President's Commission on Diversity & Community

Each individual in our community brings specific experiences and a unique perspective that contribute to the richness and vibrancy of the College. We believe that Geneseo's progress relies on our ability to embrace the diversity of its members and the vigorous exchange of ideas. The purpose of the President’s Commission on Diversity and Community is to aid the College in fostering inclusion, belonging, and empowerment for all people at Geneseo, so that together we can experience the intellectual growth that is the core of the educational experience.

In alignment with these values, the commission focuses their work on the five subcommittees below, and ad hoc work groups. While commission members are appointed to their roles, subcommittee membership is open to all interested. Please consider getting involved.

Committees

Anti-Racism & DEI Education Committee

Examine current personal and professional development opportunities related to cultural competency and antiracism, make recommendations regarding new educational programs, and coordinate a center for educational resources & materials. This committee will play two major functions related to DEI and anti-racism education (collaboration with TLC and ODE): 1. Personal and Professional Development Related to Cultural Competency and Anti-Racism: Identify DEI education-related programs currently being conducted across campus, identify current DEI issues not being addressed, create a database of individuals with relevant expertise on our campus, identify ways to make this information accessible long-term to the campus community, and support the development of programs related to DEI and anti-racism. 2. Coordination of Center for Educational Resources & Materials: Support the Teaching and Learning Center’s (TLC) efforts to create an integrated database of educational resources and materials related to DEI and anti-racism issues.

Celebration & Communication Committee

Focus on cultural celebration and education, as well as increased communication between the Commission and the campus community regarding DEI issues and events. This committee will focus on cultural celebration and education, as well as increased communication between the Commission and the campus community regarding DEI issues and events. 1. Celebration and Acknowledgment of Culture: Educate and celebrate cultural diversity by providing information about different holidays and traditions via diversity-l and support programming regarding cultural diversity across campus. 2. Communication with College Community: Use diversity-l to share information related to DEI issues between the Commission and the community and provide a mechanism for the campus community to share information regarding diversity-related events and programs.

Campus Dialogues Committee

Support Cultivating Community Dialogues and identify and facilitate other avenues to encourage difficult conversations around DEI issues. This committee will focus on the facilitation of campus conversations, support for Cultivating Community Dialogues, and the identification of other avenues to endorse conversation both within and across positions on campus (i.e., students, staff, faculty, administration). These opportunities include open Commission meetings, meetings with student organizations, and open forums (divisional, departmental, college-wide).

Comprehensive Campus Climate Assessment Committee

Coordinate the development and implementation of a comprehensive campus climate assessment, including both quantitative and qualitative measures. This committee will identify ways to disseminate this information so that it can be used by the campus community to inform decisions and programming.

Diversity Plan Committee

This year, the Diversity Plan Committee will continue to gauge and document progress made on the goals and action items identified in the existing Diversity Plan (Student Access, Support, & Retention, Faculty and Staff Access, Support, & Retention, Campus Climate, Curricular & Co-Curricular Competency). Our goal is to support the college’s interest in centering DEI in the college-wide Strategic Plan.

Diversity Summit

The SUNY Geneseo Diversity Summit is a full day of diversity-focused sessions hosted by members of the campus community and beyond.  In order to make the Summit a success this year, we are organizing three planning committees: logistics, programming, and marketing. The upcoming Diversity Summit will take place on February 16th, 2022.