Designing Law-Attentive Policies for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: A Webinar for University Leadership
September 13th
2:00-3:15 p.m. ET
Strong university leadership is critical for supporting equitable, mission-aligned policies and programs that also comply with current anti-discrimination law. While ambiguous or absent communication can threaten efforts to advance equity—and also leave universities in a vulnerable legal position—thoughtful, clear policy supports environments where all students and faculty can thrive. Drawing from EducationCounsel's recently published resource, Navigating the Post-SFFA Landscape: Advancing Equity-Minded, Law-Attentive Priority Actions in Graduate, Undergraduate and Professional Higher Education, this webinar provided principles for informed decision-making, covering programmatic areas such as recruitment, admissions and inclusive program design, among others.
By the end of the webinar, attendees gained a better understanding of how to 1) identify areas of opportunity for advancing equity through programs and policies on their campuses; 2) distinguish between levels of legal risk associated with different types of policies; 3) refine their plans for communication and coordination with relevant offices on campus; and 4) identify the potential roles that graduate deans can play in advancing these issues.
Speakers:
- Traevena Byrd, Vice President, General Counsel and Board Secretary, American University
- Art Coleman, Managing Partner and Co-Founder, EducationCounsel
- Wojtek Chodzko-Zajko, Dean of the Graduate College, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Jamie Lewis Keith, Distinguished Senior Law and Policy Fellow, EducationCounsel