2019-2020 Diversity Report College of Arts & Sciences (CAS)

As noted in previous reports, the College of Arts & Sciences provides a majority of the University’s core curriculum. A significant portion of this curriculum is primarily focused on themes of diversity and inclusion. Examples include courses focused on understanding people from other cultures, the social dynamics of race and racism, and the historical relations and conflicts between groups and nations. In addition, Arts & Sciences faculty members frequently encourage their students to attend extra-­­curricular activities, such as Beyond-­­related events.

1. What actions were taken to address/implement initiatives that are in the current diversity and inclusion plan?

a) Quantitative Reasoning Project: With support from a multi-institutional, multi-year NSF grant, the Mathematics Department has developed, implemented, and expanded an innovative sequence of courses (Quantitative Reasoning I, II) that replace traditional algebra instruction and improve retention. Unlike many institutions that offer quantitative reasoning courses, the courses developed for FSU students include enough algebra for a student to change majors with needing to take additional math courses. Another feature of the program is its breadth. With support from the grant, the QRI, II courses have been revised to serve students in business (all areas), Social Work, and Nursing. Since the courses are designed to promote collaboration in an inquiry-based format, students are given opportunities develop interpersonal skills called for by employers. These courses, because they emphasize concepts over procedures, allow students to focus their thinking on big ideas rather than memorization. This helps reduce anxiety and helps students to see mathematics in a more positive light. Results of this project have been disseminated through published articles and conference presentations. b) C4 Program: The C4 Scholar Program (Cross-Curricular Career Community) is a multi- semester learning community program for General Studies students with developmental placements in English composition, mathematics, and reading. Program courses and related activities are guided by a framework from business management literature that focuses on personal accountability. To reduce student debt and time-to degree, students are accelerated in English composition and mathematics. The program also features a strong relational advising component. Academic performance data from the first three cohorts show strong gains in first- year retention, GPA, DFW rates in comparison with students with similar placements who did not participate in the program. Results of this project have been disseminated through published papers and conference presentations. c) In-Service Teacher Certificate and Concentration Program: In an effort to expand the University’s dual and concurrent enrollment footprint, Erin Militzer and Sandra Brigance developed a graduate math certificate for in-service secondary teachers. The distinguishing feature of the program will be its focus on teaching and learning issues. Participants who complete the program will be qualified to teach dual and

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concurrent enrollment courses for the University. With its focus on teaching and learning issues, participates will be better equipped to work with students who find the study of math to be particularly challenging. d) S3OAR: Sustainable, Scalable Scholarships, Opportunities, Achievement, And Results (Hengli Jiao, Brent Williams, Kirk Weller Anne London, Angie Mishler, Brad Isler, Kent Sun, and Mark Thomson). S3OAR is a four-year program that seeks to recruit, retain and graduate academically talented students with financial need in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines. S3OAR is fund by a $1.2 million National Science Foundation (NSF) grant. The program admits 36 students each year for four years. S3OAR Scholars participate in an orientation, a freshman seminar, a learning community, entrepreneurship education and a variety of co-curricular and enrichment opportunities, in addition to being assigned a mentor. Project S3OAR seeks to (1) increase the STEM enrollment, (2) achieve a 90 percent retention rate, (3) increase the retention and graduation rates, (4) document the program’s sustainability and scalability, and (5) determine the effectiveness of job shadowing STEM professionals on the retention rate of S3OAR Scholars. e) Collaborative Research: Foundational Community-Based Research for Ethics in Mathematics. During this one-year ER2 incubation grant, funded by the National Science Foundation, Victor Piercey, Rochelle Tractenberg (Georgetown University), and Catherine Buell (Fitchburg State University) aim to gather foundational research and impressions of ethical guidelines in the mathematical community through focused surveys. They will use the information from these surveys to write a standard ER2 grant to further the research in this area and impact of this work. Specifically, they will conduct a survey based on mathematics-adjacent ethics guidelines from the American Statistical Society (ASA) and the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) to determine (a) which guidelines mathematicians believe are relevant to mathematics, and (b) which elements are missing from current guidelines. The results of this survey will be shared with stakeholders and members within professional mathematics societies, published in a white paper, and will form the basis for the full three-year standard ER 2 proposal. f) Accelerated Algebra for At-Risk Students: As part of the LEAD By Design program (Student Select Support Services (4S) grant from the Michigan Talent Investment Agency Workforce Development King · Chávez · Parks (KCP) Initiative), Lauren Cavner Williams (lead instructor) and Kirk Weller (assisting) are offering an accelerated intermediate algebra course for freshman LEAD participants as a way to reduce time- to-degree and enhance first year retention. The accelerated intermediate algebra course (MATH 115) is based on the MATH 115 course that is part of the C4 program. g) The School of Education provided some programming for students through the 4S grant. These were professional development opportunities for students and staff to participate. Sessions titles included Understanding LGBTQ+ Students; Understanding how poverty effects classroom equity; and Understanding student trauma from different perspectives. This year we are doing professional development on Implicit Bias.

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h) The Social and Behavioral Sciences Department has diversified holiday office decorations to include Kwanzaa and Hanukkah. They are still looking for new art after the remodel and will factor this in. So far we just have a print of Woodbridge and crew plus an abstract piece, but we did add a signboard that we will populate with inspirational sayings from people of diverse backgrounds along with their photograph (currently featuring Katherine Johnson). i) The Social and Behavioral Sciences Department worked during their office remodel to remove a lot of the excess furniture and make the office more open and easy to navigate with a wheelchair. j) Our college continues to have the Native American tribal art from the Canadian Collection in the Science Building outside the 120/126 lecture halls as well as in the Science laboratory wing on the second floor between the Greenhouse and the ASC walkway. k) A collection of photos from Strong is the New Pretty by Kate T. Parker was installed in the Dean’s Office Conference room. The photos feature girls and women as they are “loud messy, silly, fearless, independent, confident, and fierce.” l) A collection of portraits of Hampton-Ferris Students are displayed in the lobby of the Dean’s Office. The collection includes R. Dixon, W. Gibson, B. Lawson, P. Fitzgerald, P. Prattis, and G. Smith. All African American men who graduated to become dentists, executive editors, professors, attorneys, and a Ferris Football coach. m) CAS has continued to promote the living learning community POSIT (Pharmacy, Optometry and Scholars in Training). A primary goal of this program is to increase the diversity of students eligible to apply to pharmacy, optometry and other professional schools and to increase retention of students enrolled in the BS degrees within Biological Sciences. Biological Sciences Faculty member Anne Spain has served as the director of the program and an advisor to these students. n) Faculty from the Departments of Biological Sciences, Mathematics, and Physical Sciences along with faculty from the College of Engineering Technology continued to offer STEM Super Saturday workshops. Laura Forbes a laboratory technician in the Department of Biological Sciences coordinates this event. Middle school students in the Mecosta-Osceola Intermediate School District (MOISD) are invited to attend 2 ½ hour session for 6 consecutive weeks to perform hands-on activities designed to enhance their interest in the science and engineering fields. This has been disrupted by the Pandemic but will return when safe to do so. o) Social Work Department faculty Carrie Thompson and Joanie Hazelton had about 150 students who participate in the Poverty Simulation. The simulation is an interprofessional event used to encourage students to explore what living from day to day in poverty looks/feels like. Students experience hardships, barriers and successes as it relates to housing, jobs, family and economic issues. (November 8th, 2019; February 28th, 2020).

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p) InterProfessional Education Event- Approximately 50 MSW students attended two separate sessions last year. Students worked through a case study in regards to a migrant family needed healthcare services. 10/18/19 & 2/7/20. q) BSW Senior and Clinical Field Placements at the following agencies- FSU Latinx Center, FSU LGBTQ+ Center, numerous rural health clinics, domestic violence shelters, mental health centers, centers that provide assistance for people experiencing homelessness. r) Kristi Haik, Trinidy Williams, Wendy Samuels, and Mike Berghoef have been or are continuing planning with the Health Colleges to collaborate on the Grand Rapids Roosevelt Park / Trinity Health / Mercy Health project. s) Kristi Haik, Trinidy Williams, Wendy Samuels, and Mike Berghoef have been or are continuing serving on the Rural Opioid Prevention Network task force and grant team. t) Many MSW Scwk 699 capstone research projects are regularly focused on issues such as food insecurity, homelessness, domestic violence, poverty, special education, substance abuse and mental health. u) Department Chair Jennifer Johnson is looking at psychology program applicant pools to see who is actually coming to campus to see if we can identify any strategies to help us recruit a greater diversity of students into our program. She is building backwards to have several years of recruitment data to consider. v) Many CAS faculty have added their names to the “Our University's Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” statement. w) Daniel Noren took groups of students to Calvin College for the annual French Film Festival, with dinner at the Brown Butter Creperie in East Town. x) Daniel Noren and a group of five students went to the University of Valparaiso to be guided and instructed by Dr. Randa Duvick, French professor and specialist in early French influences in Michigan. She took them to the Joseph Bailly homestead and spoke about the French voyageur traders and Native Americans in the region at that time. y) Daniel Noren organized several French film screening evenings and conducted weekly conversation tables at Biggy’s (and via Zoom starting in March). z) Daniel Noren encouraged students to attend an event featuring Genot Picor et La Compagnie from Detroit, presenting French Voyageur songs and dances from the “Nouvelle France” period, at the Methodist Church in Big Rapids. aa) Eric Warner, Lucero Flores-Páez, Gustavo Rodríguez-Morán, Ana Dávila-Howard, and Kristin Oplinger participating in organizing Día de los Muertos, a campus-wide event highlighting traditions from Day of the Dead, co-sponsored by the Department of English, Literature, and World Languages, Office of Multicultural Student Services, and Center for Latin@ Studies. bb) Rick Amidon created a writing course assignment requiring students to provide travel instructions/guidelines about a developing nation for an audience of FSU students making a research or study trip, focusing on local customs, language, and culture.

4 | P a g e cc) Christine Vonder Haar created units and assignments for advanced composition and linguistics courses addressing cultural/international differences and accommodations in communication situations; stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination in language and written communication; and gender and language issues (gender awareness, biases, discrimination, pronouns, identity respect, etc.). dd) In the pilot of a new capstone class for English Education majors, Christine Vonder Haar invited Title IX Coordinator Kaitlin Zies to talk about classroom issues relevant to harassment, sexual assault, and other topics that might be disclosed in classroom situations, in journal writing, and other ways with secondary students. Course readings were selected specifically to address race, gender, and cultural diversity issues. ee) Kathleen Wykes created writing assignments for composition courses requiring students to create written profiles of survivors, liberators, military personnel, emergency workers, ordinary citizens, and others involved in events of genocide during the 20th century and that are featured in our Ferris FLITE resource, the USC Shoah Foundation Visual History Archive database. Students also completed a group project focused on analyzing and creating editorial cartoons that satirize equality conditions in the US and beyond with the potential to become genocides. ff) Webinars covering best-practices working with underserved populations (first- generation, rural, and more) have been offered and attended by CAS staff. gg) Shoah project is moving forward under the guidance of Kathryn Woods (Social Work). hh) Sports Comm major continues to 'over-represent' students of color statistically on campus. Sandy Alspach states “We didn't strategically design this major for that purpose, but it is very attractive to students who have experienced success through sport in ways they might not have in the classroom, even if they are no longer playing. Unfortunately, that is also our challenge when they arrive on campus under- prepared to succeed in our classes. The under-side of that demographic is that the number of students who have not completed the major also over-represents students of color. The pattern that has emerged is that when these students have struggled in our tougher courses (COMM 299 Theories and 300 Research Methods), we have advised them to change program to Integrative Studies so they can complete a Ferris BS degree. This pattern is most notable for football and men's basketball student athletes.” ii) Students in Rachel Foulk’s Spring 2020 Art History 325: Women and Art class studied the diverse roles women have played in the history of art, including that of artist, patron, critic, subject, and source of inspiration. They also examined the underlying obstacles and oppression that women have faced within the art world. Two projects from this course led to collaborations with ArtWorks in Big Rapids: i) Students in my Spring 2020 Art History 325: Women and Art class studied the diverse roles women have played in the history of art, including that of artist, patron, critic, subject, and source of inspiration. We also examined the

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underlying obstacles and oppression that women have faced within the art world. Two projects from this course led to collaborations with ArtWorks in Big Rapids: ii) Student research posters exploring the life and work of women artists will be featured in an upcoming ArtWorks exhibit in 2021. jj) During Summer 2020, Bill Killian consulted with several Michigan employers in the chemical industry to see how Ferris could help with the training needs of their diverse workforce. As a result, Bill developed a certificate in Industrial Chemistry, which is now going through the curricular approval process. kk) Lynette Vought worked with her ARTS101 students to create silhouettes inspired by the story of Harriet Tubman and the art of Kara Walker. In partnership with the Ferris Fine Art Gallery the finished work was installed on exterior business store windows spanning 4 blocks in downtown Big Rapids. Professor Roxanne Cullen crafted educational didactics for each image and a window display including all images was showcased at Artworks. This highly visible exhibit showcasing the heroic life of Harriet Tubman was on display throughout the summer of 2020 in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment. ll) She Persisted, a virtual exhibit was curated by Carrie Weis. Partners for this exhibit included Ferris and Kendall Faculty, Artworks, Grand Rapids Public Museum, Big Rapids Community Library, Big Rapids Public Schools, Downtown Business, City of Big Rapids, Mecosta Historical Society, FSU’s Women’s Network, West Michigan Graphic Design Archive, and Muskegon Museum of Art. She Persisted: 2020 is the centennial of the 19th Amendment granting women the right to vote and affirming the goals set by suffragettes in their fight against inequality. This collaborative exhibition will explore one hundred years of women who refused to be silenced, committing themselves to breaking stereotypes and shattering gender roles through their persistence and successes. With objects on loan from the Grand Rapids Public Museum the exhibit will showcase the work of strong women from West Michigan.

2. New diversity and inclusion successes that were implemented in the college

a) The School of Education is working with Grand Rapids Public Schools to get high school students into education as a career. We have a program at Innovation High School that enrolls students in a Teacher Cadet program as 9th graders. Students who complete the four-year program will be granted 10 credits in Education if they attend Ferris State University. If they do not attend Ferris they will have 7 credits on a Ferris State University transcript. We do not guarantee that these credits will be accepted at other universities.

6 | P a g e b) Awaiting BOT approval for new Social Justice and Tolerance major. We anticipate this multidisciplinary degree will be available for Fall 2021. c) The Social and Behavioral Sciences Department has diversified holiday office decorations to include Kwanzaa and Hanukkah. They are still looking for new art after the remodel and will factor this in. So far we just have a print of Woodbridge and crew plus an abstract piece, but we did add a signboard that we will populate with inspirational sayings from people of diverse backgrounds along with their photograph (currently featuring Katherine Johnson). d) Scott Herron participated in a Native American Initiative meeting that Jeanine Ward- Roof hosted with staff from her division (Jan 29, 2020). This meeting was to promote Native American admissions at Ferris and to initiate contacts with tribal colleges in the state. e) Scott Herron worked with OMSS to host a Native American Heritage Month event on Tuesday November 19, 2019 with the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe. They brought a dance group and there was a talk and feast. f) Scott Herron is the advisor for the Circle of Tribal Nations Registered Student Organization (RSO). g) Scott Herron worked with Jason Daday to help host a group of tribal students to campus on November 22nd. h) Scott Herron hosted/instructed at a Labor Day weekend wild rice camp in Alberta, Michigan at MTU’s Ford Center with the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community. i) Scott Herron attended the AISES National Conference in Milwaukee, WI October 9- 13, 2019 as a NSF Funded Mentor in their Lighting the Pathways program for two tribal graduate students. He is a professional member of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES). j) Scott Herron was in the local Pioneer Newspaper for an event that he did at the Big Rapids Community Library on Indigenous Peoples Day on October 14, 2019. k) Scott Herron has been meeting with tribal wild rice experts this summer and conducting research, surveillance of populations and I have a contract funded restoration project at Houghton Lake for wild rice restoration of Muddy Bay. l) Social Work students attended Conference on Human Trafficking Awareness – (April 2020). Canceled. Two events – one scheduled to occur in GR. One in TC. Focused more on professional partnerships. Possibly 10-20 students at each event. m) Social Work Capstone project related to Human Trafficking. Two students involved. n) Rita Walter’s Study Abroad Course to Haiti, scheduled for May 2020, but canceled due to Covid-19. o) Social Work Field Intern Placements at ATS (substance use disorders). Goodwill (poverty/homelessness). Networks Northwest (poverty/prison reentry). Oasis (Domestic Violence). p) Mischelle Stone participated on the Safe Zone Advisory Council for the LGBTQIA Center.

7 | P a g e q) Mischelle Stone was the scheduled speaker at "The Work We Do: Communicating Grit, Authenticity, and Resilience" speaking series that has been rescheduled for March, 2021. r) Kathryn Woods and Mike Berghoef presented Using Genocide Testimony in Social Work Education: The Shoah Visual History Archive with Dr. Kathryn Woods at the Annual Program Meeting of the Council on Social Work Education. Denver, CO. October. s) Kathryn Woods and Mike Berghoef organized Women, Trauma and Genocide Symposium in Grand Rapids in March 2020, but canceled due to Covid-19 - pending rescheduling. t) Mike Berghoef’s Study Abroad Course to El Salvador, Scwk 380 “International Social Work” Academic Service Learning class with 12 social work students, May, 2019. u) Mike Berghoef presented at several conferences i) Human Rights Watch Delegation in Tocoa, Progresso & Tegucigalpa Honduras in collaboration with Alianza Centro Americana Frente a la Minería (Central American Alliance against Mining) and Western University, Ontario. June, 2019. ii) Inclusion of Latinx History in Genocide Studies: Utilizing the Shoah Holocaust Archive with Cruz Maria Morales at the Latinx Social Work Organization conference, Chicago, IL. September, 2019. iii) LSWO Higher Education Workshop with Dr Rey Martinez and Dr Debbra Ortega at the Latinx Social Work Organization conference, Chicago, IL. September, 2019. iv) Anti-Racist Pedagogy: Linking Past to Present through the Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia at the Michigan Association of Baccalaureate Social Work Educators, Big Rapids, MI. September, 2019. v) Addressing Genocidal Thinking Past and Present: Utilizing the Shoah Archive in Social Work Education with Dr. Kathryn Woods at the Michigan Association of Baccalaureate Social Work Educators, Big Rapids, MI. September, 2019. vi) “From “Narco” to Nonviolence: Stories of Transformation in Colombia”, study abroad course guest lecturer in Bogota and Medellin, Colombia with Purdue University, scheduled for March 2020 but canceled due to Covid-19. vii) “Global student connections and service through an honor society model” was to be presented by the Phi Alpha International Social Work Honor Society Board of Directors at the Joint World Conference on Social Work, Education & Social Development in Rimini, Italy in July but was rescheduled to November 2020 due to Covid-19. v) In Fall 2019 Thomas Brennan held several “open observatory” nights, attracting an audience including not only students but also other interested parties from the campus and local communities. w) Fred Heck organized meetings for a local community group interested in rocks and minerals. x) Members of the student affiliate of the American Chemical Society sponsored outside speakers during their meetings in Fall 2019 and early Spring 2020.

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y) Kim Colvert, Luis Rivera-Rivera, Yamuna Kollalpitiya, and Bill Killian sponsored undergraduates performing research in areas ranging from biochemistry to computational chemistry. z) Ana Davila Howard served as faculty advisor of the Spanish Club RSO, including hosting weekly meetings and serving traditional Spanish dishes at her home. aa) French, Spanish, and Russian/Italian languages faculty organized a Christmas Around the World event to highlight international ways that Christmas is celebrated. bb) Christine Vonder Haar serves as co-chair of the university-wide CIP (Comprehensive International Plan) committee, which has conducted multiple deliberative dialog sessions, university-wide surveys, and data collection on the "state of the university" in terms of international presence and goals/activities in an effort to draft a CIP. cc) Christine Vonder Haar is a founding member of the International Student Ambassador (ISA) Endowment (both for fundraising and creating a collaborative of faculty, staff, administrators, and community through outreach) and the current Ferris. dd) Deirdre Fagan used her voice in a poem raising awareness of racism titled "We Real Cops" and published in New Verse News and created a created a didactic titled "Happy Housewife/Happy Husband." ee) Deirdre Fagan reviewed fellowships on the subject of mental illness for the Writers' Colony at Dairy Hollow. ff) Deirdre Fagan planned a series of Improving Youth Literacy through Creative Writing workshops to lead at Baldwin Public Library (rescheduled for 2020-21). gg) Deirdre Fagan and Debra Courtright-Nash created and were accepted to present “Shifting the Tides of Group Work: Creating Inclusivity for Minority Students Through Structure and Design” at the College English Association. The conference was cancelled, but they did present the project to faculty at FCTL. hh) Christian Peterson presentations i) “An International History of the Berlin Wall’s Collapse: Reflections after Thirty Years,” Passion for the Past Discussion Series, Ferris State University, 12 November 2019. ii) “What, then is the American? The History and Future of Immigration in the United States, Part II,” Passion for the Past Discussion Series, Ferris State University, 24 October 2019 iii) “What, then is the American? The History and Future of Immigration in the United States, Part I,” Passion for the Past Discussion Series, Ferris State University, 25 September 2019. ii) In August 2020, Mark Thomson participated as the representative from the Committee on Technician Affairs at the American Chemical Society (ACS) ConC Interactive Session on “Promoting diversity, inclusion and respect and removing systemic barriers within ACS committees.” jj) In June 2020, Mark Thomson served as a virtual panelist and reviewer of proposals addressing underrepresented audiences on an S-STEM panel.

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3. What are the major diversity and inclusion challenges facing your division or college? What needs to be done to address those challenges?

a) Major challenge for School of Education is recruiting students from diverse backgrounds. This seems to be a trend across teacher preparation programs in the state. b) A major challenge is the departure of faculty (Anil, Kemi, etc) who were part of our diverse populations in a time when no hiring is occurring. We are actually becoming less diverse with no opportunity to change that. c) I have also started to look at data for the psychology program and have been building backward to ultimately have several years of recruitment data to consider. I’m looking at applicant pools to see who is actually coming to campus to see if we can identify any strategies to help us recruit a greater diversity of students into our program. d) We do not have sufficient representation on the faculty to make students of color feel that they belong to us, or that they can find community easily in their academic life. e) With decreasing enrollments, there is a decrease in the number of diverse faculty and students attending Ferris. This small decrease in diverse populations is a significant percentage of the total and creates a challenge. f) The pandemic has hit diverse populations in the US harder. These populations are under greater financial burdens and are less likely to be able to afford higher education and the gap between the wealthy and poor is becoming greater. This will affect those that attend higher education. g) Hiring more diverse faculty, staff, counselors, and administrators at all levels. h) Need to offer programs and activities that challenge CAS students, faculty, and staff to recognize and remedy systemic racism and other structures of inclusion in the US. i) Challenges in attracting and retaining diverse students and employees to and creating an inclusive community in predominantly white and rural west Michigan location. j) Creating more faculty engagement with diversity events and activities k) Addressing chronic and worsening faculty understaffing so that faculty members are able to participate in more diversity-related events and programs. l) Recent faculty losses (Olukemi Fadayomi, Prabhakara Shetty) include some of our faculty of color, and when no hiring is done to replace them, the problem of under- representation is magnified.

4. What needs to be done to address those challenges? a) Find ways to recruit students and encourage them to become teachers. Need to assist students in acclimating to the Ferris campus once they arrive and assist with retention. a) The college would like to start considering achievement gaps, but will need help learning the right process to collect the data.

10 | P a g e b) We need to learn how to support students of diverse backgrounds once they are on campus. c) We need to hire people in a way that improves our diversity. d) We will need assistance developing marketing strategies that reach students with diverse backgrounds. e) More proactive, targeted outreach to underserved student groups to address technology needs and technology knowledge gaps. f) The relatively new “Peer Success Coach” program sounds fantastic, but hopefully more coordination between CLACS, the FSU Advisor Group, FSUS 100 Instructors, and FSU faculty can happen next year. I see lots of potential benefits for many types of students, but only if coordination happens to assess student needs, overlap with FSUS 100 objectives, student trends in the classroom, and advising practices.

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