Orange Alert

Syracuse University, College of Arts and Sciences

University and CSD Diversity & Inclusion Values

Syracuse University is fully committed to fostering a diverse, inclusive and respectful campus community, not only in vision but in practice. Our commitment to diversity and inclusion is rooted in the belief that multiple points of view, life experiences, ethnicities, cultures and belief systems are essential to academic excellence.

In keeping with the University, our CSD department is committed to improving inclusion, diversity, equity, access in our local and national communities.

We are acutely aware of issues of racism, bias, health inequity, and health disparity that affect our field, and we are committed to making change.

Our goal is to increase the diversity of our students, facilitate the success of students within our program, and develop the cultural competence of our students so that they can provide culturally responsive and optimal services to their clients. This is consistent with the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s (ASHA), diversity and inclusion values.

We explicitly condemn the acts of racism, oppression, and violence reflected in the senseless deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd, as well as many others before them, and others since them. We are committed to actions that will facilitate short- and long-term change.

Department Specific Initiatives Related to Diversity & Inclusion

- Established a Student Diversity and Success Committee in 2017-2018

- Revised our Admissions review process to a more holistic approach that is responsive to applicants with diverse backgrounds

- Developed a strategic approach for promoting the success of minority students in our department

-Developed a program (ALIGN) that specifically promotes the academic and career success of matriculated BIPOC CSD graduate students. See the following video testimonials for the impact that ALIGN has had on our BIPOC students.

- Initiated cultural competence training as a seminar in CSD 450/650 in spring 2019 and fall 2020

- Created a new CSD elective course starting spring 2021 for undergraduate and graduate students, CSD 426/626: Sociocultural Bases for Communication.

- Service learning component to undergraduate program currently in development

University Initiatives Related to Diversity & Inclusion

- Addressing the concerns that students have raised through direct actions.

- Major undergraduate curriculum changes are underway

Suggested Resources

  • Courageous Conversations About Race (Glenn Singleton)
  • Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes are High (Patterson, Grenny et al.)
  • White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to talk about Racism (Robin DiAngelo)
  • How to be an Antiracist (Ibram X. Kendi)
  • Diversity in the Workplace: Eye-Opening Interviews to Jumpstart Conversations about Identity, Privilege, and Bias (Bäri A. Williams, Esq.)
  • My Vanishing Country: A Memoir (Bakari Sellers)
  • So You Want to Talk about Race (Ijeoma Oluo)
  • Why are All of the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria (Beverly Daniel Tatum)
  • Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes, and Black Women in America (Melissa Harris-Perry)
  • Biased: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think, and Do (Jennifer Eberhardt)
  • The Racial Contract (Charles Mills)

Video Links

Self-Assessments for Increased Self-Awareness of Biases and Beliefs, and for Enacting Self-Change