Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Community Committee

Six key priorities have been identified through the insights and feedback from the DEIC Subcommittees, the school-wide DEIC Survey, and the Pratt 2039 Report, all of which include both short-term and long-term actions and activities. These six priorities are: Building Community Through Behaviors; Recruitment and Retention; Equitable Workplace and Professional Development; Mentoring; Outreach, and Experiential Programs.

The committee will focus its efforts and engage the full Pratt community around these six priorities, with special attention to two areas identified by consensus as top priorities: Building Community Through Behaviors and Recruitment and Retention.

Although the priorities are presented separately, they also overlap and support one another:

Building Community Through Behaviors

To support and enhance a welcoming culture and climate that respects everyone in our community, the revised Duke Code of Conduct will be used as a guide to behavioral expectations for the Pratt community. This guide includes clearly defined expected behaviors as well as behaviors of concern. Pratt DEIC will work on ways to recognize individuals for exemplary behaviors and consequences for unprofessional behaviors to support a Pratt culture of respect. Resources for the Pratt community for expressing concerns will be publicly shared, reports of concerns will be aggregated across platforms, and a high-level accounting will be shared with the community yearly.

Recruitment and Retention

Recruitment and retention of a more diverse faculty, staff, and student community are priorities for Pratt. Best practices across the School and departments for admissions, matriculation, searches, and hiring, with clear minimum goals, will be established, shared, and regularly updated based upon assessment. Pratt will work with and leverage resources across Duke to achieve our diversity goals. Retention will be supported through review and revision of existing practices and systems to broaden participation, enhance mentoring, and increase recognition.

Equitable Workplace and Professional Development

A workplace that recognizes skilled work and exemplary behaviors, provides equitable workload and compensation, and offers opportunities for professional development is key to increasing diversity as well as recruitment and retention of every member of the Pratt community. Professional development opportunities, awards, compensation, and support (facilities, flex work) are examples of how Pratt will respect the needs of our community members.

Mentoring

A review and revision of mentoring programs and opportunities available to members of the Pratt community, both in Pratt and at the Duke level, will be undertaken to assess the effectiveness of these programs (already underway for undergraduates). A benchmarking review of mentoring programs at other institutions will be performed, with key findings used to modify Pratt mentoring programs, and to suggest changes to Duke mentoring programs. It is anticipated that more formal training will need to be established for mentors and mentees.

Outreach

There is a strong desire in the Pratt community to focus on engaging historically marginalized, underrepresented, and underserved groups in STEM through outreach efforts. While outreach opportunities exist in the Triangle region, and many through Duke, how Pratt community members can participate in these activities is not sufficiently clear. We will focus on outreach opportunities that encourage collaboration across Pratt and Duke, with an emphasis on the cities and counties of North Carolina.

Experiential Programs

The creation of experiential programs is needed to enhance a welcoming climate and culture in Pratt. Both required and optional experiential programs will be implemented to enhance intercultural awareness for all members of the Pratt community, especially for those who are involved with search committees, recruitment, teaching, and compliance.

• Cameron Kim, lead
• Andres Bermudez
• Hala El-Nahal
• Vardhman Kumar
• Mayari Merchant
• Jennifer Peters
• Juhi Samal
• Gregg Trahey
• Katrina Wilson
• Junjie Yao

• Henri Gavin
• Sage Hirschfeld
• Gaby Katul
• Eva Kim

• Angela Chanh, lead
• Shani Daily
• Adrian Lopez
• Guillermo Sapiro
• Hengming Li
• Jamie Kay Wang

• Becky Simmons, lead
• Ava Ganeshan
• Boran Ma
• Luisa Piccolo Serafim
• Jeverra Thomas
• Elijah Vail
• Stefan Zauscher

• Minerva Matos-Garner, lead
• Philip Duhart
• Angus Bowers
• Ben Cooke
• Steve McClelland