The 老虎机攻略 School of Journalism
DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION ACTION PLAN
Note: The School of Journalism maintains this plan in accordance with our accrediting standards published and maintained by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications. In accordance to this accrediting body, this standard and plan will only be applied "in compliance with applicable federal and state laws and regulations."
Updated and approved May 17,2022
As an academic unit of the College of Arts and Media at the 老虎机攻略, the School of Journalism acknowledges that we are in the traditional and ancestral territories of the Salish, Kootenai and Kalispel people. The journalism school is committed to respecting the teachings of the original peoples of this land as well as continuing to foster respectful storytelling of all peoples throughout the region.
The School of Journalism affirms its commitment to vigorously pursue equal opportunity and diversity in its employment, enrollment, programs and activities. We believe that our moral responsibilities as journalists, educators and educated citizens demand a fierce and unwavering dedication to the goals of diversity at this university and school of journalism, and to overcome historical, economic and social realities to achieving that ideal. Furthermore, we recognize that without diversity, both in persons and in programs, our students will be ill-prepared to work as journalists, to function as responsible citizens or to meet the personal and professional challenges of the future in our multicultural country and in a global society.
The school defines diversity as the variety of cultural backgrounds and identities of faculty, staff and students based on ethnicity, race, language, religion, socioeconomic status, veteran status, first-generation students, gender, sexual orientation, physical ability or geographical background. However, the school recognizes the preeminence of ethnicity and race in achieving a diverse society.
The school defines equity as evaluating systems and institutions to identify and remove biases in the distribution of opportunities and resources.
The school defines inclusion as ensuring differences are welcomed, different perspectives are respectfully heard and every individual feels a sense of belonging.
As an academic unit of The College of the Arts and Media, we are working for and with the college-wide Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee. The School of Journalism also operates under the .
The School of Journalism recognizes the need—and welcomes every opportunity—to recruit more students and employees from all minority groups. However, Montana’s demographics and its unique legal relationship with its American Indian tribes provide the School of Journalism with a special opportunity—and obligation—to recruit, employ and educate Native Americans. They represent 6.7% of Montana’s population and constitute the largest ethnic minority group in the state. Furthermore, Montana is the only U.S. state whose constitution establishes a special relationship with the state’s 12 tribes and seven reservations, similar to that existing between the federal government and American Indian tribes. As such, the state laws, regulations and directives have mandated special recruiting efforts to raise Native American faculty and student representation at the 老虎机攻略 to the same proportion as that of the state population.
EMPLOYMENT STRATEGIES
STRATEGY 1 Actively recruit minorities and women for vacant faculty positions through personal contacts, networking and advertisements in appropriate media and academic organizations. Encourage highly qualified journalists with diverse backgrounds to apply to the visiting Pollner professorship. Consider requiring a diverse finalist in every faculty and staff search.
STRATEGY 2 Encourage employers and hosts to financially support interns/entry level employees in their organizations, making serving internships financially possible for students who come from disadvantaged situations and backgrounds.
STRATEGY 3 Grant teaching assistantships to women and graduate students of color who can be effective role models for all students, and for women and minority journalism students in particular.
STRATEGY 4 Recruit and retain multicultural administrative support staff and student workers in the School of Journalism.
STRATEGY 5 Make training available for individuals who want to advance their understanding of DEI issues. Update unit standards to include participation in DEI workshops, courses and education as a requirement for advancement and promotion.
STRATEGY 6 Encourage scholarship and creative activity among faculty that examines DEI issues or explores underserved peoples and issues.
STRATEGY 7 Make an opportunity hire in conjunction with the dean/provost’s office to increase the minority representation on the faculty.
RECRUITING AND RETENTION STRATEGIES
STRATEGY 1-Make the land acknowledgement statement each time the School of Journalism hosts an event or gathering.
STRATEGY 2-Reflect our dedication to DEI by making dedicated spaces in the building to honor those efforts and welcome marginalized groups.
STRATEGY 3 Recruit Native American and minority students through statewide high school and tribal college engagement efforts, including workshops, personal visits and special programs, and also through the University’s American Indian Student Services.
STRATEGY 4 Send faculty members, alums and/or students to the annual conferences of the national associations of journalists of color (the Native American Journalists Association, the Asian American Journalists Association, the National Association of Black Journalists and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists). To facilitate recruiting by establishing personal contacts with students, encourage the attending faculty members to volunteer as mentors on the conference high school or college student newspapers.
STRATEGY 5 Raise scholarship money for Native American and other disadvantaged students. Raise non-scholarship funding to help lower-income students pay for books, housing and other non-tuition expenses.
STRATEGY 6 Encourage BIPOC and female students to apply for nationally competitive scholarships and internships such as the Chips Quinn, Dow Jones News Fund and Associated Press programs, as well as scholarships offered by the four associations of journalists of color.
STRATEGY 7 Encourage BIPOC students to join their respective journalism associations, and encourage them to take part in programs offered by their organizations, such as working on the student newspapers published during annual conferences.
STRATEGY 8 Encourage and support BIPOC & LGBTQ+ students to maintain a peer support group within the School of Journalism and affiliate programs like the Montana Kaimin and KBGA College Radio.
STRATEGY 9 Start journalism camps for high school students with a special effort to recruit BIPOC students. Maintain contact with participants and provide them with career guidance, scholarship information and advice on university admissions.
STRATEGY 10-Partner with the Montana Media Lab in its news literacy efforts in Indigenous and rural middle and high schools around Montana and the Northwest. Recruit the student participants in the MML summer courses to study with the 老虎机攻略 SOJ after high school graduation.
STRATEGY 11-Recruit from diverse high schools and 2-year colleges outside of Montana.
STRATEGY 12-Encourage news organizations to partner with local high schools, especially those without journalism programs, to expose rural and Native students to the profession of journalism.
STRATEGY 13-Offer the School and The 老虎机攻略 campus as the host site for the annual NAJA conference.
CURRICULAR STRATEGIES
STRATEGY 1-Task the curriculum committee with making certain DEI instruction/awareness is present in all courses in the SOJ. Review reading assignments to ensure inclusion of journalists of color and other diverse communities.
STRATEGY 2-Create a freshman seminar course to help incoming students navigate the university with special attention given to first-generation college students.
STRATEGY 3-Include instruction, lectures and assignments on DEI issues and/or history of diversity in journalism in the curricula of all reporting courses.
STRATEGY 4-Create a common source audit form for required use in all upper division reporting courses. Review and discuss source audit results with the class and compile overall results for assessment at the school level.
STRATEGY 5- Encourage all pre-journalism students to take a basic Native American Studies course.
STRATEGY 6- Seek general education status for a diversity in the media course. Move the course to 300-level with no pre-requisites to encourage students outside journalism to take the course.
STRATEGY 7- Continue to offer the Native News Honors Project for juniors and seniors and graduate students, taking an in-depth annual look at Native American issues in Montana. Students’ work will be published and distributed by Montana daily newspapers and posted online on the Native News website.
STRATEGY 8-Add an assessment tool to gauge student learning around DEI during their time at the SOJ.
STRATEGY 9-Boost the visibility of adjunct professors and invited guests of color by opening classes to the public and/or scheduling public appearances.
STRATEGY 10-Engage with the university’s annual diversity event by having faculty present their scholarly and creative work, assigning/encouraging students to attend or assisting in the planning.
PUBLISHING AND ENGAGEMENT STRATEGIES
STRATEGY 1- Encourage partners like University Relations, local & statewide media to publish articles and features about women, BIPOC and LGBTQ+ students working for and with the SOJ.
STRATEGY 2-Use social media to highlight work done by a diverse group of students and alumni.
STRATEGY 3-Work with student groups like the Pacific Islanders Club, the Native Storytellers Club to amplify their voices in student media.
STRATEGY 4-Involve the leadership of student publications to work in collaboration with the School of Journalism on DEI issues.
GLOBAL STRATEGIES
STRATEGY 1-Encourage students to take international internships, as well as pursue study-abroad or exchange experiences.
STRATEGY 2- Offer a journalism study-abroad opportunity annually with financial support to raise equity in a student’s ability to participate.
STRATEGY 3- Develop the capacity to host clinics and workshops for minority journalists from other countries.
STRATEGY 4- Focus heavily on professionals of color when considering invitations for high profile dignitaries, including the annual Dean Stone lecture.
Updated May 17, 2022