2019 January Newsletter

"Invite people into your life who don't look or act like you. You might find they challenge your assumptions and make you grow"
- Mellody Hobson

Equity and Diversity Conference:
Registration and Sponsorships

Registration is now open and internal sponsorships are still available for the 19th Annual Equity and Diversity Conference! The 2019 conference on February 28th themed “Beyond the Surface: Examining Implicit Bias” will be keynoted by unconscious bias expert Howard J. Ross. The conference presents its first ever Campus-Collegiate Partnership between Peterbilt, The College of Business, and the College of Engineering. This year’s Inclusive Excellence Award sponsored by Denton Family Dental Clinic will be presented to a UNT unit demonstrating a commitment to excellence in learning, teaching, student development, institutional functioning, and/or engagement in local and global communities. Dr. Jalane Schmidt will join the 2019 conference as the second Social Justice Keynote Speaker sponsored by Mayhill Hospital. The 2019 conference will also include the unveiling of the student Campus Inclusion Climate Survey incentive winner of a 2018 Honda Civic LX presented by Honda of Denton!

New internal sponsorship packages for the conference include social media partnerships and promotional opportunities to an expanded DFW audience, invitation-only access to keynote speakers and external partners, opportunities to provide input on future conference speakers, and strategic guidance for your unit on diversity, equity, and inclusion goals that will build upon your climate survey data. As the conference continues to grow and spaces become increasingly limited, internal sponsorships ensure your department has full access to the conference and its benefits. Click here to learn more and join us!

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Inclusive Excellence Award Nomination

The Division of Institutional Equity and Diversity supports and affirms efforts across the University that demonstrate a commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. The Association of American Colleges and Universities to which the University of North Texas belongs has created a framework for this commitment called Inclusive Excellence. Defined as the “active process through which colleges and universities achieve excellence in learning, teaching, student development, institutional functioning, and engagement in local and global communities,” this approach has become a model of connecting educational quality and inclusion efforts for universities across the country.

As such, the Division created an Inclusive Excellence Award to recognize units who exemplify these qualities. Inclusive Excellence Award winners are recognized at the Equity and Diversity Conference and serve as a model for other units who have institutionalized equity and inclusion through their programs, practices, policies, and people. Click here to learn more and nominate a UNT department or unit by January 30th.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service

Please join the Multicultural Center and Center for Leadership and Service for our Inaugural Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, where we will reflect, highlight, and celebrate his significant works. Our day of service will consist of a brunch, in which community leaders will engage in dialogue about continuing to exude social justice and service as Dr. King envisioned. We will further work with various community agencies in the DFW area to serve the UNT-Denton community. We will end the day with a march from the UNT union to the MLK Center of Denton for the annual MLK Program. Please review the flyer for additional logistics regarding time and location.

Dallas Dinner Table

In an effort to foster authentic conversations on key diversity issues, our division is hosting the Dallas Dinner Table on Monday, January 21, 2019. Over dinner in a casual setting, participants from UNT and surrounding Denton community engage in dialogue around race and race relations. Seats are limited, but if you are interested in participating, please use the button below to register:

Register

The Denton Black Film Festival (DBFF) is the brainchild of Harry Eaddy, president of the Denton African American Scholarship Foundation, Inc. DBFF exists to address under-representation in film and media by giving Black stories an audience and Black creatives a platform. Sharing culture and building community are the goals of DBFF. Proceeds from the annual festival help fund scholarships for African-American students in Denton.

Now in its fifth year, the event takes place over the course of five days and allows you to immerse yourself in some of the best artistic showcases of Black cinema, music, spoken word, art and more in the heart of Denton, TX. As a sponsor of the event, UNT's Division of Institutional Equity & Diversity urges you to check out the various activities on display and support these talented artists.

Dreamer Resource Guide

In reference to the recommendation from Amanda Foltz’s thesis “DACA and Undocumented Student Experience at the University of North Texas” the Outreach Recruitment Team saw the opportunity to create what originally was a toolkit to better assist undocumented students. Throughout this process we saw the need to help increase awareness regarding DACA and SB 1528 to the UNT Community.

The toolkit quickly evolved into a resource guide that is meant to inform the UNT community on how to best assist students who are undocumented and also to empower undocumented and DACA recipients with information to help them through the admissions and financial aid process.

The resource guide was developed under the supervision of Rebeca Perfecto, Assistant Director for Freshman and Outreach Recruitment, with the collaboration of Karen Aguilar-Diaz, Mariela Nuñez-Janes, Samantha Taylor, Amanda Foltz, Melissa Martinez Dominguez, Dr. Rebecca Lothringer and UNT’s DACA Workgroup.

For more information, visit https://www.unt.edu/daca.

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50th Anniversary Celebration for Omega Psi Phi Fraternity at UNT

On December 8, 2018, the Phi Gamma Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. at UNT celebrated its fiftieth anniversary. Chartered in 1968, the Phi Gamma Chapter was the first historically black Greek letter fraternity at a predominately white institution in the Southwest. Charter members were recognized at the event.

Queer Cuts

Queer Cuts is an opportunity for students to get a free haircut in a Queer and Trans environment. The UNT Pride Alliance proudly partnered barbers from North Texas Cutz (@northtexascutz on Instagram) and independent stylists to provide over 50 haircuts. Often, Queer and Trans people are unable to enter a barbershop or salon and comfortably ask for haircuts that affirm their gender identity or style.

At Queer Cuts, many of the attendees are Queer and Trans. The Pride Alliance provides Queer and Trans focused “look-books” designed by our fabulous graphic designer (Grace Otten), and stylists are excited to offer Queer and Trans cuts regardless of length, symmetry, or look. The Pride Alliance also partnered with clinicians from the Counseling and Testing Center, who created an “affirmation station” which supported students after getting a cut, an emotional time for some.

Want a cut and sad you missed out? No worries! Join our staff and stylist partners for a second round of Queer Cuts on February 6, from 5 p.m. - 8 p.m. in Union Room 314A. Check our social media, @UNTpride for registration.

Campus Inclusion Climate Survey

While early in the analysis process, initial response patterns allow UNT leadership to be confident in their ability to generalize findings effectively across the various populations surveyed.

A big THANK YOU to all of the faculty, staff, students, and administrators that participated in the Campus Inclusion Climate Survey, and to our Climate Survey Planning Committee, volunteers and campus partners that helped to make it a success! UNT response rates were congruent with acceptable social science standards for assessment and according to Campus Climate Surveys LLC, UNT has achieved the highest response rates for any institutions they have administered surveys for in the past.

Population Type	Total	Responses	%Responded	95% Confidence Interval
Student	38,556	3,545	9.2%	+/- 1.56 pts
Faculty	1,653	393	23.7%	+/- 4.32 pts
Staff	2,061	796	38.6%	+/- 2.8 pts
Administrator	476	306	64.2%	+/- 3.35 pts

Note: UNT Faculty, Staff, Administrator Population Totals and programming methodology provided by the UNT System Human Resources Information Services group in Fall, 2018. Confidence interval calculations were derived for table 1.1 and 1.2 using tools available from here.

Follow @DiversityUNT for details on incentive distribution to faculty, staff students, and administrators and other updates. The grand prize of the 2018 Honda Civic will be revealed at the 2019 Equity and Diversity Conference! The Division of Institutional Equity and Diversity continues to work with Data, Analytics, and Institutional Research to determine initial findings and pursue subsequent focus groups in the spring semester. Data presentations will follow to colleges and divisions.

Stay tuned for updates as we continue the path of awareness, engagement and action towards intentional equity and inclusion.

Support Equity & Diversity

We appreciate your financial support of Institutional Equity and Diversity. You may designate your gift to one of the specific areas below:

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