The Wichita State University Inclusive Excellence Plan

Executive Summary

Wichita State University’s dedication to being the essential educational, cultural and economic driver for Kansas and the greater public good can only be fully realized if it is intertwined with a commitment to inclusive excellence.

It is essential to the mission of the university as an educational institution to ensure that each member of the Wichita State community (faculty, staff and students) has full opportunity to thrive in its environment, for the university believes that diversity is key to individual flourishing, educational excellence and advancement of knowledge.

The following Inclusive Excellence Plan for Wichita State is a university-wide strategic focus to build a culture that values transparency, accountability and communication around issues of diversity and inclusion.

Download the Inclusive Excellence Plan PowerPoint

Dear Shocker Nation,

Last year’s launch of our inclusive excellence plan marked a major milestone toward being an essential educational, cultural, and economic driver for Kansas and the greater public good. This mission can only be fully realized if it is intertwined with a commitment to inclusive excellence.

Launching is not enough! We must fully implement and lean into our commitment. Dr. Marché Fleming-Randle, vice president and chief diversity officer, will lead us through implementation, resource requests and prioritization, and identifying a champion or accountable party for each task incorporated into the plan. You will all have opportunities to hear progress reports and provide feedback throughout this process during town halls and communication in WSUToday.

We know that we have a lot of work ahead of us. Dr. Fleming-Randle has set clear expectations to drive our progress, and it’s important that we all do our part to advance this university priority.

In addition to Marche’s leadership, this will take all of us to be successful. Thank you to the great many who are working every day to make improvements in your units and divisions. Keep it going as we elevate unit-level plans to a unified university level with university level support.

Sincerely,
Rick

Task Force Recommendations

Vice President (Chief Diversity Officer) to provide strategic direction and operational leadership.
Formalize a WSU definition of diversity.
Develop a strategic, comprehensive diversity recruitment and retention plan– By college with applicable metrics.
Implicit bias training – For all employees and search committee members.
Recruiting reps to assist colleges on all aspects of the recruitment, selection and onboarding process.
WSU to prioritize diversity hires.
Recommend a salary and equity study (specific to gender and race) market-based pay transition completed.
Develop and provide executive development opportunities, e.g.- leadership academy.
Operationalize recommendations from the university campus climate survey.
Align decision-making with university leadership priorities and strategic plan.
Communicate academic units’ policies and expectations clearly.
Create opportunities for faculty to participate in academic unit governance.
Increase support for President’s Inclusive Council and other inclusive excellence initiatives.
Establish and promote mentoring for faculty/staff.
Connect faculty/staff to campus and community resources within and outside the academic unit.
Facilitate networking opportunities for faculty/staff.
Consider leaves and other policies on an individual basis to best meet faculty needs.
Establish ongoing assessment for success of program.

Definitions

Diversity in its most simple form can be defined as "all the similarities and differences amongst people." Diverse groups may include but not exclusively age, ancestry, color, disability, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, national origin, political affiliation, pregnancy, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, status as a veteran, and socioeconomic status.

Inclusive excellence is the collective agreement and shared responsibility for inclusive excellence. Inclusive excellence recognizes that our institutional success depends on how well we welcome, value, and affirm all members of the Wichita State University community. Only through the inclusion of the rich diversity of students, staff, faculty, administrators, and alumni can we truly be excellent in our pursuits. A culture of inclusive excellence includes respecting ourselves and each other, moving beyond tolerance to acceptance and wholly embracing the richness of each individual.

Please Note: The themes and definitions related to Inclusive Excellence are constantly changing to include the many voices and experiences in our ever-evolving culture. The Inclusive Excellence Plan is a working document, and everyone’s input is valued, necessary, and will be integrated as we continue to build this plan together.

Goals, Objectives, and Tactics

Goal 1: Student-centeredness

Promote holistic student success through a supportive learning environment in which all of our students — past, present and future — continually thrive and grow.

Objective

Provide high-quality programs/initiatives that are responsive to student and societal needs, recognized nationally and internationally for excellence.

Tactics	Accountable Parties	Audience
Enhance the quality of the students' experience including opportunities for service and applied learning	Academic Affairs	Students
Increase meaningful ways to engage alumni in the student experience	Student Affairs, Student Government Association	Students
Create additional pre-college and graduate programs that improve enrollment, retention and graduation rates	Academic Affairs, Student Affairs	Students
Expand scholarship opportunities and strategically align scholarships with access, achievement, equity, and completion goals	Academic Affairs	Students
Identify and improve key transition points for new and returning students by developing curricular and co-curricular pathways	Academic Affairs, Student Affairs	Students
Increase the retention of (URM, FG, transfer, post-traditional, International) students	Academic Affairs, Student Affairs	Students

Goal 2: Research and Scholarship

Significantly elevate diversity as a priority and transform our national reputation for research, scholarship, and creative activity to one of excellence associated with high- impact, high-quality publications, exhibitions, awards, and fellowships.

Objective

Support and enhance faculty, staff, and student diversity-related research and creative activity.

Tactics	Accountable Parties	Audience
Increase the proportion of women and under represented minorities in STEM fields	Academic Affairs, Industry and Defense Programs	Campus community
Increase participation and investment in interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary priorities	Academic Affairs	Campus community
Promote economic engagement with industry, education, and community partners that align with regional growth initiatives	Academic Affairs	Campus community
Communicate impact of partnerships that support economic development	Strategic Communications	Campus community
Implement the recommendations of Advance Catalyst @ WSU	Academic Affairs	Faculty

Goal 3: Campus Culture

Empower and support students, faculty, staff and the greater Wichita community to create a culture and experience that meets their ever-changing needs.

Objective

Support, encourage and recognize contributions from campus community members and partners.

Tactics	Accountable Parties	Audience
Provide opportunities and resources that facilitate work-life balance	Human Resources	Workforce
Provide structural resources, policies, practices, and oversight that foster transparency among campus groups and ensure diverse and inclusive participation	Human Resources	Human Resources, Academic Affairs, Student Affairs
Provide a visually welcoming, safe, supportive, and inclusive environment for students, faculty, staff, visitors, and the community	Facilities	Campus community
Provide innovative programs that promote sustained healthy behaviors for campus community members	Student Affairs	Campus community
Provide unique, meaningful, and ongoing programming for faculty, staff and student interaction that expands students’ sensibilities about their role in the global community	Student Affairs, Academic Affairs	Campus community
Develop an intentional plan to increase student engagement on campus and in the greater Wichita community	Student Affairs, Academic Affairs	Students
Act on our Age-Friendly University designation and provide a full range of learning opportunities that include adults at all ages and stages in life, as well as to generate knowledge and innovations that address the second half of the lifespan	Academic Affairs	Campus community
Implement recruitment and retention strategies, processes and procedures to achieve Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) designation	Academic Affairs, Student Affairs	Campus community
Create and foster a culture at all levels (department, College and University) that supports recruitment, retention, and advancement of women and URM Faculty	Human Resources	Campus community

Goal 4: Partnerships and Engagement

Advance industry and community partnerships to provide quality educational opportunities and collaboration to satisfy rapidly evolving community and workforce needs.

Objective

Embrace a mission of service to one another, our region, and the world by enhancing community and regional engagement.

Tactics	Accountable Parties	Audience
Deepen partnerships with P-12 educational providers to support educational experiences and achievement, promote access to higher education, talent development and community engagement	Academic Affairs, Student Affairs	Campus community
Collaborate with other higher education institutions on initiatives enhancing student educational opportunities that support the economic, health and cultural needs of our communities	Academic Affairs	Campus community
Expand relationships with industry partners to generate new applied learning and research opportunities for students and better support the workforce, innovation, and development needs of our communities	Academic Affairs	Campus community
Advance research partnerships with governmental, corporate, private and not-for-profit entities to better meet the needs of our communities	Academic Affairs	Campus community
Further integrate community and business partners into the campus environment and position the university as an inviting place for members of the community to access resources and enjoy cultural activities	Academic Affairs	Campus community
Advance alumni and donor relationships to secure a sustained sense of belonging to the Shocker community	Academic Affairs, Student Affairs	Campus community

Goal 5: Inclusive Excellence

Be a campus that reflects and promotes – in all community members – the evolving diversity of society.

Objective

Establish university processes and procedures that promote diversity and inclusive excellence.

Tactics	Accountable Parties	Audience
Develop comprehensive strategies, tools and processes to create/improve sourcing, posting, search, hiring and onboarding activities to increase the diversity of the campus.	Human Resources	Workforce
Enhance opportunities for underrepresented minority populations to engage with the campus community, receive mentoring and participate in professional development.	Academic Affairs	Campus community
Enhance opportunities for students, faculty and staff to be active participants in enhancing their experiences and enriching the campus culture.	Human Resources, Academic Affairs, Student Affairs	Campus community
Continuously evaluate and enhance the curriculum with diversity-related content	Academic Affairs	Students
Expand awards and recognition to include inclusive excellence activity	Human Resources, Academic Affairs, Student Affairs	Campus community
Develop and implement comprehensive training and development opportunities on inclusive excellence to benefit the entire campus community	Human Resources, Academic Affairs, Student Affairs	Workforce
Develop comprehensive strategies, tools and processes to redesign annual performance evaluation for all employees	Human Resources	Workforce
Ensure that all decisions and processes pertaining to faculty are transparent, equitable and free from explicit or implicit bias: including but not limited to hiring, teaching, research and service assignments, distribution of resources, evaluations, tenure and promotion, and advancement	Academic Affairs, Student Affairs	Campus community

Ensuring WSU Community Engagement

Reviewed work product from Talent Management Revisioning Work Group*
Reviewed ADVANCE grant research
Reviewed Diversity, Human Resources and Professional Development Task Force recommendation
Reviewed Strategic Planning Activation Team recommendation (Goal 7)
Reviewed President’s Leadership Retreat (Feb. 2020) submissions

*A group of operational leaders representing all areas of Wichita State as well as identified key support areas who conducted an extensive review of current Talent Management at WSU and developed a future state vision for how WSU will attract, engage, onboard, and retain talent.

Plan Socialization

Stakeholder(s)	Date
VP/CDO - Marche Fleming-Randle	8-Jan-21
ADVANCE Research - Janet Twomey	19-Jan-21
President Rick Muma	19-Jan-21
VP Finance and Administration - Werner Golling	19-Jan-21
VP/Provost - Shirley Levefer	4-Feb-21
Exec. Dir - CTAC - Christine Taylor	4-Feb-21
VP Student Affairs - Teri Hall	4-Feb-21
Co Chair - Edil Torres Rivera - Workforce Diversity, HR and Prof Dev TaskForce/VP HR Search	22-Feb-21
Co Chair - Voncella McCleary-Jones - Workforce Diversity, HR and Prof Dev TaskForce/VP HR Search	2-Mar-21
Council of Deans	2-Mar-21
WSU Employee Senates	16-Mar-21
Faculty Executive Team	18-Mar-21
Faculty Senate	22-Mar-21
Strategic Planning Committee	25-Feb-21
WSU TIX Committee	18-Mar-21

Feedback

Utilize faculty expertise
Identify/connect with what the colleges/others areas of the university do
1.3.1.6 - consideration to not have an option - committee reviews ALL applicants
How does this plan address culture aspects?
Ensure alignment with and not duplicative activity with ADVANCE
Need more robust ombuds person program for faculty
ADVANCE: LG - recommend faculty develop new or revise existing policy to incorporate behavior based performance (collegiality)
Separate out processes for Faculty (search, performance eval)
Add $$'s for conference booths (WSU visible)

Send us your feedback

Leave a comment or question for WSU's Chief Diversity Officer or send email to marche.fleming-randle@wichita.edu.