Grundy Reporter

University of Illinois System Senate Committee on Equal Opportunity and Inclusion met March 24.

Here is the minutes provided by the committee:

Present: Chair JJ Pionke, Ujjal Bhowmik, Meghan Burke, Tina Cowsert, Gioconda Guerra Perez (ex officio), Yih-Kuen Jan, Yvette Johnson-Walker, Kathryn Oberdeck

Absent: Andre Castaneda, Deniz Namik, Victor Olowomeye

A regular meeting of the Senate Committee on Equal Opportunity and Inclusion was called to order at 2:00 pm with Chair Pionke presiding.

I. INTRODUCTIONS

No introductions were made.

II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

The minutes of the February 21, 2020 meeting was approved as distributed.

III. PUBLIC COMMENT

No requests received.

IV. CHAIR’S REMARKS

Chair Pionke shared that the committee will meet over the summer. Chair Pionke would like the committee to think about what could be perceived as issues going forward during the pandemic for diverse populations and how we can address their needs.

OLD BUSINESS

No old business.

V. NEW BUSINESS

Reasonable accommodations during COVID-19

Chair Pionke asked committee members to share any issues or concerns they were facing.

• Internet and laptops. It was shared that the undergraduate students may not have laptops or internet speed/bandwith speed may not be adequate to watch videos, take exams. Guerra Perez shared that an email was sent to undergraduates to see if they needed technical assistance, laptop, internet/hotspot and 110 requests were received. For international students in China, the Provost Office is working with specific vendors to allow our platforms to be viewed due to the firewall.

• Assisting students with disabilities and accommodations. Students with current accommodations have needed more accommodations now that classes are online. The problem is that each unit can use whatever platform they want so some unit use Moodle and others use Blackboard, etc. The workload has tripled at DRES over this move. Professors in every college will need to be prepared for what remote learning could look like in the Fall.

• Mental health. The demand for services is high. Some external resources are being used since the Campus is dealing with a lot of cases. Concern was expressed whether health insurance would pay for telehealth services.

The committee will review the following Resolutions during the summer meetings:

• EQ.13.01 – Resolution on Diversity Values Statement

• EQ.14.02 – Resolution on Support of Awareness of Women in Engineering

• EQ.17.01 – Resolution on Inclusive Campus Climate

• EQ.18.01 – Resolution on Planned Termination of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Policy

• EQ.18.02 - Resolution on Native American Imagery and University Climate

• EQ.20.02 – 2019-2020 Annual Report

During an initial review, it appears the University has fulfilled some levels of action on the resolutions. The committee will submit a report to the Senate about the status of these resolutions. The committee will need to determine if 1) the issues raised are still valid due to the age of the resolution and, 2) review the resolutions and follow up with those areas and forward to the appropriate administrative office.

The committee will invite Helen Neville to a future meeting to review the Diversity Values Statement in EQ.13.01. Guerra Perez would also like to review this statement with her staff.

VI. ADJOURNMENT

The meeting was adjourned at 3:00 pm.

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