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VESSC. PLANNING PROCESS OVERVIEWREISTRACKTACINCLUSION is working together to create an open andwelcoming environment that respects and affirms theinherent dignity, value, and uniqueness of all individualsand groups. Inclusive practices reflect awareness andunderstanding of the complexity of identity and thediversity in the world. (Adapted from Oregon State SelfStudy Vision, 2011)A SSEThis plan adopts an adaptive management approach,in which we will take action, assess our progress,and revise our strategies based on what we find. Itdoes not finalize the specific details of actions orassign tasks to individuals; those steps will be takenthrough a transparent, inclusive process led by acoordinator and college-wide committee.B. DEFINITION OF TERMSConcepts and terminology used in plans such as thiscan vary considerably, and usage evolves over time. Toensure that readers and members of the College sharean understanding of how this plan uses terminology,definitions of key words and phrases are providedbelow. Additional specialized terms and references aredefined in Appendix B.DIVERSITY is the spectrum of differences membersof the College of Forestry bring to our communitythrough their variety of backgrounds, experiences, andviews. These differences include but are not limitedto, race, ethnicity, culture, gender, sexual orientation,socioeconomic status, age, physical and cognitiveabilities, national origin, religious and political beliefs,education, marital status, language, veteran status,worldviews, and other characteristics and ideologies.Embracing diversity is about moving beyond toleranceto understanding and appreciating each other byrespecting and celebrating diversity in each individualand the college as a whole. (Adapted from the OSU CoFDiversity Action Plan, 2008)EQUITY is the guarantee of fair treatment and accessto opportunities that provides the chance for everyoneto succeed. Equity seeks to reduce barriers that preventsome groups and individuals from fully participating.(Adapted from UC-Berkeley Strategic Plan for Equity,Inclusion, and Diversity, 2009)More than 100 faculty, staff, and students participatedin one or more phases of the College’s DEI planningprocess from January 2016 through June 2017. Beyondthese individuals, others contributed their input througha college-wide climate survey conducted in June 2016.Throughout the planning process, different collections ofindividuals participated in different activities; some peopleparticipated in all or nearly all activities, while othersparticipated in a single session. A core group of sevenindividuals led the writing process in the final six monthsof plan development.MEET AND DEFINE SCOPEIn February 2016, approximately 35 faculty, staff, andstudents gathered in open forums and working meetingsto discuss issues and how to address diversity, equity andinclusion in the College. The group started by reviewing theCollege’s 2008 Diversity Action Plan (DAP) and decidedto retain the three focal areas of (1) creating a welcomingclimate, (2) increasing diversity, and (3) broadeningawareness. Based on a review of comments from membersof the college who were concerned about the ability tomaintain momentum – as well as recommendations frompeer institutions and published literature – the meetingconveners suggested adding a fourth category: ensuringthe sustainability of this initiative (institutional longevity).Additionally, the group recognized the importance ofincreasing equity and inclusion alongside diversity, anddecided to expand the second focal area to cover equityand inclusion as well. The group subsequently split into foursubcommittees, one for each focal area (or theme). Eachsubcommittee investigated questions related to its theme.COLLECT DATAEach subcommittee gathered information and resourcesto help describe issues, establish priorities, and proposeideas for actions to take within CoF related to its theme.Activities included reviewing documents and websites frompeer institutions, scanning research related to DEI issues,and holding discussions with specialists from across OSU.This step surfaced many potential strategies and actionsthat could be implemented in CoF. It also helped refinethe planning process; at this step, work published by UCBerkeley was particularly instructive. Key findings fromDEI STRATEGIC PLAN4

MEET ANDDEFINE SCOPEFeb 2016subcommittee researchand discussions areavailable in Appendix C.In spring 2016, theWelcoming ClimatesubcommitteeCOLLECTconducted a collegeDATAwide climate survey, withMar - June 2016responses submittedby 250 individuals.Participants were askedquestions about theirBRAINSTORMpersonal perceptionsSOLUTIONSand experiences inJuly 2016the college as theyrelate to diversity,equity, and inclusion.GATHERThe purpose of theFEEDBACKsurvey was to prioritizeDec 2016 - Feb 2017areas of concern andto establish baselinemetrics. Detailed surveyresults are available inDEVELOPAppendix D. In general,STRATEGIC PLANthe survey helpedFeb - June 2017illustrate that there aredifferent perceptionsand experiences among different groups in the college,with some groups and individuals having experiencedor witnessed problematic behaviors. While a majorityof respondents feel the college is working to improvediversity and create a welcoming climate, a notablesegment either did not agree or did not feel sufficientlyinformed to have an opinion. The findings reaffirmedthe need for a DEI plan and actions to be taken.BRAINSTORM SOLUTIONSIn July 2016, 20 faculty, staff, and students participatedin a two-day retreat. After reviewing the materialscompiled by the subcommittees and the results of theCoF climate survey, participants discussed relevantfactors and assumptions and drafted goals, strategies,and actions for each of the four themes. A charrettestyle poster session on the afternoon of the second dayled to refinement, addition, and combination of variousactions. The outputs from the retreat were compiledinto a draft planning document, with most efforts atthis point focused on refining strategies and actions.GATHER FEEDBACKFollowing the 2016 retreat, various activities wereundertaken to continue to provide opportunities forthe community to reflect on and contribute to thedeveloping plan. The Forestry Executive Committeewas briefed on the climate survey and retreat outcomesin summer 2016. In fall and winter, presentations weremade to the FES and FERM departments at a regularlyscheduled department meeting.FACULTY, STAFF, ANDGRADUATE STUDENT FEEDBACKAll faculty, staff, and graduate students in the Collegewere encouraged to provide feedback on the draftplanning document (i.e., the goals, strategies, andactions) in one of three ways: (1) participating infocus group discussions with their peers, (2) meetingindividually with a facilitator, or (3) submittingcomments via an anonymous online survey. Toencourage honest discussion and avoid hierarchicalrelationships amongst participants, focus groupparticipants were invited based on position in theCollege. Two CoF members, who were not part of theCollege leadership, facilitated the focus groups andthey assured confidentiality of participants’ feedback.Forty-eight people participated in the focus groups;two people met individually with a facilitator; and ninepeople completed the online survey. Eight focus groupswere held from December 2016 - February 2017 andthe online survey was available from February 28 March 15, 2017.Prior to attending the focus groups, participants wereasked to fill out a worksheet identifying the threehighest priority actions and the three most feasibleactions for each theme from the complete table ofactions provided to them. Participants were also askedto describe, for each theme, why they considered theirthree actions as highest priority, to list any anticipatedchallenges, opportunities or constraints, and to listany strategies or actions that were missing from thedraft planning document. During the focus groups,participants discussed their choices in small groups of3-4 people while a facilitator took notes and answeredquestions. As a result of discussing their selections withtheir peers, some participants changed which actionsthey designated as highest priority or most feasible.The facilitators collected each participant’s worksheet,tabulated responses for the highest priority and mostfeasible actions, and summarized the content of thefocus group discussions.UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT FEEDBACKUndergraduate students also had an opportunityto prioritize strategies and actions from the draftplanning document developed at the summer retreat.Representing approximately 20% of the Corvallisbased CoF undergraduate population, 72 studentsDEI STRATEGIC PLAN5

ONLINE SURVEY OFUNDERGRADUATESTOTALAfter the in-class sessionswere completed, all CoFundergraduate students who5were not enrolled in the three3selected courses were offered8a comparable opportunity to12rate DEI priorities via an onlinesurvey. The survey included the11same open-ended questions as9those presented on the in-classquestionnaire. On a scale of48zero to ten, from least to mostimportant, students were askedto rate the priority of the eight items. Out of 29 onlinestudent responses, the initiative “hosting open forumsand discussions that provide a welcoming space todiscuss DEI” was rated as a 10 in importance by thelargest proportion of students (n 8). The highestaverage was 7.4 out of 10 for the action “receivingfunding support to participate in study abroad andinternational opportunities and study abroad programs.”TABLE 1: NUMBER OF FOCUS GROUP PARTICIPANTS BY CONSTITUENCY GROUPGROUPDEPARTMENTFERM FESWSENONEGraduate StudentsInstructorsResearch Support FacultyProfessional Faculty & StaffTenured FacultyTenure-Track Faculty111031427246000142000900TOTAL72579provided feedback during the in-class sessions, and29 students submitted feedback via an online survey.Prior to involving the undergraduate students, the DEIworkgroup consolidated the strategies and actionsthat were most relevant to undergraduate studentsinto eight items, rather than giving the studentsthe entire draft planning document. The studentsranked or rated these eight items, which ranged fromintegrating DEI into curriculum, to disseminating DEIinformation and resources.IN-CLASS SESSIONSTo receive feedback from a large number ofundergraduate students, the workgroup sent requeststo the faculty teaching CoF classes with the largestenrollment during the Fall 2016 and Winter 2017 terms.The CoF DEI workgroup selected three undergraduateclasses, one from each department in the College, tohold short in-class focus group sessions. During the30-minute sessions, the students had 15 minutes tocomplete the questionnaire, which included the priorityranking, as well as several open-ended questionsabout their experience with Difference, Power, andDiscrimination courses and other relevant topics.During the final 15 minutes, the students split intosmall groups to discuss their priorities and otherinitiatives they would like included in the DEI plan. Anynon-CoF affiliated students enrolled in these classes didnot complete the short survey but were encouraged toparticipate in the small group discussions. The highestpriority across all three in-class sessions was “providingfunding support for study abroad opportunities,” which33 percent of the in-class students ranked as theirtop priority. Eighteen percent of in-class participantsranked “recruiting and retaining diverse students” astheir highest priority. With 11 percent ranking it astheir highest priority, the third most cited priority was“requiring DEI training for faculty.”DEVELOP STRATEGIC PLANFrom February through June, 2017, a workgroupconsisting of seven CoF members (one departmenthead, five faculty, and one graduate student) revisedthe draft planning document generated at the retreatto incorporate feedback received from the focus groupsand online surveys. The workgroup was comprised ofindividuals working in various college roles, who arefamiliar with existing resources and time requirementsto achieve these actions. The workgroup began byreviewing the priorities and feasibility rankings thatCoF faculty, staff, and students had assigned to all theactions. Similar actions were consolidated and actionsunrelated to DEI were removed. Aside from a handfulof actions consistently ranked high priority, there wasno strong consensus that a subset of items was rankedconsistently high or low priority. Instead, most actionswere ranked high (or low) by several people. Hence,the decision was made to retain nearly all actions inthe final plan and to let a future DEI Coordinator andCommittee decide how to establish priorities. Theworkgroup separated the actions into three suggestedimplementation phases (1-2 years, 2-3 years, and3-5 years). When deciding the phases, the groupconsidered the feedback given during the 2016-2017focus groups regarding the priority and feasibility ofeach action. For example, some actions are alreadybeing undertaken or are easy to implement with fewadditional resources (and hence reasonably belong inDEI STRATEGIC PLAN6

the first phase). Other actions will require additionalresearch or resources, and therefore likely cannot beimplemented until a later phase.In May 2017, 34 faculty, staff, and students attendedone of two open forums hosted by the DEI workgroup.Three members of the workgroup presented anoverview of the plan and then facilitated a 30-minutequestion and answer session. The workgroup discussedthe questions raised at the forums and added a fewnew actions to the plan. Several of the questions anddiscussion points did not have immediate answers,and workgroup members explained that the newDEI Committee will address these questions andsuggestions once the committee is appointed (seeleadership section for more).Simultaneously with the steps over winter and spring2017 to finalize the plan’s strategies and actions, theplanning workgroup drafted the other componentsof the plan, including the plan’s introduction,documentation of process, and various appendices.III. IMPLEMENTATIONA. THEMES AND GOALSFour themes and the goals within those themesprovided direction to develop the strategies andactions (see section III C) that will facilitate planimplementation. As noted above, the first three themeswere adapted from the 2008 College of ForestryDiversity Action Plan. The Institutional Longevity themewas added to provide necessary support to implementthe strategies and actions in the other three themes,while also ensuring long-term sustainability of diversity,equity, and inclusion efforts in the College.THEMES1. Building Awareness2. Welcoming Climate3. Enhancing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion4. Institutional LongevityMany of the actions could be categorized into multiplethemes due to the interconnectedness of the themes(in particular, there was overlap among items inBuilding Awareness and Welcoming Climate, as actionstaken to further one will likely further the other). Forexample, trainings to expand our awareness of DEIissues (Building Awareness) ideally will help promotea welcoming climate. To the extent possible, the planincludes actions under the theme that the workgroupfelt was most CINGDEIINSTITUTIONAL LONGEVITYBUILDING AWARENESSBuilding awareness means increasing DEI foundationalknowledge and providing support to increaseawareness of DEI among CoF members. We willprovide learning opportunities for each member of thecollege to understand DEI issues, recognize appropriatebehaviors, know their rights, and acknowledge thebenefits of enhancing DEI.GOALS1. Cultivate a community of students, staff, faculty, andexternal partners that is competent in knowing aboutand exemplifying diversity, equity, and inclusion valueswithin CoF and beyond.2. Increase exposure to other cultures and ways ofthinking and learning.WELCOMING CLIMATEWe will create and present an environment that valuesand promotes diversity of all CoF members and guests byfacilitating their full inclusion into the community. Fosteringa welcoming climate requires each person to respectdiverse perspectives, engage in appropriate conduct,recognize implicit bias, and reduce barriers to participation.GOALS1. The College of Forestry, through its words andactions, genuinely welcomes, values, and includes allof its members, who have diverse backgrounds andperspectives. The College presents itself as a welcomingand inclusive community that values the contributionsof all its members and serves as a beacon for others.2. All College of Forestry members and guests will haveaccess to the college’s physical spaces and intellectualcommunity. The college is a home for learning andpersonal development.DEI STRATEGIC PLAN7

ENHANCING DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSIONWe will enhance diversity, equity, and inclusion in theCollege of Forestry through programs targeted at bothrecruitment and retention of diverse students, faculty,and staff.GOALS1. Understand barriers to DEI in general and specificto forestry and natural resource management. Usefindings to guide plans for improving DEI.2. Improve the representation and inclusion of diversityand underrepresented groups in CoF via recruitmentand retention.3. Increase our national and international reputation asan inclusive center of academic excellence.INSTITUTIONAL LONGEVITYTo ensure the long-term implementation andsustainability of this initiative, we will make addressingDEI an integrated, consistent, meaningful and continualpart of the CoF community. We recognize that thesuccess of this long-term plan relies on our ability toweave DEI principles into all of the College’s decisions,programs, and activities.GOALS1. Develop appropriate policies and structures forcontinued dialogue and practice around issues of DEI.2. Ensure that perspectives around issues of DEI areincluded in planning and decision making in all units ofthe college.3. Coordinate activities and reporting across all CoF DEIthemes to keep issues salient.B. LEADERSHIP STRUCTUREThe College of Forestry Diversity, Equity, and InclusionPlanning Workgroup proposed the following leadershipstructure for the implementation of the DEI StrategicPlan. These recommendations reflect input receivedfrom the original larger planning group, the 2016 CoFretreat, focus groups, and reviews of peer programsfrom across the country.RATIONALE FOR LEADERSHIP STRUCTUREThe planning workgroup proposes that the CoF DEIleadership be comprised of a coordinator and a collegewide committee to ensure sustained leadership androtating involvement. There was strong support for acoordinator by College members who provided inputto the plan, and reviews of other programs provideclear evidence that a coordinator is necessary for suchefforts to be sustainable. To ensure broad ownershipof and participation in plan implementation, many CoFmembers also suggested establishing a committeeto provide opportunities for rotating leadership.Therefore, the Dean of the College will appoint acommittee (as explained below). The coordinatorwill chair the committee and organize its efforts. Thedean, associate deans, and department heads arealso expected to provide college-wide support andaccountability for DEI efforts.While the coordinator and committee will havesubstantial responsibilities for leading planimplementation, it is explicitly recognized that theymay not have sufficient knowledge or the appropriateauthority to develop and implement all actions. Forexample, actions relating to promotion and tenureguidelines must be developed in concert with thefaculty at large and departmental P&T committees.Likewise, curricular changes must engage the curriculumcommittees for each degree program. Therefore, itis most appropriate to view the DEI Committee asfacilitators and leaders; the committee will engageappropriate individuals and constituencies throughoutdevelopment and implementation of actions. Part ofthe annual reporting requirement will be to explain howa transparent, inclusive, and appropriate process wasused to develop the specific elements of how, when,where, and by whom each action will be implementedand assessed.COORDINATOR CONSIDERATIONSAND RESPONSIBILITIESThe dean will appoint an existing CoF employee¹ tocoordinate DEI efforts across the college. The coordinatorshould receive a minimum FTE allocation of 0.5. Thisindividual will report directly to the dean and associatedeans regarding their DEI-related responsibilities.APPOINTMENT CONSIDERATIONS:a. This position requires a person with a high level ofinstitutional knowledge and subject-matter expertisein diversity, equity, and inclusion best practices.b. This position requires a person committed tocoordinating the strategic plan for the long term to ensurethe sustainability of DEI implementation in the College.c. The position requires a person with excellentcommunication, facilitation, and organizational skillsIn this document, we use “employee” broadly to encompass classified staff, professional faculty, tenured, tenure track, nontenure track faculty, instructors, and research support faculty.1DEI STRATEGIC PLAN8

and demonstrated ability to lead groups in an inclusiveand equitable fashion.d. The dean will appoint the coordinator to a fixed term,with the possibility of renewal.THE COORDINATOR WILL:a. Lead the CoF DEI Committee as chair and provideplan

DEI STRATEGIC PLAN 2 I. PREFACE This plan to Enhance Diversity, Equity 2 II. BACKGROUND 3 A. Introduction 3 CoF DEI Vision 3 CoF DEI Mission 3 B. Definition of Terms 4 This plan outlines the high-level goals, strategies, and concrete actions C. Planning Process Overview 4 Meet and Define