Strategic Action Plan Theme 2: Expand

EXPAND the presence within the student body, faculty and staff of individuals from underrepresented social identity groups through intentional, innovative, and bold recruitment efforts.

Educational and work environments that have representation from a variety of diverse identities are more effective and produce better results. We will work to continue to expand the diversity of St. Lawrence’s student body, faculty, and staff through intentional recruitment efforts.“[S]tudents, faculty and staff from a variety of backgrounds, experiences, identities and heritages, when working together, are more likely to produce the leaders our society needs.”^[1]

• Short term:
  • Collaboration with Admissions/Enrollment Management, BLI, and the University Diversity Committee to find strategies to expand the enrollment of students from incoming groups, especially BIPOC, first-generation, and Pell Grant recipients
    • Summer 2022 update: Regional counselor in NYC hired in summer 2021 to focus on growth and enhancement of our diversity initiatives.
    • Summer 2022 update: Plans under way to create an Office for Native American Affairs
  • Collaboration with Admissions/Enrollment Management and the Advancement Office to identify opportunities to leverage alumni/ae engagement and raise funds to expand enrollment
  • Continue to pursue opportunities to fund scholarships for students with passion for and experience working in diverse environments
    • Summer 2022 update: Kirk Douglas scholarship application restructured to include interview component
    • Summer 2022 update: Outreach to Black Laurentian Initiative students to begin planning for mentorship of students with underrepresented identities
  • Expand the Diversity Advocates Program, which works to expand the diversity of candidate pools for tenure-track faculty hires, to include visiting positions
    • Summer 2022 update: All full-time faculty positions now require a diversity advocate; new Diversity Advocate training workshops have continued and the number of trained advocates has nearly doubled in the past 2 years.
  • Explore options to create a similar program to expand diversity of candidate pools for staff positions
    • Summer 2022 update: Staff Diversity Advocate Program initiated in summer 2021 with more than 30 staff members trained; additional workshops/trainings planned for 2022-2023
• Intermediate:
  • Explore options for funding a scholarship program for students with lived experience supporting Native American culture, particularly from Akwesasne, similar to the Kenyan Scholars Program
    • (we’ve had conversations about support but not yet scholarship support)
  • Better market support resources for underrepresented groups, such as PDS Leadership award, Brown Bag Lunches, etc., to be used in recruitment
    • Summer 2022 update: Assessment of PDS, KDS and LPP programs including review of web presence
  • Expand pool of North Country Ambassadors to ensure that search finalists have a resource on campus
• Long-term:
  • Explore grant opportunities for outreach to high school students living in communities with high concentrations of people with underrepresented identities, including lower SES and BIPOC communities, via a summer institute similar to Columbia University’s Roger Lehecka Double Diversity Center;^[2] assess initiatives as community continues to evolve
• Assessment:
  • Track demographics of incoming students, faculty and staff - these numbers are updated annually and posted on the Institutional Research web page
  • Track the number of scholarships, grant, and fellowship opportunities that aim to foster diversity and inclusion

Return to the Strategic Action Plan for Diversity and Inclusion

^[1] From University Diversity Statement.

^[2] Frank Bruni, “Plato and the Promise of College” (The New York Times, August 4, 2014).   https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/05/opinion/frank-bruni-plato-and-the-promise-of-college.html; The Roger Lehecka Double Diversity Center, https://ddc.college.columbia.edu/.