Case Western Reserve University

In 2011, Case Western Reserve University's Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Equal Opportunity established a new training program, "Interrupting Bias in the Faculty Search Process." During the interactive session, faculty members discuss research on bias in faculty searches and examine key concepts. Additionally, they are taught best practices, such as continually recruiting prospective faculty members, forming a search committee with diverse individuals and promoting an inclusive community in the workplace, according to Tenille Kaus, manager of faculty diversity and development. “The university and we as faculty are striving to create a diverse environment, and the only way we can achieve that goal is to recruit faculty who come from diverse backgrounds,” said Daniel Ornt, Vice Dean for Education and Academic Affairs at the School of Medicine.

The Office for Inclusion, Diversity and Equal Opportunity provides "Diversity Awareness Training" workshops and consultation services for students, faculty, and staff. Topics of interest are "unconscious bias, microagressions, deconstructing privlege, and building bridges across a divided America."

CWRU conducts a training program sponsored by the Office for Inclusion, Diversity, and Equal Opportunity designed to develop diversity champions to combat and mitigate everyday biases.

As part of the Grand Challenges for Social Work, CWRUs Mandel School is working towards eliminating racism by conducting numerous “anti-racism trainings, facilitated dialogues, presentations, and media summaries.”

On February 9, 2023, CWRU had an “Anti-Racism, Anti-Colonialism and Climate Change” series with Thomas Nail. The event was sponsored by the Department of Philosophy, Department of History, Department of Political Science, Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences, Environmental Studies major, Office of Energy and Sustainability, Social Justice Institute, Swetland Center for Environmental Health, and College of Arts and Sciences Dean’s office.

On March 8, 2023, the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences hosted an Impact Talk called "Advancing Anti-Racism, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Data Sciences for Social Impact" with Professor Francisca García-Cobián Richter.

In its 10th year, the Office for Inclusion, Diversity and Equal Opportunity (OIDEO) sponsored the Power of Diversity Lecture Series to inspire campus dialogue, community engagement and civic education, and learn about the national narrative on diversity and inclusion.

As part of the Bachelors degree Seminar Approach to General Education and Scholarship (SAGES) requirements, every student at CWRU is required to complete courses in diversity.

https://web.archive.org/web/20230406042550/https://thedaily.case.edu/advancing-anti-racism-diversity-equity-and-inclusion-in-data-sciences-for-social-impact/

CWRU's Social Justice Institute has a Social Justice Scholars (SJS) reading group. Two books the fall 2022 cohort read was How the Word is Passed and Pollution Is Colonialism.

On April 21, 2021, the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences posted a letter to its students entitled, "Justice for George Floyd." The School's Dean, Grover C. Gilmore, PhD, wrote, "The Black Lives Matter movement last summer gave us hope, and that hope was renewed with the outcomes of the fall election." He added, "We are confronting the demons of racism within our own country, but the work of anti-racism has barely begun."

On April 19, 2021, Case Western Reserve University's Interim President, Scott Cowen, issued a letter to the university entitled, "With Jury Deliberations Soon to Begin in Minneapolis..." The Interim President voiced support for police reform laws, writing, "Some states—among them Connecticut, Iowa, New York, Maryland and Pennsylvania—have enacted significant police reform laws; others, including Ohio, have bills pending. Cities and police departments have issued their own measures, among them bans on chokeholds, no-knock warrants, and tear gas. Our challenge now is to redouble our individual and institutional commitments to continue this critical work—and continue to engage and support one another throughout the process."

"Seven (7), student-led committees were created which reported to an Executive Committee who will communicate updates to the President and the President’s cabinet. Each committee has provided a written proposal of recommendations which have been vetted by the Executive Committee and, ultimately, will be considered by the President and the President’s cabinet." These recommendations are asked to propose ways of examining the "policies, practices and initiatives necessary to achieve a true culture of respect on our campus."

CWRU's Social Justice Institute has social justice fellowships for graduate students and faculty. Funding for graduate students is up to $3,500 and for faculty is between $2,500 to $10,000.

The Schubert Center for Child Studies offers resources to "help youth advocate researchers begin the process of dismantling systems of racism in their areas of youth study." The list of articles, books, and definitions encourage researchers to "identify the influence of historical power structures (Past), consider their own role within the research community (Present) and develop strategies to challenge and disrupt oppressive systems in their research (Future)." The recommended list includes writings on white fragility, critical race theory, anti-racism, and anti-bias efforts.

The Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences offers a comprehensive list of "Anti-Racism Resources." The introduction states, "As social workers, we work for peaceful yet progressive change. In response to the Black Lives Matter movement sweeping the nation, we've put together a list of anti-racism resources as an attempt to provide general information and a starting point to learn about anti-oppression, inclusion and privilege. We hope the below articles, podcasts, videos, and action items provide you with the knowledge and resources to participate in key social justice issues." The guide offers hyperlinks to past events, articles, podcasts, and videos supporting anti-racism.

CWRU Social Justice Institute examines the “root causes of social injustice,” supports research and anti-racist pedagogy, and works to “eradicate all systems of oppression by redistribution and expanding resources and opportunities.”

In January of 2022, the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences stated that, “the United States is built on a legacy of racism and white supremacy that has consistently and significantly impacted the daily lives of millions of people. Today, racist policies, bias and discriminatory practices continue to promote racial inequality in myriad ways. Social work has provided considerable leadership in the civil rights and race equity movements, but has much more work to do, internal to the profession and for society as a whole. We propose to develop a model for eliminating racism by identifying evidence and practice-based interventions that will end racism and ameliorate the negative outcomes of our history of racism.”

CWRU’s Swetland Center works towards racial justice by using a “racial equity lens in its approach to research design.” They work towards “dismantling racist structures” and “seek to enact Research, Community Engagement, Training, and Education that heals historical scars and ongoing trauma of structural racism.”

On January 29, 2023, the school's President released a message on the death of Tyre Nichols and stated, "Police brutality in this country has caused tremendous harm to our society and, in particular, to communities of color. The repeated violence is heartbreaking, and its propagation by trained law enforcement officials is infuriating."

On January 30, 2023, the school's University Health and Counseling Services Department issued a statement on the death of Tyre Nichols and stated, "The police killing of Tyre Nichols and body camera footage are disturbing and upsetting. As you read news stories or view media, you may feel grief, anger, fear, helplessness, and sadness—all of which are valid reactions. UHCS remains committed to creating a campus community that values Black lives."

In the fall of 2020, The Center for International Affairs established an internal Anti-Racism Committee to "explore the intersection between internationalization and racism" and "help educate [the Center] about systemic racism". The Center plans to explore how systematic racism impacts education abroad access and CWRU's international students.

The Department of Bioethics has an Anti-Racism, Diversity, and Inclusion statement. Its antiracist work is lead by the department's Anti-Racism, Inclusion, and Diversity Committee.

https://web.archive.org/web/20230406034416/https://case.edu/medicine/bioethics/antiracism-diversity-and-inclusion