Race, Equity and Community Working Groups
Summary of Working Groups and Related Recommendations
With the conclusion of the President’s Commission on Race, Equity, and Community (PC-REC) articulated in the Commission’s Final Report, the time has come to present a path forward that focuses on operationalizing the key recommendations. As with previous presidential commissions, working groups will be used to study key outcomes from the PC-REC Final Report, and layout plans for bringing the recommendations into actionable and attainable goals.
The forthcoming work will be organized into 5 working groups:
- Equitable Accountability Working Group
- Equitable Community Engagement Working Group
- Equity-Focused Academic Engagement Working Group
- Equitable Staff and Faculty Resources Working Group
- Equitable Student Experiences Working Group
Each working group will comprise 7-8 members, with representative voices from students, staff, faculty, and members of the external community. Chairs for each working group are currently organizing group membership, developing guiding principles, and linking their efforts to the RIDE Framework. Lastly, each working group will be sharing updates on fora, data gathering, next steps, and status updates for each of the recommendations on a regular basis through a mechanism we are calling Race, Equity, and Community Status Reports. The work from each group will culminate in a set of reports presented to the community at the end of the 2020-2021 Academic Year.
Below, please find general information about each working group. And please make sure to return to this page regularly for updates on the process.
Working Groups
- Chaired by Dr. Malika Roman Isler, Assistant Vice President for Inclusive Practice
- In an effort to demonstrate equitable accountability across the institution for all who learn, live, and work at Wake Forest, this group will establish a set of practices and guidelines for institutional accountability, and develop a system for communicating goals and institutional progress related to inclusive practice and policy.
- Related PC-REC Recommendations:
- Data Enhancements and Integration
- Accountability Standards
- Resource Prioritization
- Chaired by Dr. Marianne Magjuka, Executive Director, Office of Civic and Community Engagement and Assistant Dean of Students
- The Community Engagement working group will establish a set of criteria, guidelines, and policies for engaging with the external community – primarily but not limited to, Winston-Salem, NC – which students, staff, and faculty affiliated with Wake Forest can apply in order to add direct and sustained benefits to community members.
- Related PC-REC Recommendations:
- Expand Commitment to K-12 Educational Initiatives in WSFCS
- Enhance Infrastructure for Community Engagement
- Establish Programs to Support Economic Empowerment in W-S
- Chaired by Dr. Erica Still, Associate Dean of the College for Faculty Recruitment, Diversity, and Inclusion
- The Academic Engagement working group will work across academic units affiliated with the Reynolda Campus, in order to increase both curricular options as well as scholarly and creative pursuits aligned with mitigating the effects of systemic racism on marginalized populations.
- Related PC-REC Recommendations:
- Institutionalization of Anti-Racist Initiatives
- Chaired by Dr. José Villalba, Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion
- The Staff and Faculty working group will establish a set of procedures for operationalizing systems, practices, and policies that ensure staff and faculty – regardless of experiences, backgrounds, or intersectional identities – will have equitable access to resources that contribute to their recruitment and retention.
- Related PC-REC Recommendations:
- Strategic Recruitment Methods for Staff and Faculty
- Proactive Retention Measures for Staff and Faculty
- Institutional Succession Planning
- Chaired by Dr. Adam Goldstein, Dean of Students and Associate Vice President
- The Student Experience working group will establish a set of procedures for operationalizing systems, programming, and methods that ensure students – regardless of experiences, backgrounds, or intersectional identities – will have equitable access to resources, experiences, and engagement on campus, particularly outside of the classroom.
- Related PC-REC Recommendations:
- Recruitment Strategies to Aid Retention
- Equitable Campus Resources and Policies for Student Organizations
- 1st-year Housing Placements for WFU Students