IDEA Newsletter — April 2024

A Moment of Reflection 

As we wind down the school year, we encourage reflection around your experiences with free speech, ideological diversity, and the core values of higher education. In our own reflection, we are guided by the strength of our Principles of Community and Principles of Diversity, which underscore the urgency of our mission and commitment to fostering a sense of belonging and equity for all members of our campus community. We invite you to join the EJ Team in embracing these challenges as opportunities to create meaningful change in shaping an environment that reflects our ideals and welcomes all voices.

Committee on Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity (CIDE)

As the academic year comes to a close, the 2023-2024 Committee on Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity is finalizing the outcomes for this year’s two main projects: reviewing the Scripps Land Acknowledgement and part two of the Student Belonging survey.

The 2024 Student Belonging Survey launched in February 2024, and was administered until March 8th. Over 150 students across all four grade levels provided perspective on their experience at Scripps.

The survey was initially developed and administered by the Equity and Justice Team in the spring of 2023 in response to the results the Fall 2021 National Assessment of Collegiate Campus Climates (NACCC) student survey. Please be on the look out for an invitation for our May Community Gathering, where we will be sharing the survey result with the wider Scripps community in an effort to collaborate with campus partners to address student belonging on campus.

The ongoing review to the Scripps Land Acknowledgement is in partnership with Dr. Hao Huang, the NA/IS faculty, local indigenous leader Javier Ramírez, and additional indigenous community members. This year, the NA/IS faculty provided CIDE with a variety of recommendations for changes to the land acknowledgement. The committee will share updates with the community at a later date.

Spotlight

Deb Gisvold

Deb Gisvold, Assistant Dean and Director of Tiernan Field House, has been hard at work this academic year investing in DEI work for the Tiernan Field House. Under Deb’s leadership, TFH has created a DEIJ Action Plan, and created a Field House DEI Steering committee, supported by students and staff. Deb’s vision has guided the TFH to be a more inclusive space, offering more diverse class options, expanding equitable hiring practices, and providing DEI trainings for student staffs. Brava to Deb for all of her amazing work!

Associate Dean of Faculty for Racial Equity

We are pleased to announce Dr. Cándida Jáquez, Associate Professor of Music; Chair, Department of Music, as the new Associate Dean of Faculty for Racial Equity. As the associate dean of faculty for racial equity, Jáquez will continue Dr. Mary Hatcher-Skeer’s work in identifying and implementing antiracism and equity goals at Scripps by providing guidance on policies. We welcome her to both the Dean of Faculty’s staff and the EJ Team.

Updates

2023-2024 Student Racial Justice and Equity Fellows

The Racial Justice and Equity Fellowship Program provides grants for research, internships, and community-engagement projects designed to advance scholarship and explore topics relevant to the following: racial justice; inequality; equity; criminal justice reform; intersectional, interracial, and intraracial violence; community-engaged projects; and related areas.

In the spring, three students were selected to conduct research.

Lucy Waggoner-Wu
Oral History Project with the Wing Luke Museum

Jane Lovette
Educational Philosophy with Abolitionist Theory

Francesca Mills
Rural Soil Sample Collection in Senegal

Additionally, 2023-2024 RJE Faculty fellow, Cándida Jáquez, Associate Professor of Music; Chair, Department of Music, is hosting a Mariachi End of year Concert on Tuesday, April 30th at 7pm at Garrison Theater. The concert will feature various mariachi musicians and groups from around the region, and is free and open to the public.

Final Thoughts