J-School Action Plan Focuses on Equity and Student Collaboration

This week, School of Journalism faculty members unanimously voted to approve an action plan to address the concerns students have raised in recent weeks. We are committed to collaborating on new and ongoing initiatives that will put equity, inclusion and support for students at the heart of what we do and how we communicate with one another.

Specifically, we commit to:

1. Supporting the establishment of a permanent student equity task force at the School of Journalism. The elected four-member student group will include both undergraduate and graduate students. Members, who will receive an honorarium, will collaborate with students and faculty on initiatives to address critical equity concerns inside and outside the classroom.
2. Re-examining and re-designing our curriculum to incorporate critical content that draws from experiences of historically marginalized communities, including but not limited to Queer, Indigenous and Black communities, as well as faith communities who may be historically marginalized. This includes the potential development of new courses that will expand the conversation on representation and equity.
3. Over the next two years, hiring at least two faculty members who reflect the RSJ’s changing student demographics and offer a diversity of experiences and perspectives on journalism and its practice.
4. Providing journalism-focused equity training to faculty, staff and instructors.
5. Offering more frequently existing RSJ courses that take critical approaches to these issues – Reporting on Race, Reporting on Indigenous Issues, Reporting on Religion and Queer Media. Additions/alternatives to these courses will also be explored.