Opportunities for Development

To support that, our Education for Equity and Inclusion initiative provides students, staff, faculty, and administrators with both structured and informal opportunities for self-reflection and thoughtful discussion. 

Our focus is on the existing barriers to equity and inclusion—and the impact of those barriers on historically excluded and minoritized individuals and communities. Our goal is to explore how Middlebury can address those barriers in order to increase access, opportunity, equity, inclusion, and full participation in the community.

Education for Equity and Inclusion offers both open-enrollment and by-request workshops for faculty, staff, and students that are intentionally designed to increase awareness, build knowledge, and develop capacity for inclusive action.

Inclusive Practitioners Program

Faculty and staff are invited to participate in the Inclusive Practitioners Program, a continuing education and development program with three overarching goals:

• To provide ongoing opportunities for faculty and staff to engage in critical conversations about campus learning environments and how to intentionally structure those environments in ways that increase equity, inclusion, access and full participation.
• To foster a community of engaged educators committed to creating and maintaining inclusive learning environments who embrace the opportunity to collectively explore ways to reduce barriers, to individually apply strategies for inclusion, and to process and debrief with colleagues the relative effectiveness and impact of varying approaches. 
• To positively impact the experience of students on campus by applying strategies for inclusion in ways that improve the actual and perceived campus climate across living and learning environments.

Read more about enrolling in the Inclusive Practitioners Program. 

DEI Workshops for Managers and Supervisors

Individuals who supervise full-time staff are invited to participate in a three-part workshop series focused on understanding the role that identity (race, class, gender, ability, sexual orientation, religion, etc.) plays in the workplace. This series is designed to help managers and supervisors recognize dynamics in the workplace that can negatively impact employees’ sense of belonging, how to supervise and support employees in ways that are mindful of their identities, and ways to foster more equitable and inclusive interactions between employees in the workplace.

Read more about enrolling in the DEI Workshops for Managers and Supervisors.

Anti-Oppression Reading Group

The process of learning is enriched when it happens in collaboration with others. Education for Equity and Inclusion hosts a monthly anti-oppression reading group to provide a space for community building, dialogue, collective reflection, and strategizing in a less structured context. The group reads one or two short articles in preparation and then gathers to explore both the content of the texts and its implication for the work that happens in and out of the classroom at Middlebury. If interested, email Renee Wells or call 802-443-5797.

Individual, Group, and Department Consultations 

For challenges related to working climates, classroom inclusion, and policies, Education for Equity and Inclusion is a central resource for information, guidance, and support. Such challenges can include interpersonal dynamics with classmates, roommates, colleagues, or supervisors, as well as departmental or institutional policies or practices that limit full access, inclusion, and participation. Challenges can also occur as faculty work to create and maintain an inclusive learning environment, to facilitate class discussions and critical conversations without perpetuating attitudes that cause harm, and to respond when moments occur that need to be explored. Email Renee Wells or call 802-443-5797 with questions or concerns and to schedule private and confidential consultations as needed.

Conflict Mediation and Facilitated Dialogues for Individuals or Groups

A residential liberal arts college provides rich opportunities for engagement, community building, and learning with and from others in a variety of contexts. However, tensions naturally occur between individuals and within groups, and sometimes tensions can escalate in ways that are difficult to manage. At times, a facilitator who can help talk through and resolve conflict is a helpful way to move forward and maintain healthy and productive relationships. Faculty, staff, and students are welcome to email Renee Wells or to call 802-443-5797 to discuss options for conflict mediation or facilitated dialogue as needed.

JusTalks

JusTalks is a student-led initiative intended to help build a more empathetic and self-reflective campus community. All first-year students participate in a JusTalks workshop, where they are introduced to the peer-facilitated model designed to foster dialogue and communication that confronts privilege and engages with difference. JusTalks facilitators offer workshops throughout the academic year (in residence halls, to student organizations, for athletic teams, in classes, etc.) in order to increase student capacity for critical self-reflection and foster a shift in campus culture towards community accountability. 

Contact

Faculty, staff, and students are welcome to reach out to Renee Wells, Assistant Vice President of Education for Equity and Inclusion. 

Office of Institutional Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Service Building 218

802-443-5797

rwells@middlebury.edu