Faculty Resources

Syllabi Language

All faculty are strongly encouraged to include the following language in syllabi to introduce your role as a Required Reporter and the University’s Non-Discrimination Statement.

My Reporting Obligations as a Required Reporter
As a faculty member, I am deeply invested in the well-being of each student I teach.  I am here to assist you with your work in this course.  Additionally, if you come to me with other non-course-related concerns, I will do my best to help. It is important for you to know that all faculty members are required to report incidents of sexual harassment or sexual misconduct involving students.  This means that I cannot keep information about sexual harassment, sexual assault, sexual exploitation, intimate partner violence or stalking confidential if you share that information with me.  I will keep the information as private as I can but am required to bring it to the attention of the University’s  Title IX Coordinator, Elizabeth M. Garcia, who will explain available support, resources, and options.  I will not report anything to anybody without first letting you know and discussing choices as to how to proceed.  The University’s Counseling Center (570-941-7620) is available to you as a confidential resource; counselors (in the counseling center) do not have an obligation to report to the Title IX Coordinator.
Non-Discrimination Statement

The University is committed to providing an educational, residential, and working environment that is free from harassment and discrimination. Members of the University community, applicants for employment or admissions, guests and visitors have the right to be free from harassment or discrimination based on race, color, religion, ancestry, gender, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, genetic information, national origin, veteran status, or any other status protected by applicable law.

Sexual harassment, including sexual violence, is a form of sex discrimination prohibited by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. The University does not discriminate on the basis of sex in its educational, extracurricular, athletic, or other programs or in the context of employment.

Anyone who has questions about the University’s Sexual Harassment and Sexual Misconduct Policy, or the University’s Non-Discrimination and Anti-Harassment Policy, or wishes to report a possible violation of one of the policies should contact:

Elizabeth M. Garcia
Title IX Coordinator
The Office of Equity and Diversity
Institute of Molecular Biology & Medicine, Rm 315
(570) 941-6645

Recruiting the BEST Talent for Your Department

The University of Scranton recognizes that its faculty and staff are fundamental to its success, and therefore, it is committed to developing a diverse and inclusive workforce. It embraces an inclusive campus community that values the expression of differences in ways that promote excellence in teaching, learning, personal development and institutional success. The University of Scranton is an EEO Educator and Employer

A STRATEGY TOOLKIT TO RECRUIT AN EXCELLENT & DIVERSE FACULTY

The search process requires intentionality. The purpose of this Toolkit is to assist search committees and hiring managers to expand and diversify the candidate pool in the hiring process. It contains resources to help guide and support recruitment and hiring more diverse employees. This Toolkit is intended to provide interested search committees and hiring managers with information only. It in no way replaces the Recruitment, Selection and Record Keeping Requirements for Faculty Search Committees, Hiring Managers and Department Chairs document on the Provost’s website or the Electronic On-Line process in Human Resources.

Inclusive Teaching Resources for Faculty

Diversity and Inclusive pedagogy are student-centered approaches to teaching that pays attention to a varied backgrounds, learning styles and abilities of all learners.  They create an overarching learning environment in which students feel both invited and included in the classroom.  Research supports diversity and inclusive teaching and learning because learning outcomes are improved for everyone when the educators attend to student differences and intentionally ensure that all students feel welcomed, supported, challenged and valued.  

Video Resources:

The Office of Equity and Diversity and the Faculty Development Specialist invite you to view the following workshops:

  • Finding and Forging Brave Spaces: The Theory and Practice of Co-creating Inclusive and Equitable Learning  Opportunities through Pedagogical Partnership -  On Friday, May 8th, Dr. Alison Cook-Sather offered an in depth look at developing and implementing best practices for inclusive pedagogy. Her four part workshop included introducing the idea of pedagogical partnership, exploring the experience of others practicing these partnerships, sharing the current inclusive work and experience of the attendees; and  applying strategies to implement the practice of pedagogical partnerships.
  • Racial Diversity: On Friday, February 21 st, Dr. Tiffany Bordonada offered a workshop on Racial Diversity. Dr. Bordonada is an assistant professor in the Department of Counseling and Human Services and co-director of the Clinical Mental Health Counseling graduate program. Dr. Bordonada will expand on the importance of a productive and equal learning environment for all. She spoke about teaching strategies and reflective student assignments that celebrate diversity and increase racial awareness.
  • All About Gender: On Thursday, February 27 th, Dr. Paul Datti presented  All About Gender. Dr. Datti is an associate professor at the University of Scranton where he directs the Counseling and Human Services program. Dr. Datti discussed the terms related to gender identity, reducing sexism and cisgenderism, adopting inclusive language and actions, and reducing bias and avoiding misgendering.
  • Veteran Students: On Friday, May 1st, Dr. Mary Troy presented a workshop discussing Veteran student and issues related to their experience in higher education. Dr. Troy is an assistant professor in the Counseling and Human Services department. Her presentation highlighted veteran student challenges in starting and finishing college, and strategies for veteran student retention and success.
  • Intercultural Dialogue in a Diverse World: On Wednesday, April 22, Dr. Tiffany Bordonada presented part six of the faculty and staff Formula for Success: D+I + A Better U! diversity and inclusion lunch and learn series. In this recorded Zoom session, Dr. Bordonada discussed the purpose of intercultural communication, the challenges and benefits of engaging in dialogue across cultures, and strategies to enhance intercultural dialogue and celebrate diversity through communication.
  • Accommodations and Beyond: Inclusive Strategies for Online and Classroom Teaching: On Tuesday, July 14, Dr. Rebecca Spirito Dalgin, Ph.D., CRC, CPRP, Professor in the Department of Counseling and Human Services and the Rehabilitation Counseling Masters Degree program director, discussed best practices to include students of all abilities and backgrounds and convey respect.  For faculty and students with disabilities, the classroom and online education settings may present certain challenges that need accommodation and consideration. This workshop focused on inclusive practices faculty can employ for students with disabilities. Topics such as classroom accommodations, disability inclusive language, confidentiality/disclosure and stigma, universal design, and available resources were addressed.
  • Rebuilding Our Wounded World: A Catholic Response to the Sin of Racism: On Monday, November 9, 2020, Dean Michelle Maldonado, Ph.D., Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, discussed recent Church documents addressing the social sin of racism, the image of God as the foundation of recognizing our full humanity equally, and a vision of justice that calls for a conversion of the heart.
  • A Call to Conversion: Eliminating Anti-Black Racism as a Jesuit, Catholic University presented by Dr. Mary Wardell-Ghirarduzzi, February 25, 2021,  demonstrated how our Ignatian values and traditions are tied to racial justice work, and teach us how to use our gifts for racial justice.  In her work, Dr. Wardell relates, “To ensure the fulfillment of the Universal Apostolic Preference of walking with the poor, the excluded, the outcasts of the world as an act of reconciliation and justice, I would like to offer a reparational framework for racial justice and reconciliation informed by teshuva for Jesuit universities and social works.” She believes it is essential that we “Rebuild our institutional cultures with empathy, accountability, and liberation”  The move towards reconciliation and racial justice “will occur when we address anti-Black racism and racial injustice on our campuses.”
  • Community-Based Learning as a Critical Pedagogy presented March 23, 2021, by Dr. Tania D. Mitchell, Ed.D., associate professor of higher education at the University of Minnesota. This workshop explores community-based learning as a critical pedagogy with a focus on three core elements, in alignment with our Jesuit mission: attention to social change, working to redistribute power, and fostering authentic community relationships. Dr. Mitchell shares best practices in service learning toward creating a more just community, including understanding the impact of race and class in community engagement, using reflective and dialogic teaching tools and strategies, and forming reciprocal community-based partnerships that foster authentic solidarity.
  • Antiracist Teaching presented April 15th and 22nd by Dr. Milagros Castillo-Montoya, Ed.D., Both workshops focus on antiracist teaching. The first introduces key cross-disciplinary elements of antiracist teaching, engage in practicing one of these elements, and consider how those elements align with Catholic and Jesuit values. In the second workshop, faculty will apply one element of antiracist teaching to their own teaching and work in disciplinary-related teams to improve an element of their teaching to advance antiracist teaching.
  • Uncovering Scranton's Native Past, a diversity and inclusion lunch and learn presented by Dr. Adam Pratt, Ph.D., April 20, 2021. Dr. Pratt will delves into the groups of Native people’s that lived in the northeastern Pennsylvania area, when, and what happened to them; the steps toward creating a Native Land Acknowledgement Statement; and, what other actions the University should make toward addressing past injustices.
  • Reflection on Anti-Asian Violence Panel Discussion and Q&A - On Tuesday, April 27, 2021, we presented important panel discussion reflecting on the roots of anti-Asian violence, discriminatory immigration acts and laws, and harmful stereotyping that continues to impact the Asian community today.
    Dr. Meghan Ashlin Rich , Ph.D., discussed the history of Asian immigration to the U.S., highlighting the exclusionary immigration acts and discriminatory laws aimed at limiting and restricting Asian Americans and Asian immigration, post-1965 immigration trends and the “pan-ethnic” Asian American identity, constructed in the face of discrimination, and explained aspects of the “model minority” and gendered stereotypes, and the harm they cause to Asian Americans.
    Dr. Amitava Krishna Dutt, Ph.D., discussed anti-Asian violence in the US, with respect to Asian immigration, general issues about “nationalism and race/ethnicity issues concerning Asians in the US in particular, involving social, political and economic factors, and finally, about how attitudes are influenced by some politicians for their personal benefit.
    Dr. Jingyi Song, Ph.D., depicted the various dimensions of ethnicity, culture, ideology, politics and economic policies that shape the anti-Chinese sentiment leading to the Riot.
    This program is being sponsored by the Office of Equity and Diversity, Asian Studies, The CAS Dean's Office, The Provost's Office and the Cross Cultural Centers.
  • A Business Case for Diversity & Inclusion in the Marketplace   The D+I = A Better U! lunch and learn featuring Dr. Abhijit Roy, DBA, faculty in marketing held  Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2021, at 12:00 p.m. Dr. Roy discussed why businesses should focus on diverse characteristics in their management, employees and customers, how businesses should think beyond traditional benchmarks of diversity, and when businesses should leverage diverse business processes to attract a broader segment of the market. Dr. Roy is a professor of marketing and the William and Elizabeth Burkavage Fellow in Business Ethics & Social Responsibility from 2014-2018. He has a doctorate in marketing from Boston University, an MBA and an MS from the University of Arizona and an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Allahabad, India. His courses taught include Marketing Management and Strategy, Global Marketing, Social Innovations and Entrepreneurship, Consumer Behavior, Marketing Research and Integrated Marketing Communications.
  • Jesuits & Slavery: A History in Search of Understanding featuring Rev. David Collins, S.J., Haub Director of Catholic Studies and Associate Professor of History at Georgetown University on was held Tuesday, Feb. 15 from 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. Fr. Collins is an internationally recognized expert in processes of historical truth and reconciliation and led Georgetown University’s Working Group on Slavery, Memory and Reconciliation, which has garnered national attention since 2015. This event will provide an overview of the participation by the Society of Jesus in slaveholding from the 16th to the 19th centuries and will explore what this legacy of racial injustice and anti-Black racism means for all U.S. Jesuit institutions, including The University of Scranton, today.

    This presentation with Q&A and discussion was held via Zoom andan  in-person watch party. This event is co-sponsored by the University’s Jesuit Center, Office of Equity and Diversity, Council on Diversity and Inclusion’s Institutional Black History subcommittee, Multicultural Center, and Office of Community Relations.
  • The Lenape: Past, Present and Future The Office of Equity and Diversity and the Multicultural Center hosted Mr. Curtis Zunigha, an enrolled member of the Delaware Tribe of Indians in Oklahoma, at an in-person luncheon event on Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2021 @ 11:30 a.m.,  held in the Rose Room, Brennan Hall 509. This event was also live streamed via Zoom.  Mr. Zunigha’s presentation centered around the story or the Lenape people who inhabited the Lackawanna and Delaware River Valleys, our Land Acknowledgement statement and what it truly means, and essential steps going forward in service of social justice.
    Mr. Zunigha has over 35 years of experience as a practitioner of Lenape/Delaware culture, language, customs and traditions. He serves as a Co-Director of the Lenape Center (thelenapecenter.com) a nonprofit arts and cultural education organization based in New York City.
    He has served as a consultant and lecturer to several prominent local organizations such as the  Philadelphia Museum of Art, American Philosophical Society, Library Company of Philadelphia, Philadelphia Historical Society, and the University of Pennsylvania.

These insightful webinars provide context and helpful tips for addressing online classroom microaggressions, and encouraging an equity designed, healthy learning and teaching environment.

Web Resources

The following links are resources created by faculty at other schools that may provide helpful insights and tips for developing an inclusive pedagogy style.

A guide for instructors including do’s and don’ts when creating an accommodating and inclusive learning space.
 
Provides a threefold teaching guide: discussing the importance of inclusivity in the classroom, presenting examples of teaching more inclusively, and providing additional resources for further guidance. Includes examples of an inclusive learning space and reducing stereotypes.
 
Offers strategies on how to create and sustain inclusive classrooms.
 
Covers what is inclusive teaching and pedagogy, methods to practice inclusive teaching, why it should be done, and who is at risk for exclusion.
 
Covers and provides evidence for inclusive pedagogy: defines implicit bias and how to incorporate inclusive teaching and methods to prepare students for difficult conversations and offensive materials.

The following links are resources created by faculty at other schools that may provide helpful insights and tips for developing an inclusive pedagogy style.

Strategies to Help How to Prepare Yourself—and Your Students—to Discuss Race, Identity, and Equity

from Sharon M. Ravitch.

Sets the tone for inclusivity: getting to know students, building rapport, being explicit in what instructor is doing, being mindful of language, doing semester check ins (to be done early) and acknowledging and responding to difficult topics.
 
Articulates assumptions and expectations that inform an instructor’s approach to course design and teaching, diversifying course materials, planning to asses early and often, varying teaching strategies, allowing students to demonstrate their learning in various ways.
 
Things to do when difficult and polarizing moments arise in the classroom: attend to one’s own reactions, understand the situation, deepen and nuance short-term response, and consider long term response.
 
Different strategies for instructors to create inclusive classrooms.
 

This resource provides a framework of five interconnected research-based principles that can guide instructional choices across all domains of teaching (including content selection and delivery, interactions among and between students and instructor, and assessment) in order to support inclusive teaching environments.

Georgetown Center for New Designs in Learning and Scholarship Resource Links
Different links to create inclusive pedagogy in the classroom and through remote teaching.
 
Covers and provides evidence for inclusive pedagogy: defines implicit bias and how to incorporate inclusive teaching and methods to prepare students for difficult conversations and offensive materials.
 
Provides instruction on designing a course, teaching a course and teaching terms.

The following links are resources created by faculty at other schools that may provide helpful insights and tips for to prepare for difficult and/or sensitive conversations with students in the classroom.

Lists ways an instructor may deal with difficult situations in the classroom
 
Explains how to conduct yourself as an instructor in the event of difficult discussions
 

Explains different tools and strategies an instructor may use in the event of difficult dialogues in the classroom

Managing Hot Moments in the Classroom: Concrete Strategies for Cooling Down Tension; and  Microaggressions and Microresistance: Supporting and Empowering Students.

Equitable Teaching Strategies: How to prepare yourself and your students, to discuss race, identity and equity. This Harvard Business article provides helpful insights into challenging "invisible  logics", improving racial literacy, and developing a plan for elevated tensions.

The following links are resources to research at other schools that may provide helpful insights and tips for developing an inclusive pedagogy style.

This series of short, intuitive videos is backed by extensive research showing the effect of implicit bias in decision making, and offers helpful solutions to eliminate bias and its impact.   We recommend using Firefox or Chrome to load the videos.

Provides 21 concrete ideas for inclusive practices you can bring to your classroom.
 
Offers a data-informed foundation for those working to close persistent equity gaps, by providing a comprehensive review of the educational pathways of today’s college students and the educators who serve them
 
Examines the practicality of a liberal education, faculty accountability for cultural inclusiveness, and student civic engagement
 
Lists five tips that can help libraries, IT, and academic technology units support the broad adoption of inclusive and open pedagogies across any number of educational delivery modalities
 
Provides specific suggestions for how to proceed with high-engagement strategies to create inclusive and welcoming classroom spaces for all students
 
Lists a selection of syllabus statements that set a tone for respectful conversations within a course
 
Answers specific questions on making teaching more inclusive and creating a non-controlling yet structured learning environment
 
Explains effective ways to embrace diversity and create inclusive learning environments
The University of Scranton