Appendix E: Athletics
Nov. 10, 2020
The Black Action Plan was created to directly address concrete, tangible ways that the university community could address racism, and become more inclusive of Black and other students of color. The Department of Athletics, Physical Education and Recreation stands committed to the ethos of the Black Action Plan through educational efforts, participating in advocacy initiatives on campus and in the Waltham community, and increasing the number of student-athletes and staff coming from marginalized communities. Specifically, members of the department will address the concerns raised in the Black Action Plan through the following efforts:
Expand All
Gather student-athlete input on current and future departmental efforts through a virtual town hall.
- Implementation timeline: October 2020
- Explanation: In order to understand the needs of Black and student-athletes of color, it is necessary to hear more about their experiences and understand their unique needs.
Highlight the role of the Athletics Community Therapist through the use of the department website.
- Implementation timeline: Began in August 2020 and ongoing
- Explanation: The Community Therapy partnership between the Brandeis Counseling Center and the Department of Athletics is one of the strongest on campus. Currently, while there are limitations on the staff therapist's time in this role, more can be done to market the existing partnership
In conjunction with the Division of Student Affairs leadership, discuss the possibility of embedding therapists in various campus communities.
- Implementation timeline: Spring 2021
- Explanation: Student-athletes have unique needs and time demands on their schedules. A discussion of the pragmatism of embedding a therapist in the department will be undertaken.
Create a student-athlete development team to coordinate programming and compile an annual calendar of events.
- Implementation timeline: Began in August 2020 and ongoing
- Explanation: Coordination of student-athlete well-being programming is important to avoid unanticipated schedule conflicts. A group meeting regularly to coordinate the diversity and inclusion, leadership, and student-athlete welfare programming ensures a strategic and planned approach for educational efforts.
Conduct a 4-session student-athlete educational series on systemic racism, white privilege, and other issues of inclusion.
- Implementation timeline: Fall 2020
- Explanation: All varsity student-athletes will attend a cohort-based four session training series during the semester.
Complete the mandatory NCAA Sexual Violence Prevention programming requirement.
- Implementation timeline: Fall 2020
- Explanation: To meet the requirement, all student-athletes, coaches and staff must be educated each year on sexual violence prevention, intervention and response, attested to by the Director of Athletics, Title IX Coordinator, and President. This year, the student-athlete training has been segmented by class year so that student-athletes receive basic and advanced training.
In conjunction with the Office of Equal Opportunity (OEO), create a policy detailing procedures for reporting instances of conflict, bias, racism and discrimination.
- Implementation timeline: Fall 2020
- Explanation: A transparent process for reporting instances of bias should protect the interests of all members of the department. Developing the policy along with OEO ensures that the department process is consistent with university procedures.
Increase student-athlete awareness of the department policy.
- Implementation timeline: Fall 2020
- Explanation: Once finalized, the department policy will be sent directly to all student-athletes semi-annually, and will also be posted to the athletics’ website.
Integrate inclusive practices into the department-wide hiring process.Implementation timeline: Spring 2021
- Explanation: Creating a more diverse staff is essential to provide a daily source of support to Black and student-athletes of color. Increasing representation is critical to the department’s long-term goal of highlighting a spectrum of diverse voices.
In addition to addressing the concerns of the Black Action Plan, the department’s action plan details the goals related to inclusive excellence for the next three years.