IT Services: Honoring the Diversity in All of Us
Our Goal and Work
Our goal is to raise awareness about workplace diversity and inclusion that builds respectful, productive relationships. Our mission is to foster a safe, respectful work environment to honor the diversity in all of us.
Our work is increasingly important in conjunction with the University’s efforts to strengthen our community through diversity and inclusion. We hope to make positive contributions in service to that goal. The group has been involved with the Presidents’ DEI Task Force and will be involved with the implementation of the task force’s recommendations.
Everyone is different - and we embrace that difference. Join us in celebrating the difference in all of us!
Committee Members
Feel free to contact any of the diversity committee members for more information about events, how to join the committee if interested, and how to promote diversity on campus and in your everyday life.
- Glenn Chundrlek
- Tim Gruenhagen
- Jake Harrison
- Elizabeth Parsons
- Eboney Kimbrough
- Emma Lester
- Sharita Massie
- Sean Poley
- ElizaMarie Quinn-alger
- Leah Tuscany
Diversity Events
In service of Miami's strategic initiatives and our internal goals for celebrating diversity throughout IT Services, the Diversity Committee hosts various events and get-togethers to celebrate other cultures.
In the past, we have hosted film screenings and invited folks from around the University to have a conversation with us about diversity and its important role in both our working and personal lives. Below, you'll find information about these past events as well as upcoming presentations we're planning.
Past Events
IT Services Diversity Committee Presents: Learning about Ramadan with the Miami Community
We invited Mahir Rahman, a Muslim and computer science student, to tell us about Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic faith. He gave us an overview of Islam and then talked about the traditions observed during Ramadan and after, during Eid al-Fitr.
IT Services Diversity Committee Presents: Film Fest 2023
This year's film festival focused on LGBTQIA+ issues and media. We watched three short films:
Each film examines a different facet of LGBTQ+ culture and experience. We were led in discussion by Tina Coyne, the assistant director for LGBTQ+ and gender equality for the Office of Diversity Affairs.
Embrace is a beautiful, animated short film (five minutes long) by Tesha Merkel about asexuality and what it’s like to discover you’re asexual. The Real Thing is about an enlisted father coming home to his daughter, who transitioned while he was deployed. Ode to Pablo uses an intersectional lens to examine what being a gay, deaf man is like. As Tina led the discussion, she asked audience members their reactions to the films and what kinds of themes were displayed.
Diwali Celebration
In October, the IT Services Diversity Committee, the Indian Student Association, and several members of the IT Services staff helped bring awareness of the Hindu holiday of Diwali.
Check out the video and learn more about this important holiday!
Safe Zone Training
The IT Services Diversity Committee invited all of IT Services to join for a round of Safe Zone Training facilitated by the Center for Student Diversity and Inclusion.
IT Diversity Film Fest: Freedom Summer
Our yearly film festival was a success. We made our triumphant return to Boyd Hall to break bread with one another and discussed the films:
- Training for Freedom: A Freedom Summer Documentary and
- Songs for Freedom: The Music Behind the Freedom Summer Trainings
ISSS Workshops
The IT Services Diversity Committee and International Student & Scholar Services hosted a workshop for IT employees and friends across campus designed to educate about the experience of international students at Miami.
IT Services Diversity Film Fest: Feeling Through
The IT Diversity Committee brought in our partners from the Miller Center for Student Disability Services to help us discuss this year’s film: Feeling Through.
DEI in IT with Trey Boynton
The IT Services Diversity Committee invited Trey Boynton from Cisco Systems to speak with us about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and the role played by the technology world in how challenges of equality are being met.
IT Services Diversity Film Fest: What is white privilege?
Dr. Coates joined us via Webex to talk about current events surrounding racial justice and about Miami's DEI efforts. He agreed to moderate a discussion and speak with us about white privilege and white spaces. This event served as our annual film fest, though virtual this year.
The videos we watched and discussed included:
Peggy McIntosh: How to recognize your white privilege -- and use it to fight inequality (TED)
Many of us believe that we're living in a meritocracy, deserving of what we have and compassionate toward those with less. But that's not true: white people have been given a headstart and ongoing advantages due to the color of their skin, while people of color suffer from equally arbitrary disadvantages, says scholar and activist Peggy McIntosh. She explains what led her to recognize her privilege — and how it can be used by those with power to ensure a fairer life for others.
Watch this video.
Northwest Now: White Privilege (PBS)
In January 2018, PBS sat down with one nationally renowned advocate (Eddie Moore) who makes it his life's work to educate the public about exactly what white privilege is.
Discussion questions
- What does white privilege mean to you?
- How can white people use their privilege at Miami to help enforce/improve/strengthen DEI initiatives?
- Does everybody have some sort of privilege?
- How does my privilege blind me?
- How can I use my privileges to empower others?
Partnership Events
The Access for All Accessible Technology Symposium is an annual event designed to cultivate discussion of current issues and trends in accessible technology. Various breakout sessions provide information about universal design and how to build accessible content for classroom and marketing materials.
In the past, we have hosted similar events to the March 14, 2018, "Understanding MU Chinese Students" presentation. We have partnered with the Confucius Institute to bring awareness to cultural differences between American and Chinese students.
The aim of Green Zone Program is to create a knowledgeable and supportive Miami community which will help military-affiliated students succeed. The presenters facilitate a discussion on a number of issues military-affiliated students face, what strengths they bring to academia, and how to understand and support these students.
The Safe Zone Program provides the campus community with the knowledge and skills necessary to create an environment that is welcoming and affirming of gender and sexuality differences. All members of the campus community-students, faculty, and staff of all genders, gender expressions, and sexual identities-are invited to join the Safe Zone Network.
The IT Services Diversity Committee has in the past sponsored Safe Zone Training for our staff members. For now, interested members of the Miami community can sign up to participate in one of the currently available classes: Safe Zone 101, Safe Zone 201, and Trans* 101.
Center for Student Diversity and Inclusion
Miami University's Center for Student Diversity and Inclusion is responsible for the development and implementation of programs, activities, and procedures designed to enhance the academic success, retention, and personal development of diverse student populations. The center embodies a commitment to diversity/multiculturalism as expressed through ability, age, ethnicity, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic differences.
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