Inclusive Community Building: A December 2021 Update

people at round tables watching a presentation at the Equity in Transition Summit

A December 2021 update from the School of Education's Director of Equity and Inclusion, Dr. Tammy Ellis-Robinson:

Greetings School of Education Community,

We have had an exciting fall joining together in several initiatives focused on diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DEIJ) in the School of Education. Each an opportunity to engage in important conversations, consider educational practice, and build community.
 

  • Book Club has enjoyed deep conversations and collegial connection as we share in this semester’s text Black Fatigue: How Racism Erodes the Mind, Body, and Spirit by Mary-Frances Winters. This ongoing initiative brings opportunities for discussion and reflection on our community, ourselves, and our work. We will read another book in the spring, to be announced in January.
     
  • Decolonizing Syllabi Workgroup sessions among instructors look at curriculum, use practice tools, and share experiences in course development and refinement. We continue to discuss language, intent, outcomes, and influence that these efforts can have in our classrooms and across departments. Additional and ongoing gatherings will occur in December and January. School of Education instructors are invited to come bring their syllabus or engage with others in the process. Join 4 upcoming sessions: 12/13/21, 12-1 PM; 12/20/21, 12-1 PM; 1/11/22, 12-1:30 PM; 1/12/22, 12-1:30 PM all via Zoom at https://albany.zoom.us/j/98906013758?pwd=ajhwQ3piUnd5NE9TYVBYNHB5dGUxdz09.
     
  • Town Hall Discussions provided an opportunity to discuss issues of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice in the fields of Education and Mental Health and the fostering of a Beloved Community in the School of Education among faculty, staff, and students. We found several points of shared understanding and other questions and ideas related to emotional wellness and school practice for future study and discussion. During our second town hall we defined a Beloved Community as a space where we care for one another and shared ideas for ways to do this. We invite our community to connect during the intersession about community building events across the school. Contact [email protected] to join the Beloved Community Committee to plan for spring outreach and events.
     
  • The Touhey Family Fellows gathered to engage in the Freedom Dreaming Project and to explore pathways of diverse educators through a special Panel of Professionals. Eight educators from Albany, Guilderland, Corinth, South Colonie, and Brooklyn, including UAlbany Alumni came and networked with mentors and fellows.  
     
  • The ReSearch for Equity Symposium on November 29 was an opportunity to discuss going beyond knowing to action and sharing projects and ideas for research. Thank you to all who attended, shared their work, and considered directions and applications within our research that address diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice. Our curated sharing of this work will be presented on the website and in the School of Education digital showcase during the spring semester. We have built a Research for Equity affinity research collective space on our Blackboard SOE-Research opportunities page to share resources and ideas.  
     
  • Our special DEIJ section of the UAlbany School of Education website will launch in January 2022. Be on the lookout for activities and events across the school of education, a dynamic page of featured School of Education research focused on diversity, equity, inclusion and social justice, and a new student blog - Catskill Voices. Read the call for student blog submissions.