Diversity & Inclusion Website

By Sean McDevitt
FightingIllini.com

From Ferguson to Charlottesville, #MeToo to #TimesUp, from NFL players kneeling to women standing up, there has been a rush of national issues reflecting oft-diverging views on race, religion, gender, gender identity, politics, and much more.

With each breaking news event, campus leaders across the country are wrestling with how these events impact campus life and how they should be addressed.

Within the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics at the University of Illinois, they are tackling these questions head-on.

Weeks after landing his dream job and hiring the first African-American head football coach at the University of Illinois in Lovie Smith, Josh Whitman had an even larger goal in mind - changing not only the Illinois Athletics culture of winning, but improving the culture of inclusion and acceptance as well.

Real Talks

During the 2016-17 academic year, DIA established a Diversity and Inclusion Committee with representation from the faculty, DIA administration and staff, student-athletes, and non-athlete students. Senior Associate Directors of Athletics Maria Woods and Keiko Price are the co-chairs of the committee.

"When Josh Whitman was hired, shortly after, maybe a few months after he was hired, he charged Maria and I with putting together a committee of people who were excited to focus on inclusion efforts," said Price. "And he gave us four charges -- diversifying spectatorship, creating a safe space for athletes to discuss controversial issues that are going on in society right now, recruiting and retaining a diverse staff, and being more inclusive as a department."

The committee met in October 2016 for the first time and during that first year focused primarily on recruiting and retaining diverse staff and creating a safe space for athletes to come together and share their experiences.

Right away, every committee member was trained by campus HR on being diversity advocates for every open position search.

Committee members were on every DIA search committee making sure all positions were being posted on various diversity websites, but also ensuring the candidate pool was not just a reflection of one population.

Just as important, the committee hosted Real Talks with student-athletes. These closed-door sessions give them an opportunity to discuss hot topics of the day—from relationships to police interactions.

"I believe the first one that we had was the National Anthem and kneeling and we wanted to have a safe space for them to talk about their feelings on the issue," said Price. "And then we had a post-election debrief a week after the election. We had one with the topic of supporting our LGBTQ athletes. There was a lot of momentum."

A former student-athlete at Illinois, Kevin Mitchell joined the committee early on. From his point of view, the Real Talks were important in bringing student-athletes together.

"When you talk about just having a forum for student-athletes to speak their mind and not have to feel the backlash and be open, you get a different type of talk," said Mitchell. "It's how you start really tearing down walls."

It created a space where the student-athletes could voice their opinions and create discussions. Many of the Real Talks were done in collaboration with campus and the Office of Inclusion and Intercultural Relations with their staff serving as moderators.

"Ross Wantland, who is the director of diversity education at OIIR moderated our Charlottesville Real Talk," said Price. "Leslie Morrow moderated our LGBTQ topic and then Sarah Colomé moderated the session on healthy relationships. They've been great partners to work with and a great resource to tap into."

Additionally, in the first year, the committee created a logo, website, and a commitment to diversity statement. The logo was created in-house and designed, along with the website, to showcase inclusivity, equality, and diversity. The website organized many of the resources at DIA and on campus in one place for staff and student-athletes and has become a hub for the committee.

The Summit

Going into the second year with an emphasis on being inclusive as a department, the focus turned to the Diversity & Inclusion Summit. The two-day event ran February 5-6, 2018 with the first day focused on student-athletes and day two with DIA staff.

"I wasn't sure how receptive DIA would be to have a mandatory event to hear about diversity," said Price. "I don't think that's just unique to Illinois. I'm sure many felt that they're already inclusive so why are we doing this? It made finding the right speakers and the right format important. Plus, we didn't want people to feel uncomfortable. We wanted them to walk out of there more aware."

The committee gathered a diverse group of speakers. Nevin Caple spoke on LGBTQ awareness while U of I graduates Kathleen Downes outlined her experiences as a woman with cerebral palsy and Ryan Neiswender detailed his time on the Olympic Wheelchair Basketball team. University of Illinois Hall of Famer, Perdita Felician, talked about being a first generation international athlete.

"We made it a big event and it ended up being a great event," said Price. "For a first step, it was the right balance."

Soon after the Summit, the committee created the "If You Can Play, You Can Play" video. The video is a calling card showcasing Illinois Athletics commitment to diversity and inclusion on staff, in the locker room, and in the community.

Illini Allies

For the current year, the committee is focusing on diversifying spectatorship.

"We met with the Office of Inclusion and Intercultural Relations to find ways in which we can bring our student body to more of our events," said Price. "So we established the Illini Allies support group within DIA and they've worked hard to promote, for the first time ever, Pride Night at Soccer and then we'll have another Pride Night for women's basketball."

Recently, Illini Allies gathered a group of DIA athletes and staff to walk in the Champaign Pride parade.

The group meets monthly and has been looking to find more ways to integrate into campus.

"There's a lot that goes on campus that we don't know about," said Price. "So we're working on letting them know if there's a big event and they want our support to send that information to use so we can let staff know about it. It's great for our athletes as well. We want them to be engaged with the campus. So, we're talking about ways in which student body leadership on campus can come to our Student-Athlete Advisory Committee meetings for more engagement and interaction."

Shaping the Future

Changing the culture isn't something that can happen overnight.

"An inclusive and diverse culture in DIA means providing a space where people can really feel comfortable being themselves," said Price. "And they feel like this space is open and free where they don't have to pretend to be someone they're not. Where everyone feels accepted and where there's equality."

Down the road, there are several new and exciting things lined up including hosting a faith and family night and having former Illinois basketball player Tal Brody, currently the Goodwill Ambassador of Israel. meet with current student-athletes.

As a society, you can't be the best you can be if everyone is operating from a single point of view. Whitman understands this and is actively taking steps to create a more inclusive and diverse DIA culture.

"It's huge when it comes from the top down," said Mitchell. "When it comes from him, that's when you know it's for real. It's good to write it down on paper, but until you really start taking the steps does it mean anything? I think it does here."

Ultimately, Price is excited about what the future holds and how that future is being shaped.

"I really feel blessed that we have a leader that believes diversity is a strength, and makes a culture of inclusion a priority."