Fall 2020 update

In this issue:

Introduction
Programmatic highlights
Continuing work

Welcome to Gettysburg
Other stories
Share ideas

Introduction

Dear campus community,

As we continue to navigate through another semester amid the pandemic, we hope that you and your loved ones are well. While the way we conduct our work has changed, our focus on diversity and inclusion efforts at the College remains as strong as ever. You can view previous newsletters on our website.

Programmatic highlights

A Long Talk About the Uncomfortable Truth. This three-part workshop, sponsored by the Offices of Multicultural Engagement, Diversity & Inclusion and the Department of Athletics, provided students, faculty and staff with an anti-racism experience created by Decide2Inspire, LLC. The program exposed participants to the truth about the duration, violence, and intentionality of the systems of oppression which have existed in America since—and before—its inception. This workshop is now part of an ongoing conversation at the College that will help foster a culture of both individual and collective anti-racism activism.
Led by Peter Carmichael and Jill Ogline Titus, Reflecting on Race on the Gettysburg Battlefield (student-focused) and Enslaved People on the Gettysburg Battlefield (faculty- and staff-focused) were two new programs offered by the Civil War Institute this fall to promote educational dialogue. The former utilized the memorial landscape of Oak Hill to discuss some of the many complex stories related to race, emancipation, white supremacy, and Lost Cause memory embedded in Gettysburg’s historic landscape. The latter used the historic landscape surrounding the Virginia Monument as a basis for dialogue about the experiences of enslaved African Americans pressed into service by the Confederacy during the battle of Gettysburg. The experience of free African Americans living in the Gettysburg community was also highlighted. The program explored the reasons these stories are little known, and how the silencing of the black experience defines a battlefield landscape that celebrates reunion over the revolutionary consequences of slavery’s destruction.
The Office of LGBTQIA+ Life hosted a series of workshops this fall: Transgender Inclusion in the Virtual Classroom taught tangible skills for transgender inclusion in the virtual classroom and workplace; LGBTQIA+ 101 guided participants through a presentation on current LGBTQIA+ terminology followed by a lesson on allyship strategies; and COVID-19 Impact on LGBTQIA+ Communities brought to light the hardships that LGBTQIA+ people have been experiencing throughout 2020. Participants explored how COVID-19 has affected housing, healthcare, personal wellness, and employment for LGBTQIA+ people.
Hispanic Heritage Month was celebrated from September 15^th through October 15^th with a series of virtual events such as LatinX Career Panel, presentations by Gabriela Medina and Saul Flores, Salsa Magic dance lessons and LatinX Bingo.
Disability Awareness Month, which takes place in October, allowed the ADA Committee to sponsor Screen Readers, Accessibility, and You. This virtual workshop, led by Adrian Cooke, Director of Digital Strategy, Communications & Marketing, provided a look into what it is like to browse the web with a screen reader. The participants viewed examples of accessible and inaccessible website content and discussed what you can do to ensure that your content will be accessible on the web.
I BESEECH YOU: Women, Art, Politics, and Power. On exhibition in the Schmucker Art Gallery from August through November, this collection examined complicated issues related to race and identity, environmental activism, politics, and power in art. The accompanying exhibition catalog features essays by Gettysburg College students and provides new insights into the artists’ impulses for activism. The exhibition coincides with the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment, guaranteeing and protecting women’s constitutional right to vote. The artwork featured in the exhibition does not just celebrate the voices of women in a democracy, but also acknowledges the continued challenges of equal rights and social justice. This event was co-sponsored by the Department of Africana Studies, the Art and Art History Department, Peace and Justice Studies, Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Office of Diversity and Inclusion, Environmental Studies, the Office of Multicultural Engagement, and the Women’s & LGBTQIA+ Resource Center.
A four-part series sponsored by the Office of Multicultural Engagement, Exposing Racisms explored how racism manifests in various ways. Part I: Environmental Racism revealed how environmental racism occurs through rules, regulations, and policies that target black communities; Part II: Individual Racism focused on conscious or unconscious attitudes and acts based on the belief in white superiority; Part III: Institutional Racism examined how institutions may perpetuate systemic racism; and Part IV: Cultural Racism explored how assumptions of racial inferiority are embraced within cultures.

Continuing work

Campus Climate Study. With the effects of COVID-19 currently impacting our campus, the decision was made to move the full Study from spring 2020 to fall 2021. However, because the campus climate is important to us, a mini, “pulse-taking” survey will be administered in the spring. Our Climate Study Consultant, Sue Rankin, will assist with question development for the survey.
The Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI). Please keep in mind that the IDI is available any month of the calendar year. While it’s preferable to take it with a group or department, individual requests will be accommodated whenever possible. Multiple student groups, as well as administrative and faculty departments have participated in the IDI this fall. Upon receiving their individual results, many have also opted for the Group Feedback Session in order to help them work better together in creating a more inclusive working and learning space. Since the launch of the assessment at Gettysburg College in 2015, over 1,500 members of the college community have either taken the IDI or started the process. If you have not done so already, you are strongly encouraged to take the IDI as a team, group and/or department; please complete this request form to get started.
Bias Awareness Resource Committee (BARC) Report. Over the summer, President Iuliano requested that BARC (co-chaired by Brent Talbot, Associate Professor and Coordinator of Music Education at the Sunderman Conservatory of Music and myself) and the Campus Climate Study Implementation Group (co-chaired by Divonna Stebick, Associate Professor of Education and myself) join together to develop recommendations to help make the College a more equitable place. The Committee’s final report, “Recommendations for confronting racism, injustice and inequality,” was submitted and President Iuliano has issued his next steps for the institution.
National Center for Faculty Diversity (NCFDD). As a reminder, Gettysburg College is an institutional member of the NCFDD. Although “Faculty” is in the title, all administrative and support staff members are encouraged to activate their own accounts to utilize the valuable professional development opportunities this membership has to offer. Please view their website and contact our office for information on how to activate your membership.

Welcome to Gettysburg

Charmaine T. Cruise was appointed in July as the new Dean of Academic Advising and Student Support Services. Prior to joining Gettysburg College, Dr. Cruise served as the Director of Academic Advisement and Co-Lead for Academic Momentum Initiatives at York College in the City University of New York where she restructured the office to enhance efficiency and support student success initiatives. During her time at York College, Charmaine also coordinated and supported the development of a systematic and sustainable college-wide assessment process for over 60 non-academic offices. ¿Charmaine brings nearly 20 years of higher education experience focused on student success, academic advising, and assessment.
Thank you to the black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) alumni who took the initiative to establish the Gettysburg Alumni of Color Council (GACC). This group has reached out to the College to offer their expertise, assistance and support with our diversity and inclusion efforts. We are grateful and look forward to a long and productive relationship. BIPOC alumni interested in learning more should contact the GACC at alumniofcolor@gmail.com.

Thank you for your continued support and engagement.

Sincerely,

Jeanne J. Arnold
Chief Diversity Officer