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Elan
Commitment to Diversity
A long record of initiatives demonstrates my consistent and ongoing commitment to enhancing diversity and inclusion in higher education. As a result, my pedagogies earned the CARA Award for Excellence in Teaching, honorable mention for Outstanding Contributions to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Field of Writing Across the Curriculum, and I was granted a Lilly Equity and Inclusion Fellowship for my work fostering diversity as a matter of professionalization across the curriculum. This includes an open-access video series on inclusive writing practices that provide strategies for employing gender-neutral language, avoiding racial and cultural biases, creating multi-modal and accessible documents, as well as best practices for professional comportment. Furthermore, to facilitate connections to the community in which we are situated, I collaborated with students to construct a digital map that documents diverse local histories featuring unique contributions by marginalized people. This civic engagement demonstrates our commitment to inclusion beyond the boundaries of the institution. Moreover, my teaching, research, and writing continue to promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging as essential concerns for the next generation of exceptional leaders.
In tandem with teaching, I regularly organize events that enhance students’ sense of belonging, and to foster diversity, equity, and inclusion as a matter of professionalization that prepares scholars to lead effectively beyond graduation. For example, at Wabash College, I collaborate with the Malcolm X Institute for Black Studies and La Alianza to provide institutional support for students of color. Also, in response to a spike in sexually transmitted infections among students, I partnered with Campus Health Services and the Montgomery County Health Department to provide free rapid screenings and free safer-sex toolkits, as well as a series of annual information sessions. Finally, I am responsible for organizing the first campus-wide celebration of LGBTQ+ History Month at an exclusive college for men. In addition to sharing flags, I designed and distributed posters featuring LGBTQ+ activists who are recorded in the college archives, and thus essential to local, institutional histories. Then, I adapted my research to construct the first self-guided digital Safe Space training program. Using Canvas software, participants interact with multimodal lectures that promote sex-gender inclusion. Afterwards, they receive a laminated certificate of completion via campus mail to display and thus indicate their quarters are a Safe Space for LGBTQ+ colleagues. Now, as a member of the Advocacy Committee for the Medieval Academy of America, I help spearhead initiatives that impact multiple institutions and I collaborate on documents, such as our statement for LGBTQ+ rights.
Finally, I have experience using statistical data collected by the Director of Institutional Research of Wabash College to develop programs that promote a sense of belonging among diverse students. As chair of the Gender Issues Committee, I share an annual report with colleagues, administrators, and trustees to mark our progress and to identify future goals. Then, as a member of the Wellness Council, I streamline the singular efforts of multiple faculty and committees so that we progress efficiently. I envision extending my efforts to secure more grants that continue funding future advancements in diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.
I strive to support current students and to provide our graduates with knowledge to lead compassionately, and thus build a more diverse and humane world.
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