The City University of New York today announced the creation of a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Incubator that will build on work already underway to transform CUNY’s campuses into spaces that are national models of equity. Made possible by a $500,000 grant from New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, the incubator will be developed by the Center for Ethnic, Racial and Religious Understanding at Queens College (CERRU), and its recommendations, strategies and practices will be piloted on five CUNY senior and community college campuses by the end of 2020, with the goal of expanding the work University-wide.
The incubator will develop programmatic training for CUNY staff and faculty to build skills in the areas of bias recognition and mediation, along with cross-cultural communication skills and the promotion of dialogue between diverse groups on campus.
“CUNY is the nation’s largest urban public university, and diversity is a part of our DNA. However, we are always striving to be more equitable, and to foster the creation of more inclusive spaces for all of our students,” said CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez. “Now, thanks to the generous support of City Council Speaker Johnson, and with the Center for Ethnic, Racial and Religious Understanding leading the way, this vastly important undertaking will enable CUNY to help more students, and we will provide a national model for other universities to replicate.”
“New York City prides itself on its diversity but we must make sure that everyone feels understood, supported and protected,” said New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson. “This doesn’t happen magically; it takes bold programs like the one CUNY has created to help staff recognize and address bias as well as build cross-cultural communication skills. The City Council is so proud to fund this incubator, which will be a national model for how large public systems can tackle equity.”
Already noted for its effectiveness as an engine of transformative social mobility, CUNY seeks to further reduce persistent and less obvious forms of discrimination against students from marginalized groups, to support their academic success and help them attain timely degree completion. The incubator will also work with diverse faculty across the University providing additional support as they pursue tenure-track positions.
CUNY staff will soon begin assessing issues and needs across the University through one-on-one interviews, focus groups and dialogues. Training workshops will begin in January 2020, and will be held throughout the spring. By the end of the Spring 2020 semester, the incubator and its campus partners will have developed campus-specific plans for five senior and community colleges.
Founded in 2009, CERRU is an equity education center that works in both academic and community settings, providing impact-based, nonviolent communication tools for individuals and groups, and helping them to bridge social differences.
“It has been important for us to learn from our CUNY colleagues who have the institutional knowledge and can shed light on work that has already been done across the University,” said Sophia McGee, the director of CERRU. “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion-based work needs significant backing and resources to be done correctly, and we are grateful that Chancellor Matos Rodríguez and Speaker Johnson have the vision to provide this support. We look forward to demonstrating what kind of campus climate transformation is possible with the right kind of support.”
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