Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Commitment Plan

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) has completed a 16 step DEI commitment plan for implementation.

1. Develop a dedicated link to DEI and Multicultural Affairs [Progress: 100%]
2. Establish a DEI Council at Lenoir Rhyne [Progress: 100%]
3. Establish an anonymous system to report incidents of bias or discriminatory treatment [Progress: 70%]
4. Review curriculum to seek opportunities for inclusiveness [Progress: 60%]
5. Promote and Support DEI professional development for faculty and staff [Progress: 60%]
6. Build Corporate partnerships to support a DEI mentoring and scholars program [Progress: 30%]
7. Create inclusive workforce [Progress: 60%]
8. Support campus events and create dialogue opportunities [Progress: 70%]
9. Serve as a community partner to organizations that promote equity and inclusion [Progress: 30%]
10. Work with faculty to establish and build a diverse speaker series [Progress: 60%]
11. Implement online/certificate discriminatory and bias training for faculty and staff [Progress: 50%]
12. Create an inclusion teammate system [Progress: 100%]
13. Establish an annual DEI inclusion award for faculty, staff and a student [Progress: 25%]
14. Identify an LR alumnus/a and board member to support DEI [Progress: 25%]
15. Utilize social media to support a robust marketing campaign for DEI [Progress: 70%]
16. Establish a university-specific policy that supports DEI [Progress: 30%]

Campus Wide Initiatives 

Academic Affairs 

Curriculum and Faculty 

• Provided training opportunities for PRC regarding bias in the tenure and promotion process. 
• Many of our majors include required courses in race, gender and ethnicity. 
• Faculty are decolonizing syllabi for a more inclusive and equitable course. 
• Recruiting and finding opportunities for all students - inclusion of special needs and in diverse settings. 
• A focus on creating a more diverse faculty body, both in full-time and part-time faculty. 
• Instituted rubrics for hiring staff positions. Developing a faculty hiring rubric to start with the current open position. 
• DEI statement on all position announcements. DEI letter submission requirement for all applicants.

International Education 

• Global Village which consists of 24-32 residential students that are a diverse population of United States students and International students in which they host student-led events and programming from their respective living areas. 
• 200 tickets were offered to International students to assist in transportation around Hickory through the Greenway Transportation System.

Mission, Engagement and Innovation 

Undergraduate and Graduate Admission

• Traveling to historically marginalized/underrepresented student population communities and high schools to recruit. 
• Revamping orientation to include an overnight stay, breakout sessions for families and more.
• Adding various campus entities to market their resources to showcase the diverse and inclusive environment  
• Marketing through social media, the amenities and resources LR offers to stimulate more applicants.

Residence Life 

• An annual mandatory DEI and multicultural training for residence directors and resident advisors that takes place prior to opening.  
• Ensures that the staff is diverse to represent the students in the residential halls (i.e. LGBTQIA, African American, Latinx/Hispanic, Caucasian, Asian, etc.) 
• Pronoun usage and preferred names 
• Director provides living accommodations if requested and required for religious faiths, gender-affirming housing, etc. 

Health and Wellness 

• A diverse staff that is open-minded and competent in all aspects of counseling such as LGBTQIA, race and ethnicities, religions/beliefs, mental health, etc 

Spiritual Life 

• Celebrating cultural holidays and holy days to celebrate with all religious faiths. 
• A prayer room for Muslim / Islamic students 
• Reaching out to diverse populations to assist with weekly worship so that all religions are represented. 

Athletics 

• Athletic staff modules and monthly meetings with round table discussions  
• Monthly listening sessions with each roster, different events/impacts on student-athletes 
• Network with campus partners to foster a space of inclusivity. 
• Established a Student-Athletes DEI Leadership Council comprising athletes from various sports teams, faculty, and staff to assist in an equity-minded and inclusive atmosphere.