Partnership and Support
The Institutional Equity and Inclusion Office serves as a resource, thought partner, collaborator, capacity builder, and advocate for members of the SUNY Cortland community. The work of access, equity, and inclusion is principally about shaping the spaces we share with our students and our colleagues to ensure each member of our community feels welcomed, included, supported, valued, and affirmed in their living, learning, and working environments. The nature of this work is ongoing and collaborative, and IEI aims to assist members of the campus community in their individual and collective efforts so they can meet their outlined goals and desired impacts. Below are examples of ways IEI can provide partnership and support.
- Working with individual faculty and/or academic departments on curriculum development or revision.
- Working with individual faculty and/or academic departments on inclusive design for learning and/or teaching/facilitation practices that increase accessibility.
- Working with staff on ways to design and facilitate culturally responsive student leadership development.
- Working with faculty and staff on trauma-informed approaches to student engagement, learning, and support.
- Working with academic department chairs on culturally responsive mentoring strategies for faculty.
- Working with individual faculty and/or academic departments on the development of surveys to assess students’ experiences of the learning environment.
- Working with academic departments and administrative offices on DEI goal setting and implementation plans.
- Working with faculty and staff on ways to frame and facilitate difficult dialogues.
- Working with supervisors on ways to foster inclusive team dynamics or to address behaviors that impact inclusion and belonging in the workplace.
- Working with supervisors on ways to provide constructive feedback and/or ongoing coaching or development.
- Working with faculty and staff on strategies to address dynamics between students that impact the experience of inclusion and belonging in the classroom and in co-curricular spaces.
- Exploring ways faculty and staff can navigate dynamics with colleagues to foster greater inclusion and belonging.
- Working with supervisors to develop onboarding plans for new employees that are culturally responsive and increase workplace inclusion.
- Working with hiring departments and search committees on position descriptions, active recruitment, equitable assessment of applicants, accessible interview practices, and hiring for culturally responsive teaching, mentoring, advising, supervision, and student support/development.
- Working with campus partners to review and revise policies and practices to increase access, equity, and inclusion.
- Working with campus partners on accessible and inclusive event planning.
- Conflict mediation or restorative justice processes between individual faculty and staff, within departments or teams, and/or between students.
Individual faculty and staff, academic department chairs, administrative directors, and supervisors can contact Renee Wells, chief diversity officer, to explore ways IEI can serve as a resource and/or partner.