Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Advocacy Workshops
Throughout the calendar year, the Office of Equity and Inclusion offers educational workshops for students, faculty, and staff addressing diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. The OEI team is available to provide workshops ranging from bullying, inclusive language, coalition building to safe space for lgbtqia+ communities. We also provide access to online J.E.D.I. modules via LinkedIn Learning. Questions about online modules can be emailed directly oei@lynchburg.edu.
Complete your diversity education request(s) via the Request Workshop button below at least two weeks prior to the needed workshop.
Grant Opportunities
The Office of Equity and Inclusion sponsors various initiatives throughout the academic year with the goal of maintaining and advancing Inclusive Excellence.
We are pleased to announce our annual Diversity and Inclusion Innovation Grant (DIIG) Program.
Grants
The Office of Equity and Inclusion (OEI) is pleased to offer our annual Diversity and Inclusion Innovation Grant (DIIG) Program.
We welcome proposals for projects and/or programs that advance justice, equity, diversity, inclusion, and/or belonging in one or more of the following areas:
- Recruitment and retention
- Sense of Belonging
- Inclusive Pedagogy
- Dialogue and civil discourse for social equity
- Curricular/co-curricular collaborations
- Enhanced student learning within and beyond the classroom
- Integration of local/global diversity
- Faculty research and teaching in the area of diversity and inclusion
- Workplace Inclusion
- Social Justice
- Equity
- Students’ understanding of collaboration and inclusion
- Faculty, student, and staff partnerships
- Other related topics
All University of Lynchburg students, staff, and faculty in good standing are eligible to submit a proposal as individuals or as members of a group, team, office or department. There is no limit on how many people from the same student organization or department can submit proposals, nor any restriction on how many individuals can be included in a single proposal.
Instructions
To submit your proposal, complete the Diversity and Inclusion Innovation Grant (DIIG) Application.
Questions or inquiries about the proposal process can be submitted to oei@lynchburg.edu.
If you need any assistance with the proposal process, please email Dr. Robert L. Canida, II, Vice President for Inclusive Excellence at canida_rl@lynchburg.edu, or call 434.544.8540.
Applications must include:
- A CV or resumé for all members participating in the project
- A statement of support from the appropriate unit Chair or Supervisor, Vice President (or designee), or Faculty/Staff Advisor, or current Professor
- A proposal that includes a detailed description of the project, objectives and outcomes, a timeline, and a breakdown of expected costs. All recipients of DIIG funds are expected to compile and share the results of their outcomes through a presentation, podcast, or poster. Funding will be provided via a reimbursement process.
Award/Grant
Up to $1,000 for research project resources, professional development, or conference presentation will be awarded. The total number of grants awarded will be one per classification (i.e., faculty, staff, student or student group). If funds are awarded, the University of Lynchburg and the DIIG Grant Program must be recognized in any resulting publication or presentation of research.
Important Dates
- Application Due Date: Oct. 16, 2023
- Award Notification: Nov. 17, 2023
- Award Period: Jan. 31–April 26, 2024
National Coalition Building Institute (NCBI) Session
The National Coalition Building Institute (NCBI) is an international nonprofit leadership development organization that provides training in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in community organizations, K-12 schools, college and university campuses, corporations, and law enforcement.
The work of NCBI — its mission, its workshops and training, its network of resource teams, and its contribution to long-lasting institutional and social change — is guided by several core principles and key insights:
- Building hopeful environments in which people want to belong.
- Healing ourselves so we can create positive change on campus and in the world.
- Becoming effective allies to other social identity groups to which we do not belong.
- Empowering leaders to lead outside of their own oppression.
- Changing hearts through hearing personal stories about mistreatment.
- Engaging in skills training that allows us to effectively respond to prejudicial acts.
- Modeling the needed appreciation to have leaders feel supported.
- Sustaining a team of people focused on coalition building to bring about systemic change.
Much of the information found on this website and referenced in workshops and group activities comes from Leading Diverse Communities (2005) by Cherie R. Brown and George J. Mazza.
Leadership in a Diverse Environment
The NCBI has distilled its collective wisdom into concise leadership principles and recognizes that effective leaders learn and practice skills to become better.
Effective leaders:
- Work together to create learning and working environments that welcome diversity.
- Acknowledge that every person is important and every issue counts.
- Recognize and work with the diversity already present.
- Act with courage.
- Take care of themselves.
- Build and nurture personal relationships.
- Listen to people with whom they disagree.
- Believe they can make a difference.
- Admit and correct mistakes.
- Value and support other leaders.