The President’s Task Force on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion expands upon and builds on decades of work Seton Hill has conducted in this important area. With participation from students, faculty, staff, administrators and alumni, the Task Force has been and will continue working in concert with existing campus programs and structures including the Diversity and Inclusion Committee, the Multi-Cultural Awareness Task Force, as well as with offices throughout campus in the development  of a comprehensive program of change to foster and safeguard inclusive practices on campus.

The Task Force examines ways that Seton Hill can be a place where all people feel welcomed with a particular focus on mission and the student experience in the classroom and outside of the classroom.  The University has a legacy of engaging in dialogue and coalition building. We value diversity and the benefit brought by multiple cultures and perspectives living and learning together in our search for truth.

The President’s Task Force on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion was convened in August 2020 with the charge of reviewing, analyzing and making recommendations for a number of areas and activities throughout Seton Hill University with special focus on mission, curriculum, and the student experience inside and outside the classroom.  

Work conducted to date includes the following:

Mission

In order to plan, organize and synthesize diversity, equity, inclusion and anti-racism training among students, Seton Hill is implementing Project H.O.M.E. (Honor, Openness, Magnification, Educate). Project H.O.M.E. will provide anti-racism training for diverse current and emerging student leaders (sophomores and juniors). Project H.O.M.E. participants will be accessible to students experiencing issues related to diversity, equity and inclusion and will serve as advocates for those students.  Project H.O.M.E participants will also work within existing groups to develop programming for the University community.  Seton Hill faculty, staff and administrators were asked to nominate potential students to participate in the program in Fall 2021.  

The inaugural cohort of student leaders for Project H.O.M.E. is being interviewed and recruited during the Spring 2022 Semester. This group will participate in formal training in Summer 2022 and begin their work as community leaders in Fall 2022.

Student Experience Inside the Classroom

Seton Hill completed an audit to determine how diversity, equity, and inclusion is incorporated into coursework in various areas to identify places of opportunity and growth. 

As part of the Liberal Arts Curriculum Review, faculty and staff are examining how to infuse components of diversity, equity, and inclusion in particular courses and throughout the Liberal Arts core.  School Deans have begun conversations with faculty based on findings from the audit.  In Fall 2022, Seton Hill will hire a faculty member with expertise in the development of diversity, equity, and inclusion coursework to assist faculty and Deans in this endeavor.

Seton Hill has adjusted the Diversity Officer position from a part-time to a full-time role. As a result, Dr. Momodu Taylor serves as University’s Chief Diversity Officer. 

A Spring 2022 Workshop for faculty and staff will provide dedicated time for discussion about navigating difficult conversations in the classroom and invite faculty and staff to reflect on their own experiences and suggest opportunities for growth and development. 

Seton Hill is using existing academic lecture programs as well as new ones to provide students, faculty, staff and administrators with engagement opportunities related to diversity, equity and inclusion.  Recent and current opportunities include:

• The Ethel LeFrak Holocaust Education Conference (November 7 through November 10, 2021)
• Truth Finding Workshop for Faculty and Staff (February 21, 2022)
• Spring Workshop for Faculty and Staff Focusing on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (April 1, 2022)
• Sr. Mary Schmidt Lecture (April 2022)
• The Eva Fleischner Lecture (Fall 2022)

The University is also considering a speaker series that would focus on the Catholic Church and historic and current topics related to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Student Experience Outside the Classroom

Seton Hill University has increased programming and funding in support of co-curricular experiences for students, faculty and staff including art exhibits, musical, dance and theatre performances featuring artists of color as well as discussions, lectures and informal talks around issues of diversity.  Programming during the Fall 2021 semester included:

• Stephen Philip Harvey Jazz Orchestra (August 2021)
• SculptureX (September 2021)
• Hispanic Heritage Month Events (September/October 2021)
• Jameelah Platt’s Resilient Life: Documents of Love and War (October 2021)
• Public Relations (October 2021)
• “Real to Reel” Black Cinema Showing and Discussions (October 2021)
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Book Discussion, The Sum of Us (October 2021)
• Listen: Being An Advocate for Social Change (November 2021)
• Freedom Series: Indigenous People (November 2021)

Planning is ongoing for programming to be held in Spring 2022. To date, programming includes:

• The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Educational Program (February 2022)
• Take the Day On Service Event (February 2022)
• Diversity Dine-In: Extremism (Then and Now) (February 2022)
• Celebration of Culture and Languages (February 2022)
• Soul Food Dinner, Saturday (February 2022)
• Black Women Speak: How We’ve Impacted Society (February 2022)
• Global Majority: redux featuring the art of the #notwhitecollective (February/March 2022)

In addition, planning has begun for a “Day of Dialogue” in Fall 2022, which will serve as a day for the entire campus community to come together to share, learn and appreciate Seton Hill’s shared commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion practices. The day will include workshops and a keynote address along with community activities. This day will be augmented by the efforts of student leaders involved with Project H.O.M.E.

Board of Trustees Commitment

A Trustee Task Force on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion has been created and will be led by Board of Trustees Chair Karen Farmer White. The Trustee Task Force will work alongside the President’s Task Force on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion to provide university trustees with education on these important issues.

Human Resources

Seton Hill is implementing a Search Advocate Training Program that assists staff and faculty to promote equity in the search process by establishing foundational knowledge of current research about implicit bias and diversity, information about the changing legal landscape in hiring, and an overview of inclusive employment principles.  This program began in February 2022. 

Seton Hill will also observe Juneteenth – a federal holiday enacted earlier this year that commemorates the emancipation of enslaved persons in the United States – by adding the holiday to the academic calendar and closing the University annually on June 19 (or on the observed day when the holiday falls on a weekend). In 2022, Juneteenth will be commemorated on June 20. Juneteenth will also be acknowledged on campus through special activities and events.