Foster a more equitable, diverse, inclusive, and accessible environment while committing to reconciliation and decolonization.
Actions
Brock University became a signatory on the Scarborough Charter that sets out principles to foster Black inclusion in universities, including recognizing the role and legal obligation that faculty and staff have to be inclusive and “engage constructively with organizations of Black faculty, staff, and students,” like the Black Student Success Centre; to create spaces that “foster Black belonging, knowledge development and sharing”; to recruit faculty through cluster hires and support their advancement through the ranks; and, engaging in anti-Black racism education. Since that time, the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Brock University report (2023) was commissioned by the President’s Advisory Committee on Human Rights, Equity and Decolonization; these materials informed development of the ESRC’s actions.
Identify and implement approaches to decolonize, diversity and enhance accessibility of ESRC research, teaching and learning, and community engagement activities
- Engage with the Centre for Pedagogical Innovation to identify opportunities for pedagogical tools and strategies to decolonize, diversify, and increase accessibility of ESRC programs and courses. Invite those with expertise on equity, diversity, inclusion, decolonization, and accessibility to participate in the ESRC’s transdisciplinary seminar series. We will connect with the Human Rights and Equity Office, the Centre for Pedagogical Innovation, and the VP Indigenous Engagement as a starting point for this work.
- Provide professional development opportunities for ESRC faculty and staff, to undertake advanced anti-racism training (e.g., through the Human Rights and Equity Office) to be able to implement initiatives and highlight Human Rights and Equity training opportunities for students in our programs.
- Review and revise existing Centre policies and procedures to align with core principles of human rights.
- Advocate for institutional activities that promote effective human resource practices, policies, and philosophies that improve EDIA, reconciliation and decolonization.
Cultivate opportunities to attract and retain equity-deserving individuals
- Update the ESRC’s Employment Equity Plan annually to ensure that it is consistent with both Brock University and BUFAs’ commitments regarding employment equity.
- Execute the ESRC’s Employment Equity Plan to ensure that designated groups* are better represented in the ESRC and within the University more broadly.
- Prioritize opportunities to hire and retain Indigenous individuals and those who identify as Black and/or African and/or of Caribbean descent, including faculty, staff, and graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, and research associates/assistants.
- Prioritize collaborating with individuals across campus to attract and retain Faculty Affiliates and Adjunct Faculty.
- Prioritize attracting and retaining students from equity-deserving groups. In this strategic plan, we focus on Indigenous individuals and those who identify as Black and/or African and/or of Caribbean descent; however, we acknowledge there are many other equity-deserving groups and that often identities are intersectional. We recognize that in order to do this work we will need to connect with the Black Student Success Centre, the Student Justic Centre, and Hadiya’dagénhahs here at Brock.
*This includes women, Indigenous (First Nations, Métis, Inuit) peoples, Black people, persons with disabilities, members of visible minorities/racialized groups, and Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and additional sexually and gender diverse (2SLGBTQI+) persons, as per the Brock University Faculty Association Collective Agreement and the ESRC Rules of Procedure.
