Up to $4K given away for DEI projects in NY
Funded projects comprised trainings, celebrations, and hosting events and speakers, each focusing on various groups, including women, Black people, LGBTQ+, and illegal immigrants.
A requirement for selected proposals for the grant is that they demonstrate 'the ability to promote greater equity for historically underrepresented and underserved groups.'
The University at Albany’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI) funded six diversity-related projects this past year under the “UAlbany Diversity Transformation Awards” grant program that gave up to $4,000 for each project.
Funded projects comprised trainings, celebrations, and hosting events and speakers, each focusing on various groups, including women, Black people, LGBTQ+, and illegal immigrants.
[RELATED: University receives $625K grant for DEI]
The office’s page describes the grant as helping “fund innovative pilot programs and existing initiatives that support a campus climate of equity and advance the University’s mission of fostering diverse and inclusive excellence,” inviting proposals “that strengthen, promote, and embrace diversity and inclusion.”
A requirement for selected proposals for the grant is that they demonstrate “the ability to promote greater equity for historically underrepresented and underserved groups within the University and/or multiple campus constituencies.”
One of the projects funded this year was “’UndocuAlly’ Training at UAlbany,” a training series for faculty, staff, and students for supporting illegal immigrants in the State University of New York System (SUNY).
The program’s planning committee notes that “undocumented students face legal, bureaucratic and practical barriers that can compromise their collegiate journey and path to graduation,” saying that there is a need “for training and resources regarding how to facilitate undocumented student success at UAlbany,” according to the summary of programs.
Individual training sessions were given to faculty and students in February 2023.
A full video of the training session was recorded and posted to a Zoom cloud.
[RELATED: Community college gets $15k grant for DEI initiatives in STEM]
Another project was called “Women’s Day 2023 Gender Diversity in STEM,” hosted on March 27, 2023.
“The purpose of this event is to give [College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity] faculty an opportunity to reflect on their own biases and privileges and consider how we can work together to foster a more inclusive climate,” Jennifer Goodall, a dean at the university, told the university’s media relations team which published the 2023 announcements.
The university also ran the program for the 2021-2022 school year, funding five projects.
Campus Reform reached out to all relevant parties for comment. This story will be updated accordingly.
