About Us
The Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is developing leading practices to aid in increasing the Recruitment and Retention of underrepresented and/or underserved faculty and staff at Kent State University.
The Office of Faculty and Graduate Students Retention, Inclusion and Success provides a range of resources and actively collaborates with Academic Affairs, Human Resources, and other offices on campus in its efforts to recruit, retain and Support the success of diverse faculty and graduate students. Some of these efforts include:
- Working with deans, chairs, and search committees to improve recruitment and retention practices and to increase diversity in faculty hiring.
- Provide guidance to individual faculty members on mentoring and the tenure and promotion processes.
- Implementing professional development development workshop for faculty, staff, and administrators.
- Building connections between faculty to expand scholarly opportunities for multidisciplinary collaborations for publications and grant writing.
- Identifying career advancing opportunities, such as federal grants, professional development workshops, national awards, etc
- Writing and submitting competitive proposals with faculty and staff that focus on diversity, inclusion and equity.
- Developing sustainable collaboration and partnerships with Minority Serving Institution to develop pathway programs.
- Mentoring, advising, and providing guidance for diverse students.
- Providing assistance with graduate application process and personal statements.
- Assisting students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (A.S.D) by providing support and resources for success.
- Analyzing data, conducting research, and developing and preparing reports.
NEW HIRE DIVERSITY NETWORKING LUNCHEON
New Diverse Hire Networking Lunch is designed for new diverse hires, their supervisors and invited guests from the university community to network and get to know one another. The lunch shares campus and community resources as well as information from various groups on campus to welcome new hires and support their success at Kent State University. Formal invitations will be sent.
ANNUAL FACULTY WORKSHOP
Since the creation of DDEI, an annual faculty workshop has been conducted that specifically focuses on reappointment, tenure and promotion. The workshop has included: a) focus groups with faculty centered on how the university can better serve them; b) invited speakers to share best practices in being promoted, tenured or reappointed; and c) a deans panel that features KSU deans describing expectations for research, service and teaching. This year, the workshop focused on structured mentoring. For the workshop, Dr. Kerry Ann Rockquemore, founder of the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity (NCFDD), provided a presentation centered on “Gaining tenure without losing your soul.” Currently, Kent State has a university membership with the NCFDD, which provides mentoring and support services for interested Kent State faculty, regardless of ethnicity.
NATIONAL CENTER FOR FACULTY DEVELOPMENT and DIVERSITY (NCFDD) MEMBERSHIP
Founded by Dr. Kerry Ann Rockquemore, NCFDD is an independent professional development, training, and mentoring community of over 11,000 graduate students, post-docs, and faculty members. NCFDD is dedicated to supporting academics in making successful transitions throughout their academic careers. The center offers on-campus workshops, professional development training, and intensive mentoring programs. Kent State is currently a member of the NCFDD.
For more information, please contact the Office of the Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at diversity@kent.edu or (330) 672-2442
PROVOST FACULTY ASSOCIATES
The Provost Faculty Associates are coordinated efforts are underway to strategically recruit African American, Latino American, and Native American faculty and staff to Kent State University. Annually, diversity personnel, human resources and several deans and/or representatives attend a major recruitment conference each October. One of the three Provost Faculty Associates has been assigned to aid in African American, Latino American, and Native American faculty recruitment and retention initiatives.