Friday, 6 November 2015 - 11:09am
[image: ACPA/NASPA Professional Competency Areas for Student Affairs Educators, Visual Representation of the Intersection of the 10 Competency Areas. Social Justice and Inclusion is a Professional Competency.]
Dear ACPA Community,
It is 137 days until we gather as community in Montréal for the ACPA annual Convention. I want to provide an update on some of the work we are doing together to ensure best practices for equity & inclusion at Convention and throughout the year for all members as well as those participating with us from outside our membership. This will be the first of a 4-part series of posts describing our progress.
We want the Convention and ACPA Community to be a welcoming, supportive, brave and safe space for everyone and I invite you to connect directly with me at clove@acpa.nche.edu or 972-358-5907 if you have specific concerns, recommendations or questions.
First, I want to follow up on President Gavin Henning’s five commitments that were published in his blog entitled We Must Do Better. It can be read at: http://www.myacpa.org/blogs/presidents-desk/we-must-do-better
These are the commitments we have made to our members and to ourselves as leaders:
- Continuing dialogue that provides voice to our members as well as pathways for collaborative problem solving
- Examining our own shortcomings as culturally competent leaders
- Partnering with allied organizations to create opportunities for coalition building and professional development
- Seeking opportunities to advocate for policies that best support our students and campuses, and
- Exploring structural barriers to full inclusion of our members
These are the actions we’ve taken regarding
(1) (2) CONTINUING DIALOGUE & EXAMINATION OF SHORT COMINGS
At the ACPA July Leadership Meeting in Montréal, the entire leadership of ACPA in attendance (97 people), engaged in training on the Diversity Collegium’s Global Diversity & Inclusion Benchmarks (GDIB).
Together, we completed one of thirteen sections on the organizational self-evaluation. Then we shared our individual findings. This work together was very revealing and, in most cases, suggested that we were operating at the 50 percent level on the GDIB, adequate or average, not the worst and not the best.
Each leader was provided the link to the complete self-evaluation and asked to complete and return to the Executive Director. You are invited to participate in that same process. You can find the 2014 version at: http://diversitycollegium.org/GDIB_2014_Standard_US_Letter_Version.pdf
The GDIB is used worldwide and not only helps us examine our own shortcomings as culturally competent leaders, but it also gives us insight into the legislative and social climate evolving in other nations. This is important as the internationalization of student affairs continues to develop.
I am now working with the Diversity Collegium content experts to more fully adapt the language of the benchmarks to higher education. When this process is complete, ACPA has the right to distribute at no charge to member institutions.
The GDIB identifies four approaches that are used by organizations worldwide as they start to improve access and support for members who are underrepresented. These are:
COMPETENCE (enhancing competence)
This approach focuses on increasing the competence of individuals and organizations to interact effectively in the context of many mixtures of similarities and differences. Measures of success deal with demonstrated competence in areas like Bias reduction (conscious and unconscious) & Courageous conversations, D&I skills training, Valuing differences and valuing diversity.
COMPLIANCE (complying with laws and regulations)
Most organizational and societal entities have laws, rules, codes, guidelines and the like, which indicate how people within and sometimes outside of those entities are expected and/ or required to behave. Non-compliance often leads to defined consequences. Measures of success focus on the extent of compliance that can be documented. Some of the words used to describe initiatives in this general approach include: Affirmative action, Anti-discrimination, Equality, and Equity.
SOCIAL JUSTICE (achieving justice)
This approach is aimed at achieving justice, ultimately for everyone. Measures of success show results in the ways justice is viewed around the world. Language used to describe specific initiatives under this label includes but is not limited to: Community responsibility, Eliminating the “isms” and phobias directed at a wide range of identity groups, Restorative justice & Social justice
ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (improving organization performance)
Whether producing more successful students or delivering better services most organizations seek to perform better over time. This approach is distinguished by its heavy weighting of performance goals in determining which actions to take. Measures of success address better numbers and ratings with respect to the goals and objectives of each entity. This approach is guided by what can be done to improve how the people and organization function as individuals and as an entity. Words which reflect this as the intent of initiatives under this heading include: Action Research (cycles of changing, researching, and changing), Culture change, Innovation, Organizational Effectiveness, Transformation
ACPA has historically used all of these, to some extent, for its work on equity and inclusion. Some of that work has helped us get to the place where we are today and we have a long way to go. We invite you to reflect on these frames and share your thoughts about your own institution and ACPA as well as other organizations/associations within which you are affiliated or familiar.
ACPA still has work to do regarding equity and inclusion; we always will. But, continue to move forward individually and collectively.
With deep respect,
Cindi Love
Executive Director