Highlighting key strategies that support and prioritize diversity and inclusion in recruitment, admissions and retention amid remote instruction was the focus of a panel titled “Ensuring Equitable Access and Inclusion During a Pandemic.” The event held on Thursday, was sponsored by Diverse: Issues In Higher Education and the Educational Testing Service (ETS).
The panel, which was moderated by Diverse staff writer Sara Weissman, included Dr. Renetta Garrison Tull, vice chancellor for diversity, equity, and inclusion at the University of California Davis (UC Davis); Dr. David G. Payne, vice president for global higher education at ETS; and Dr. Maurice C. Taylor, vice president for academic outreach and engagement at Morgan State University (MSU).
Because of COVID-19, Tull said networking and conferencing have changed higher education tremendously, forcing administrators and faculty “to think about how we can be more inclusive in these video spaces,” she said. “And that may be something we need to consider for the long-term because I think these video conferences — and some of these ways of connecting and corresponding — are here to stay.”
To that point, routine meetings have become “more efficient” and “less expensive” said Taylor, as face-to-face meetings are now hosted through video platforms.
There is a human component to the virtual learning environment, too.
“As a result of this pandemic, we all now have a greater sense that we’re all in this together and have more similarities than differences,” said Payne.
From children in the background to the dog barking, Payne noted that everyone is struggling “to balance multiple demands on our time” — and that relatability, he said, is a good thing.
