Summer diversity days help employees grow

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — For one Penn State employee, a lightbulb symbolized what they had taken away from the Summer Diversity Series. For another, a bouquet with flowers that need to be cultivated represented what was learned.

For Christina Reese, it was a bear. Making a bear out of Play-Doh was easy for her, Reese said, and she wants what she learned in the class to become like that —a skill that comes easily.

The Play-Doh activity that came during the last session of the Summer Diversity Series was a way for the Penn State employees who participated to show what they got out of the class and share it with others.

Charleon Jeffries, diversity education coordinator in Penn State’s Affirmative Action Office, said the goal is for participants in the summer workshops to have a greater confidence in their own cultural competencies, including awareness of their environments, what they know about other cultures and how to work to build relationships across differences.

“We’re trying to create work spaces where we’re appreciated and where we’re leveraging the benefits of diversity. That will help create inclusive environments for employees and students,” Jeffries said.

“When individuals feel connected and included, they are much more likely to thrive,” she said. “As an institution we benefit greatly from the richness of diversity that every individual brings to their work and learning spaces. When we can learn to appreciate and value those differences, not as divisions, but instead as assets, we grow opportunities for creativity, innovation and efficiency.”

Held for the second time this summer, the six-session seminar focuses on topics including group dynamics, power structures, communicating across groups, understanding power and privilege, and taking part in difficult discussions. The program was designed to support the University’s commitment to diversity and inclusion and complement the “All In” initiative.

Spaces in the 2016 series were filled within three hours of being announced, so the program was expanded to two sections in 2017. About 35 employees signed up for each of the two series that were offered this year, including staff members from Penn State Lehigh Valley, Penn State Altoona and an employee from an Applied Research Laboratory site in northern Virginia.

Before the start of the series, employees could sign up for individual diversity programs, but, feedback from participants, along with research led to the cohort model. Jeffries said that the six-session model allows participants to explore complex, often controversial material in an environment where they have developed trusting relationships with other participants and they can challenge themselves and each other.

For example, Jeffries reviewed strategies for handling what can be thorny conversations. Rather than asking someone “why” they did something, ask if they can explain it to you.

“Why, in and of itself, is a judgmental question,” Jeffries said. “There’s some judgement that you’ve done something wrong and you have to justify it.”

Participants had a chance to not only learn from Jeffries, but from each other during discussions and small group activities.

For Reese, having difficult conversations and being able to be an advocate when someone says something troublesome were reasons why she took the class.

“Diversity and inclusion is something that needs to always be worked on. I wanted to be able to learn more about how to handle situations that arise in my personal as well as my professional life,” she said. “Being part of this has helped me find ways to have those conversations.”

Bob Ehrmann, in the College of Engineering, said he has done similar training before and wanted to find ways to become more involved in supporting those efforts focused on having a diverse culture.

“It helps to know there are others who want to improve the culture and put themselves in others’ shoes and embrace differences,” Ehrmann said.

Carmen Gass, with University Libraries, said she was interested in improving her own skills and meeting other people at the University who are as well.

“We’re all human beings, but our stories are very different and we’re all coming from different places,” Gass said. “The challenge is to look at things from different perspectives.”

Jeffries said the class will be offered again in summer 2018. Jeffries offers programs during the academic year through Penn State Human Resources’ Talent Management, with more information available at http://lrn.psu.edu. Units and departments can also request training by contacting the Affirmative Action Office.