Selected Assessments and Implementation Efforts
GSSW Diversity Initiative
In 2014 Carrie Arroyo, Dr. Becky Scott and Dr. Elizabeth Goatley created the Diversity Initiative at the GSSW. Similar to other initiatives within the school this was an optional task/research group for those with a particular interest in DEI. The Diversity Initiative was responsible for developing and implementing the Garland School’s Human Diversity and Leadership course, many faculty/staff trainings, and a qualitative assessment of the experiences of former students, faculty, and staff of color in 2018.
Race Equity Work Team (REWT)
After qualitative interviews with former students, staff, and faculty of color in 2018 and listening sessions with students, faculty, and staff in 2020, Former Dean Singletary appointed a race equity work team to provide recommendations for helping the school fulfill its antiracist ideals. The committee was led by Kayla Mize and Kerri Fisher and the team’s full report is attached.
Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion & Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee
In response to the REWT recommendations for a faculty/staff position devoted to DEI the Dean appointed Kerri Fisher as the first Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in January of 2022 and a permanent DEI committee was appointed in Fall 2022. The DEI Committee objectives include:
- Identifying DEI trends, gaps, and strengths across all committees, admin practices, policies, and broader GSSW culture.
- Documenting & Communicating DEI trends, gaps, and strengths on a regular basis to the admin team and broader GSSW community.
- Encouraging, supporting, and advocating for changes in GSSW DEI-related practices/processes.
- Modeling anti-supremacist processes for committee representation/structure, workload, and decision-making.
The DEI Committee Goal Sheets for ongoing, embedded change is attached.
Licensing Inequity Strategy Team (LIST)
In Spring 2023 Associate Dean Zuniga appointed a committee to respond to the national and University-specific inequities documented in the ASWB Exam Pass Rate Analysis unveiled in Fall 2022.
Workload/Climate Assessments
The Garland School seeks to improve the work experiences of all employees with particular attention to those who have historically and contemporarily been under-resourced, undervalued, and under-compensated. In the Fall of 2023, we began a series of workload/work-experience discussions and assessments. An example of the faculty workload assessment tool.
Social Work Education Assessment Project (SWEAP) Antiracism, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (ADEI) Instrument
In the Spring of 2024, the Garland School assessed graduating students’ experiences of the implicit and explicit DEI curriculum using the SWEAP ADEI tool. Ongoing use of this tool will allow us to note DEI trends, strengths, and struggles as experienced by the students graduating from our programs.
LGBTQIA+
The Garland School has made clear its commitment to students and alumni that we are seeking to be a caring, Christian community for colleagues who identify as members of the LGBTQIA+ community and have been misunderstood, maligned and marginalized in our society. Our faculty and staff have worked with LGBTQIA+ students on campus for many years and seek to assure that each social work student is prepared to work with anyone they serve professionally in a non-discriminatory manner.