Diversity Liaisons

The Diversity Liaison program was established in the College of Arts and Sciences in 2012 and has been successful in creating a network of faculty who are committed to advancing diversity and inclusion in their departments and throughout the College. Diversity liaisons are appointed by academic department chairs (and chairs of a few of College’s larger curriculum programs) and ideally should be tenured faculty.

The role of diversity liaisons should be rotated within departments, with each faculty member serving for at least two years.

The diversity liaisons work closely with chairs and their colleagues on issues such as departmental/unit climate, faculty recruitment and hiring, the Carolina Postdoctoral Program for Faculty Diversity and graduate student admissions. The primary responsibilities of the diversity liaisons are listed below. Since the needs of each department and curriculum vary, diversity liaisons may, in consultation with the chair, modify these responsibilities and/or take on other duties or responsibilities, as needed.

Diversity liaisons:

Serve as advocates for and champions of diversity, equity and inclusion within their home departments/units.
Serve as a channel for communicating diversity-related news and information to their departmental colleagues.
Work closely with their chairs to establish diversity goals and priorities for their departments/units.
Bring a diversity perspective to faculty hiring through the development and implementation of best practices in searches (e.g., unconscious bias training, the use of rubrics, etc.) and/or by serving on search committees, as necessary.
Work with the department chair, faculty, director of undergraduate studies and director of graduate studies to develop and implement curricular changes and innovations that promote diversity and inclusion.
Play an important role in the selection of potential candidates for the Carolina Postdoctoral Program for Faculty Diversity at the departmental level.
Complete the annual diversity report for the College of Arts & Sciences in collaboration with their chairs.