Student Engagement
The SCIE Commission is an inter-professional student commission designed to address cross-campus needs and demands concerning diversity policies. This group is established to encourage cohesion and an exchange of experiences, practices, and policies between programs. Members of the commission will meet once monthly to provide a space of constant discussion of social action items to include, but not limited to: social injustice and the Black Lives Matter movement, curriculum and co-curricular opportunities for health equity education, LGBTQIA+ initiatives, student accessibility, student/faculty engagement, etc. Periodically, campus administration and senior leadership will be invited to listen in on these discussions to maintain partnership within the programs and create consistent dialogue with student leaders surrounding these needs.
NEW & SUSTAINED ENGAGEMENT:
- Increase the accessibility of black & minority mentorship program(s).
- Currently, the SCIE Ambassador Leadership Program requires engagement in the mentorship component. These mentors are curated by previous participation, recommendation, and interest. This curated list of mentors could be made accessible on a larger scale.
- Maintaining synergy among programs.
- Monthly meetings and opportunities to communicate outside of meeting times will provide a consistent exchange of information.
- What are the official actions by the university being taken to rectify this? (Historical context and implications of mistrust of VCU in the Richmond community).
- Will be providing information and updates on campus-wide initiatives.
COMPLETED:
- Addressing historical context of VCU as it pertains to healthcare and disparities.
- Unlocking Health Equity, Co-Curricular series addresses this topic (September 22 at 12 pm).
IN PROGRESS:
- Create a campus-wide action plan to address current and emergent student expectations for DEI.
- As this action plan is created and updated, this will become available for public view as a resource.
- Accountability for issues and complaints raised during meetings or through online form(s).
- Working with students and administration to address how groups will be held accountable.
- Provide a space for addressing action items to include, but not limited to, anti-racist policies and the Black Lives Matter movement, curriculum and co-curricular opportunities for health equity education, LGBTQIA+ initiatives, student accessibility, student/faculty engagement.
- The SCIE Commission has been established and the first meeting will take place Friday, August 21 at 12 pm.
- Provide opportunities for campus Senior Leadership to engage in the strategic development process.
- Upon discussion with the SCIE Commission, a schedule will be established to invite deans into the SCIE Commission meetings periodically.
NOT STARTED:
- Elevating anti-racist policies to the level of honor code and misconduct in student handbook(s).
- Will require additional research and coordination with each program.
- Micro-aggressions experienced in the classroom and in the healthcare field.
- Will require further exploration with students and administration as to how best address this.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Roy Roach – rfroach@vcu.edu