In 1945 Congress established “National Employ the Physically Handicapped Week”.  In 1988 the week became the entire month of October and was renamed, ” “National Disability Awareness Month”.  Two years later the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law by President George W. Bush.  For many people with disabilities this provided much needed protection against discrimination in employment and access to education.  To read more about the history of disability rights in employment click here.  For laws related to disability rights check out the “Guide to Disability Rights Laws” from ADA.Gov

Ohio State will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by exploring the theme “Claiming Our Space in the Ohio State Mosaic!” You’re invited to join your Ohio State colleagues for an inaugural reception from 5:30-7 p.m. on Oct. 28 in the Ohio Union Great Hall Meeting Rooms in Columbus.

The reception will include special remarks by TyKiah Wright, founder-CEO of WrightChoice Inc. Wright is a local thought leader and nationally renowned trailblazer and advocate who is committed to diversity and developing the next generation workforce through internship placement and professional development training.

The reception will also include live performances by Blue Spectrum and by spoken word artist and Ohio State alumnus Quartez Harris.

The reception will launch a yearlong celebration of the historic legislation that provided civil rights to individuals with disabilities. The reception and the 25th anniversary ADA initiative will create an opportunity to explore the narratives of individuals with disabilities at Ohio State and how they help shape the campus climate and culture, adding to the mosaic of our diverse community.

Click here for a link to add the reception to your calendar. For more information about the reception or becoming involved with it, contact Katherine Betts at betts.128@osu.edu.

The reception and celebration are being sponsored by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, the Americans with Disabilities Act Coordinator’s Office, the Student Life Multicultural Center, and the campus-wide 25th ADA Anniversary Planning Committee.

The mini grant program was introduced to the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) in 2012 and is funded by the college. All faculty, staff, and student/s are eligible to apply.  For more information and to complete the application click here.

2015-2016 CFAES Equity and Inclusion Mini Grants

The CFAES Office of Equity and Inclusion is happy to be able to support another round of mini-grants. Mini grant funds will support collaborative efforts between teams, individuals, or student groups with new projects or ideas that enhance diversity, equity, and inclusion in CFAES and the campus community Proposed efforts should be consistent with the missions of Ohio State University and the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.

Up to $2,500 in direct costs for one year and used by the end of June 30, 2016. Unused funds must be returned. Funds cannot be used for salaries, fringes, or work that would otherwise occur.

Grants are due on October 30 by 5:00pm. To review the guidelines and access the application click here.

As many of you are aware, with the passing of the 2014 Farm Bill, Central State University is now recognized as a 1890 Land-grant University. This recognition will open many doors for not only the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences but also for colleagues across the university. Please consider attending the October 14 presentation here in Columbus or the one at Central State on October 15. Click here for details.

CFAES Office of  Equity and Inclusion invites you to join us as we travel on Thursday, October 15  to the National Afro-American Museum & Cultural Center and Young’s Jersey Dairy!   The trip is free for faculty, staff, and students of the colelge  but you must pre-register on-line.  Trip includes breakfast and lunch.

We will depart Ag. Admin at 9:00 and return by 5:30 pm. Free to CFAES faculty, staff or students. You must register here.

CFAES Colleagues:

In addition to the re-branded and refreshed CFAES Equity and Inclusion Web Site that was recently launched I am pleased to share the new CFAES Equity and Inclusion Blog.
The web site contains information on topics related to equity, inclusion, and diversity. College, university and external events are featured in the “Events” page.  All current CFAES employees are subscribed.  You can unsubscribe as you wish.  Messages will come periodically and I hope to use the blog site as a forum to share information as well as discussion current events related to diversity, equity, and inclusion.  You are always welcome to comment on any of the posts and are welcome to submit posts of your own.

In the months leading up to my transition to Director, Equity and Inclusion for the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) I spent a significant amount of time thinking about what was needed within CFAES and what the title of this new position needed to convey. In deciding on Director, Equity and Inclusion, I left out diversity and avoided the title, “Chief Diversity Officer”. This decision was driven, in part, by what the title; “Chief Diversity Officer” often carries with it, a sole focus on Affirmative Action, Equal Employment Opportunity, and Compliance (AA/EEO). These are important legal mandates and this position does provide over site for these as required by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). However, our goal in CFAES is not only to adhere to these laws but to move beyond what “we have to do” and to bring true culture change to the college.

Opting for a title that incorporates equity and inclusion without diversity does not mean that diversity is not a priority for me or the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences. Diversity is the foundation on which we are building. Our goal is to create a college-wide culture that is and inclusive of all faculty, staff and students and the diversity that we all bring. You can see below that diversity is difficult to define with a just few words. Given its breadth, diversity is all around us.
Diversity=race, ethnicity, religion, age, ability, gender, sex, socio economic status, sexual orientation, veteran status, gender identity and expression, birth order, place (where we grew up), personality, thought process, research interests, personality….the list is almost endless

With all that diversity encompasses we are diverse as a college. At the same time, there are areas of diversity where we are underrepresented. Increasing the numbers of underrepresented populations is a goal. However, increasing numbers is meaningless if we have an environment where faculty, staff, and students do not feel like they belong. If the environment is not inclusive CFAES will not be a place where students, faculty, and staff want to be. Our college is on a journey to create the best place to work, learn and to grow. I welcome your thoughts, comments, and suggestions for future topics.

I am pleased to share that CFAES will once again support faculty and staff who are interested in professional development opportunities that will provide knowledge and skills that can be used to enhance our equity and inclusion efforts. The fund can support 10 requests up to $5000. Once all funds are awarded no more applications will be accepted. The Professional Development Training Support Fund Application is a fillable PDF and you may have to save it onto your computer to complete the form.

For more information and access to the application click here.