Update on SIPA Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Efforts

Posted Nov 17 2020

Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff,

I am writing to update you on our efforts to foster greater diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) at SIPA, building on the plans we outlined this past summer. As I shared with you at that time, creating a more meaningfully diverse and inclusive School is a core commitment of SIPA and Columbia University, and it has been a personal priority for me.

Over the past several months, working closely with Vice Dean Scott Barrett and Senior Associate Dean Colleen Toomey, we have continued to advance this important effort with students, faculty, staff, alumni, the SIPA Diversity Committee, SIPASA, and members of our broader University community. We have undertaken a series of concrete steps to advance our goals and identify additional areas that warrant our ongoing attention and action. While we still have much work ahead, I am sharing a few developments:

Faculty and Courses

We have redoubled our efforts to diversify part-time faculty and to support the creation of new courses and capstones on issues related to race, policy, inequality, and social justice. As part of a new SIPA Adjunct Faculty Diversity Initiative that Vice Dean Scott Barrett and I announced this summer, we invited all full-time faculty members to submit recommendations for the hiring of new adjunct faculty and proposals for new courses. As a result of this work, we are pleased to offer the following new courses in Spring 2021:

  • Harlem Community Engagement Practicum (Instructor: Barbara Askins)
  • Securing Full Economic and Political Citizenship for All Americans Practicum (Instructor: Verna Eggleston)
  • Movements & Public Policy in the United States (Instructor: Keesha Gaskins-Nathan)
  • Environmental Justice and Climate Resiliency (Instructor: Annel Hernandez)
  • Race, Gender, and Political Change (Instructor: Jeri Powell)

In addition, I am also excited to share with you that Letitia James, Attorney General for the State of New York, will be co-teaching a course with Dr. Basil Smikle on “Rethinking Policing in the 21st Century.” 

We very much look forward to welcoming all these adjuncts to the SIPA community.

We expect to add at least two additional courses next fall, subject to approval from the Committee on Instruction. One of these is about the intersection of race, social media, and international affairs. The other addresses race and power in development, again with an international focus.

Capstone Projects

SIPA’s capstone program is a wonderful opportunity for our students to apply their skills and knowledge to address real world problems on behalf of clients and in collaboration with a faculty advisor. In a typical year, we organize more than 80 capstone projects. This spring, we will be undertaking several new projects related to race, policy, and social justice. We are grateful to the following organizations and SIPA faculty advisors for their collaboration:

Client: Center for Popular Democracy

Topic: Healthcare Is a Human Right – Barriers to Access With a Race and Gender Lens

Instructor: Kristina Eberbach 

Client: Harlem Children's Zone

Topic: From Cradle to College – Measuring Success and Program Development 

Instructor: Sandra Black 

Client: New York Women's Foundation

Topic: Examining the Landscape of Organizations Working in Areas of Reproductive Justice, Childcare and Youth Leadership in Upstate New York and on Long Island

Instructor: Stacey Cumberbatch

Client: New York City Housing Authority

Topic: A Roadmap for Equitable Open Space Planning: The Public Impact of Public Space

Instructor: Thomas Quaranta 

Client: The Bronx Community Relief Effort

Topic: Building a Smart Cities Strategy for the Bronx

Instructor: Miverva Tantoco  

DEI Self-Assessment and Steering Committee

Over the summer, we inaugurated an institution-wide DEI self-assessment aimed at identifying what we have done and what more we might do in furtherance of these important shared values. As I wrote to the community in July, “This self-assessment process will examine academic and non-academic dimensions of SIPA; review actions previously taken, those currently underway and gaps to address; and consider steps to be taken and goals for the future.”  Since my July communication, our principal administrative and academic units have undertaken inventories of SIPA’s various DEI initiatives during the past several years and are benchmarking these initiatives against those of peer and other schools.

As a next step, I am pleased to share with you that SIPA has retained Huron Consulting Group, a leading consultancy for higher education and DEI efforts, to support this process. This effort will include the creation of a new DEI Steering Committee, public meetings and new focus groups, and other activities that will seek input from multiple stakeholders and contribute to SIPA’s first DEI report, which will be completed this academic year.

I am grateful to the following faculty members, students, and staff who have agreed to be part of our inaugural DEI Steering Committee:

  • Faculty: Co-chairs Professors Alex Hertel Fernandez and Eugenia McGill. Other faculty to include Keren Yarhi-Milo, Steven Cohen, and Michael Nutter.
  • Students: Séléna Batchily, Tenzin Thargay, Leslie Conner Warren, Jason West
  • Staff: Grace Han, Urbano Garza, Colleen Toomey, Samantha Shapses

Both Vice Dean Scott Barrett and I will be working closely with the Steering Committee, and we will consult with the SIPA Diversity Committee, other ad hoc faculty committees and student groups to ensure wide consideration of issues and approaches.

I will continue to provide regular updates as this important work continues.

Sincerely yours,

Dean Janow signature

Merit E. Janow

Dean, School of International and Public Affairs

Professor of Practice, International Economic Law and International Affairs