Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Recommendation 1.1: Foster discussions within departments, programs, and offices focused on improving ways in which our courses, pedagogy, research, service, and co-curricular opportunities enhance diversity education, experiences and provide support for students from historically underrepresented backgrounds.

Recommendation 1.2: Provide tangible financial and structural support for emergent ideas and initiatives.

Recommendation 1.3: Create and maintain a robust accountability system that builds on existing processes and improves means for self-assessment.

Recommendation 2.1: Train and support faculty and staff to enhance their ability to a) develop greater competency in cross-cultural, inclusive communication, b) effectively engage students in conversations related to diversity, inclusion, equity and justice, c) use inclusive teaching approaches that address the range of learning strengths and needs of all students, including universal design for learning approaches and materials and d) provide safe, supportive environments that promote student learning and address classroom dynamics.

Recommendation 2.2: Provide financial and staffing resources to the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (ODEI) so that the Office in collaboration with the Provost’s Office, Office of Finance and Human Resources can provide support and outreach to departments, programs, offices and the institution.

Recommendation 2.3: Support regular curriculum revisions that will address changes in curricular goals that reflect the Colleges’ diversity, equity and inclusion values.

Recommendation 3.1: Establish a peer mentor program to support incoming first years. This program could assist in connecting first years to the wider campus and serve as a way to further build community within the first-year classes.

Recommendation 3.2: Expand the operational capacity of the Office of Disability Services to support an increasing number of students with disabilities and diverse learning needs at HWS.

Recommendation 3.3: Provide a fully accessible learning environment, including physical access to all buildings and grounds.

Recommendation 3.4: Address socio-economic issues that impact access to educational opportunities such as the cost of classroom materials (books, supplies, etc.) and other economic barriers that may prevent students from fully engaging in all that HWS has to offer.

Recommendation 3.5: Creation of an accessible student emergency fund in which will support students as they incur unanticipated needs.

Recommendation 1.1: Develop new ways to hire HWS employees, attract diverse applicants and construct diverse hiring committees that are consistent across positions in order to promote institutional transparency.

Recommendation 1.2: Establish a duly compensated and certified/trained affirmative action professional who will track and report on how well HWS meets or exceeds our affirmative action targets.

• Adopt an affirmative action plan for staff hiring to better provide equal employment opportunities.
• Establish mechanisms to consistently increase the recruitment of underrepresented faculty and staff.

Recommendation 1.3: Establish faculty and staff retention strategies that will guarantee their growth, well being and sense of community of minoritized groups.

Recommendation 1.4: Assess the Colleges’ campus climate around diversity, equity and inclusion so that staff and faculty thrive in a welcoming and safe environment.

Recommendation 2.1: Establish mechanisms to consistently increase the recruitment of underrepresented groups particularly students of color, first generation students, international students and students with diverse socio-economic backgrounds. 

Recommendation 2.2: Review the current systems in place for awarding financial aid and consider new opportunities that will enhance diversity within the incoming classes.

Recommendation 2.3: Establish a reporting process by which student recruitment and retention strategies and their success are shared with the campus community on a regular basis.

Recommendation 2.4: Require training for all HWS employees involved in the Admissions process (including staff and faculty involved in the admissions process but located outside of the Office of Admissions) to make certain that issues of diversity and inclusion are understood at all levels to enhance the recruitment of a very diverse class of incoming students.

Recommendation 3.1: Ensure that institutional resources are directed to the various clubs, organizations and initiatives that provide support and resources to historically underrepresented groups.

Recommendation 3.2: Consider alternative funding structures that would allow these groups budgetary freedom from the fluctuations of a student-driven budget allocation process.

Recommendation 4.1: Develop ongoing assessment practices aimed at improving diversity and inclusion in the recruitment and retention of faculty, students and staff. This should be part of routine institutional level assessments and evaluations. 

Recommendation 4.2: Monitor tenure success rates and turnover rates for faculty by gender, race and ethnicity and take appropriate steps for improvement where needed.

Recommendation 4.3: Implement exit interviews to determine why HWS employees leave, particularly members from historically underrepresented groups. Engage in an historical analysis to determine patterns or trends among groups.

Recommendation 5.1: Offer campus wide training for students and HWS employees (faculty, administrators and staff at all levels) on issues around diversity and inclusion and uphold a consistent expectation for all members of the community to engage in diversity education.

Recommendation 5.2: Recognize and reward offices, departments, programs and individuals that contribute to promoting diversity, inclusion and equity by a) supporting diversity programming, b) valuing such contributions in teaching, service and scholarship through the tenure and promotion process for faculty and the performance evaluation process for staff and c) granting awards, fellowships and/or other formal recognitions for such activities. 

Recommendation 5.3: Make diversity a campus-wide priority by aligning divisional goals and missions with the SDP, so that individual offices and employees are expected to support the work of diversity and inclusion. Performance evaluations should reflect such expectations accordingly.

Recommendation 1.1: Establish a committee with representation from students, faculty, and staff to advise in the planning and redesigning of social spaces across campus. This committee should have representation from a variety of student constituencies, with particular emphasis on groups that are underrepresented on campus and/or lack social spaces over which they have control. This committee should be convened by the President in consultation with the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and it should be included in all conversations about the configuration of space with departments such as Buildings and Grounds and Student Activities.

Recommendation 1.2: Create a physical space (standalone building) that is dedicated to social interaction where all members of the HWS community would feel comfortable and have access regardless of race, gender identity, ability, sexuality, age, class, religion. This building must have spaces that are usable by both individuals and groups and are conducive to activities that include: informal studying, small group meetings and gatherings, and campus-wide events (such as films, conversations, music and open mic performances). This building should provide services that support the population and activities that use it (such as food, comfortable seating, and flexible furniture arrangements).

Recommendation 1.3:Create Small Social Spaces throughout Campus that are open 24 hours a day.

• Residential Halls: Create additional spaces in each residential building in which students can socialize. These should be configured to accommodate studying, watching TV, and hanging out. Each floor housing first-year students should have its own residential lounge for students, and each building housing juniors and seniors should have at least one residential lounge. 
•  Arts Campus Enhancement: Create a lounge on the arts campus that provides dining options as well as places to study and congregate.
• Relaxed Study Academic Space: Create a study lounge where students have casual seating to work and study with access to printers.
• Extended hours for common space: Offer additional spaces that empower student interaction and connectivity and ensure that existing spaces on campus are adequately advertised to students.

Recommendation 1.4: Provide additional safety precautions and monitoring in campus spaces such as additional lighting across campus to ensure visibility, as well as Blue Light and other warning/alert systems. Balance an increased level of security patrols of common space with respect for student autonomy and independence. 

Recommendation 1.5: Assess the accessibility of all facilities on campus for people with disabilities and take necessary steps to make them fully accessible.This assessment should take no longer than one year and must include a five to ten-year plan to achieve this goal. 

Recommendation 1.6: Continue efforts to install gender-neutral and physically accessible bathrooms in all residence halls and campus buildings. Ensure that the publicity of these locations is widely disseminated and accessible to the campus community. Develop an institutional policy which ensures that all new construction includes gender neutral and physically accessible restrooms.

Recommendation 1.7: Pool and equitably re-allocate all living spaces on campus.

• Equitable Selection Process:  Consider mechanisms to solicit student feedback and input in the assignment of non-dormitory housing.
• Equitable Distribution of Spaces:  Revisit the question of fraternity housing as it impacts the equity, distribution, and access to space of overall student housing. Determine whether Greek Life is in concert with goals of equity and inclusion across student housing.
• Study Impact of Coordinate System: Assess the distribution and utilization of spaces between and across both Hobart College and William Smith College to ensure equitable distribution. Things to consider as part of equity include: distance to academic buildings and the library, distance to administrative support, convenience of dining and facilities.

Recommendation 1.8: Ensure that the new common dining hall for faculty and staff supports the hours, space, and availability conducive to faculty and staff utilization and engagement.

Recommendation 1.1: Create opportunities to infuse diversity education throughout the student co-curricular experience (paying particular attention to where gaps may exist).

Recommendation 1.2: Revive the Common Read to generate intergroup dialogues around issues of diversity and inclusion.

Recommendation 1.3: Continue generating opportunities for dialogue between Campus Safety Officers and all students, including those from historically underrepresented backgrounds, in an effort to support critical dialogue and conversations about race inequality and cultural divides.

Recommendation 1.4: Assess the Colleges’ campus climate around diversity, equity and inclusion so that students thrive in a welcoming and safe environment.

Recommendation 1.5: Develop student engagement initiatives that ensure students’ well-being and success.

Recommendation 2.1: Reevaluate and develop clear and consistent policies when responding to such incidents.

Recommendation 2.2: Foster a more coordinated community response to bias incidents, hate speech, and instances of discrimination.

Recommendation 3.1: Ensure that procedures, policies, and practices throughout the institution recognize and support transgender and gender diverse students so they can fully and seamlessly participate in social, academic, athletic, co-curricular, and community experiences.

Recommendation 3.2: Provide opportunities to educate students, faculty and staff about transgender and gender diverse experiences.

Recommendation 1.1: Review hiring practices at HWS to ensure local economically vulnerable populations have sufficient access to jobs at HWS.

Recommendation 1.2: Work with Sodexo to ensure local economically vulnerable populations have similar access to their jobs.

Recommendation 1.3: Implement community outreach/communication programs to better promote opportunities at HWS and Sodexo to local economically vulnerable populations. (Work with churches, neighborhoods, list serves, etc.)

Recommendation 1.4: Consider using The Ontario ARC College Experience Program as a model for implementing programs to support economically vulnerable populations.

Recommendation 2.1: Work with Geneva Workforce Development to identify skills gaps for economically vulnerable populations and develop regular bilingual training programs/workshops to address the gaps.

Recommendation 2.2: Develop a mentoring/job coaching/skills training program for residents who are trying to enter/re-enter the workforce.

Recommendation 2.3: Identify, support and/or establish partnerships with existing Geneva agency programs that are working to reduce barriers to employment (e.g., LAWNY’s Unemployment and Employment & Reentry Program for the specific subset of formerly incarcerated population, Geneva Boys and Girls Club Education and Career programs).

Recommendation 3.1: Establish an inventory and an historical timeline of the participation of women and communities of color in small business ownership in Geneva to better understand barriers that may exist.

Recommendation 3.2: Develop a supplier diversity policy for HWS which would promote the use of women, minority and/or LGBT owned businesses.

Recommendation 3.3: Meet with current small business owners within these populations to identify the unique challenges and barriers to small business ownership.

Recommendation 3.4: Find ways that the Colleges can address any issues/barriers that are identified. Determine what current programs/initiatives are already in place and identify ways to support them or implement new opportunities as needed.

Recommendation 4.1: Identify prospective members from HWS and the Geneva community.

Recommendation 4.2: Define a mission, vision, goals and a timeline for the work of the Task Force

Recommendation 1: In coordination with The Office of Institutional Research and the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion will collect, analyze, visualize and share institutional data that are meaningfully and appropriately disaggregated by identity categories (race/ethnicity, gender identity, disability, among others), to drive data informed decision making at the Colleges.

Recommendation 2: Develop an Equity Dashboard that is easy to access and visualize.

Recommendation 3: Identify additional data or evidence to analyze that may reveal additional patterns or inequities, such as broadening identity markers beyond Common Application categories.

Recommendation 1: Disaggregate institutional assessment data on high demand and special programs with a focus on relevant practices.

Recommendation 2: Identify additional data or evidence to analyze that may reveal additional patterns or inequities, such as broadening identity markers beyond Common Application categories.

Recommendation 1: Institutional Research and ODEI conduct community-wide dialogues based on evidence collected to support data-informed decision-making at the Colleges.

Recommendation 2: Address any equity gaps that are identified and celebrate any accomplishments and/or movement forward in narrowing these gaps.