BIT by BIT - September 8, 2022

September 8, 2022

Dear Student Life team,

I am thrilled to share that Dr. Aliya Beavers will be joining our team as the Director of the Center for Belonging and Social Change (CBSC) beginning on Monday, September 12.

Dr. Beavers (she/her/hers) currently serves as the Director of Student Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the University of Houston-Clear Lake in Houston, Texas. Prior to the University of Houston-Clear Lake, Dr. Beavers led Greek Life and multicultural student recruitment and retention programs at Michigan State University and DePauw University. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Black World Studies from Miami University, Master of Arts in College Student Personnel from Bowling Green State University and Doctor of Philosophy in Higher, Adult and Lifelong Education from Michigan State University.

As the Director of Student Life’s Center for Belonging and Social Change, Dr. Beavers will lead the newly reimagined Center for Belonging and Social Change. In this leadership role, Dr. Beavers will serve as a visionary, inclusive, innovative and process-oriented leader who will envision a center that fosters a sense of belonging and inclusion while promoting outreach and social change. She will deliver on that vision by leading a team that is focused on quality, high-impact and assessment-driven educational, developmental and cultural programs and services while providing a platform where emergent issues will be explored through a myriad of student lens. She will also nurture and sustain relationships and partnerships within Student Life and across the campus and local community while developing cross-campus partnerships to facilitate dialogue around issues of belonging, inclusion, equity, access and social change.

Thank you for joining me in offering a warm welcome to Dr. Aliya Beavers. I also want to extend my sincere appreciation to everyone who was involved in the search process, including the entire search committee and interview panels, the work of which was graciously coordinated by Dr. Moetiz Samad, Associate Director of Recruitment, Selection and Training in University Housing, and our amazing human resources team.

I also want to thank Angie Wellman, Interim Director, and the entire Center for Belonging and Social Change team for their hard work and dedication throughout this important transition period. This is such an exciting time of possibilities and support for all students at The Ohio State University – and I remain excited by all that we can and will do together, BIT by BIT!

Best,

Tanisha L. Jenkins, PhD
Associate Vice President for Belonging and Inclusion
Office of Student Life
The Ohio State University

BITalk

Latinx Heritage Month

The Office of Student Life celebrates Latinx Heritage Month, recognized nationally September 15 through October 15, 2022. We are proud to celebrate the heritage, cultures, contributions and resilience of Latinx, Hispanic and Latino-identified communities around the world, including those with ancestors of Mexico, the Caribbean, Spain and Central and South America. It is crucial that we continue to advance conversations about education and opportunity in the Latinx community. Our very own Center for Belonging and Social Change sponsors a month-long series of events that highlight the Latinx experience.

FEEDBACK NEEDED

Student Life Affinity Groups and Professional Networks

As we prepare to relaunch these staff-focused groups, we need your feedback. Please share with us your thoughts about which groups and professional networks would be most beneficial and why you would be interested in participating.

https://osu.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3yJXOtyvLW788Zg

Our Student Life Affinity Groups and Professional Networks are designed to provide spaces of dialogue and connection for our staff members with marginalized identities to interact, network and develop a sense of community and belonging. Our goal is to create an environment where Student Life can enact the university value of inclusion to attract new staff and retain our extraordinary employees.

BITrainings

Upcoming Workshops Offered by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion

Microinterventions

September 14, 2022, 2:30 – 4:30 PM

October 27, 2022, 11:30 AM – 1:30 PM

December 1, 2022, 2:30 – 4:30 PM

This 2-hour workshop focuses on how we can address microaggressions. Participants will learn microintervention strategies that can be used when we experience or witness a microaggression, as well as strategies for how to hold ourselves accountable and offer meaningful apologies if we are told we have enacted a microaggression. This is an interactive workshop, and participants will have numerous opportunities to practice these strategies as well as reflect on how they can use them moving forward.

*Note: This workshop is designed to be attended after Microaggressions 101.

Microaggressions and Me

September 22, 2022, 11:30 AM – 1 PM

November 3, 2022, 3 – 4:30 PM

December 6, 2022, 11:30 AM – 1 PM

When learning about microaggressions, many of us wonder how we can intervene when we experience or witness a microaggression. But what do we do when someone tells us we are the person enacting a microaggression? How can we practice dismantling microaggressions in our everyday self-expression at work? How do we hold ourselves and each other accountable empathetically and consistently? This 90-minute workshop offers participants an opportunity to reflect on the ways all of us can perpetuate microaggressions and will explore how to move forward once we have been made aware of the microaggressions we perpetuate. Participants will build skills such as crafting meaningful apologies, learning to understand and say what we really mean, and strategies for holding ourselves accountable.

*Note: This workshop is meant to be attended after Microaggressions 101 and 102.

Navigating Difficult DEI Conversations

October 4, 2022, 3 – 4:30 PM

November 8, 2022, 11:30 AM – 1 PM

December 14, 2022, 3 – 4:30 PM

“I just don’t know how to have this conversation.” If you have ever had this thought, this workshop is for you. Difficult conversations about diversity, equity and inclusion range from conceptual to conflict resolution. This 90-minute workshop offers participants the opportunity to learn what is important to consider when having difficult DEI conversations and offers concrete tools to build dialogue and disarm harmful conversations in favor of healing ones.

Practice Makes Progress: Microinterventions

December 15, 2022, 2:30 – 4 PM

This 90-minute workshop give participants an opportunity to practice how we can address microaggressions. Participants will work together to apply microintervention strategies that can be used when we experience or witness a microaggression, as well as practice strategies for how to respond to microintervention resistance and microintervention with supervisors / leadership. *Note: This workshop is designed to be attended after our Microinterventions workshop.

Practice Makes Progress: Navigating Difficult DEI Conversations

December 16, 2022, 11:30 AM – 1 PM

This 90-minute workshop offers participants the opportunity to practice the dialogue building skills and de-escalation techniques introduced in our Navigating Difficult DEI Conversations workshop. Participants will be given different workplace scenarios and will collaborate with one another to apply these dialogue building and de-escalation skills in real time.

*Note: This workshop is designed to be attended after our Navigating Difficult DEI Conversations workshop.