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Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee

The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee (DE&I) is a staff organization working within Northwestern IT to support the mission and efforts of the Office of Institutional Diversity & Inclusion.

Northwestern IT Commitment Statement

Northwestern University is best served by an IT organization that supports the full demographic diversity of current and future generations of Northwestern students, faculty, and staff.

Therefore, we commit to:

• Building a more diverse workforce that cultivates excellence, collaboration, and innovation
• Ensuring equitable treatment, promoting access to opportunity and advancement, and removing barriers to success
• Providing an inclusive work environment where all members of the Northwestern IT community can thrive and learn from each other
• Embracing diversity and perspectives that support a culture of trust and accountability
• Bringing sustained, intentional effort to this essential work and integrating it into all aspects of our organization

Initiatives

• Develop policy(s) to ensure the Northwestern IT hiring process includes oversight and guidance from a hiring team, and include a requirement on diverse candidate pools.
• Develop policies, standards, and guidelines to enable staff retention and inclusion, where training, professional development, coaching, and mentoring are a priority.
• Establish a platform for advocacy and build allies and committees at the University to strengthen Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
• Curate educational programming such as workshops, conferences, books, podcasts, and other educational materials to educate and strengthen the DE&I commitment for Northwestern IT.

How to Get Involved

Committee members are staff from across Northwestern IT who have a strong interest in creating a more diverse, inclusive, and equitable community.

Any IT staff member may request to participate in the committee or its associated workgroups and activities. 

Committee Members

• Allison Porterfield, Director of Enterprise Systems Human Resources and Student (Co-Chair)
• Jackie Milhans, Manager, Computing & Data Support Services, Research Computing Services (Co-Chair)
• Steve Ewald, Senior Systems Engineer, Collaboration Services
• Victoria Getis, Director, Teaching and Learning Technologies
• Susan Held, Senior Systems Analyst, Enterprise Systems Alumni and Financials
• Maureen Knight-Burrell, Applications Systems Manager, Application Development and Operations
• Ken Panko, Director, Media and Technology Innovation

Resources and Learning Opportunities

• Office of Institutional Diversity & Inclusion
  • Resources for Faculty and Staff
• Policy on Discrimination and Harassment from the Office of Equity
• MyHR Courses
  • LGBTQ+ Ally
  • Unconscious Bias 
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion playlist
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at EDUCAUSE

Last Updated: 7 June 2021