The Academic Experience

Curriculum

• Through Faculty Senate leadership, review strategies and cycles for the learning assessment of courses that currently have the cultural diversity (D) designation, and the curricular criteria for their determination and the renewal of that determination over time, as part of the current general education curricular and assessment processes.
  • Overseen by: Michelle Maldonado, Interim Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs
  • Item Status: Work in progress.
  • Updates: As of Fall 2022, curriculum recommendations were proposed by the Curriculum Review Committee. Changes will start to be implemented in Spring 2023. The proposals from the GE review committee emphasized the importance of diversity equity and inclusion that will greatly benefit the University by keeping these items at the forefront of curriculum planning and assessment.

• Develop new courses and curricula that address diversity, equity and inclusion, and support faculty in revising current courses to incorporate diversity, equity and inclusion.
  • Overseen by: Michelle Maldonado, Interim Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs
  • Item Status: Work in progress.
  • Updates:
    • Accounting: The Accounting’s Nonprofit Leadership Program helps advance area nonprofit organization and provided career development.
    • Asian Studies: Asian Studies offered many sessions of courses marked with GE “D (diversity)” attribute, which served more than 800 students. It ran a number of co-curricular/extra-curricular events to promote diversity and inclusion, secured external grant to support Asian language program, and assisted students in applying Chinese language scholarship, among other work.
    • Biology: Biology faculty have participated in reading groups and discussions on antiracism, implicit bias, and related issues. Several participated in the PILLAR program and include topics such as the genetic control of skin color and the chromosomal bases for gender and gender identity into courses to help students gain an understanding of the biological foundation of human diversity and to gain respect for that diversity. The Biology Department Committee on Diversity in Hiring worked closely with the microbiologist search committee by modifying the wording of the ad to make the language more inclusive and redacted the applicants’ names for the initial evaluation of their applications, and the search committee used a rubric in their initial evaluations that was designed to reduce bias.
    • Communications & Media: The faculty work with and assist where possible through CBL and the Scranton Story. They invite diverse alumni to speak with students about their Scranton and professional stories. Faculty attended and participated in a variety of the DEI workshops and programs and are looking forward to supporting this effort in the future.
    • Counseling: Faculty and staff have participated in DE&I committees, workshops, and assisted in providing training to the wider University community. Some faculty participated in the PILLAR program. Recently Counseling reviewed its program related materials to ensure inclusive language and revised its Fit for Professional Documents to include a dimension on Cultural Competencies. Additionally, Counseling recently provided a webinar for Field Supervisors entitled Exploring Diversity to Foster an Inclusive Supervisory Working Alliance.
    • Criminal Justice & Sociology: Dr. Rich developed her Race and Ethnic Relations course to include more online educational resources from a diversity of underrepresented scholars, including women and people of color and the intersections between those marginalized social groups. The department reviewed its curriculum for its coverage of racial justice issues, incorporating the findings from that review into individual courses.
    • Education Department: The Department delivers a series of courses that specifically address the work with students with disabilities, English language learners, and students and families for diverse cultural backgrounds. During academic year 2022 – 2023, the Education Department was involved in several curriculum and research activities to support the DEI plan. The highlights include: (1) participation in institutional programs and initiatives designed for first generation students and high school students from high needs schools; (2) completion of curriculum revision aimed at inclusion of courses/assignments to increase students’ knowledgeability about the history of diversity in North American and worldwide; (3) work on curriculum revision to include assignments to support students’ professional competence of working with students from diverse backgrounds; and (4) faculty led individual research and service projects.
    • History: The History faculty engage in a variety of service opportunities, travel courses, participation in outside religious and community activities, and sports, including faculty mentorship of our University of Scranton teams. The flexibility of the history major allows our students to pursue a variety of exciting paths.
    • Kinesiology: The student travel course in KNES, Sport and Physical Culture in Ancient Greece is offered each year. The Department seeks to broaden employee and student experiences with the diversity of our city, region, and world through experiential and service engagements that cultivate and celebrate impactful dialogue and intercultural exchange—and --focuses on the student experience throughout the world.
    • Library: Faculty and staff played important roles on several DEI-focused committees. The Digital Services Department developed the Re-membering Blackness Digital Collection. The collection continues to grow and offers students the opportunity to research the University's history as it relates to Institutional Black History. The Library added the following e-resources: (i) EBSCO's Ethnic Diversity Source, (ii) EBSCO Diversity & Ethnic Studies e-book package (subscription), and (iii) IGI's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion e-book package (purchased).
    • Neuroscience: The Department added a module on Neuroscience of racism/bias in NEUR111 Reading Science Literature which is a required seminar taken in the spring semester of first year. Other faculty have added historical data from various neuroscientists into their neuroscience courses.Nursing: Nursing incorporated gender-neutral language throughout handbooks and recruitment materials. They are cognizant of the importance of using photos in materials and lecture slides that represent a more global perspective of the nursing profession and healthcare consumer. Individuals within the Department have made efforts to increase signage in support of the LGBTQ+ community. The following points of the University's DEI plan are areas where the department focuses its efforts: Student experience: Content addressing racism, healthcare disparities and social justice was added to NURS 452 in the undergraduate curriculum. During the curricular revisions nursing considers how race/gender and sexual identity contribute to healthcare disparities and how our graduates can respond as practitioners, advocate and Jesuit educated individuals to help improve outcomes.
      Faculty and staff experience: The department chair has attended and participated in workshops on diversity and racism that have been sponsored by the University and has reported on the content to the faculty.
    • Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy:
      • Students are required to do two professional development activities each semester, many students enroll in DEI campus events.
      • The entire faculty did Safe Zone Training.
      • Faculty implemented DEI requirements into OT courses, such as attendance and reflection assignments at events offered by Women & Gender Studies, etc.
      • Faculty have completed numerous off-campus DEI trainings on a variety of subject matter including inclusive teaching, biases, understanding students with diagnoses, supporting students of differing cultures & backgrounds, remote teaching, pandemic effects, etc.
      • Faculty have attended numerous on-campus DEI training sessions/presentations offered by CTE, OED, PCPS DisAbility conference, Faculty Development Day for Creating a Welcoming & Inclusive Classroom, Diversity & Inclusion Lunch & Learn, Race and Ethnicity Awareness Workshop, Microaggressions, Supporting Gender Diversity, etc.
      • Two faculty have completed the PILLAR program more than two semesters each.
      • Some faculty has completed Title IX adjudication process training and actively volunteer to support the University and students involved in such processes.
    • Physical Therapy: Faculty continue to offer CBL opportunities that expose students to diversity in our local community. Projects embedded in PT 755 Teaching & Learning in PT engage students in health education in local schools and senior high rises. In PT 743 Psychosocial aspects of Disability, students explore concepts of social justice, implicit bias, and social determinants of health in relation to micro, meso and macro systems and health equity for patients with disability who need rehab services related to acute and chronic health conditions. PILLAR training was also implemented by faculty for inclusive learning environments (PT 704 Therapeutic Exercise). PT included the newly developed Race and Ethnicity Awareness Training workshop as part of the orientation for our incoming class of DPT students. Several faculty members enhanced course content in the areas of cultural humility, health equity, gender identity, and social justice.
    • Political Science: The Department demonstrated its deep commitment to supporting University-level DEI commitments by incorporating related content in its curricular offerings, and by actively advocating for a line in Political Science to address the issues of race and racism as systematic components of our disciplinary curriculum. Dr. Allison delivered a presentation on Title 42 for the Ellacuria Initiative. The Department used funding from the Ignatian Global Citizenship Program to send four women to the National Education for Women's (NEW) Leadership Pennsylvania at Chatham University.
    • Psychology: As part of the President’s cluster hiring initiative, the Department search and hired a psychologist specializing in Black psychology. Multiple psychology faculty serve as affiliates of the Women’s Studies programs.
      The Department offer multiple (D) courses, including the recently approved (S, D) Psychology of Racism. In Fall 2023, the Department shall consider a proposal to require, among psychology majors, a Psychology (D) course.
    • World Languages and Cultures: Hosted 10 Immersion Days for 125 students and a variety of cultural events. The curriculum is continually evolving to be more decolonized, with approved courses like Black Italy: Afro-Italian Identities included in the Black Studies Concentration and FYS, LIT 107X: Global Aesthetics of Care. The Department’s ESL program for the community, in collaboration with the Department of University Advancement, received a Scranton Area Foundation Critical Needs Grant to purchase textbooks and workbooks for English Language Learners. They also received a National Book Foundation grant to purchase several grammar textbooks and a five-level set of textbooks and workbooks for use by community ESL tutors at the LLC.

• Support the creation and launch of the new Black Studies concentration.
  • Overseen by: Michelle Maldonado, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs
  • Item Status: Work in progress.
  • Updates: The Black Studies Concentration is on schedule to be included in the Fall 2023. The Library purchased monographs or e-books for the Black Studies program.

• Increase Community Based Learning and Community Based Research opportunities across the curriculum, emphasizing those that engage students and faculty with those from diverse and underserved populations, and create further opportunities for students, faculty and other members of the University community to be involved in local community growth.
  • Overseen by: Victoria Castellanos, Dean of Panuska College of Professional Studies; Mark Higgins, Dean of Kania School of Management: Michelle Maldonado, Provost and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs; Julie Schumacher-Cohen, Assistant Vice President of Government and Community Relations; Gerald Zaboski, Senior Vice President, Office of the President
  • Item Status: Work in progress.
  • Updates:
    • Various CBL courses that had a focus on underrepresented populations, including with a DEI focus ran across colleges; for example, PCPS faculty/students ran health fairs with the Congolese refugee community and the Bhutanese Cultural Foundation, and the CAS course “Service and the Hispanic community” (taught by Dr. Roxana Curiel) includes outreach to local Hispanic/Latinx communities.
    • The first cohort of CBL Faculty Fellows was announced in Fall 2022 and has run through the fall with four faculty and a CBL Clavius program includes several faculty members, and 7 faculty in the spring . Both programs involve readings and discussion that address DEI topics, including around “positionality,” CBL from a solidarity focus, and critical service learning approaches including work by Dr. Tania Mitchell.
    • KSOM is working on consulting project for the Home Boy’s Project in California.
    • Counseling and Human Services curricula are aligned with diversity, equity, and inclusion. Through community-based learning, practicum, and internships, students have the opportunity to more fully understand diversity, equity, and inclusion in and through community service preparing them for an increasingly diverse world.
    • The Counselors 4 Social Change Graduate Club was founded by four student leaders in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling program interested in current social justice issues and working towards diversity, equity, and inclusion within the campus community, profession, and communities at large. The club is committed to providing accessible information/opportunities to assist graduate students in learning about various social justice topics through dialogues and other activities.
    • CBL worked with the PCPS Dean’s Office to revamp their first-year CBL Tapestry program including the coordination of 3 CBL Talks: Black history and housing, Environmental health, and the Living Wage study.

• Incorporate diversity, equity and inclusion programming in Passport and Tapestry programs for non-first year students.
  • Overseen by: Elizabeth Garcia, Executive Director, Office of Equity and Diversity; Michelle Maldonado, Provost and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs, Lauren Rivera, Vice President of Student Life, and Dean of Students
  • Item Status: Year 2.
  • Updates: