Memorandum

Date: September 26, 2016

To: MICA Community

From: Co-Chairs of the Presidential Task Force on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Globalization

• Samuel Hoi, President
• Clyde Johnson, Assistant Dean for Diversity and Intercultural Development
• Colette Veasey-Cullors, Chair, Photography Department

Re: Updates from the Presidential Task Force on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Globalization

In keeping with the promise for transparency to our MICA Community, we write to update you on the efforts of the Presidential Task Force on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Globalization (Task Force). The Task Force has completed its inaugural year and is entering into its second and final year.

A report of the Task Force's work from the 2015 - 2016 year can be viewed via this link - www.mica.edu/taskforce201609. We hope that every member of the MICA community will take a few minutes to read it in its entirety and that you will continue to support the opportunities for dialogue present on our campus. A few highlights from this past year's work are as follows:

• Multiple faculty and staff training sessions regarding diversity, inclusion, and privilege were conducted, most notably sessions in the Spring 2016 semester led by national experts Rosetta Lee and Shakti Butler.
• MICA engaged an experienced consultant, Jessie Villalobos, to review and update processes related to faculty and staff searches to ensure a more diverse approach to hiring.
• The program learning outcomes for each academic department were audited to identify synchronization with the goals of the Task Force
• Prominent speakers were brought to campus to engage our community in aspects of difference and inclusion. These speakers included Claudia Rankine, Shakti Butler, and John Waters.

Overseen by the Task Force and beginning in May 2016, a team of two experts in the area of organizational diversity, Gwen Dungy and Caryn McTighe Musil, are in the process of conducting an audit of MICA's systems, structures, and services related to diversity and inclusivity. The consultants have been to campus three times meeting with an array of faculty, students, and staff in addition to conducting an extensive review of MICA's policies. As the entire campus could not participate in these visits, the consultants will soon be soliciting email feedback from our entire community so please be on the lookout for that communication. The consultant's report is expected in late October 2016.

The Task Force is committed to fulfill its charge and deliver by the end of this academic year a defined roadmap for MICA's improvement, both structurally and culturally, in diversity, equity, inclusion, and globalization. We look forward to continued partnership and dialogue with all of you.