Volume 2, Issue 2: September 10, 2020
R.I.S.E.* Up Newsletter
*Reinforcing Inclusion through Skill-building and Education
We stand at a precipice. What can we do and teach to raise awareness of how dire our situation is - Anthea Butler
DEI in the News: Critical Race Theory and Scholars on Strike

Academic perspectives on DEI questions are much in the headlines this week. The Trump Administration announced Friday a ban on many diversity training efforts in federal agencies with the accusation that Critical Race Theory, an academic framework which undergirds many such programs, is "Anti-American."

Meanwhile, higher education professionals across North America have been participating this week in a mass action to raise awareness around issues of racism and police brutality. One main goal of the action, organized by Dr. Anthea Butler of the University of Pennsylvania and Dr. Kevin Gannon of Grand View University, was to amplify scholarship on issues of race using the hashtag #ScholarStrike on social media.

JCU's DEI Division staff also contributed to the #ScholarStrike "Virtual Teach-in" with a video explaining our "Justice T.R.E.E.E." conceptual model for those looking to get involved in racial equity work.

Dr. Butler asks in one of her #ScholarStrike messages, "what can we do and teach to raise awareness of how dire our situation is?" The excellent collective efforts of this week's #ScholarStrike participants to pull together their best scholarship, thinking and pedagogy in an easily and publicly-available format serve as one answer to this question.

We have also been working this week on finding and pulling together some additional resources for those charged with the responsibility of teaching on the edge of "the precipice." Some of these resources will be presented at next week's R.I.S.E. faculty/staff workshop "DEI Issues in the Virtual Classroom" (see below). In addition, resources and tools abound in Creighton University's excellent new Teaching Anti-Racism Guide, and those wishing to go deeper may find value in Academic Impressions' 2-day virtual conference scheduled for Sept. 16-17 entitled "Practicing Culturally Relevant Pedagogy in Higher Education."

In this newsletter, you will find plenty of opportunities to go deeper, learn more, and connect with others who continue doing the work, even when the news cycle changes and moves on. Join us.
Division Announcements
image of laptop computer with learning materials and a board reading - you've got this
R.I.S.E. Workshop:
DEI Issues in
the Virtual Classroom
Please join Dr. Tiffany Galvin Green, VP for DEI, for a virtual workshop entitled "DEI Issues in the Virtual Classroom" this coming Wednesday, September 16 from 3:30-4:30 pm (please note the time change from earlier announcements of this program). This workshop is designed to help identify and address DEI issues and needs in our virtual environments this fall. Open to all faculty and staff.
Register today to read Caste with us
Image - book cover of Caste - The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
Register now for the October faculty-staff book club. Spots are filling up fast, so don't miss this opportunity to join us!

Our book selection is Isabel Wilkerson's brand-new and long-awaited book, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents.

Described in the New York Times as "an instant American classic and almost certainly the keynote nonfiction book of the American century thus far," Caste describes how America today and throughout its history has been shaped by a hidden caste system, a rigid hierarchy of human rankings.

The book club will meet virtually starting at 11:45 am on the following Thursdays: 10/1, 10/8, 10/15 and 10/22 (please note that this is a change in the originally advertised schedule). This program is a "brown bag lunch" meeting. Open to all staff, faculty, and graduate assistants.
First Year Students:
Sign up for a MELT Mentor!
MELT recruitment flyer
The Center for Student Diversity and Inclusion invites all first-year students to sign up for the MELT mentoring program. The purpose of MELT (Match, Empower, Learn, and Teach) is to create a caring mentoring partnership between mentors (current sophomore, juniors, and seniors) and mentees (first-year students who are first in their immediate families to go to college, students of color, LGBTQ+ students, and other historically underrepresented students). First-year students looking for support transitioning into JCU or just looking to connect with a current student can register for the program at the link below.
bowl of honey surrounded by apple slices
Photo by Igal Ness on Unsplash
Jewish High Holidays
begin next week
Next Friday, Sept. 18 at sundown, Jewish members of our community will celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, which marks the beginning of the 10 Days of Awe leading up to Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, on Monday, Sept. 28 (beginning at sundown Sept. 27). These represent the most sacred days of the Jewish calendar and are typically observed by refraining from work, attending synagogue services and family gatherings, fasting and prayer. Please join us in wishing all our Jewish community members shanah tovah u'metukah, a very good and sweet New Year.
Announcements from our network:
Jesuit Education:
Talking about Race in the Classroom
This Saturday, Sept. 12 from 11:00 am - 1:00 pm, the Jesuit Anti-Racism Sodality (JARS) will host a free webinar for faculty and staff entitled "Jesuit Education: Talking About Race in the Classroom" with Br. Ken Homan, SJ and Mr. Justin White.
Cleveland Book Week Sept. 29-Oct. 4
Logo of the Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards
Cleveland Book Week is a week-long celebration sponsored by and centered on the Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards. This year's "virtual book week" schedule has just been released, featuring a number of events that are free and open to the public.

The prestigious Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, established in 1935 by Cleveland poet Edith Anisfield Wolf, is the only American book award designed specifically to recognize works addressing issues of diversity, race and our appreciation of human cultures. JCU has the good fortune to host two Anisfield-Wolf Foundation Fellows: Dr. Krista Stevens and Zachary Thomas '18.

The week's events include free streaming films from the Cleveland International Film Festival, author programs in the Global Cleveland Sister Cities Conference and Great Lakes African American Writers Conference, an authors' conversation with Charles King and Steven Pinker hosted by the Western Reserve Historical Society, a City Club presentation by author Eric Foner, and a televised award ceremony and documentary on WVIZ/Ideastream hosted by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Global Cleveland Welcoming Week - Sept. 11-18, 2020
Global Cleveland logo
Global Cleveland has announced this year's Welcoming Week activities, celebrating the gifts, community, and diversity of immigrants and newcomers to our region.

This year’s Welcoming Week will kick off on September 11, 2020, and will end on September 18, 2020. Programs include an INTERCLE event for international students, cooking demos, an interfaith service, various panel presentations on immigration, representation in journalism, Latinx perspectives, the African and African-American community experience, and more.
Kathy Najimy speaks on Acceptance, Advocacy, and Activism
This Tuesday, September 15, 2020 at 2:00 pm The National Council of Jewish Women Cleveland will be hosting their 126th Opening Meeting featuring actress and advocate, Kathy Najimy. Learn about Kathy's journey from being an actress to becoming an activist.
Flyer for Kathy Najimy event
Flyer for the Ignatian Family teach-in for Justice

October 19-26, 2020 | Virtual

Don't miss dynamic speakers, including Fr. Greg Boyle, S.J., Sr. Simone Campbell, S.S.S., Maurício López, Fr. James Martin, S.J., Fr. Bryan Massingale, Olga Segura, and Bishop Mark Seitz. Applications are due soon for those interested in serving as a speaker, roundtable host, or reflection facilitator.