Winter Faculty/Staff Institute

Creating Inclusive Syllabi with an Anti-Bias, Anti-Racist Lens

Presenters: Sandra Mitchell, Director of Equity and Inclusion; Teresa Ripple and Sarah Hassebroek, Assistant Professors, Graduate and Undergraduate Advanced Montessori and Early Childhood Programs

Prereading: Kishimoto, K. (2016). "Anti-Racist pedagogy: From faculty's self-reflection to organizing within and beyond the classroom." Race Ethnicity and Education. 

In this session, we will share an anti-racist framework of the work that goes into breaking a syllabus into parts, in order to decolonize the language and components of a syllabus. We will share examples of syllabus statements, formats, and key elements to include. We will discuss the article "Anti-Racist Pedagogy: From faculty's self-reflection to Organizing within and beyond the classroom," which describes in greater detail anti-racist pedagogy. Participants will work on one of your syllabi using this framework.

Examining and Disrupting Whiteness

Presenter: Sharon Radd, Program Director, MA Organizational Leadership

"Whiteness" refers to race privilege, a way of seeing the world, and “a set of cultural practices that are usually unmarked and unnamed"" (Frankenberg, in DiAngelo, 2011, p.56). It is pervasive in the United States and a barrier to equity. In order to become a diverse and inclusive organization, we must recognize and redress the organizational and individual norms and practices that center whiteness and marginalize those with minoritized identities. This session offers a challenging yet supportive environment to examine your “personal, local, and immediate” (Singleton, 2005) connections to Whiteness. You will develop your understanding of, and ability to notice, “Whiteness at work” (Yoon, 2012); Examine your personal connection to Whiteness and other forms of identity-related privilege; Practice using tools and dispositions that foster critical consciousness; and Identify action steps to disrupt Whiteness and foster more authentic inclusion."

Nothing about us, without us, is for us: A case study on strategies for retaining BIPOC and First Gen students

Presenters: Amal Warsame and Kim Munoz, Assistant Directors of Multicultural and International Programs and Services (MIPS)

At St. Catherine University, our students aren't just numbers; they are people with real needs and real experiences. In addition to living out our University's mission, we at the Multicultural and International Programs and Services (MIPS) department are committed to the values of meeting the needs of our times, social justice, radical hospitality, student leadership, and cultivating brave spaces. We have created programs focused on instilling these values and meeting the needs of our students.

Undoubtedly, this is a time of momentous change, and engaging first-year students is more crucial than ever.  The pandemic has introduced new challenges for everyone working in higher education. Still, it has also provided MIPS with the opportunity to think creatively to adjust, adapt, and continue our mission. This presentation will showcase a case study of the three programs coordinated by our staff in order to matriculate, retain, and graduate BIPOC & First Gen students. We will want to discuss and share the various strategies of moving programs entirely online to equip first-year students with the relationships and resources vital to actualizing a successful college experience during an unprecedented time.

Office of Scholarly Engagement and High Impact Practices at St. Kate’s: Building equity-minded pathways to advance student learning outcomes

Presenters: D’Ann Urbaniak Lesch, Director of Community Work and Learning, Strategic Director of the Office of Scholarly Engagement; and Raine de Campeau, Director of Global Studies

In this session, St. Kate's new Office of Scholarly Engagement (OSE) staff will review AAC&U's report, "Assessing Underserved Students' Engagement in HIPS." We then look forward to discussing the report findings and their applicability at St. Kate's as we collaboratively work together to move the Academic Master Plan forward in ways that serve the mission of our institution and our St. Kate's students.

View AAC&U report: Assessing Underserved Students' Engagement in HIPS

Focus on these sections:

• Foreward: A New Inquiry Approach to High-Impact Practices
• Introduction: Exploring the Connection between High-Impact Practices and Student Success  
• Conclusion: Guiding Questions for Advancing Campus Efforts to Improve Learning and Promote Success for Underserved Students 

Specification Grading: Finding Better Ways to Grade

Presenter: Mary Nienow, BSW Program Director, and Assistant Professor, Department of Social Work.

During this session, participants will discuss Specification Grading and ways they can incorporate it into the classroom. Specification Grading, developed by Linda Nilson, focuses on developing competency and allows students to determine the level of effort and therefore the grade they want to attain. It also allows the instructor to spend less time determining "points" and provide feedback in a way that students will read and use. Mary Nienow will lead the discussion and share examples of ways she has used specification grading in the classroom.

Read "Yes Virginia, There is a Better Way to Grade" article

Supporting Students with Disabilities in the Pandemic Environment

Presenters: Julie Olson Rand, Assistant Director of Disability Resources; and Lizette Bartholdi, Assistant Dean and Director of Academic Advising

Lizette Bartholdi and Julie Olson Rand will share from their partnership in working with faculty and students with disabilities during the transition from in person to online. This session will provide an overview of the partnership between Disability Resources and Academic Affairs, and focus on discussion around providing support for our students with disabilities during this challenging time. We will also provide time to answer your questions.

The Assumptions of White Privilege

Presenters: Monica Brown, Mary T. Hill Director of Data Science, and Assistant Professor, Department of Mathematics; Renee Broughten, Professor, Department of Interprofessional Education

In this lunch and learn session, Monica Brown and Renee Broughten will facilitate a conversation on the article "The assumptions of white privilege and what we can do about it," by Fr. Bryan Massingale. We will hold space for discussion of the assumptions that we carry, and challenge each other to consider the ways in which we benefit from the status quo and continued racist systems.

Participants are warmly invited to join continued bi-weekly conversations with the White Antiracist Accountability for Learning and Kinship (WAALK) group. For more information or to join WAALK, contact Monica or Renee.

What is Racial Capitalism? What is the PIC? What is Abolition?

Presenter: Nancy A Heitzeg, Endowed Professor in the Sciences, and Professor of Sociology and Critical Studies of Race and Ethnicity

In advance of Black History Month and in preparation for “Are Prisons Obsolete? A Conversation with Angela Davis” on February 25, join Nancy Heitzeg in this lunch and learn about racial capitalism and prison abolition.

Background reading