DEI Update, March 2024

President’s Town Hall in February focused on DEI at UMA

Zoom connection with Dr James in the Farber Forum.

The President’s Town Hall that took place on February 8th had a DEI focus, and included an overview of our student demographics from Dean of Students Jennifer Davis and a discussion around the results of our HEDS survey. UMA’s DEI consultant Dr. Anthony James joined us via Zoom (pictured) to lead a discussion on the HEDS survey results, to talk about next steps regarding the survey, and to answer questions from the UMA community. February’s President’s Town Hall was also a great way to learn more about the essential work that the President’s DEI Council has been doing to improve on institutional DEI initiatives that support the objectives of UMA’s Strategic Plan. Some highlights included co-chairs of the DEI Council Professor Susan Baker and Assistant Provost and Dean Pamela MacRae sharing key updates about the recent progress made in supporting Fostering Inclusion, the fifth pillar of UMA’s Strategic Plan. As well, this year’s Post-Doctoral Scholar for DEI Initiatives Dr. Nora Tyeklar shared some improvements and revisions that have been made to the UMA Heritage Month Calendar. The user-friendly calendar boasts over 91 holidays and important dates that showcase communities and cultures from around the world. Check it out today and submit events and resources to help promote inclusion and belonging in our community!

Subscribe to the new-and improved UMA Heritage Month Calendar!

As you’ve probably heard by now, we have a great resource on UMA’s website: the UMA Heritage Month Calendar. The calendar details various days of importance across cultural and religious traditions, provides additional resources for community members to learn about one another’s heritage, and shares ongoing online and in-person events at the university, local, and state level that anyone can participate in.

An additional feature in this year’s updated version is that visitors to the calendar can now subscribe to the calendar and add it to their own Google calendar. It’s easy and only takes a few seconds. Visit the calendar today and just click “Subscribe to Calendar”!

Please consider submitting holidays or events that are currently not featured in the calendar. Your input is what will make the UMA Heritage Month Calendar the best of its kind. Let’s keep promoting inclusion and belong in our community together!