This workshop is part of Michigan Tech's ongoing commitment to faculty diversity in building a supportive campus climate. Successful completion of the Diversity Literacy Workshop is required to serve on faculty hiring and tenure promotion committees. The Workshop is organized as a three-week asynchronous online course in Canvas (with 2-3 hours of work per week) building literacy in recognizing unconscious bias, and culminates with a one-week seminar on the legal aspects of diversity-centered hiring practices.
For those who have already taken the full three-week diversity literacy course, a “refresher” course will be required every four years with one week of Diversity Literacy training, followed by one week of Legal Aspects. If a refresher is not taken within that four-year period, the full three-week course will be required again.
To register, please consult our Schedule of Upcoming Workshops and submit your registration request using the online form.
The Diversity Literacy Training Component
The three-week online component of the workshop focuses on understanding, recognizing, and responding to unconscious bias related to gender, race, age, disability, religion, or other “protected” classes as defined by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. These biases can hinder the successful recruitment, retention, and promotion of a diverse faculty at Michigan Tech. Participants should plan to spend approximately two hours each week in exploring the scenarios provided by completing the required readings, videos, quizzes, and discussion questions
The Diversity Literacy training component was developed by faculty during the Michigan Tech’s NSF ADVANCE PAID grant, which was funded 2008-2012 and included the development of campus-wide training programs in diversity and unconscious bias literacy. The current training program evolved from an optional in-person pilot program to the current online, interactive workshop that is required to serve on search and P&T committees. The course content and format continue to be managed by faculty members, distinguishing it from other training courses at Michigan Tech. Course content and format are reviewed and revised annual to continuously adapt to the landscape of DEI initiatives and needsat Michigan Tech with support from the Office of the Provost.
The Legal Aspects Seminar Component
The final component of the workshop is an online course provided by the Office of Equal Opportunity Compliance and Title IX in which participants leverage what they have learned in the Diversity Literacy Training Component (above) to addressing how diversity impacts and is impacted by university policies, state and federal laws (e.g., affirmative action requirements), and any policies or procedures relevant to committee work and the faculty hiring process at Michigan Tech. Additionally, completion of a Faculty Legal Aspects Refresher course is required annually when serving on a search committee. It will be assigned automatically upon joining a search committee.