs

U: understanding global context in conversations, undocumented, underrepresented

V: validation, veterans

W: women, white supremacy, worldview

X: xenophobia

Y: YOU can make change happen! Starts with YOU

Z: ze/zir, zero sum game

Student & Scholar Support Programming

Student & Scholar Support Programming

• English conversation circles/classes for students, scholars and dependents
• Collaborations with multicultural/cultural centers, identity-based offices, and student organizations/affinity groups
• DEIJ topics and resources in pre-arrival materials, orientation, and transition success programming
• Creating an International Student Advisory Board (ISAB) for your ISSS office
• Wesleyan ISAB shout-out: Winner of Wes’s 2022 Excellence in Leadership Mosaic Award for outstanding work in “identity, culture, and social justice”! :)
• Lesson Learned: Sometimes creating an equitable, inclusive, and empowering space for students means removing administrators from the room!

With your small group, answer the questions!

And, take notes on your worksheet!

• Choose words or phrases that would help you embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion when developing student and scholar programming.
• How is your office currently enhancing diversity, equity, and inclusion when developing student and scholar programming?
• How can you improve?

The ABCs of DEI Work in ISSS

A: access, ability status, anti-racism, affinity groups, ableism, allyship, acculturation vs. assimilation

B: beliefs, building understanding/culture, bias, belonging, BIPOC, BLM

C: calling in vs. calling out, culture, collaboration, check our biases, cultural appropriation, cisgender, classism

D: decolonizing, diversity, discrimination, disability, denial

E: equity, equality, equal rights amendment, environment, ethnocentrism vs. ethnorelativism, empowerment, ESL

F: feminism, feminist theory, FGLI

G: gender non-conforming, global citizenship, generational learning, global context

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​

H: (challenging) heteronormativity, homophobia, HBCU

I: identity, inclusion/inclusivity, inclusive language, implicit bias tests, intercultural competency, intersectionality, Indigenous

J: justice

K: Karen, knowledge-building

L: LGBTQIA+ support, linguistic relativity

M: multiculturalism, multilingualism, mentorship, microaggressions vs. microaffirmations, marginalization

N: names matter! neopronouns, non-binary, neocolonialism

O: oppression, othering, outgroup bias

P: privilege, power, pronouns, patriarchy, prejudice, People-First Language, PWI, PGP, POC

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Q: queer ally, questioning, QPOC

R: racial equity, racism, refugees

S: socio-economic status (SES); self-education, safe space, systemic racism, stereotypes

T: training, transgender, tokenism, TCKs

U: understanding global context in conversations, undocumented, underrepresented

V: validation, veterans

W: women, white supremacy, worldview

X: xenophobia

Y: YOU can make change happen! Starts with YOU

Z: ze/zir, zero sum game

Professional Development

Professional Development Individual Work

• Include DEI Goals into your Annual Evaluations and Goal Setting Activities.
• Putting DEI as a core value for your work.
• Active listening
• When you don’t understand, step back. Listen. Take time to process and seek understanding.
• Remember Walt Whitman and Ted Lasso’s words: Be curious, not judgmental.
• (i.e. many colleges/universities are starting anti-racist initiatives as a goal to work on DEI. Listen to understand.)
• Face your privilege.
• White folx - stop talking and listen.

Professional Development

Formal Training

• National Conference on Race and Ethnicity (NCORE)
• Witnessing Whiteness
• Diversity Forums at your universities
• Make the time. It’s worth it!
• Undocumented/DACA-designated students trainings, workshops and resources
• “UndocuAlly” session at Wesleyan with Liliana Iglesias, Program Director of the Undocumented Student Program at UC Berkeley
• Supporting Undocumented Students’ College & Career Equity: Strategies for Success (SUCCESS) inaugural national convening held March 25-27 at Swarthmore
• Resources: Immigrants Rising, TheDream.US, Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration

With your small group, answer the questions!

And, take notes on your worksheet!

• Choose words or phrases that would help you embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion when you plan out your professional development for the year.
• How are you currently engaging in DEI-focused professional development at the individual level?
• How can you improve?
• What formal DEI trainings and opportunities have you pursued?

The ABCs of DEI Work in ISSS

A: access, ability status, anti-racism, affinity groups, ableism, allyship, acculturation vs. assimilation

B: beliefs, building understanding/culture, bias, belonging, BIPOC, BLM

C: calling in vs. calling out, culture, collaboration, check our biases, cultural appropriation, cisgender, classism

D: decolonizing, diversity, discrimination, disability, denial

E: equity, equality, equal rights amendment, environment, ethnocentrism vs. ethnorelativism, empowerment, ESL

F: feminism, feminist theory, FGLI

G: gender non-conforming, global citizenship, generational learning, global context

​

​

H: (challenging) heteronormativity, homophobia, HBCU

I: identity, inclusion/inclusivity, inclusive language, implicit bias tests, intercultural competency, intersectionality, Indigenous

J: justice

K: Karen, knowledge-building

L: LGBTQIA+ support, linguistic relativity

M: multiculturalism, multilingualism, mentorship, microaggressions vs. microaffirmations, marginalization

N: names matter! neopronouns, non-binary, neocolonialism

O: oppression, othering, outgroup bias

P: privilege, power, pronouns, patriarchy, prejudice, People-First Language, PWI, PGP, POC

​

​

Q: queer ally, questioning, QPOC

R: racial equity, racism, refugees

S: socio-economic status (SES); self-education, safe space, systemic racism, stereotypes

T: training, transgender, tokenism, TCKs

U: understanding global context in conversations, undocumented, underrepresented

V: validation, veterans

W: women, white supremacy, worldview

X: xenophobia

Y: YOU can make change happen! Starts with YOU

Z: ze/zir, zero sum game

Office Culture

Infusing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion into Your Work Culture

• Approach DEI conversations with humility.
• Be prepared to learn.
• Call in rather than call out.
• Develop guidelines for inclusive language and practice it in daily interactions.
• Embrace heritage months and cultural observances through staff discussions, participation in campus and community events, and creating awareness through messaging.
• “You are welcome here.” Be mindful of how students and the campus community view your office. Create the home you want. :)

With your small group, answer the questions!

And, take notes on your worksheet!

• Choose words or phrases that would help you embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion when onboarding new professional staff and student workers.
• How is your office currently enhancing diversity, equity, and inclusion when onboarding new employees?
• How can you improve?

The ABCs of DEI Work in ISSS

A: access, ability status, anti-racism, affinity groups, ableism, allyship, acculturation vs. assimilation

B: beliefs, building understanding/culture, bias, belonging, BIPOC, BLM

C: calling in vs. calling out, culture, collaboration, check our biases, cultural appropriation, cisgender, classism

D: decolonizing, diversity, discrimination, disability, denial

E: equity, equality, equal rights amendment, environment, ethnocentrism vs. ethnorelativism, empowerment, ESL

F: feminism, feminist theory, FGLI

G: gender non-conforming, global citizenship, generational learning, global context

​

​

H: (challenging) heteronormativity, homophobia, HBCU

I: identity, inclusion/inclusivity, inclusive language, implicit bias tests, intercultural competency, intersectionality, Indigenous

J: justice

K: Karen, knowledge-building

L: LGBTQIA+ support, linguistic relativity

M: multiculturalism, multilingualism, mentorship, microaggressions vs. microaffirmations, marginalization

N: names matter! neopronouns, non-binary, neocolonialism

O: oppression, othering, outgroup bias

P: privilege, power, pronouns, patriarchy, prejudice, People-First Language, PWI, PGP, POC

​

​

Q: queer ally, questioning, QPOC

R: racial equity, racism, refugees

S: socio-economic status (SES); self-education, safe space, systemic racism, stereotypes

T: training, transgender, tokenism, TCKs

U: understanding global context in conversations, undocumented, underrepresented

V: validation, veterans

W: women, white supremacy, worldview

X: xenophobia

Y: YOU can make change happen! Starts with YOU

Z: ze/zir, zero sum game

Business Card Exchange

What is your biggest takeaway from today’s session?

Please write the topic on the back of your business card (hiring, onboarding, student and scholar support programming, professional development, and office culture) and then write your keyword, key phrase, or sentence below and share the takeaway by giving your card to a new colleague (not from your table group).

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Thank you!!!

Any questions???

Resource List & Further Convos

If you would like us to share the resource list for our session or wish to connect with us, please reach out via email!

Sharece Bunn: sharece@uw.edu

Morgan Keller: mkeller@wesleyan.edu

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