President's Advisory Committee for Making Excellence Inclusive

Charge

The President's Advisory Committee for Making Excellence Inclusive (PAC) was an administrative, ad hoc committee responsible for making recommendations to the President on issues related to creating and sustaining a thriving, inclusive campus community.

Goals

The committee includes representation from students, faculty, staff, alumni, and the Board of Trustees. The committee is charged with:

  • Thoroughly and candidly assessing the campus climate students encounter at Richmond using existing institutional data and information provided by campus stakeholders;
  • Determining whether additional information about the campus climate is needed;
  • Considering how campus climate data are tracked and monitored to promote accountability and transparency;
  • Reviewing focus group data regarding the lived experiences of historically underrepresented students and alumni;
  • Using recommendations made by the Thriving and Inclusive Community ad hoc committee and strategic plan work group to identify priority action steps;
  • Identifying and understanding campus resources key to promoting a thriving, inclusive community;
  • Identifying barriers to thriving and full participation and developing strategic recommendations to remove them;
  • And making recommendations about initiatives that demonstrate the potential to have a measurable, positive impact on campus climate.

Membership

  • Chair: Ronald A. Crutcher, President
  • Jesse Nana Amankwaah, '21
  • Chantelle Bernard, Associate Director of Multicultural Affairs and Disability Services
  • Jeff A. Brown, M.D., '85, Trustee
  • Hank Chambers Jr., Professor of Law
  • Ashley Crenshaw, '07, Vice President for Planning and Operations, URAA Board of Directors
  • Chad Curtis, Associate Professor of Economics
  • Lee Dyer, Associate Director for LGBTQ Campus Life
  • Ed Gates, '02, Vice President for Outreach, URAA Board of Directors
  • Mia Reinoso Genoni, Dean of Westhampton College
  • Javier Hidalgo, Associate Professor of Leadership Studies
  • Melanie Jenkins, Director of Institutional Effectiveness
  • Karen Kochel, Assistant Professor of Psychology
  • Tom Nicholas, Associate Director, Undergraduate Admission
  • Lindsey Paul, '20
  • Omar Quintero, Associate Professor of Biology
  • Jhannelle Robinson, '19
  • Ellen Sayles, Associate Dean and Director of Education Abroad
  • Cory Schutter, '19
  • Carl Sorensen, Senior Associate Vice President of Human Resources
  • Marti Tomlin, Associate Director, Recreation and Wellness
  • Staff to the Committee: Ashleigh Brock, '05, Assistant to the President, Lindsey King, G'17, Administrative Specialist, Office of the President

Subcommittees

Faculty and Staff Development

The Faculty and Staff Development Subcommittee identified and recommended programs/initiatives that help faculty and staff create and sustain inclusivity in the classroom, support the recruiting and onboarding of more faculty and staff from underrepresented groups, and enable all faculty and staff to foster and experience a thriving, inclusive university community.

Co-chairs: Javier Hidalgo and Carl Sorensen

Members: Jesse Amaankwah, Allison Archer, Chantelle Bernard, Ryan Brazell, Ashelle Brown, Tom Nicholas, Kristjen Lundberg, Noella Park, Omar Quintero, Doug Szjada, and Josh Wroniewicz

Faculty and Staff Development report


Student Support Services

The Student Support Services Subcommittee considered ways in which the university does, or needs to, encourage and enable students of all backgrounds, identities, and experiences to thrive in and out of the classroom.

Co-chairs: Mia Reinoso Genoni and Ellen Sayles

Members: Ashley Crenshaw, Lee Dyer, Ed Gates, Courtney Hughes, Miles Johnson, Saif Mehkari, Jhannelle Robinson, Cory Schutter, Blake Stack, Siwanta Thapa, Laura Thompson, and Marti Tomlin

Student Support Services report


Thriving and Inclusion Metrics and Evaluation

The Thriving and Inclusion Metrics and Evaluation (TIME) subcommittee advanced a University of Richmond-centered definition of thriving and identify metrics of student thriving at UR. The TIME subcommittee proposed an inclusive and comprehensive assessment of thriving – one that takes into account the varied ways in which individuals within a diverse learning community may fully engage in their educational experience to achieve optimal functioning.

Co-chairs: Melanie Jenkins and Karen Kochel

Members: Jeff Brown, Hank Chambers, Chad Curtis, Josh Jeffreys, Lindsey Paul, Tom Roberts, Amanda Salazar, and Akhila Vishnubhotla

Thriving and Inclusion Metrics and Evaluation (TIME) report


Timeline

The President convened the PAC in February 2018. Subcommittees began their work together in September 2018. Subcommittees submitted their reports to the President in May 2019.