University makes staffers take ‘cultural humility’ training

Emory University will now require every member of its Campus Life staff to undergo “several” mandatory trainings on “cultural humility and social justice.”

According to an email obtained by Campus Reform, the Campus Life Executive Leadership Team is “developing a new competency focused on cultural humility and social justice,” and will thus offer “several mandatory professional development programs in 2018” on the topic.

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Additionally, the new program will now be “part of the formal evaluation process” for Campus Life staff, with the Leadership Team claiming that “these trainings will help us develop common language, knowledge, and skills in these area.”

“Beginning in the 2018-19 academic year, all Campus Life staff will receive feedback on the new competency as part of the formal evaluation process,” the email states. “To prepare staff for this new competency, Campus Life will offer several mandatory professional development programs in 2018” [emphasis in original].

The first program, which all staffers must sign up for and attend, will be titled, “Intent and Impact: The Science of Stereotyping and Bias.”

The workshop will be taught by Tufts University Psychology Professors Keith Maddox and Sam Sommers, who will “present cognitive and behavioral science research on the nature of contemporary bias and what individuals can to do mitigate it.”

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“As Emory Campus Life evolves, we continue to hold fast to our strategic values, which include a deep and sincere commitment to cultural humility and social justice,” the email concludes. “That commitment begins with our individual efforts to develop ourselves and our capacity for empathy, humility, and self-reflection.”

Campus Reform reached out to Emory for comment on the matter, and is currently awaiting a response.

Follow the author of this article on Twitter: @AGockowski