The Committee on Inclusion and Equity

Vision, Mission, Goals, and Bylaws

Vision: To maximize a climate of inclusion and equity in the Department of Psychology and in the ETSU community broadly.

Mission: The Committee will leverage the science and profession of psychology in the service of promoting and affirming inclusion, equity, and diversity within the Department of Psychology and beyond.

Goal 1: Building a Departmental culture of inclusion and equity that

Objective 1: Creates psychologically safe social environments for candid discussion of issues related to diversity;

Objective 2: Creates psychologically safe physical environments that enact principles of inclusion and equity;

Objective 3: Promotes belongingness where individuals feel they are members of the community and can thrive;

Objective 4: Supports professional development experiences to facilitate dialogues around inclusion, equity, and diversity, both inside and outside of the classroom;

Objective 5: Mobilizes knowledge from discipline-related organizations addressing important social issues that occur in our nation; and

Objective 6: Recruits and retains diverse faculty, staff, and students;

Goal 2: Promoting a culture of inclusion and equity beyond the Department by

Objective 1: Partnering with psychology student organizations;

Objective 2: Partnering with other departments and organizations to offer programming and share resources; and

Objective 3: Sharing the psychological science of inclusion and equity with ETSU policy makers.

The CIE voted and passed bylaws on Jan 20, 2023. The department faculty unanimously voted to accept bylaws on April 26, 2023. 

Press Releases

Jan 20, 2023

Feb 3, 2023

March, 2023

April, 2023

Committee Accomplishments

Fall 2022

• CIE implemented our first department faculty meeting session on “DEI successes and challenges”
• CIE implemented undergraduate diversity survey and identified mental health and disability issues as areas of growth for faculty and will plan disability in the classroom panel

Spring 2022

• CIE co-Hosted Syllabus Challenge by Kim Case
• CIE established regular departmental faculty meeting agenda item for DEI updates to improve communication with graduate students
• CIE department faculty meeting training – “Threat or Vulnerability”
• CIE departmental faculty meeting raining (20 minutes) – Microaggressions
• CIE updated bulletin board on microaggressions 
• CIE created undergraduate diversity survey
• CIE transitioned to using the 20 minute department faculty meeting training time for sharing challenges and successes in DEI in order to get ideas and feedback on challenges faculty may be experiencing

Fall 2021

• CIE analyzed results of graduate diversity survey and identified need for microaggressions training; discussed the challenges of giving feedback to faculty member and respecting student confidentiality - the department chair was identified as the person that gives feedback to the faculty member
• CIE initiated document called “Visioning Equity and Inclusion in Psychology” – planned in-department meeting 20 minute trainings based on microaggression training needed for faculty; implemented regular CIE updates on department meeting agendas for better communication with students and faculty; discussed co-sponsoring proseminar after considering colloquium series on diversity
• CIE partnered with university on film “I am Not a Racist”
• CIE added an undergraduate representative

Spring 2021

• CIE finished and implemented departmental diversity survey and compiled ideas/vision for equity and inclusion

Fall 2020

• CIE Collaborative speaker series with PEACE: (F)All in This Together
• CIE met with Compliance Office to gauge best route for people to report incidents  
• Experimental PhD program removed expectation for experimental students that they not have outside employment
• CIE began developing departmental surveys for clinical and experimental graduate students

Between Fall of 2018 and Fall of 2020 the CIE task force developed a mission statement, vision, and goals. The CIE edited the Department's Diversity Plan and created a website. The Department voted to remove the GRE from graduate admission requirements. 

The Committee on Inclusion and Equity in Psychology meets on the first and third Friday of each month from 11 am - 12 pm.  Meetings for Fall 2022 will be held via Zoom.

Contact us at psycie@etsu.edu