1 2 In the aftermath of the horrific George Floyd murder along with the global outcry for social justice leading to the reinvigoration of the Black Lives Matter movement, we were charged by President Rosenberg with the tremendous responsibility of identifying for implementation, initiatives that could begin the lifelong work to address issues of inclusion and equity, particularly as they relate to Black stakeholders at our FIU. Further, we were asked to work collegially to consult with our community, both inside and outside of FIU, on specific initiatives that would help improve the climate for and reality of equality, dignity, inclusion, and belonging. These fifty days have allowed us to peek into the possibilities and offer real action steps that could help FIU begin to move the needle in a way that could likely garner national, if not global, attention. Within the context of the moment we are in, our FIU has an opportunity to once again be a trailblazer and move beyond merely a regime of tolerance to a culture shift that embraces a philosophy of anti- racism. Many of these recommendations challenge the long-standing practices of the academy, as well as the generally accepted behaviors within our university, that Black employees have learned to navigate daily. The comprehensive work presented in this Equity Action Initiative (EAI) combines interviews with deans, faculty, staff, students, alumni, retirees, and members of the business community, with reviews of FIU practices, procedures, and related data points, best practices associated with diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, and related research. As our group approached stakeholders, we were guided by a relentless curiosity to uncover the narratives that live deep beneath the public discourse and the quantitative metrics collected. In our inquiry, we listened intently to the sentiments of personal experiences by Black faculty, staff, and students related to exclusion, microaggressions, belittlement, and condescension that, in themselves, would not rise to the point of a discrimination investigation but have lent themselves to the creation of a culture of tolerance and self-adjustment for Blacks in our FIU community. What that communicates is that our consciousness to white privilege has been seared to insensitivity because our practices, ‘neatly and without ill-intent,’ have accommodated the exclusion and/or the marginalization of Blacks in our community. This proposal seeks to offer immediate recommendations to address the current ills for long term sustainable change. 3 Towards that end, this document proposes bold measures designed to disrupt and root out any manifestations of racism, bigotry and implicit bias found, with tangible recommendations to foster enhanced diversity, and inclusion for members of FIU’s Black community as well as other groups who feel excluded from the fairness, opportunity and equal treatment called for, by our mission and values. The review of this work necessitates that the reader divests of notions that affix the concept of “quotas” to every corrective action presented and sees these measures for what they truly are...leveling of the field by removing barriers--physical, procedural and psychological—toward true equity. Although difficult, we ask that the readers embrace these findings and recommendations, which are based on the hard truths we’ve unearthed, combined with the actionable steps that are likely piercing, and unconventional, as they contrast all that we’ve built in the academy. The eruption of consciousness that is happening in our university, our nation, and our world, despite the unprecedented 2020 we are all experiencing, demands a response. Our EAI contribution is a living body of work that depends on our individual and collective will to open our minds, hearts, and institutional soul to create a new culture that brings everyone to the table. It is important to guide and galvanize this energy in a positive way and allow our FIU to take the lead in beginning to correct the wrongs of past years. This is a great beginning as the amalgamation of this work is astonishing; the presentation of this work is historic, and the implementation of this work will be transformational. As we embark on this noble path of equity, our FIU will ultimately be reimagined to shape and define the 21st century and our world. Equity Action Advisory Core El pagnier K. Hudson, Vice President, Human Resources Delrish Moss, Captain, FIU Police Department Valerie Patterson, PhD, Clinical Associate Professor, School of International & Public Affairs Ana Moreyra, Senior Executive Assistant, Division of Human Resources 4 PRESIDENT’S CHARGE Vice President E.K. Hudson, Associate Professor Valerie Patterson, and Captain Delrish Moss enthusiastically accepted this charge by President Mark B. Rosenberg: Specifically, I ask that you work collegially and individually to consult with our community, both inside and outside of FIU, during the next month on specific initiatives that will help us to improve the climate for and reality of equality, dignity, inclusion, and belonging. At FIU, we must root out any semblance of racism, bigotry, and implicit bias and foster enhanced diversity, and inclusion for members of the African American community as well as other groups who feel excluded from the fairness, opportunity, and equal treatment called for by our mission and values. TIMELINE The Core Advisory Team has met daily (Zoom, Teams, emails, texts, and phone calls), with the exception of four (4) days, since June 10th. Within the first 10 days, the Core Advisory Team enlisted commentary and input via [email protected] as well as through personal Zoom meetings and telephone discussions with the Black community within and outside of FIU, to inquire of needs, perspectives, and experiences to aid in determining what we would present as action steps for submission. We met with faculty, staff, students, business leaders, alumni, retirees, directors of each museum and the CasaCuba program, Black Student Leaders, the SGA president, Black community leaders, and all university deans. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE EAI WORKGROUPS From these collegial meetings where we consulted with our university stakeholders, we enlisted the service of 30 members of our FIU community and alumni to comprise the workgroups who would conduct the research and gather information to build out the initiatives determined by the meetings held coupled with Dr. Rosenberg’s “Going Forward’ Town Hall. 5 CHARGE TO WORKGROUPS Recognizing the time constraints to which we committed, we made clear in our first gathering, that our efforts needed to be fruitful, quickly. The following points were emphasized on day one: • No death by committee; work must be action oriented. • No sacred cows: everything would be ‘on the table’ related to mitigating systemic racism. • Think BIG, for quick victories as well as long-term for sustainability. • Do not despair by what we find; despair if we look the same next year. • GO BIG OR GO HOME! WORK OF WORKGROUPS During weeks two through four, workgroups met corporately to flesh out information gathered and structure initiatives for inclusion. The beautiful tapestry of diversity found in the EAI workgroups represents a microcosm of what true diversity of thought, race, gender, sexual orientation, generation, and religion can yield. This incredible submission done in record time addressing years of systemic racism, is evidence of what diversity can yield. It was this collaboration that formulated the key recommendations. During weeks five through seven, subgroups were formed, and met independently, with one of the three Core Advisory Team members assigned to the respective action, to review and present options and initiatives to reform and improve our approach to our work as well as improve the Black student experience. Each workgroup was given a work plan template to follow to ensure consistency in information being gathered for presentation. During week six, the EAI Advisory Core made a presentation at the President’s Executive Leadership Retreat where summaries of each initiative were made. At the culmination of week seven, EAI subgroups made powerful presentations of assigned initiatives to the full EAI Workgroup Team so that we could provide feedback and identify any overlap that would need to be addressed. Week eight has been dedicated to the compilation, and formatting of this historic work. 6 PRESENTATION TEMPLATE We were privileged to receive interest from across the university in the form of prepared proposals. While independent of the group work of the EAI Workgroups, members of our community were provided the same work plan so their contributions could be included in this submission. Additionally, substantive submissions made outside of the workgroups are included as an addendum. EQUITY ACTION BRIEFINGS The EAI Core Advisory Team prepared weekly updates of work to the President through Equity Action Briefings. These included information on meetings held, actions taken, highlights of discussions, and Zoom photos. POINTS OF FOCUS The following points of focus provide a preview of some of the challenges we identified as we examined data and collected evidence of inequities. • FIU demographics demonstrate Black employee presence is stifled at mid-level management roles. (see Figure 1. below). • Disparities noted should fuel and energize commitment to correct implicit biases that have influenced the outcomes shown. • In June 2020, twenty-five deserving faculty were presented to the Board of Trustees for tenure approval; none of whom were Black. This group of tenured faculty constitute 86% of the total number of Black faculty (29) currently having tenured status (see Figure 2).. • Black presence on FIU Boards is woefully low and provides an opportunity to extend invitation allowing Black stakeholders to offer expertise and feel a greater sense of affinity to our institution. Of 278 board positions across the FIU enterprise, only 14 are occupied by Black professionals (see Figure 3). • Black students, though present and possessing Panther Pride, do not feel ‘seen’ or valued at our FIU and often traverse in the shadows.