Diversity & Inclusion Teaching Academy

The Diversity & Inclusion Teaching Academy (DITA) provides faculty with resources to be more inclusive in their teaching and responsive to the needs of an increasingly multicultural campus.

DITA consists of two eight-week sessions, taking place over two semesters. Each is oriented to the following learning outcomes:

By the end of the Diversity & Inclusion Teaching Academy, participants will be able to:

Semester One: Examine how structures and lived experiences influence faculty's ability to effectively teach a diverse student body.
Semester Two: After reflecting on your own cultural framework and its impact on your teaching practices, identify strategies for fostering greater inclusivity in your teaching

Faculty progress through each semester of DITA in a cohort. The course is structured in modules that ask participants to read and/or view content and then process it, individually and collectively. Module content may take 60-90 minutes per week, plus time for participating in online or in-person discussions. Active engagement by all participants helps ensure that cohorts build community and the experience has significant impact. Our goal is for faculty to complete DITA with sufficient knowledge, self-reflection and strategies to feel more confident promoting inclusivity in their classes.

Faculty are invited to participate based on referrals from their college dean. If you are interested in participating in a future semester, please contact your dean or CTE Administrative Director.

DITA REGISTRATION, Spring 2024

Faculty are invited to register for DITA based on referrals from their college deans. If you have not been invited to participate and are interested in registering, please contact ctemailbox@xavier.edu.

Semester 1 info and registration

Semester 2 info and registration

Department Chairs, Program Directors, and Administrators, Semester 1 info and registration

DITA is a key effort of the Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Plan, motivated in part by recent Xavier climate survey results and events on campus in fall 2016. The Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Plan articulates a goal of creating this training to develop “key diversity competencies (e.g. awareness of self/privilege), implementing inclusive teaching strategies, and facilitating difficult but crucial conversations (e.g. race) in the learning environment.” Students have requested that faculty be better prepared to address diversity issues, and faculty similarly have asked for better support so they are more comfortable meeting student needs and facilitating challenging conversations in their classrooms.

The Diversity & Inclusion Teaching Academy was created through the efforts of The Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion, Center for Teaching Excellence, and faculty representing the Gender and Diversity Studies Committee, with funding from the Office the President.