MSU college awards funds to help advance diversity, equity and inclusion efforts

Montana State University’s College of Education, Health and Human Development has awarded grants to nine projects that help advance the college’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

“We are elated to be able to offer these grants this year,” said Kayte Kaminski, assistant dean in the College of Education, Health and Human Development. “As diversity and inclusion efforts are part of our broader MSU strategic plan, we thought of this as an opportunity to further our contributions to not only the broader MSU strategic plan but to also move forward our college’s own Diversity and Inclusion Plan.”

This is the first round of funding of this sort from the college, with award amounts ranging from $2,360 to $5,000. The college hopes that the nine projects will result in future programming, professional development and other opportunities impacting a wide range of people, Kaminski said.

“We hope that these nine grants, and the people involved with them, can provide education for others also engaging with this work,” she said.

The grants will be used for a range of efforts, including funding workshops focused on diversity, equity and inclusion issues; revamping courses to include more diverse perspectives; and evaluating programs and developing a guidebook of exemplary practices to improve outreach efforts.

The grant awardees are listed by project title and principal investigator:

• “Advising Commons Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Workshop Retreat,” Sara Heller.

• “Cultivating Change for Montana’s Health Care Community,” Coleen Kaiser.

• “Increasing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in HDFS 101 Lifespan Human Development,” Wendy Morrison.

• “Preservice Teachers’ Sense of Creative Self Efficacy and the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking,” Kris Olsen.

• “Social Justice Throughout the Curriculum,” Kari Orendorff.

• “Library Media Certificate Curriculum Revision: EDCI 546,” Deborah Rinio.

• “Infusing Equity in the Montana Farm to School Summit,” Aubree Roth.

• “An Analysis of Exemplary Practices for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in MSU Youth STEM Outreach,” Suzi Taylor.

• “Using a Critical Science Approach to Create Inclusive Family and Consumer Sciences Educational Environments,” Nicole Wanago.

As one goal of its strategic plan, “Choosing Promise,” which was adopted in 2019, MSU seeks to broaden access for underrepresented populations and increase academic success for all students. In the fall of 2016, MSU also began a diversity planning process which resulted in a comprehensive Diversity and Inclusion Framework.

Soon after, the College of Education, Health and Human Development developed its own plan, which is aligned with the expectations and themes of MSU’s Diversity and Inclusion Framework. The College of Education, Health and Human Development’s Diversity and Inclusion Plan began in 2017 and runs through 2022. More information is available at montana.edu/ehhd/diversity_and_inclusion_plan.html.