Swarthmore College
PAE-8: Support Programs for Underrepresented Groups

"The Dean's Office and Office of Multicultural Affairs provide support to Swatties through programs, mentoring and advising. Numerous academic opportunities including Asian Studies, Black Studies, Gender and Sexuality Studies, and Latin American Studies, to name a few, are also offered. Lastly, our many student organizations give Swatties a place they can call their cultural home. http://www.swarthmore.edu/student-life/student-activities/multicultural.xml

"Swarthmore was a founding member of the Consortium for Faculty Diversity at Liberal Arts Colleges (formerly the Consortium for a Strong Minority Presence; the current provost served on its steering committee 2002-05). The provost’s budget includes funds set aside for appointing special-opportunity diversity postdocs and faculty. Three of the new tenure lines created during the Meaning of Swarthmore capital campaign were defined in part to further diversity goals: lines in political science, mathematics and statistics, and sociology and anthropology."

"The College is dedicated to cultivating a climate that fosters respect among students, faculty, staff, and administrators with a range of backgrounds, ideas, and perspectives. This goal is accomplished partly through admitting a diverse student body and by providing an environment in which explicit attention is paid to helping students communicate across differences through a variety of student- life activities. Some activities that further these ideals include diversity dialogues and workshops during orientation in residence halls, opportunities to participate in the Tri-College Consortium’s summer programs on diversity and identity, and funded workshops for Student Council. Statements on equal opportunity in student, employee, and instructional staff handbooks signal the importance placed on this issue. Efforts focused on faculty and staff also seek to further this goal. The College participates in the Consortium for Faculty Diversity and often offers two- year positions to minority post-docs; the EEO officer offers a training session on “Creating a Respectful Workplace”; managers and faculty chairs are required to participate in on- line diversity training; and classes are offered on conflict management and communication skills. The College’s goal in this area is reflected in the code of conduct in the preface to the Staff Handbook, which makes clear that disrespectful communications are grounds for dismissal. Pedagogy workshops, as well as sessions with outside experts, have been offered to faculty dealing with issues of diversity and stereotype threat."