Project Together
Purpose: Explore pathways to a universal commitment to inclusion, diversity, equity, and access for Scripps College.
· Short Term Recommendations
- Revise the Principles of Diversity (see attached) and display prominently on the Diversity and Inclusion website.
- Conduct a review/inventory of all College activity regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion to assess current IDEA activities and initiatives.
· Longer Term Recommendations
- Explore leadership models within divisions that promote accountability and pathways for professional development for all divisional members regarding IDEA capability.
- Build out and execute a Staff Development Plan for IDEA.
Decolonizing Scripps
Purpose: To assess and propose ways that Scripps College is creating, can or should create, meaningful relationships with Indigenous people and communities in order to acknowledge and learn about: 1) the ongoing effects of settler colonialism; 2) the diverse and vibrant histories, cultures, and politics of Indigenous people today; and 3) existing or desirable practices of reparation and restoration.
· Short Term Recommendations
- Draft and implement a land acknowledgement for Scripps, in collaboration with Tongva community members and Indigenous students, faculty, and staff. Recommendation for CIDE member to continue to work on this project.
· Longer Term Recommendations
- Provide not only financial support, but also the academic and social support needed to ensure the success of Indigenous students.
- In order to increase the number of students from Indigenous communities, more focus on specific recruitment strategies would be beneficial.
- Create a position at Scripps that will support both the academic and co-curricular areas of NAIS, equivalent to the current Assistant Director of Native American Initiatives position as Pitzer and Pomona
- Propose Scripps NAIS minor.
- Collaborate with the other colleges to support a cluster hire of – and development of active recruitment strategies for – Native American and Indigenous faculty across several fields, including NAIS, toward the eventual establishment of an intercollegiate NAIS department.
- Establish an intercollegiate NAIS department.
- Create collaborate relationships, spaces, and learning opportunities for students and community at Scripps, similar to those already in place at Pitzer and Pomona.
- Fundraising support for NAIS scholarship and general initiatives to enhance the College’s connection to Indigenous communities.
- Scripps webpage created and led by Native/Indigenous faculty, staff, and students that documents the ongoing histories, cultures, and experiences of Native communities as well as the College’s placement on Tongva land.
Wellness
Purpose: Focus efforts on highlighting existing wellness resources and possibly integrating additional app-based resources for the Scripps community – including students, faculty, and staff.
· Short Term Recommendations
- Augment existing wellness resources with subscriptions to apps such as Evolve21, Calm, Super Better, Talk Space, and Head Space
Scripps Centennial Plan: Alive with Promise
After a year of community conversations asking ourselves where Scripps College should be in 2026, when it turns 100, the strategic plan was crafted and launched in 2018. Inclusive Student Success (ISS) is one of the four themes of the plan. ISS recognizes that Scripps students reflect an ever-expanding range of identities, experiences, and backgrounds and that Scripps must not only embrace those differences, but position every student to realize the full benefits of a Scripps education. Four initiatives were launched under ISS – Advising 360, Bridges to Community, Presidential Scholarship, and IDEA 2.0 – IDEA 2.0 is included in this report.
IDEA 2.0 Strategic Plan Initiative
As part of the Scripps College Strategic Plan, Imperative IDEA 2.0 seeks to “build a stronger, more inclusive community in which members understand, appreciate, and learn from each other’s differences of identity, experience, and access to resources. IDEA 2.0 will cultivate a greater sense of belonging and enable our students to build more diverse, accessible, equitable communities in their lives after graduation.” This is accomplished through:
● Understanding, appreciation, and learning: Provide the campus community with opportunities for understanding, appreciation of, and learning about diverse identities and experiences through training, professional development, access to tools and job aids, departmental support for continuing education.
● Access and Equity: Creating, evaluating, and revising College’s policies, procedures, and practices to support campus diversity and inclusion while mitigating structural bias and discrimination.
● Diversity: Enhancing current practices for admissions, hiring, and recruitment along with defining goals for a representative community.
● Inclusion and belonging: Cultivating a climate that contributes to the retention of and ability to thrive for the diverse Scripps community; this includes mentorship, sponsorship, and access to promotion and/or recognition.
Next Step Recommendation
In order to assess how Scripps College is currently performing IDEA functions, the IDEA 2.0 Implementation Team recommends convening a team to conduct an institutional review. We recommend a team of faculty, staff, and students advised by VP and Secretary of the Board, the IDEA 2.0 Implementation Team, and Director of Assessment and Institutional Research, who will be tasked with using research and best practices to conduct an audit and comprehensive report of what divisions and departments currently program and support IDEA functions along with the funds that support the work. With this data, a clear picture of Scripps’s current IDEA landscape will guide IDEA 2.0’s next steps.
Build
The above principles and ideas have been central to our IDEA Initiative efforts and successes at Scripps College in recent years. What distinguishes those efforts is that they have been led by dedicated individuals who have given of their time and expertise to effect change. IDEA 2.0 seeks to move from a model of individual initiative to institutional, campus-wide change. This change model is intended to address the systemic issues, and to avoid overtaxing and depending on individuals (often marginalized themselves), who drive culture shift mostly through working above and beyond their role. This structural change will allow Scripps to name, build on and replicate successes throughout the College that might otherwise remain disjointed and siloed; often affecting only a subset of students, faculty, and staff. Enacting IDEA capacity building throughout Scripps College necessitates institutionalizing drivers for accountability, resources, and leadership that is present throughout the entire College. The review of current IDEA functions is meant to guide existing opportunities for growth, connection, and improvement for creating these institutional drivers.
IDEA Programming (note: COVID-19 disrupted Spring programming)
Fall 2019
ConverActions incorporate public programs, community conversations, and civic engagement opportunities to stimulate participation in the IDEA initiative, cultivate an environment of awareness and understanding of experiences that differ from our own, and identify strategies for action and change. 2019-2020 collaborators include Scripps presents, Scripps Student Affairs/SCORE, OBSA, Laspa Center, EmPower Center, SAS, and Alumnae Engagement.
Carla Hall
Carla Hall, Top Chef contender and former co-host of The Chew, is a champion of connecting communities with the culinary world. She serves as a culinary ambassador for Sweet Home Cafe at the National Museum of African American History and Culture and is an active member of Helen Keller International, an organization focused in part on preventing malnutrition.
The ConverAction focused on the culinary world and communities of color. Facilitated by Brenda Ice, who oversees the Office of Residential Life (ORL), Office of Student Engagement (OSE), and New Student Programs and Orientation (NSPO).
Cecile Richards
Cecile Richards is a national leader for women’s rights and social and economic justice. As president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Planned Parenthood Action Fund for more than a decade, Richards worked to increase affordable access to reproductive health. In 2019, Richards co-founded Supermajority, a political action group working to mobilize women voters.
The ConverAction focused on women’s rights, women’s empowerment, activism, and Cecile’s ties to the Supermajority. Facilitated by Maddie Warman ’20 and Mackenzie Priest-Heck ’21.
Reclaiming “We the People”, a three-part series on getting involved beyond voting, campus climate, #MeToo, and other emerging topics.
Reclaiming “We the People”: The Genie In the Bottle: Grappling with the Role of Social Media in Political Discourse – A conversation with Sabine Romero ’95, 2018 Lois Langland Alumna in Residence
Sabine Romero ’95 has served the city of Austin, Texas since 2008 and has worked as their lead elections attorney, their lead ethics and compliance attorney, and now as the chief administrative officer in their Office of Innovation. She is focused on tackling government opportunities and challenges with an emphasis on accountability, transparency, civic participation, and technology-informed governance. Romero values human-centered design and approaches her work to foster trust in the democratic process.
The ConverAction focused on preparation for the 2020 elections and beyond, and explored the questions of – How do we maintain our campus climate where everyone feels welcome and still be able to express and hear dissenting viewpoints? How do we address polarization, hyper partisanship, animosity, divisiveness, and discriminatory rhetoric in and outside our community?
Reclaiming “We the People”: Woke Olympics: Who Really Wins?
Facilitated by Nick Daily, assistant dean of the Office of Black Student Affairs and Jenn Wells, Student Affairs assistant dean and SCORE director, participants engaged in dialogue regarding difficult conversations and the values and intentions that guide participation in these spaces. The ConverAction focused on the concept of “Woke Olympics” and examined how to create more inclusive and brave spaces critical dialogue.
Reclaiming “We the People”: Centering Healing Justice for Survivors to Reclaim the #MeToo Narrative – facilitated by Tiombe Wallace
Tiombe Wallace is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with over 23 years of experience as a Black intersectional feminist therapist, educator, and activist. Her specializations include intersectional feminist therapy, culturally responsive trauma-informed practice in social service and educational settings, sexual and intimate partner violence, and healing historical trauma in communities experiencing marginalization and oppression.
Tiombe Wallace guided a discussion on the many ways in which survivors’ understanding of #MeToo has been co-opted, colonized, and minimized. Participants engaged in healing art activities, reflection time on their own #MeToo narratives, and how we might reclaim the larger #MeToo movement in this current political landscape.
Workshops, Discussions, and Online Programming facilitated by experts in their fields were offered throughout the fall and reduced programming was continued in spring due to the impact of COVID-19. These facilitated conversations offered campus community members the opportunity to discover and explore a variety of topics together, including defining community, understanding identity, and engaging in crucial conversations.
Community Building and Team-Building Workshops
California Conference for Equality and Justice Workshops
Led by Dr. Jenny Escobar, a Restorative Justice Strategist and Coach at the California Conference for Equality and Justice (CCEJ), a series of community and team building workshops were offered for staff, faculty, and students. The goal of the workshops were to introduce restorative justice foundational theories and core values that anchor community building to better understand the essential place of relationships in driving resolution practices.
Follow-up workshops were designed for those interested in addressing conflicts and collaboratively creating agreements to support healthy resolution and meaningful healing steps for all participants involved.
Student Session with Sonya Renee Taylor – The Body is not an Apology
In collaboration with SCORE, the IDEA Initiative co-sponsored writer, spoken-word artist, social justice advocate, and founder of The Body is not an apology movement Sonya Renee Taylor. Taylor’s session focused on dismantling some of the longest-held and most insidious body preoccupations and examined embracing a paradigm of “radical self-love for everybody and every body.”
Ally Month, presented by SCORE, and co-sponsored by the IDEA Initiative, offered guided discussion every Wednesday in April on a different topic within the theme of ally development was approached. IDEA co-sponsored the following workshops:
Allyship During COVID-19: Xenophobia
The workshop focused on allyship against xenophobia, particularly in our current climate with COVID-19.
Practicing Allyship to Transgender, Nonbinary, and Gender Non-Conforming Students
The final workshop of the month focused on allyship to transgender, nonbinary and gender non-conforming students.
Information Sourcing
The IDEA website continued to serve as a resource tool for information on campus messages, events, programs, and resources related to inclusion, diversity, equity, and access. Examples include the 7C Diversity Committee programs and news, the President’s Updates on Diversity and Inclusion, and links to the College’s harassment policy, administrative departments, and student organizations.