Since the last update in November 2021, BGC has continued its DEAI efforts throughout the institution.
DEAI Working Group
BGC’s DEAI Working Group—Ebony Allen-Reece (staff), Emma Cormack (staff, MA ‘18), Freyja Hartzell (faculty, MA ‘05), Jesse Merandy (faculty), Laura Microulis (staff, PhD ‘16), Sebastian Moya (staff), Alexis Mucha (staff, MA ‘07), Soon Kai Poh (fellow), Antonio Sánchez Gómez (alumnus, PhD ‘20), Samuel Snodgrass (student), Leonie Treier (student), and Maggie Walter (staff)—met on December 14, 2021, and January 25, 2022 to continue their work on diversity, equity, access, and inclusion at BGC.
The Curriculum, Teaching, and Learning subgroup (Freyja Hartzell, Jesse Merandy, Soon Kai Poh, Samuel Snodgrass) has been working on strategies for ensuring that DEAI content is integrated more consistently into BGC’s core curriculum. One result of the group’s initiatives is the recent formation of a sub-committee of BGC faculty to address this concern within the broader context of curricular planning. The CTL subgroup is also building a website where DEAI-related resources will be available to inspire and support faculty in building more inclusive syllabi and course content. This new website will be accessible before the end of the semester.
The Gallery/Exhibitions subgroup (Ebony Allen-Reece, Emma Cormack, Laura Microulis, Alexis Mucha, and Maggie Walter) is dedicating their focus to three topics: gallery accessibility, exhibition content, and audience development. They are beginning with gallery accessibility, and have so far completed an assessment of BGC’s gallery spaces. They are beginning to meet with departments to hear their accessibility needs and goals.
The Student Experience subgroup (Sebastian Moya, Antonio Sánchez Gómez, and Leonie Treier) is working on a survey to learn about student experiences in regards to DEAI issues at BGC lives, which will go out next month. This survey will include some specific as well as open-ended questions so that the group’s efforts can be guided by students’ priorities. The survey will lead to interviews with students over the summer and evaluations in the fall. The group also plans to complete an additional survey of incoming students in September to get a sense of their experiences with BGC before starting their academic program. The results of these surveys and interviews will be used to help create recommendations and guidelines for the future.
Next Steps
The full DEAI WG will meet in late February, March, and April to discuss overall goals and subgroup progress. The subgroups will meet monthly between those meetings to continue their individual work.
DEAI Working Group
BGC’s DEAI Working Group—Ebony Allen-Reece (staff), Emma Cormack (staff, MA ‘18), Freyja Hartzell (faculty, MA ‘05), Jesse Merandy (faculty), Laura Microulis (staff, PhD ‘16), Sebastian Moya (staff), Alexis Mucha (staff, MA ‘07), Soon Kai Poh (fellow), Antonio Sánchez Gómez (alumnus, PhD ‘20), Samuel Snodgrass (student), Leonie Treier (student), and Maggie Walter (staff)—met on December 14, 2021, and January 25, 2022 to continue their work on diversity, equity, access, and inclusion at BGC.
The Curriculum, Teaching, and Learning subgroup (Freyja Hartzell, Jesse Merandy, Soon Kai Poh, Samuel Snodgrass) has been working on strategies for ensuring that DEAI content is integrated more consistently into BGC’s core curriculum. One result of the group’s initiatives is the recent formation of a sub-committee of BGC faculty to address this concern within the broader context of curricular planning. The CTL subgroup is also building a website where DEAI-related resources will be available to inspire and support faculty in building more inclusive syllabi and course content. This new website will be accessible before the end of the semester.
The Gallery/Exhibitions subgroup (Ebony Allen-Reece, Emma Cormack, Laura Microulis, Alexis Mucha, and Maggie Walter) is dedicating their focus to three topics: gallery accessibility, exhibition content, and audience development. They are beginning with gallery accessibility, and have so far completed an assessment of BGC’s gallery spaces. They are beginning to meet with departments to hear their accessibility needs and goals.
The Student Experience subgroup (Sebastian Moya, Antonio Sánchez Gómez, and Leonie Treier) is working on a survey to learn about student experiences in regards to DEAI issues at BGC lives, which will go out next month. This survey will include some specific as well as open-ended questions so that the group’s efforts can be guided by students’ priorities. The survey will lead to interviews with students over the summer and evaluations in the fall. The group also plans to complete an additional survey of incoming students in September to get a sense of their experiences with BGC before starting their academic program. The results of these surveys and interviews will be used to help create recommendations and guidelines for the future.
Next Steps
The full DEAI WG will meet in late February, March, and April to discuss overall goals and subgroup progress. The subgroups will meet monthly between those meetings to continue their individual work.
