Commission on Equity, Civility and Respect for All

Commission on Equity, Civility and Respect for All

Diversity Leadership ConferenceOctober 29, 2008

The History Articulation of the need:

2006 Johns Hopkins Institutions Diversity Climate Survey

2006 Vision 2020 Report of the University Committee on the Status of Women

“Halloween in the Hood” and Other Incidents on Campus

President Brody's November 2006 statement on the matter underscored the University's commitment (http://www.jhu.edu/news_info/news/univ06/nov06/statement.html)


http://www.jhu.edu/news_info/news/univ06/nov06/statement.html

The Charge President Brody and former Provost Knapp convened the

Commission to develop recommendations for making the Principles "a part of the fabric of the Johns Hopkins University.“

Provost Knapp’s successor, Provost Kristina Johnson, re-affirmed her office's commitment to the Commission's work in a letter to the Commission dated September 28, 2007.


The Membership 2 Co-chairs:

Dr. Myron Weisfeldt, Director of the Department of Medicine and William Osler Professor of Medicine

Charlene Moore Hayes, Vice President for Human Resources

23 Other Members 7 Faculty 12 Staff 4 Students

14 Resource Members (Faculty & Staff)


The Process

Commission as a whole met once or twice per month for two years

Committees: Policies and Practices (Accountability, Civility, Salary and Equity, and Recruitment Selection), Diversity Education, Public Relations met more frequently, as needed to vet ideas.

Subcommittees: WorkLife, Equity, Civility and Accountability met even more frequently to develop specific recommendations.


Principles for Ensuring Equity, Civility and Respect for All

The Johns Hopkins University is an environment in which all people behave in a manner that engenders mutual respect, treating each other with courtesy and civility regardless of position or status in the academy. Rude, disrespectful behavior is unwelcome and will not be tolerated.


demonstrate RESPECT for each other.fill leadership positions from inclusive pools.compensate our employees equitably. support work/life balance. choose equity and civility.


Recommendations

First:Adopt equity, civility and respect, and diversity and inclusion as core values of the University.


Second:Enhance recruitment efforts to ensure a diverse leadership and workforce by establishing:

Fair and open standardized search procedures for officers and other senior administrative leaders.Effective pipeline programs that augment the pool of diverse candidates at each level (leadership, faculty and staff).Tools and training for search committees to assist them in their work of bringing the most talented and diverse individuals to the university.

Commission on Equity, Civility and Respect for All Recommendations (Cont’d)

Third:Incorporate clear expectations for faculty and administrative leaders in regular performance evaluations at all levels.


Fourth:Provide training and education to all who bear responsibility for achieving the goals of bringing talented individuals of diverse backgrounds to the university and of creating an environment in which they can flourish.

Content and delivery should be specific to each groupFacultyAdministrative leaders Incoming studentsNew faculty and staff


Fifth:Administrative and faculty leaders must: Develop specific plans to sustain, increase and measure

progress in achieving diversity and equity; Be held accountable for their progress in reaching

these goals; and, View fostering civility and respect as part of their

charge.

Successful leadership in all these areas should be recognized, celebrated and widely shared.


Fifth (Cont’d):

More effective mechanisms should be established to provide a safe and secure avenue for raising concerns to ensure that:

No one feels that he or she is without recourse Managers and leaders get the information they need to

address any issues raised


Sixth:Conduct regular surveys of faculty, staff, and students todetermine the extent to which the perceptions andexperiences of members of the community reflectadherence to the norms of equity, civility and respect. Report results to the university’s officers, deans andDirectors so that progress can be monitored and plans toaddress issues developed.



Seventh:Leaders at all levels should understand theirresponsibility for the prompt and reasonedresolution of specific claims of behaviors thatsubject individuals to uncivil, disrespectful, orinequitable treatment.

Eighth:

Academic and human resource leaders should ensurethat university policies permit flexibility, whereverpossible to: attract and retain the best talent support individuals as they balance

professional and personal challenges.

The university should be a leader in the development and implementation ofenlightened family-friendly policies as they affect career advancement.



Ninth:Develop a plan for increasing convenient access

to childcare, including infant care, on or near campuses as soon as an analysis of the options

can be conducted.

Tenth:The university should develop tools to allow units toperform meaningful and rigorous equity studies on anannual basis.

Equity in compensation should be a fundamental premise ofthe reward structure at The Johns Hopkins University.


Dialogue, Discussion, Conversation

Scenario #1 Two employees are talking in a common area in the office. They’re

discussing the previous day and the big win at the Ravens’ game. Both are talking excitedly about the excellent passes and field goals that took the team to victory. A co-worker approaches them and says, “Only Neanderthals and idiots follow football, especially for that team. Which one are you?” The co-worker remained silent, while the one employee reddened in the face and replied, “I resent that statement and consider it to be disrespectful and uncivil.” The co-worker said, “I was only kidding, don’t be so sensitive; why don’t you get back to work?”

Within your group, discuss: What are the issues? How would you address this situation?

A faculty member and her lab technologist are at the bench working on an experiment. As the lab tech turns to place the specimen into the refrigerator, the female graduate student accidentally bumps into him knocking the tubes out of his hand. They crash to the floor and break. The faculty member, realizing the amount of grant funding and research time that was just wasted, begins to scream at them both for being clumsy, stupid and irresponsible, threatening to take payment out of their paychecks. The faculty member storms out of the lab to her office and slams the door shut, not returning to the lab or speaking to either the lab tech or graduate student for the next 2 days.


Scenario #2

A department chairman is meeting with his faculty members in May to discuss future goals and objectives for promotions. In her meeting, a female assistant professor reviews her goals for the upcoming year and requests that she change her standard work schedule, given they are approaching the end of the academic year. She explains her need to accommodate the challenges she and her husband, another faculty member in different department, are facing with regard to appropriate and convenient daycare for their two small children. The chairman acknowledges her request, but suggests that he has concerns about whether she can meet her goals AND accommodate her daycare needs.


Scenario #3

A senior staff member and her supervisor are preparing for her annual review. The supervisor set a due date for the staff member to complete the self-evaluation and goal setting well in advance of the effective date. The staff member was out sick for 2 days prior to the deadline; upon her return, the supervisor was out of town for a meeting and not in the office for 2 days. When the supervisor returned, the staff member presented her portion of the evaluation. Without taking into account the employee’s illness and the meeting, he replied, “You’re late; you’ve missed your deadline. I’ll get to it when I get to it, on my time now.”


Scenario #4

A group of employees are gathered around the vending machines in the break room, just around the corner from the work area. They’re having a “lively” discussion about their events over the weekend. The administrative coordinator, who sits nearby cannot concentrate. She goes to the group and asks them if they can lower their voices. One employee responds, “Yeah, whatever,” but the conversations continue at the same level. The coordinator comes back a second time, this time frustrated at being ignored the first time, repeats that she cannot concentrate over the “noise” they’re making and to please find somewhere else to “congregate.” The same employee responds, “Why don’t you get a life? Can’t you see we’re only talking here? Besides, this is OUR break room and you’re not the boss of us.”


Scenario #5


The Principles of Equity Civility and Respect

http://training.jhu.edu/Diversity/ecourse/

Documents

Commission on Equity, Civility and Respect for All