By SUSAN JONES
The Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion has also been going through some changes, that include “rethinking about the way we do this work,” said Clyde Pickett, who heads the office, “… particularly our focus and priority, both on the work around civil rights and Title IX, and the work around inclusion and equity.”
HEAR FROM DIVERSITY OFFICIALS
Staff Council is sponsoring events in the next two weeks that feature staff from the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.
Staff Spotlight with Vanessa Love, director of civil rights and Title IX. Noon-1 p.m. Dec. 4, Zoom only. Love will discuss how her office assists in responding to and addressing reports of harassment and discrimination, in addition to providing education and training on prevention and reduction of harassment and discrimination. Register on the University Calendar.
Coffee and Conversation with Clyde Pickett, vice chancellor for equity, diversity and inclusion. 10:30 a.m. Dec. 7, O’Hara Student Center dining room (in-person only). Pickett will discuss his life and career at Pitt. Register through this Qualtrics form.
Vanessa Love, an attorney and three-time alumna of Pitt, joined the office in April as the director of Pitt’s Office of Civil Rights and Title IX. “Loud and clear in hearing from the community, they wanted to make sure that we were prioritizing and having equal balance to the work around Title IX and civil rights. And so we set up director level position.”
Veella Grooms, who most recently was assistant dean of student affairs for civility initiatives at Carnegie Mellon University, joined OEDI in August as assistant vice chancellor for equity and inclusion, a role that focuses on institutional equity around inclusive hiring initiatives. Grooms also will work on competencies, professional development and education related to diversity, equity and inclusion.
Angie Bedford-Jack has taken on the interim role of strategic operations director, in addition to her work as director of digital equity and special projects. Pickett said she serves as a senior chief of staff to “help make sure that the full functions of the office are moving forward.”
Sexual violence prevention
In addition, the diversity office elevated the leadership of sexual violence prevention and education to a director position. Carrie Benson was already doing that job, but now serves as director in a stand-alone office. Benson also leads one of the two projects awarded $500,000 from the Pitt Seed initiative this year. Her project is aimed at new data-driven, inclusive sexual misconduct prevention initiatives, including educational programs, awareness building campaigns and prevention research.
The office also includes a new lead prevention educator, Dev Hayostek. While the majority of the educational programs are aimed at students, Pickett said they are “mindful that we are a full community.” Departments can request workshops through this form, or can contact Benson (carrie.benson@pitt.edu) with questions. Find a full list of educational offerings on the Civil Rights and Title IX Training page.
Hayostek also facilitates the new dialogue-based prevention program “Circle Up,” which started as a pilot program with undergraduate students last year and has expanded to include faculty and staff, as well as graduate and professional students. To support survivors of sexual violence as well as prevent future incidents, the conversations address the stigma around these topics through dialogue. A facilitator utilizes carefully designed discussion guides to ensure conversations are kept on topic and safe throughout. Groups can request a circle for their organization by filling out this online form. Questions can be directed to Hayostek or Benson.
Other initiatives
Pickett said they hope to share information from last year’s campus climate survey last year. “In all that we do, we have to be data-informed and to listen to the perspective of our colleagues and certainly of our students,” he said.
In addition, the office is in the process of hiring a director of equity assessment, which is part of “thinking about the ways in which we track and measure our progress in our diversity, equity inclusion efforts,” he said. That person will gather the information from around the University and help share it through different dashboards on the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion website.
One priority for Pickett is continuing the work around accessibility. “Looking at the ways in which we include accessibility as part of that conversation, that has to be part and parcel to the work that we do and so continuing to make sure that gets ample attention.”
Moving an equity agenda forward is also a priority for Pickett. “We can’t dismiss the realities of the ways in which race and ethnicity, gender identity expression and other forms of intersectional identity are part of our experience, and so not shying away from those difficult conversations in terms of moving the agenda forward,” he said.
The diversity office has a monthly inclusion network meeting for people within the University who are interested in supporting the work for diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility. Pickett said anyone who wants to join the group can reach out to his office for the Teams link.
Susan Jones is editor of the University Times. Reach her at suejones@pitt.edu or 724-244-4042.
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