The
Excellence in Diversity Awards UPPS
No. 04.04.37
Issue
No.2
Effective
Date: 03/31/2011
Review:
September 1 E5Y
01. POLICY
STATEMENTS
01.01
These
policy statements set forth guidelines for the Excellence in Diversity Awards.
01.02
In
this context, we define “diversity” broadly to include such factors as
geographic backgrounds, ages, genders, educational backgrounds, employment
experiences, language abilities, economic backgrounds, cultures, and special
skills and talents. We also believe that race and ethnicity are socially
significant characteristics and that there will be occasions when a person’s
experiences will be affected by his or her race or ethnicity. The terms “race”
and “ethnicity” are not limited and include persons from all races and ethnic
backgrounds. We will consider race or ethnicity as merely one factor in our
overall efforts to diversify our faculty, staff, and students, to be applied in
limited circumstances only when the experiences of race or ethnicity contribute
significantly to a diversity of ideas.
02. GENERAL
BACKGROUND
02.01 The Excellence
in Diversity Awards (the Awards) program is established to honor university
community members for exceptional commitment to diversity at Texas State. These
awards will recognize and reward faculty and staff members for activities that
promote the university’s diversity goals.
02.02 The university
will present two awards each year, one to a faculty member and the other to a
staff member. Individual recipients will receive a $2,500 monetary award (less
taxes) and a plaque funded through the Office of Equity and Access. All
nominees will receive a letter from the chief diversity officer and director of
Equity and Access congratulating them on their nomination.
02.03 The president
will present the Awards at the annual Fall University Convocation. In addition,
the chief diversity officer and director of Equity and Access will host a fall
reception with the recipients, one guest, nominees, the Equity and Access
Committee, and senior academic administrators (President's Cabinet, Council of
Academic Deans, Council of Chairs, officers of Staff Council, officers of
Faculty Senate, as well as members of the selection committee). The Equity and
Access Committee, in consultation with the president's office, will also extend
an invitation to all individuals, groups and offices that have a
diversity-related functional role.
03. AWARD
CRITERIA
03.01 Applying the
definition of “diversity” in Section 01.02, the selection committee will use
the following criteria to select recipients for the Awards:
a. Critical support that assists diversity in our faculty, staff or students; and
b. Sustained commitment to diversity
through research, programs, services, activities, new initiatives, etc.
03.02
Eligibility
a.
Staff
– any employee other than a student employee or a faculty employee as defined
in the Rules and Regulations of the Board of Regents, The Texas State
University System. The University Pay Plan assigns a title to staff employees.
b.
Faculty
– those employees with a specified academic rank holding a teaching appointment
for a fixed term as determined by the president and approved by the Board of
Regents (Chapter V, Section 4).
c.
To
determine whether an employee is staff or faculty, please refer to the titles
listed in the University Pay Plan.
04. PROCEDURES
FOR APPOINTING SELECTION COMMITTEE
04.01 No later than
January 31, the associate provost and the chief diversity officer and director
of Equity and Access will appoint a selection committee to identify recipients
for the Awards for the current fiscal year, comprised of the following:
a. Chief diversity officer and director of Equity and Access (committee chair)
b. Director of the Center for Multicultural and Gender Studies
c. One graduate assistant nominated by the dean of The Graduate College
d. Assistant vice president for Student Affairs/director of Multicultural Student Affairs
e. Two representatives-at-large from the university: a faculty member nominated by Faculty Senate, and a staff member nominated by Staff Council
f. One representative selected from each of the following groups, each serving two-year terms: Alliance of Texas State, Hispanic Policy Network, Coalition of Black Faculty and Staff, and the President's Council for Women in Higher Education
g. Director of the Office of Disability
Services
h. Previous year
faculty recipient
i. Previous year
staff recipient
04.02 The chair will
convene the committee for its first meeting by February. At that meeting, the
committee will review the criteria for the award and make any necessary
changes. The provost must approve substantive changes.
04.03 By February, the chair of the
committee will inform the provost that the selection process has begun.
05. THE
NOMINATION PROCESS
05.01 A timeline of
the nomination process, including dates and activities, is available in Attachment I.
06. DOCUMENTATION
FOR THE AWARD
06.01 The
documentation that accompanies each Excellence in Diversity Nomination Form
(see Attachment II)
should include the following:
a. Completed
nomination form, which should include reasons for the nomination and the period
over which the activities have occurred;
b. Brief professional
sketch of the nominee, including the nominee's present position; and
c. Letters of support
from colleagues, co-workers, and students (recommend no more than a total of
three).
07. THE SELECTION
AND AWARD PROCESS
07.01 A timeline of the selection and award
process, including dates and activities, is available in Attachment I.
07.02 By April, the
committee will review the nominations, basing its selections on the criteria
outlined in Section 03. The selection committee will present its choices in
each category to the full Equity and Access Committee for consideration. The
Equity and Access Committee will rank its first, second, and third choices for
each category. Only Equity and Access committee members in attendance at the
meeting may vote.
07.03 By May 1, the
Equity and Access Committee will forward its choices to the president via the provost
for selection of recipients. The committee will not recommend awards if there
are no qualified nominees for that year. A copy of the nomination form and
packet for each person will accompany the list of finalists.
07.04 The president
will send a personal letter to each recipient by August announcing his or her
award and asking the recipients to walk onto the stage to receive their awards
at the Fall University Convocation. The president will also send an
administrative memo to the university community by August 15th announcing the
recipients.
07.05 News Services
will prepare and distribute the appropriate news releases.
08. REVIEWERS OF
THIS UPPS
08.01 Reviewers of
this UPPS include the following:
Position Date
Chief Diversity Officer and Director of September 1 E5Y
Equity
and Access
Associate Provost September
1 E5Y
Special Assistant to the President September 1 E5Y
09. CERTIFICATION
STATEMENT
This
UPPS has been approved by the following individuals in their official
capacities and represents Texas State policy and procedure from the date of
this document until superseded.
Chief
Diversity Officer and Director of Equity and Access; senior reviewer of this
UPPS
Special
Assistant to the President
President