New Equity and Community Engagement Team Fosters Belonging in the Dietrich School
The Dietrich School’s new Equity and Community Engagement Team—which consists of Natasha Tokowicz, associate dean for equity, faculty development, and community engagement, and Jim Griffin, director, equity and community engagement—was created by Dean Adam Leibovich to ensure the school is a welcoming and equitable place where everyone belongs. Both Tokowicz and Griffin are the first people at the school to serve in their current roles.
“It was this commitment that motivated me to take on this role,” notes Tokowicz. “It is inspiring that the entire leadership team the dean selected is committed to fostering inclusion and belonging among our faculty, staff, and students. Having a dedicated team focused on equity and community engagement allows us to devote more effort to our key goals.”
Key goals of the team include increasing the diversity of Dietrich School faculty and staff, improving faculty and staff retention strategies, and better supporting faculty and staff throughout their careers.
“Pitt is a wonderful, incredible school, but it isn't always representative of the diversity across the world, across the country, across the city,” Griffin says. “It's important that we are intentional in seeking greater diversity because it is a point of strength and opportunity. We don't want to miss the valuable contributions that are possible from communities that are less represented.”
The team, launched this August, initially aims to gather information to identify and understand the needs of the diverse communities within and around Pitt. As the team comes across issues, they will find and implement solutions as quickly as possible. As part of their short-term goals, the team is working to ensure the University’s workforce has the resources they need to be successful and to hit the ground running.
“One of the goals is to make sure that every person has an ally, it could be outside of their reporting stream, but someone who may be doing similar work or have similar challenges. Allies will be more experienced and can coach or merely offer support to new employees. … We want to make sure there are allies for all of our employees, whether they're staff or faculty, and that they have someone whom they can rely upon,” says Griffin, noting that this line of communication can help the University develop lasting changes that help new members adjust more comfortably and begin contributing more quickly.
While these on-campus efforts are ongoing, the Dietrich School is also engaging the community through community engagement centers that are established in Homewood, and The Hill, and soon to be launched in Hazelwood.
“We want Pitt to be a place that fosters inclusion, belonging, and equitable practices. In my capacity as associate dean, I will do what I can to make this possible, in ways both big and small. Pitt is a critical part and contributing member of our local community and the broader region. Pitt faculty, staff and students are already making meaningful contributions to areas outside of Pitt in a number of important ways—for example with our Community Engagement Centers and our College in High School program. I want to amplify such programs and make it easier for people to participate,” says Tokowicz.
“Personally, I want the university look more like the city of Pittsburgh: its diversity and all of its challenges,” adds Griffin. “Not only in the Nationality Rooms, but having students who are growing up across the city connect with the University in positive ways and having that reach expand. … We're inside those communities as partners and allies, where they can interact with the University on a daily basis, like they would a library, a bakery, a grocery store, or their neighbors.”
As the University spreads deeper roots into the surrounding area, Griffin hopes to help strengthen the long-standing relationships Pitt has had with the community, and in doing so, foster talent across demographics that will come back around to enrich the University. There are no guarantees of success, notes Griffin, but he anticipates that the Dietrich School will find a path forward to address barriers for and engage with diverse communities despite hurdles that may come up.
Offers Griffin, “I think we'll have successes big and small. We'll start with the quick wins and find things where we can all find great agreement, and simultaneously we'll work on more challenging long-term tasks. Hopefully, we'll have solutions that are comprehensive and long-lasting. That's our goal.”
“I enjoy the collaborative spirit of the leadership team in the dean’s office and look forward to working with the other team members on challenging issues,” says Tokowicz. “Another aspect of the position that I most look forward to is learning more about the departments and programs across the Dietrich School and their programming related to equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility, as well as their scholarship. So far, this has been exciting and a great introduction to a position in the Dietrich School dean’s office.”
“The Dietrich School is the largest component of the University in terms of students and employees. If it can be done at Dietrich, that means it can be done in other Pitt schools, both large and small,” says Griffin. “We want to try to push the thing because it's more than overdue that we try to achieve more with the communities that are available to us that previously may have been unseen or under-recognized in both our success and also our awareness.”
“The Dietrich School should show that equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging are a priority through our actions rather than simply through our words,” adds Tokowicz. “It is important for us to make changes that bring our demographics closer to those of our region and provide students with the opportunity to see and work with people who have similar backgrounds. Finally, diversity broadly defined leads to better problem solving and innovation, which benefits us all.”