UVM Extension and many other land-grant institution colleagues around the country are engaging in efforts to support a more diverse, equitable and inclusive reality within our operations and for those we are privileged to serve.
On November 15, the University of Vermont released its first-ever Comprehensive Inclusive Excellence Action Plan, a data-driven strategic plan centered on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. The plan outlines the University’s commitment and process for advancing inclusive excellence across the University over the next five years. Read the complete article, "UVM’s First Comprehensive Inclusive Excellence Action Plan Sets Important Goals for University Community." UVM Extension is actively participating in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences's action plan; read that roadmap and others on the "Unit Plans" page.
We are using this page to share resources, support learning, promote events, and otherwise support colleagues in their diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. We invite you to join us with an orientation of respect and curiosity as you explore these and other resources.
Racial & Cultural Equity & Inclusion
UVM Division of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Mental Health Resources for People of Color and Allies*
- Live Another Day - Extensive information on mental health and substance use resources for people of color. Their mission is equal access to life-saving resources. They have guides for black, Latinx, Asian, and native people.
- Detox Local - An extensive list of mental health and substance use resources specifically for the AAPI (American Asian and Pacific Islander) community.
Other Learning & Listening
- Moving Beyond Diversity to Racial Equity (Harvard Business Review article, June 2020)
- Action and Allyship Guide (PDF) from Vermont Office on Racial Equity with lots of great action steps
- Annotated bibliography on structural racism in the US food system, produced by scholars at Michigan State University (56-pg. pdf download)
- Produced by National Public Radio journalists of color, Code Switch podcast is described as, "Ever find yourself in a conversation about race and identity where you just get...stuck? Code Switch can help. (format: podcasts of various lengths.)
- Language of appeasement in higher ed (article)
- For white-identified aspiring allies and learners: White Awake on Facebook
- The All My Relations podcast series is created and offered by two Native women. Some of their topics include food sovereignty, native feminism, native fashion and appropriation, queer identities within indigenous communities, and much more. (:50 length individual podcasts)
- Producers and Co-Hosts Ikhlas Saleem and Makkah Ali offer Identity Politics Podcast to discuss the intersections of race, gender, religion, and politics through their experiences as black Muslim women living in the US.
- "The Danger of a Single Story" In this TEDTalk. writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie discusses the narratives that are perpetuated by systems of oppression and dominant, hegemonic constructions of culture and soceity. (Online 18:35 video)
Organizational Approaches & Dynamics
- Why HR Must Lead Diversity Efforts (short article)
- Ten simple rules for building an anti-racist lab (academic publication)
- Anti-Racist Multicultural Organization continuum (PDF)
- Why Workplace Diversity Is So Important, and Why It's so Hard to Achieve (short article)
- Why are we still struggling with diversity? (short article)
- Building a House for Diversity (PDF) (short article, with questions for consideration)
Gender Equity & Inclusion
Resources for LGBTQQ Members of the UVM Community - and Those Seeking to Support Them - as Offered at an On-Campus Trans Inclusion Workshop in 2019:
UVM Resources
- Prism Center Resource
- Professional Development & Training
- Center for Teaching & Learning
- Career Center LGBTQ Resources
- Registrar: Names & Pronouns
Community Resources
- Outright Vermont (Burlington)
- Pride Center of Vermont
Other Learning & Listening:
Land-Grant Institutions & History
- Brattleboro Indigenous blogger Rich Holschuh on the Morrill Act that established Land Grant Institutions (blog post)
- This short video describes the history of land grant universities and challenges the notion of "public" land as historically rooted in the appropriation of indigenous lands (9:20 YouTube video)
Access & Inclusion for All Abilities
UVM Resources:
- UVM Center on Disability & Community Inclusion (CDCI)
- CDCI Presentation for Extension & CALS staff on Universal Design, December 2019 (PPTX)
- Student Accessibility Services
Reading, Listening & Learning:
- "The Friendly Checklist" (Google Doc) offered by UVM Center for Disability & Community Inclusion Dissemination Coordinator Jeanne Nauheimer on a presentation on Universal Design for UVM Extension administrative staff December 2019.
- Interview with disabled queer activist Leah Kakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha and Autumn Brown and adrienne maree brown. (50 min. podcast)
- Practices for planning meetings in ways that assure accessibility for all, focusing on small changes that can make a big difference in access (PDF)
Economic & Class Justice & Inclusion
- Why Detroit Residents Pushed Back Against Tree-Planting: an article exploring how communities resist when experts approach them with solutions that they have not sought or approved.
- Racial Wealth Gap Learning Simulation offered by the Bread for the World Institute
- Equitable Food Oriented Development framework, defined as "an equitable food system that creates a new paradigm in which all – including those most vulnerable and those living in low-income neighborhoods and communities of color – can fully participate, prosper, and benefit. It is a system that, from farm to table, from processing to disposal, ensures economic opportunity; high-quality jobs with living wages; safe working conditions; access to healthy, affordable, and culturally appropriate food; and environmental sustainability"
The items shared on this page are those that have been found useful by committee members or other colleagues. If you have items and resources to recommend, please feel free to email any member of the committee (generally our email addresses are first.last@uvm.edu) to include here. Trade and organizational names are offered for informational purposes only and their inclusion here is not an endorsement.
The current EXT DEI Committee is:
- Chris Callahan
- Maire Folan
- Marc Hartigan
- Beth Holtzman
- Scott Lewins
- Sara Stowell
- Tracey Stubbins
- Ben Willis