Systemic Resilience: COTA Meta-Strategy, 2020-2025
Systemic Resilience: COTA Meta-Strategy, 2020-2025

Implementation

Pillar I: Access, Equity, and Inclusion as Functional Catalysts (2020-2023)

The College of the Arts is fundamentally committed to access, equity, and inclusion as functional, transformational catalysts. 

Implementation Highlights

Year 1  |  Completed
  1. Establish a college AEI committee. COTA Faculty Council put forth a COTA Constitutional Amendment to formalize the COTA Access, Equity, and Inclusion Committee as a standing committee within the college. Full committee was established with elected members, and Prof. Trent D. Williams, Jr. was appointed as Director and Chair 2021-23. 
  2. Provide education and resources. People's Institute for Survival and Beyond appetizers held with School of Art and Art History; School of Music; Digital Worlds Institute; Center for Arts, Migration, and Entrepreneurship; and Dean's Office. Workshop help with the School of Theatre + Dance. (Center for Arts in Medicine hosted a workshop in 2019-20.) COTA Dean’s Office hosted two Town Halls, and each unit hosted a series of AEI-focused events, speakers and various initiatives.
  3. Incorporate AEI strategies into core college functions. SOTD applied for and was accepted into the Allied with Broadway for Racial Justice program.
Year 2  |  Completed 

  1. Provide education and resources. COTA AEI Committee held the first COTA AEI Symposium in Spring 2022. COTA Resources TEAM expanded with employee resources. Events hosted across units include: School of Music Harmony Initiative (five events); Digital Worlds Institute (DW) virtual events (National Public Lands Day, First Gen Day Celebration, and contracted work for a UF Implicit Bias course and Lastinger Center Anti-Bullying curriculum); Center for Arts, Migration, and Entrepreneurship (arts entrepreneurship event); and Center for Arts, Migration, and Entrepreneurship (CAME) / Center for Arts in Medicine (CAM) Summer Apprenticeship Program for young adults in Gainesville’s historically Black neighborhoods. People's Institute for Survival and Beyond workshops were held with the School of Art and Art History (SAAH); School of Music (SOM); Digital Worlds Institute (DW); CAME; and the Dean's Office. 

  2. Conduct AEI audit. COTA AEI Committee Chair integrated into the COTA Executive Committee. The CAM Equity Working Group re-convened and completed a systems equity audit; CAM also engaged an equity consultant in the EpiArts Lab, and a curriculum equity audit resulting in revisions to graduate courses.  

  3. Incorporate AEI strategies into core college functions. COTA Staff Council confirmed a Staff Meta-Narrative for use in staff hiring and job postings. School of Theatre + Dance (SOTD) released its Statement on Color-Conscious Casting and hosted two Town Halls advancing the Anti-Racism Action Plan implementation. SAAH revised the scholarship awards process to offer need-based awards for the first time and launched a revision of Tenure and Promotion Guidelines. COTA AEI Committee created and awarded five $1,000 Course Modification grants to faculty instructors in four college units. 

Year 3 | Completed

  1. Conduct AEI audit. COTA AEI Committee conducted a listening tour visiting all college units, including the Dean’s Office. COTA faculty were awarded two UF Racial Justice Seed Fund awards: (1) for community-partnered work in youth arts apprenticeship and creation of a UF-wide Community Engagement Working Group (CAME/CAM), and (2) the praxis of reconciliation in Alachua County (Museum Studies, SAAH) work in Alachua County (Museum Studies, SAAH). CAM launched the “Creating Healthy Communities” badge program in collaboration with CAME. 

  2. Incorporate AEI strategies into core college functions. The COTA AEI Committee supported events and workshops within and across units in lieu of a spring 2023 symposium and awarded five AEI Course Modification Grants. SAAH continued its revision of Tenure and Promotion Guidelines across program areas. CAM revised its Anti-Racism Statement and created a scholarship supporting undderrepresented students. SOTD reported significant increases in representation of incoming students of color in BFA and Acting MFA degree programs. COTA HR iterated the Provocateur process to increase their voice in assessing qualifications in faculty search committees. COTA leadership played a leading role in developing and posting a UF guide to supporting faculty and staff facing harassment.