Skidmore College
PA-7: Support for Underrepresented Groups

Skidmore College is committed to being an inclusive campus community and, as an Equal Opportunity Employer, does not discriminate in its hiring or employment practices on the basis of gender, race or ethnicity, color, national origin, religion, age, disability, military or marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression*, domestic violence victim status, predisposing genetic characteristics or prior arrest or conviction record or any other category protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws.

*Gender identity and expression, while protected under Skidmore College policy, are not currently protected under federal, state, or local laws.

http://www.skidmore.edu/hr/eeo_diversity/index.php and http://catalog.skidmore.edu/content.php?catoid=15&navoid=1020#Statement_of_Nondiscrimination

Skidmore has a Bias Response Group, and following are our general protocols and procedures surrounding bias related education and incident reporting (including access to support services).

Skidmore College informs incoming students about bias-related crime and prevention measures through programs that include workshops, seminars, discussion groups, and orientation sessions. The purpose of these programs is to disseminate information about bias-related crime, promote discussion, encourage reporting of incidents of such crime, and facilitate prevention. The information the College presents includes:

(1) Applicable laws, ordinances, and regulations on bias-related crime, including the provisions and coverage of the Hate Crimes Act of 2000 codified in article 485 of the New York State penal law. The laws and penalties for the commission of bias-related crimes can be located at the Laws of New York website.

A person commits a hate crime when he or she commits a specified offense and either:
(a) intentionally selects the person against whom the offense is committed or intended to be committed in whole or in substantial part because of a belief or perception regarding the race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, religion, religious practice, age, disability or sexual orientation of a person, regardless of whether the belief or perception is correct, or
(b) intentionally commits the act or acts constituting the offense in whole or in substantial part because of a belief or perception regarding the race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, religion, religious practice, age, disability or sexual orientation of a person, regardless of whether the belief or perception is correct.

(2) Penalties for commission of bias related crimes

When a person is convicted of a hate crime, the crime shall be deemed to be a higher category than the specified offense the defendant committed. Specific penalties and terms of imprisonment can be located at the Laws of New York website.

(3) Procedures in effect at the College for dealing with bias-related crime

Students should notify the Skidmore Office of Campus Safety (x5567) immediately of all incidents of bias-related crime so that protection – including police protection – can be provided if needed. When the accused is a Skidmore College student, the victim should file a report with Skidmore Campus Safety or with any of the on-campus designated personnel (see the Student Handbook 2004-05, p. 37 for the list of designated personnel). These individuals can provide students an opportunity to explore, in a private, one-on-one discussion, the full range of legal, medical, and counseling options available to them, both on campus and in the Saratoga Springs community.

Students may file formal charges with the police. If desired, Skidmore's Office of Campus Safety will provide students with information to help them with that decision. Campus safety officers or representatives of the College are available to accompany the victim to the police station to file formal charges. The College has no control over criminal investigations and criminal processes. Students may pursue a College judicial hearing by filing formal charges with the College, whether or not they pursue the case via formal charges through the New York State criminal system.

Enrolled students who believe they have been victims of bias-related crime may file formal charges with the Skidmore judicial system if the alleged perpetrator is an enrolled student. Although there is no time limit on the filing of formal charges with the College, a prompt formal charge is likely to result in a more satisfactory investigation. For more information on the campus judicial system, see the Student Handbook 2004-05, pp. 13-18.

(4) Availability of counseling and other support services for the victims of bias-related crime

If you believe that you have been the victim of a bias-related crime, remember that the Counseling Center and Health Services are available to all students free of charge. All consultations are fully confidential, and counseling is available whether or not you decide to report an incident of bias-related crime.

(5) Nature of and common circumstances concerning bias-related crime on college campuses

Such crimes can involve racial epithets, disparate treatment based on racially or gender-related assumptions, sexually discriminatory behaviors in terms of "hostile environment" (sexual harassment), and intolerance toward openly gay students (in language and action). The categories include 1.faculty/staff-to-student incidents; 2. faculty-to-faculty, staff-to-staff incidents; and 3. student-to-student cases that come to the director of institutional diversity as appeals.

(6) The methods the College employs to advise and update students about security procedures

Safety orientations are conducted each year for first-year students during New Student Orientation and for all students at meetings held in the fall semester in each residence hall. In addition, numerous educational and awareness programs are sponsored throughout the year by student affairs staff members, student clubs and organizations, and the Center for Safer Sexual Relations. The Office of Campus Safety issues safety alerts when appropriate with information provided in a timely fashion to all members of the College community. These alerts may be transmitted via the College network, phone message system, and posted flyers.

Our Discovery Tour is one example of our recruiting programs for students from underrepresented groups. The Tour showcases academics, student life, and interculturalism over a two-day visit to campus, and all travel arrangements and costs are provided by our Admissions Office. Our Opportunity Program also supports several programs to recruit students from underrepresented groups.

Our Just in Time Inclusive Hiring Workshops are mandatory for all faculty hires. There are a total of four workshops that coincide with the various stages of the search process, and the search chairs must attend all four workshops. Each search committee must also include a Diversity Advocate, who must attend a Diversity Advocate orientation and must also attend all four Just in Time workshops. The responsibility of the Diversity Advocate is to assist with identifying potential sources for a diverse applicant pool and assist with outreach to potential applicants prior to the search. During the search, the Advocate raises awareness about unconscious assumptions and bias throughout the selection process; helps develop interview questions that will shed light on a candidate’s experience with diversity; consults with other search committee and department members to maintain awareness of the goal of promoting diversity; makes oneself known to candidate as the diversity advocate and be available to answer questions about the department, the institution, or the area; proactively insures that diversity and commitment to values of inclusive diversity are both considered as positive qualifications in the consideration of candidates; and offers guidance and support for recruiting a diverse faculty. Each interview also includes an Ambassador – an individual outside of the search process who volunteers to meet with the candidates to answer any questions about the Skidmore community and the larger Saratoga Springs community.

While the above process is optional for staff hires, all staff hires must involve our Assistant Director for Equal Employment Opportunity and Workforce Diversity (ADEWD) at various points in the hiring process to enhance inclusiveness. For example, there must be a conversation with the ADEWED about including HR sourcing & personal outreach venues to encourage diverse pools. Discussions with the ADEWED about potential candidates are also mandatory at multiple points throughout the interviewing process. We are currently in the process of revisiting our staff recruitment process in collaboration with other institutions in our region in order to recruit and retain more staff members from underrepresented groups.

Some examples of programs to support student, staff and/or faculty from underrepresented groups include our:
• Black Faculty and Staff Group (BFSG) Mission: Strengthen the relationships among Black people within the Skidmore College community; foster a sense of community and mutual support through social gatherings, networking, mentoring and coalition-building; support professional development; outreach to students and student groups to promote academic, social and overall well-being; provide a visible campus presence; support the administration's recruitment and retention efforts; educate and engage with the community on issues related to race, the Black experience and anti-racism; develop the relationship between Skidmore and Saratoga Springs' Black community members; caucus with other communities of color on campus; strengthen our relationship with allies
• Office of Student Diversity Programs (OSDP) promotes cross-cultural understanding and positive relationships in support of student success and an inclusive campus community. OSDP programs are grounded in an understanding of diversity that includes people of all races, ethnicities, sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions, socioeconomic classes, religious and spiritual traditions, ages, and abilities. The office fosters student leadership and personal engagement by providing support, access to resources, and increasing campus awareness of diversity. OSDP does this by advocating for students, creating spaces for cultural celebration, promoting leadership development and providing opportunities for education and reflection.
• Office of Student Academic Services supports the development of knowledge, intellectual skills and practice, personal and social values, and transformation in all Skidmore students. Our Academic Counselor and Coordinator of International Student and Scholar Services and our International Student and Scholar Advisor are located in this office, and they, along with other members of the office, work on a variety of issues with international students and scholars, including helping them understand legal matters relating to study in the United States. The office also provides English as a Second Language (ESL) support and works with students to make the most of the resources that exist at Skidmore and in the local community.
• Opportunity Program provides educational opportunity and support to students who have strong potential but would be excluded from higher education due to academic and economic disadvantage.
• First Generation Network to connect first-generation students with faculty mentors who were also first-generation students.
• Center for Leadership, Teaching, and Learning is dedicated to the support and advancement of research-based teaching and learning practices, and to the professional development of all members of the campus teaching community. The Center's primary mission is to promote effective and creative learning environments in which all of our diverse teachers and students can excel. Our overarching goal is to cultivate Skidmore faculty members as leaders in teaching and learning on campus and in the national conversations.

While we don’t have a program with this as a sole aim, we have programs that support this goal and we continue to pursue and encourage our students to participate in programs that do have this as a primary objective. Examples include:
• The C3 Undergraduate Fellowship Program that provides rising juniors and seniors from the Liberal Arts Diversity Officers Consortium (LADO – Skidmore is a member) colleges with paid and mentored graduate-level research experience and training toward applying to and succeeding in graduate school.
• The Institute for the Recruitment of Teachers (IRT), which empowers talented underserved and underrepresented future educators to teach and serve as leaders in American education because diversity is essential to excellence.
• The National McNair Scholars Program and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute
• Skidmore’s Opportunity Program supports and tracks students continuing on to graduate school.
• The Skidmore Scholars in Science and Mathematics program (S3M) annually identifies up to eight scholars with demonstrated financial need who exhibit a passion for and exceptional promise in science and/or math. The program promotes diversity by encouraging traditionally underrepresented groups in the STEM disciplines, including first-generation college students, to pursue a course of study as well as careers in science and math.