Equity in the academic experience is an essential component for campus efforts toward improving diversity, equity, and inclusion. Student experience literature has illustrated how issues of discrimination, oppression, and/or prejudice continue to permeate classroom environments, and the effects are pronounced for undergraduate students in the beginning stage of pursuing a college degree when they are taking foundational, or gateway, courses. This BUILD session seeks to work with session attendees to better understand the experiences that students from marginalized identities have in key gateway courses and to collaboratively work together to identify strategies and skills to create equitable environments in gateway course settings. We will present student transition and experience data to create a narrative, discuss best practices in higher education, and collaboratively work toward both individual skills and strategies for institutional level change.

The Building University of Iowa Leadership for Diversity initiative is an opportunity for UI faculty and staff to gain strategic knowledge and skills to contribute to a welcoming and inclusive environment for all. By completing a series of workshops, participants will earn a certificate demonstrating their commitment as leaders for diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace and classroom.

To register for UI campus courses, log-in to UI Employee Self Service, click on "My Training" to be rerouted to Learning and Development, and click on the “Enroll in Courses” tab. Then use the search fields to find the desired sessions.        

Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all University of Iowa–sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in this program, please contact Diversity Resources in advance at 319-353-2388 or diversity-resources@uiowa.edu