Arizona State University
PA-7: Support for Underrepresented Groups

Policy statement:

Academic Affairs Manual – ACD 401: Prohibition Against Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation

Arizona State University is committed to providing an environment free of harassment, discrimination, or retaliation for the entire university community, including all students, faculty members, staff employees, and guests. ASU expressly prohibits discrimination, harassment, and retaliation by employees, students, contractors, or agents of the university based on any protected status: race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, and genetic information.

See full policy at:
https://www.asu.edu/aad/manuals/acd/acd401.html

ASU policy prohibits discrimination, harassment, and related retaliation directed at any member of the ASU community or any person participating in a university-sponsored program or activity. See https://www.asu.edu/aad/manuals/acd/acd401.html

The procedure for responding to alleged violations differs based on whether the respondent is a student. Claims of violations of ACD 401 by students are addressed under the Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR) Student Code of Conduct (SSM 104–01) and related procedures. See https://eoss.asu.edu/dos/srr/codeofconduct. Claims of violations of ACD 401 by employees are set forth in P20 (https://provost.asu.edu/policies/procedures/p20 ), and investigations are conducted by the Office of University Rights and Responsibilities (https://urr.asu.edu/).

Both sets of procedures provide for prompt and equitable methods of investigation and resolution to stop discrimination, remedy any harm, and prevent its recurrence. In addition, both procedures provide for interim measures to be used to avoid continuing harm while a complaint is being addressed. Anonymous reporting obligations are also available, including through the ASU hotline, which accepts reports regarding any kind of ethics or compliance issue. See https://cfo.asu.edu/asu-hotline and https://sexualviolenceprevention.asu.edu/report/hotline.

In addition to the complaint and investigation procedures addressed above, ASU provides additional supports to individuals who have experienced or witnessed incidents of discrimination. These supports are available whether or not the individual chooses to proceed with a formal complaint, and include counseling and health services for student employees as well as victim advocates. Additional information about available university resources is available at https://www.asu.edu/reportit/ and https://sexualviolenceprevention.asu.edu/sites/default/files/sexualassault_flowchart.pdf.

In addition, ASU provides and publicizes information regarding off-campus resources available to those who experience acts of discrimination and harassment. See https://sexualviolenceprevention.asu.edu/resources.

STUDENTS
ASU's Pat Tillman Veterans Center aims to ensure ASU’s military connected learners and student veterans have the support they need to ensure a successful academic journey and beyond. Creating a welcoming and supportive environment for our veteran, military and dependent students and instilling in them the spirit of success have long been ASU objectives. That’s why we are pleased to announce that ASU has repeatedly been recognized by Military Times as a top school for veterans and military students for both our on-campus and online programs. Criteria used by Military Times to determine its Best for Vets list include university culture, academic outcomes and quality, student support, academic policies, and cost and financial aid.

ASU and its partners also provide a wide range of scholarships and financial aid programs to recruit and support students from under-represented groups. Examples include:
ASU Latino Partnership/ASU-Hispanic Business Alumni Scholarship
- HBA partners with this community of Latino organizations to provide undergraduate students with scholarships each academic year. The ASU Latino Partnership Scholars is comprised of the following partners: César Chávez Leadership Institute, Chicano/Latino Faculty and Staff Association, Chicanos Por La Causa, Inc., ASU Hispanic Business Alumni, Los Diablos Alumni, and Hispanic Women’s Corporation.
ASU Latino Partnership Scholars-Chicano/Latino Faculty & Staff Association Scholarship
- Each year, the Chicano/Latino Faculty and Staff Association (CLFSA) pays tribute to former faculty member Laura Rendón’s leadership; character and academic excellence by awarding scholarships to three students whose academic merit demonstrate these same virtues that will impact the Chicano/Latino community. Preference is given to first-generation college students.
Havasupai Promise Scholarship
- Up to 30 scholarships covering direct educational costs for eligible Havasupai tribal members who have been admitted as full-time, degree-seeking students at an ABOR university (ASU, UA, NAU)
Many recruiting programs and efforts are also operated at the individual college and school level. For example, the Fulton Schools of Engineering offer the following programs:

EPICS is a designed-based service learning and social entrepreneurship program that focuses on engineering and human-centered design providing solutions to real-world problems. We currently partner with just over 25 schools in the greater Phoenix area and have support from great industry partners to continue program expansion. http://outreach.engineering.asu.edu/k-12-programs/epics-high/
Through participation in Fulton Summer Academy, students grades 1-12 get the opportunity to experience life on campus and take part in instructor-led engineering design challenges and activities. Our camps utilize best practices in hands-on STEM to actively engage participants and empower them to seek out other STEM opportunities beyond their experience at ASU. We offer a variety of programs – from half-day camps, full-day camps, and overnight camps https://outreach.engineering.asu.edu/fulton-academy/

FIRST LEGO League Robotics
• A program that serves 380 teams composed of around 3000 students across the state, of which 50+% are from underrepresented groups
http://outreach.engineering.asu.edu/k-12-programs/first-robotics/
Engineering Fast Track
Through our flexible Engineering Fast Track facilitation models, students in high school have the unique opportunity to earn college credit without having to incur financial or GPA risks
https://engineering.asu.edu/programs/accelerated/fast-track/


STAFF
ASU’s Human Resources department sends its job postings out weekly to hundreds of community partners of underrepresented groups for staff positions. This includes:
Arizona Department of Economic Security
Maricopa Skills Center (part of Gateway Community College)
Chicanos Por La Casa
Inter-Tribal Council of Arizona
Goodwill of Arizona
US Department of Veteran Affairs
ASU’s Affirmative Action Plan (AAP) provides policies, procedures, and responsibilities for implementing, monitoring, reporting and communicating compliance with the university’s Equal Employment Opportunity or Affirmative Action policy. Responsibility for AAP development, reporting, and monitoring of employment activity have been delegated to the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.


FACULTY
The Vice Provost for Academic Affairs gives hiring workshops at every campus (two for the Tempe campus) each fall, to provide strategies for recruiting faculty from under-represented groups. It is something we not only strongly encourage but for which we also provide a great deal of guidance to all units.

Additionally, as part of ASU's LIFT Commitment, ASU has set the following goals:
(I4) Prioritize the practice of cluster hiring to recruit and retain leading faculty members from underrepresented groups with the goal to recruit at least ten positions each year for the next five years.
(I5) Appoint a Black tenured faculty member to Barrett, The Honors College to attract and retain top Black students. Responsibilities for this position will include the establishment and management of the Black Excellence Scholar Track (BEST), a summer program to benefit outstanding Black Arizona and regional high school students.

STUDENTS
ASU's Pat Tillman Veterans Center aims to ensure ASU’s military connected learners and student veterans have the support they need to ensure a successful academic journey and beyond. Creating a welcoming and supportive environment for our veteran, military and dependent students and instilling in them the spirit of success have long been ASU objectives. That’s why we are pleased to announce that ASU has repeatedly been recognized by Military Times as a top school for veterans and military students for both our on-campus and online programs. Criteria used by Military Times to determine its Best for Vets list include university culture, academic outcomes and quality, student support, academic policies, and cost and financial aid.

Cultural Connections fosters an inclusive environment for the student experience grounded in a collective responsibility to celebrate culture, build community, honor heritage, and promote positive social change through programs, activities, workshops, and trainings. Cultural Connections draws on the intellectual assets of the university to bolster meaningful dialogue, discussion and debate on topics that advance a shared understanding about our past with the intent to evolve into the future we envision.

The Cultural Connections team advises and works to support our Council of Coalitions comprised of our eight cultural coalitions. The coalitions are: Accessibility Coalition; Alliance of Indigenous Peoples; Asian/Asian Pacific American Coalition; Black African Coalition; Coalition of International Students; El Concilio; Rainbow Coalition; Women’s Coalition.

Through trainings, mentoring and support, Student Organizations & Leadership and Cultural Connections jointly support faculty and staff advisors of student clubs focused on underrepresented groups.

(Source: Jameyla Troy, SCE)
Culture@ASU is a university value through which the university community, through student-led efforts, celebrates our diverse cultural community. Programs that share these values include the Fall Welcome CultureFest, a weekly Express Yourself Talent series, and ASU's Got Talent. Additional programs include the monthly Heritage Celebrations, Special Interest Convocations, International Night, WorldFest, and the hundreds of other socially/culturally-based programs.
International Student Engagement(ISE) works to support the transitional and engagement experiences of international students (both undergraduate and graduate) students attending ASU. ISE works collaboratively across ASU and the community to facilitate and support our international students’ cultural/social/transitional experiences and engagement from door to door.
Guided by ASU's commitment to excellence, access, and impact, the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities (SRR) supports a safe and inclusive environment that fosters the intellectual, personal, social, ethical development of all students. In partnership with university departments and programs, we help students see themselves as responsible members in a diverse community. SRR provides students with the opportunity to consider the ways in which their conduct may define and impact their college experience-personally and in relationship with others.
Student Organization Support (SOS) - a unit of Engagement Outreach and Student Services (EOSS) - provides Sun Devil Sync as a comprehensive online support platform for all ASU student organizations, including a wide range of student organizations involved in engaging and supporting students from under-represented groups. SOS also provides staff support for student organizations and their faculty advisors. Each advisor supports a portfolio of clubs with related themes, including two that, collectively, serve cultural & ethnic, LGBTQIA and religious & faith-based clubs and their advisors.

ASU’s Bridging Success program provides support and training to youth from foster care to succeed in starting and completing their university education. (https://fosteryouth.asu.edu/services-support/bridging-success)
Individual colleges and schools also have programs to support students from underrepresented and low-income groups. For instance, the Schools of Engineering support over 60 student engineering organizations, at least 10 of which focus on underrepresented groups. The Schools of Engineering also provide peer mentors, free tutoring centers, advisors, student success workshops and Retention Specialists who work with advisors to identify and reduce retention risks.

The Assistant Dean of the Schools of Engineering also leads an Engineering Futures program with a goal to boost the persistence of young engineering students who may not be familiar with a university environment and may not know what engineers actually do in the workplace.


STAFF (AND FACULTY)
ASU is committed to accelerating meaningful change here at the university and to contributing to a national agenda for social justice. In order to accelerate meaningful change here at ASU and to contribute to a national agenda for social justice, ASU has committed to a series of actions known as the LIFT (Listen, Invest, Facilitate, Teach) Initiative. These actions are in response to an accumulation of ideas, and public comments from ASU’s students, faculty and staff. LIFT is being undertaken with the goal of enhancing diversity, growth and opportunity for Black undergraduate and graduate students, faculty and staff, while also expanding ASU's academic offerings, community services and collaborative relationships to the benefit of all underrepresented groups and individuals at ASU. More information: https://president.asu.edu/commitment

Equal employment opportunity includes, but is not limited to, recruitment, hiring, promotion, termination, compensation, benefits, transfers, university-sponsored training, education, tuition assistance, and social and recreational programs.

ASU's Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (ODEI) supports and fosters a culture of inclusiveness. ODEI promotes and assists with equal opportunity and diversity initiatives. ODEI also provides university leadership and hiring officials with clear and accessible employment data, timely and effective consultation, high-impact training, and rigorous review of employment-related policies and procedures.

The Committee for Campus Inclusion exists to foster an inclusive and supportive community that welcomes, respects, and honors the rich diversity of our community and those we serve. Through the provision of educational opportunities and activities for enterprise-wide partners, we aim to advance a comprehensive approach to diversity, equity, and inclusion. . More information: https://inclusion.asu.edu/cci

SAFE ZONE provides departmental trainings in LGBQTIA topics in order for those departments to qualify their facilities for a plaque designation as a SAFE ZONE. More information: https://eoss.asu.edu/student-and-cultural-engagement/culture/safezone

Commission on the Status of Women: The mission of the Arizona State University Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is to identify and advocate for needed changes in the university environment in order to enhance opportunities for women and underrepresented groups, with a focus on staff. To fulfill its mission, the Commission is committed to education and empowerment, and offers numerous programs and resources to the ASU community to promote success. Among the many programs offered, include professional development, leadership development, and staff mentoring opportunities. The CSW hosts a series of leadership programs that highlight successful women staff leaders and explores dialogues in areas such as career advancement, as well as “first generation” identities. Additionally, the CSW hosts the CSW Staff Mentoring and Development Program which is focused on helping staff develop a long term successful career at ASU. It is the only program of its kind nationwide. The program runs in a six month cohort cycle and has both one on one mentoring, peer networking, and leadership development training.

University Career Women provides opportunities for professional and personal development and advances the status of, and improves the environment for, women at Arizona State University.
LGBTQ* ASU Faculty And Staff Association works: To promote and exchange ideas about the policies and issues that affects the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) community at ASU; To promote a better understanding and appreciation on the part of the university and the community as a whole of the issues and concerns faced by Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) at this university; To identify effective ways and means of expressing the community’s concerns to the proper university officials and to suggest practical remedies as appropriate; To cooperate with student organizations and others who share the organization’s concerns and philosophy; To communicate to university administration the issues and concerns of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) community at ASU. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1671728389810016/
The Chicano/Latino Faculty and Staff Association (CLFSA) seeks to be an active and effective advocate in furthering the principles of access and social impact and to be a leader in addressing issues that are important to the Latino community. CLFSA supports and advocates for Chicanos and Latinos at ASU by educating university administrators, faculty, staff and students on the policies, issues and challenges that affect the community. https://clfsa.asu.edu/

FACULTY
Faculty Women of Color Caucus: The Arizona State University Faculty Women of Color Caucus (FWOCC) is a gathering of faculty from across all ASU campuses, working together to plan and host forums for students, staff, faculty and administrators, to discuss vital issues, research and ideas in critical, healthy and inviting settings. FWOCC is committed to fostering an ethos of dignity and collaborative trust in our collective endeavors, to respond to issues that might otherwise erupt in ways not conducive to the inclusive and educational climate we are creating. As members of FWOCC, we are rooted in our shared capacities as scholars. We are committed to supporting ongoing innovation and improvement of the climate at ASU through dialogue and positive action, informed by powerful scholarly research and creative activity. In an inclusive university culture, our identities should no longer find themselves simply "on the table" as topics of debate or discussion. Through engaged and inclusive responses, FWOCC is working together with the ASU community to constitute and re/create the ways in which we interact as a culture that embraces diversity in every part of our work. More information: https://inclusion.asu.edu/fwocc

WP Carey Human Resources and student recruiting functions are in the early stages of identifying more inclusive recruitment practices, including expanded recruitment from HBCUs, continued involvement in the PhD Project, and more.

ASU’s Graduate College supports a suite of programs that, combined, prepare students from underrepresented groups for careers as faculty. The Graduate College first seeks nominations of students from underrepresented groups for interdisciplinary fellowships offered through a number of Graduate College Diversity Support Programs (https://graduate.asu.edu/diversity).

The Graduate College Enrichment Fellowship is a merit-based award to support recruitment and professional development of outstanding incoming underrepresented masters and doctoral students enrolling in an on-campus immersion degree program who exhibit interdisciplinary qualities that make them an excellent match for success within our university design.

The Preparing Faculty and Future Scholars Program (PFx) helps graduate students and postdocs explore careers in and outside of academia, build career readiness confidence, consider the value of higher education, and critically engage with an interdisciplinary group of peers and mentors. . PFx supports an environment in which the diversity and variety of human experience are welcomed and valued. The program, staff, and administrators recognize that race/ethnicity and gender are historically markers of diversity in institutions of higher education, and also further recognize that diversity includes socioeconomic background, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, veteran status, nationality and intellectual perspective. As PFx reflects and represents the makeup of our regional and national populations, we acknowledge and appreciate the unique history of each student and are committed to meeting the needs and providing a safe and welcoming atmosphere sensitive to all students. (https://graduate.asu.edu/current-students/enrich-your-experience/preparing-future-faculty-and-scholars-pfx-program)


ASU’s W.P. Carey College of Business also participates in The PhD Project (https://www.phdproject.org/), with ASU doctoral students attending the conferences and faculty presenting at the conference. Also, for over ten years, ASU’s Graduate College has waived university application fees for Ronald E. McNair Post-baccalaureate Achievement Program scholars https://graduate.asu.edu/mcnair-scholars-program

https://housing.asu.edu/content/gender-inclusive-housing

https://president.asu.edu/commitment