Cal Poly Humboldt
PA-6: Support for Underrepresented Groups

"Humboldt State University is committed to maintaining an environment free from unlawful discrimination. To fulfill this commitment, the University will work to prevent unlawful discrimination from occurring and will ensure that University policies prohibiting discrimination are fully enforced. The University affirms and protects the rights of students and employees to seek and obtain the services of the University without discrimination. No employee or student shall on the basis of race, color, gender identity/expression, genetic information, religion, age, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy, disability, veteran status or national or ethnic origin be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of or be otherwise subjected to unlawful discrimination, including discriminatory harassment, under any program of the University. Employees and students who cause these rights to be violated may be subject to discipline. This policy should not be interpreted as superseding or interfering with collective bargaining agreements or other California State University policies and procedures currently in effect. If discipline of an employee is sought as a remedy under this policy, the procedural rights under applicable collective bargaining agreements and system-wide procedures will continue to apply. However, those rights may not supersede or interfere with the requirements of state and federal law." http://www2.humboldt.edu/policy/PEM-P11-06Humboldt-State-University-Nondiscrimination-Policy

The University developed, through the Office of Diversity & Inclusion (ODI), a Bias Response Team in 2011/12. This was a full response team with a robust website, and multiple trainings offered on campus for multiple student groups, athletics, faculty and staff across campus. In 2013, the CSU interpreted the Department of Justice's "Dear Colleagues Letter" (of 2012) and crafted a variety of Executive Orders that provided new rules regarding the possible responses to bias events on campus. This led the CSU legal team to argue that the existing Bias Response Team was in violation of the new EO's and mandating that the Bias Response Team be ended. In 2014, the process was modified to meet the criteria laid out in EO 1074. The process re-tooled as the Bias Education Initiative - with only one person for folks to speak with regarding issues with bias, no anonymous reporting, no use of the word "Response" or "Incident." In Fall 2016, that too has been removed as an option by CSU attorneys as they still see this as being in violation of Title 1X Executive Orders. At this point, all "reports" of bias must be made to the Title IX coordinator (Head of HR and Academic Personnel Services) and IX Designee - Dean of Students. The university is in the process of developing a robust campus wide Bias Prevention model that will consist of three prongs - one developed and aimed at students, another aimed for faculty and staff, and a third which will engage the off campus community. The campus is very excited about the direction of programming.

Efforts to recruit under-represented students to HSU during the Admissions process include: 1) Spring Preview - HSU Admissions sponsors 3 buses (150 students) to attend an extended Preview program that spans 4 days and is available to low income, first generation, under-represented students. 2) Admissions Counselors use demographic information provided by the State, to reach out to high schools and under-represented students throughout Califonia. 3) Admissions Counselors partner with HSI STEM grant principle investigators to reach out to students who identify as Latinx to consider studying in the STEM fields at HSU. 4) Admissions Counselors participate in a large number of CSU initiatives aimed at increasing the number of under-represented students at HSU such as CSU Super Sunday events in primarily African American communities and Ferias which serve primarily at Latinx communities. 5) Admissions works to ensure Spanish-speaking students and staff are available in the call center, at all yield events and provides professional translation services at all yield events. 6) Admissions Counselors collaborate and cross train with Early Outreach staff who are funded by TRiO grants to serve under-represented, low income, and first generation students. For recruitment of faculty and staff from underrepresented groups, the Office of Diversity & Inclusion (ODI) and HR/Academic Personnel Services work together with hiring committees to ensure that their job announcements are crafted to reach a broad sector of the population. They check hiring committee advertising plans and suggest additional places to advertise to reach a more diverse audience and mechanisms to specifically engage underrepresented groups. The ODI Director also compares the demographics that make up the applicant pools for all faculty hires to ensure the proportions of underrepresented members, including women, are close to the proportions that are being produced from PhD and MFA granting institutions. Additionally, all faculty, staff and administrators on hiring committees must take an Implicit Bias in the Hiring Process workshop that they must retake every two years.

Under the Retention and Inclusive Success division, there are several new Cultural Centers for Academic Success that serve and support students. These include the African American Center for Academic Success, the Latino Center for Academic Success, the Multicultural Center and the Native American Center for Academic Excellence (ITEPP). EOP also works heavily with underrepresented students. In the past, there has been an informal support system among faculty and staff of color. In 2016/2017, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion formalized and institutionalized support for faculty and staff of color through the Faculty and Staff of Color Collaborative.

Undergraduate Research and Mentoring Program in the Biological Sciences- Provides academic support, a 2-year academic stipend, and research training opportunities, for undergraduate students from historically underrepresented groups who intend to enroll in graduate school in one of the biological sciences, and who may be interested in potentially applying and competing for future CSU instructional faculty positions. http://www.humboldt.edu/urm California Forum for Diversity in Graduate Education- The California Forums for Diversity in Graduate Education, planned by a consortium of public and private colleges and universities from throughout California, have been designed particularly to meet the needs of advanced undergraduates and master's candidates who belong to groups that are currently underrepresented in doctoral-level programs, and who may become future faculty members at a CSU campus. The groups include low-income and first-generation college students and especially African Americans, American Indians, Chicanos/Latinos, Filipinos, Pacific Islanders, Asian American women, and Asian American men in the arts, humanities, and social and behavioral sciences. HSU sends approximately 50 students to the Northern California Forum For Diversity in Graduate Education each fall. http://www.ucop.edu/forum-for-diversity/recruiters/ CSU Chancellor’s Doctoral Incentive Program- The CSU Chancellor’s Doctoral Incentive Program aims to increase the number of individuals who complete the doctorate and who may be interested in potentially applying and competing for future CSU instructional faculty positions. The program seeks to accomplish this goal by providing financial aid in the form of loans to doctoral students with the motivation, skills, and experience needed to teach the diverse student population of the CSU. http://www.calstate.edu/hr/cdip/ California Pre-Doctoral Program- The California Pre-Doctoral Program is designed to increase the pool of potential faculty by supporting the doctoral aspirations of California State University (CSU) students who have experienced economic and educational disadvantages. The program places a special emphasis on increasing the number of CSU students who enter doctoral programs at one of the University of California (UC) institutions. http://www.calstate.edu/predoc/ Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) Scholarship- Funded by the National Science Foundation and supported by the Indian Natural Resource, Science and Engineering Program (INRSEP), the LSAMP scholarship provides funding to support students from groups which are historically underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines, who are interested in pursuing graduate programs, and who may become future faculty members at a CSU campus. Undergraduate Research and Mentoring Program in the Biological Sciences http://www.humboldt.edu/urm California Forum for Diversity in Graduate Education http://www.ucop.edu/forum-for-diversity/recruiters/ CSU Chancellor’s Doctoral Incentive Program http://www.calstate.edu/hr/cdip/ California Pre-Doctoral Program http://www.calstate.edu/predoc/