New I-EDIAA Council to inform policy and program development

The first meeting of the Indigenization, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Accessibility and Antiracism (I-EDIAA) Council was recently held. The new Council will act as a central communication mechanism to enable the Faculty of Arts and Science to coordinate and operationalize Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Indigenization (EDII) initiatives and will serve to inform policy and program development at the level of the departments by providing a deep, immediate, and working interface with the Faculty office.

“This was born out of the FAS Strategic Plan recommendation in 2019 to have an EDII implementation committee to operationalize the recommendations of the Principal’s Implementation Committee on Racism, Diversity, and Inclusion, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, and others,” says EDII Director and defacto Chair Elliot Chapple. “After learning that, I thought it would be effective to construct an EDII Council where its purpose is not to generate recommendations but to operationalize recommendations that have already been made in consultation with the groups impacted.”

Dr. Chapple adds that since FAS is such a large and diverse faculty the Council is needed because it is the mechanism by which the policies and procedures can be disseminated and adapted to function properly for each department.

“We have all these things we want to operationalize, but we need to ensure they are useful for each department.”

The outline of the stated purpose of the Council includes:

• Improve efficiency and reporting on I-EDIAA initiatives to influence well-informed decision making.
• Develop and implement plans for embedding I-EDIAA in member units and reporting on progress.
• Develop and support a centralized FAS I-EDIAA information sharing hub with resources. 
• Reduce silos and redundancies in I-EDIAA work and strengthening collaboration and collective impact.
• Identify programs that could have positive impacts on I-EDIAA, and the ways in which resources can be utilized and coordinated to achieve I-EDIAA goals.'
• Identify barriers inhibiting progress around I-EDIAA, and make recommendations for how the barriers can be overcome.

"This year my goal is to convene the Council, create a shared central database of EDII resources, and increase departmental awareness of faculty and university level supports,” says Dr. Chapple.

For example, he points to the Diversity and Equity Assessment and Planning (DEAP) Tool which departments must complete each year, and notes that many are falling behind in that assignment. “We need to give the departments the support they need to effectively use that tool and make sure they are not left unsupported.”

Lynda Jessup, Vice-Dean, Faculty of Arts and Science says the Council has been designed to serve to inform policy and is pleased with the initial outcomes of the first meeting.

“The Council is designed to promote the sharing of resources and improving communication across departments - and between the departments and the faculty office,” says Dr. Jessup. “I also want people to learn EDII is another normal function of the department much like a curriculum review committee or graduate council. This not special work to be done by special people. It’s routine business for the university like anything else.”