Members
Kim England, Ellie Cleasby
Agenda
To address our well-being in the university and in the classroom: “Envision(ing) a university transformed by collaboration, care, equity, justice, and multiple knowledges” (Roberta Hawkins and Lesle Kerns [2024] Higher Expectations: How to Survive Academia, Make it Better for Others, and Transform the University).
Fall Quarter
- Participated in “Engaging Students through Participatory Design” Reflection and Practice workshop organized by UW’s Center for Teaching & Learning. Discussed strategies to make classes more accessible across a variety of axes of difference. Some of the ideas from this session informed the activities of the ongoing multi-year ad hoc committee on Inclusive Pedagogy and Creative Teaching (initially developed by graduate student members of previous years’ Diversity Committees, based on surveys of graduate students)
- Worked with Graduate Program Director (GPC) on the GSEE Application for graduate-student fellowships.
The department was hiring and we limited our in-person departmental events to make room for the candidates’ visits.
Winter Quarter
- In-person departmental event: Friday January 31 - The department’s Colloquium Committee hosted Dylan Rodríguez (University of California, Riverside) who presented “The University and the Counterinsurgency Machine: Which way ‘Abolition'?”
- In-person departmental event: Friday February 7 – Charlene Ray, a trainer from the Forefront Suicide Prevention Center (based in UW’s School of Social Work) guided us through a 90-minute LEARN training. This training strengthened awareness for suicide prevention and provided tools to assist in identifying and supporting people at risk for suicide.
- Attended meetings convened by the CAS Associate Dean for equity, justice and inclusion.
- Attended February 6 workshop on “Teaching Critical Literacy of ‘AI’” organized by the Center for Teaching and Learning. The session was a practical discussion on teaching with or against AI, providing practice-based examples that we could incorporate into the classroom to demonstrate the strengths and weaknesses of AI technology. This supported ongoing departmental conversations about managing AI in our classrooms.
- Attended Dr. Evelyn Hammond’s talk on “The Long Road to Equity in Research” organized by the Office of Research. Dr. Hammond reminded us that we can’t have excellence without equity and inclusion. The session provided valuable reflections on who gets to become scientists and from there, how are we producing scientists? The session ended with the acknowledgment that we need to change the narrative around who is doing important work, and the values brought into work into departmental life (such as who is invited to give colloquia).
Spring Quarter
- In-person departmental event: Friday April 11 - Roberta Hawkins (University of Guelph) talked with us about their recent book publication (co-authored with Leslie Kern) Higher Expectations: How to Survive Academia, Make it Better for Others, and Transform the University. Part of the session included group work and Q&A about navigating academia and to improve day-to-day work lives and career planning.
- Attended “Starting the Journey: Accessibility Tips for Everyday Tasks” (April 16) and “Building an ADA Compliant Syllabus (in canvas)” (May 2) organized by The Center for Teaching and Learning. These sessions were an introduction to producing ADA compliant Canvas pages, ahead of new US legislation which comes into effect in spring 2026.
- In-person departmental event: Friday, April 18 - The department’s Colloquium Committee hosted Morgan P. Vickers (UW Law, Societies & Justice) who presented “Blackwater: Swamp Geographies, Black Ecologies, and Unruly Experiments in New Deal South Carolina.”
- Attended “Designing Globally Engaged Group Work” (April 24) organized by The Center for Teaching and Learning.