BUILD trains UI faculty and staff to create a welcoming and inclusive environment on campus.
By Jason Estrada
A program on campus gives University of Iowa faculty and staff the opportunity to gain knowledge and skills for creating an inclusive environment.
Building University of Iowa Leader for Diversity is a joint initiative created last year by the Chief Diversity Office and the Office of Learning & Development.
Brianna Marcelo, the Diversity Resource director, said the primary goal of BUILD was not only giving faculty and staff more knowledge and skills to be more inclusive but to also increase the amount of time staff and faculty have in diversity training.
“BUILD is really focused on increasing that amount of time dedicated to diversity and inclusion in a training setting,” she said.
In order for the participants to show their commitment to a successful diverse community, they must complete six courses that are two hours or more. Marcelo said the average number of courses taken by applicants is three or more.
“During the autumn of 2016, 457 people have completed at least one course; 34 more have earned their certificates,” said Chief Diversity Officer Georgina Dodge at the Chief Diversity Office’s 2017 Update on Diversity and Inclusion.
When the participants meet all the requirements, they earn certificates showing that they have demonstrated their commitment to become leaders for diversity, equity, and inclusion in the classroom and workplace.
Holly Waite, an accountant in the Office of Student Life, said she has taken eight BUILD courses and has received a certificate. The courses are said to be interesting and interactive, and the time goes by quickly.
“I use [the certificate] in my daily interactions,” she said. “A lot of it is that the certificate is nice, but it’s actually the knowledge that helps me to recognize like how I’m speaking with other individuals and what I may be saying, and how that may affect other people.”
She would recommend that everyone take these courses if they are interested in learning to be supportive of conflict resolution and tension of other ethnic groups, she said. The courses will help teach the awareness of communication among people.
The program has reached the one-year mark; however, there are some goals the staff is trying to achieve with BUILD in the future. The first goal, Marcelo said, is to expand the new initiative, which has yet to be done, because of the low capacity of their team. Expanding the strategy would include offering more training to the instructors and adding more of the other courses.
Another goal they hope to accomplish is expanding their audience base by having more faculty attend the courses and reaching out to more merit staff.
Although the goal of the program stated to give diversity training for participants, its main focus is to also create diversity, which has been a core value stressed at the UI.
“Diversity contributes to inclusion, contributes to innovation, and contributes to an overall better experience for all of our community members, students, staff, faculty, and the surrounding areas,” Marcelo said.
