Strategic Management
A number of recommendations do not fit within the other categories and require attention from campus leaders, including President Nathan Hatch, Provost Rogan Kersh, Vice President Penny Rue, and other members of the Reynolda Cabinet. These include performing a Campus Climate assessment, implementing an equity scorecard, codifying hiring procedures that ensure a diverse pool of finalists, increasing administrator presence at diversity-oriented events, revising exit interview practices to capture feedback about campus climate.
These strategic steps are led by Barbee Oakes, one of the most recognized leaders in Wake Forest diversity and inclusion initiatives. She began the 2015-2016 year as the University’s first chief diversity officer. As chief diversity officer, Oakes will confer regularly with the president’s cabinet, deans, governance boards and the larger community on issues involving Wake Forest’s inclusive excellence initiatives, while retaining her assistant provost title and responsibilities developed during her six years in that role.
Items Advanced by This Team
Recommendation: Address campus accessibility for students with diverse physical and cognitive abilities
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Compliance Advisory Board meets at least once a year to review the university’s commitment and progress regarding physical and programmatic access for individuals with disabilities and makes recommendations for barrier removal projects. Additionally, The Task Force for Accessible Technologies meets several times a year to ensure equal access for students, faculty, and staff as it relates to existing and future technologies used throughout campus. A FAQ document was created and distributed to all faculty members this semester to provide more information about providing academic accommodations for students with disabilities in the classroom.