Strategic Goal 2: Develop A Culture of Equity and Belonging
Charge
Maine College of Art & Design’s commitment to equity and belonging will inform all aspects of the College. By focusing on building authentic relationships, we will serve as an incubator around these ideas both for our College community and for the greater region of Portland. We believe placing these values at the forefront of our work cultivates artists who are true agents of change and connects our community to the world in meaningful ways.
Deliver On This Commitment At Every Institutional Level
The College will infuse Board, faculty, staff, student leadership, and alumni organizational structures and hiring policies with equity and belonging best practices.
The College will make a commitment to support, maintain, and evaluate the structure of a full-time employee of the community focused on equity and belonging. The executive leadership team and Board of Trustees will support this role in their efforts to uplift our MECA&D students and community.
There will be priorities set in the Governance Committee’s mandate to reflect equity and belonging at a Board level and in our Board composition. The College will commit to further diversifying executive leadership structures. The College will also commit to an environment that will attract, retain, and foster professional growth for long-term faculty and staff of color and other marginalized communities. We will also create fellowship opportunities for artists of color and other marginalized communities to teach across the institution.
Faculty and staff will receive professional development regarding best practices in diversity, equity, and belonging. Faculty will have ongoing professional development opportunities on inclusive pedagogy and curriculum, as well as culturally responsive teaching practices. Our academic programs will be reviewed requisite graduate profiles, as well as the program outcomes, will be modified if/as needed.
The College will foster leadership opportunities for students around diversity dialogue, work, and initiatives, and vision opportunities for intersectionality. The College is committed to supporting equity, in these opportunities, by compensating student leaders for additional assignments. The College will create an alumni leadership structure in order to continue building and leveraging all opportunities around belonging. The College will prioritize welcoming spaces dedicated to celebrating identities and creating belonging.
Maine College of Art & Design will revise the existing Diversity Compact and Land Acknowledgement into living agreements of shared values, leveraging the gifts, strengths, and authentic lived experiences of every member of our community that acknowledges the land and territory we occupy. To build trust and accountability, the College will review and update the agreement with a universal and interactive design accessible to all learners.
Engagement with all constituents will build from the shared values agreement and grow to include ongoing programming, training, and research, as well as shared readings to ensure this becomes an ongoing part of our College.
Attract and Retain A Diverse Student Body That Drives Equity and Belonging
The College will design a menu of diversity scholarships. We will grow relationships with community partners that foster expertise and access for marginalized student identities. Through coordination of all student-facing services, we will continually inform students of resources available for learners of all types.
The College’s Artists at Work department will facilitate compensated internships outside of course requirements, mentorships, apprenticeships, independent projects, and grants to support students and the diversification of our future workforce.
Considering AICAD peer best practices, the College will establish goals and a methodology to assess retention rates for students of color and consider retention support initiatives.
Equity means fostering a sense of belonging for the region. This could include organizing regional resources, gathering for regional programming inside of the College, and identifying curricular and co-curricular opportunities for students to engage with the larger community.
Outcomes
- A fully engaged community around issues of equity and belonging
- A physical space, adequate and diverse staffing, and support services dedicated to the issues of equity and belonging for all constituents
- Increased recruitment and retention of diverse Board, faculty, staff, students, and alumni
- Student services, educational programs, and events that drive student leadership opportunities within the College and greater Portland community
- An inclusive curriculum considering culturally responsive pedagogy
- Coordinated interdepartmental collaboration at every level to deliver integrated, easily accessible student services
- Facilitated ongoing training around issues of equity and belonging