Prioritizing Inclusivity
Faculty who are classified as disabled or who are non-native English speakers may struggle to find a place in the United States’ academe, and when they do, their journey is often fraught with various roadblocks. These faculty are sometimes dismissed and overlooked, and the scholarship around this topic is reflective of this dismissal.
Why is this topic important? Higher Education Scholars Adrianna Kezar and Julie Posselt note that in order to create a more equitable and just framework for our institutions, we must “routinize mindfulness” if we want to amend power asymmetries in higher education. Setting our intention to be anti-ableist and acting on that intention with thoughtful strategies and tools carves out a little piece in an environment that is often sink-or-swim, biased, discriminatory, and unfriendly to faculty who fall outside of the traditional ideas of a what a faculty or PI “should be.”
Key takeaways:
- Faculty diversity bolsters the university community. Faculty who have a disability or whose native language is different than English bring their perspectives, experiences, and accomplishments to a campus and to an institution as a whole. We have a responsibility to see that they are right in front of us and contributing valuably to our institution.
- Research administration is customer-service focused and we have to create space and time to meet the needs of all faculty if we are to truly say we are providing excellent customer service.
- Most research administrators are not at the top echelons of university leadership, which is where cultural change regarding faculty development, promotion and tenure must occur. However, what can change is the way we approach faculty. Being more intentional with time and communication styles can be a goal to help enhance inclusivity for all our faculty.
Click here to view the 5 Easy Steps to Becoming an Anti-Ableist Research Administrator.
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