BW
takes
on
a
nationwide
project
and
creates
new
campus
programming
to
foster
respect
and
inclusion
for
every
member
of
the
campus
community.
With
diversity
and
inclusion
in
its
founding
values,
Baldwin
Wallace
University
is
joining
a
nationwide
effort
to
expand
the
capacity
for
racial
healing
on
college
campuses
and
working
to
more
fully
live
up
to
BW's
historical
legacy.
"We
have
many
examples
in
our
history
of
being
trailblazers
in
the
quest
for
equal
access
for
and
the
success
of
BIPOC
(Black,
Indigenous,
People
of
Color)
students,"
notes
Dr.
Timeka
Rashid,
who
became
BW's
first
Black
vice
president
when
she
was
appointed
to
lead
the
Division
of
Student
Affairs
in
2021.
"But
BW
does
not
exist
in
a
bubble,"
Rashid
continues.
"In
addition
to
all
of
the
positive
at
BW,
BIPOC
students,
faculty
and
staff
have
also
experienced
discrimination,
disparate
success
outcomes
and
negative
experiences.
We're
committed
to
changing
that."
Building
a
national
toolkit
for
healing
On
the
national
level,
BW
was
chosen
by
The
American
Association
of
Colleges
and
Universities
(AAC&U)
earlier
this
year
to
work
with
15
other
schools
across
the
country
to
provide
feedback
and
insights
as
they
develop
a
Truth,
Racial
Healing
&
Transformation
(TRHT)-Focused
Campus
Climate
Assessment
Toolkit.
Based
on
the
TRHT
framework,
developed
by
the
W.K.
Kellogg
Foundation,
the
goal
of
the
TRHT
toolkit
will
be
to
support
an
"actionable
assessment
of
institutional
policies,
programs
and
practices
that
perpetuate
racial
inequities."
"We
will
be
contributing
to
an
important
national
effort,
but
an
equally
valuable
outcome
of
this
process
is
the
opportunity
to
build
our
own
institutional
capacity
to
fulfill
our
diversity
and
inclusion
goals,"
said
Charles
(CJ)
Harkness,
who
is
transitioning
this
summer
from
chief
diversity
officer
to
director
of
spiritual
life.
Members
of
BW's
TRHT
assessment
team
include
Harkness;
Dr.
Molly
Swiger,
communications
professor;
Ericka
Walker-Smith,
director
of
inclusion
programs;
Dr.
Susan
Warner
Taylor,
director
of
institutional
research;
and
Dr.
Nicholas
Mays,
assistant
professor
of
history.
Committed
to
a
TRHT
campus
center
At
the
same
time,
a
separate
but
parallel
effort
is
aimed
at
setting
up
a
Truth,
Racial
Healing
and
Transformation
(TRHT)
Campus
Center
at
BW
to
sponsor
activities
that
"broaden
the
understanding
of
our
diverse
experiences."
"Ultimately,
we
are
drawn
to
the
TRHT
projects
because
we
believe
they
hold
the
promise
to
spark
sustained,
systematic
change
at
BW
and
beyond,"
Harkness
says.
Members
of
BW's
TRHT
Campus
Center
team
will
participate
in
the
2022
TRHT
Institute
to
begin
their
work
later
this
month.
That
team
includes
Harkness;
Walker-Smith;
Adrian
Griffin,
social
innovation
manager;
Chisomo
Selemani,
associate
professor
of
communication
sciences
and
disorders;
and
Susan
Malone,
representing
BW's
community
partner,
Berea-Midpark
High
School.
Outgrowth
of
2020
task
force
Both
TRHT
efforts
are
an
outgrowth
of
BW's
Racial
Equity
Task
Force,
established
in
the
summer
of
2020.
That
group
of
students,
alumni,
faculty
and
staff
listened
to
the
experiences
of
underrepresented
students
and
alumni,
gathered
information
and
offered
recommendations.
They
advocated
for
the
creation
of
a
new
position
at
BW,
director
of
inclusion
programs.
In
that
role,
Walker-Smith
is
working
to
bring
the
proposed
BW
TRHT
Campus
Center
to
life
as
she
adds
capacity
and
programming
to
support
it.
Students
are
already
rolling
up
their
sleeves,
too.
Among
a
long
list
of
tangible
projects,
students,
working
through
the
BW
Brain
Center
for
Community
Engagement
and
advised
by
Walker-Smith,
planned
and
executed
a
Civil
Rights
Alternative
Break
Trip
to
Atlanta
and
Montgomery,
Alabama,
in
May.
"The
key
is
to
establish
authentic
dialogue
and
experiences
that
promote
awareness
and
understanding
about
our
racial
history,
contemporary
realities
and
future
calls
to
action,"
Walker-Smith
explains.
Prioritizing
our
shared
humanity
A
top
future
priority
is
the
establishment
of
TRHT's
Rx
Racial
Healing®
Circles,
described
as
"a
compassionate
and
expansive
forum
for
sharing
personal
truth
to
help
begin
the
process
of
transforming
hearts
and
minds."
"We
have
high
hopes
that
facilitating
the
healing
circle
model
will
build
a
community
of
trust
and
foster
authentic
dialogue
that
allows
us
to
value
our
shared
humanity,"
Harkness
says.
"That
alone
is
a
valuable
takeaway
from
this
process."
The
hope
is
that
the
collective
efforts
move
BW
closer
to
fulfilling
the
values
of
an
equality
that
founder
John
Baldwin
espoused
back
in
1845.
