Global Nebraska Coalition on Diversity and Inclusion

Global Experiences Office

The Global Experiences Office (GEO, formerly Education Abroad) fosters students’ global awareness and personal, academic, and professional growth by offering a variety of study, internship, research, and service learning opportunities outside the U.S. The EAO values collaboration, academic integrity, diversity and inclusion, safety, and fiscal and administrative accountability. More specifically, we are committed to:

1. Including diverse voices within our events and marketing materials.
2. Continually evaluating and rebuilding the resources we have available to students on our website and within the office focused on diversity and inclusion.
3. Attending professional development opportunities to build our own understanding of diversity and inclusion specific to global experiences.
4. Listening to our students and addressing their questions, concerns or requests for additional support.
5. Advocating for and including conversations about diversity and inclusion in advising appointments and orientation sessions with students.

International Student & Scholar Office

It is our mission at the International Student and Scholar Office (ISSO) to provide services to international students, visiting scholars, faculty, and departments across campus. We provide a welcoming and supportive environment to our international populations to help them adjust to U.S. culture and answer questions related to their student or scholar immigration status. The ISSO staff is dedicated to providing expert advice, services, events, programs, timely information and support to ensure all international students and scholars are successful during their time here.

At ISSO, we believe differences drive creativity. We value our culturally and ethnically diverse staff and support the ideas and perspectives they provide from their lived experiences. We continuously engage in anti-racism work as a team. We strive to always provide a safe space, whether physical or intangible, for all international students and scholars to feel welcome, respected, and included. Our goal is to educate campus and community stakeholders on how international students and scholars enrich the experiences of everyone with whom they interact.

Office of Global Partnerships & Initiatives

The Office of Global Partnerships & Initiatives is committed to creating partnership and fostering relationships between our local and global community. We are also tasked with the safety and security of our students, faculty, and staff traveling internationally, as well as our on-campus international students. As a unit dedicated to relationship building, outreach, education, and safety we:

• Strive to educate and advocate on behalf of our international Huskers and partners to our campus and local community, particularly those from under-represented socio-economic and regional backgrounds on our campus whose customs, values, and the challenges they face may not be as widely understood in Lincoln, Nebraska
• Tell stories of our campus, local, and international community in an inclusive manner, highlighting voices that are often overlooked and providing a platform for international students and domestic students of international backgrounds to share their unique history
• Collaborate with units across campus to ensure the safety and security of our traveling faculty, staff, and students, as well as our international students on campus—actively working to create a campus environment where our international students feel safe, respected, and at home

Programs in English as a Second Language

In Programs in English as a Second Language, we are dedicating our diversity and inclusion efforts to the areas of: awareness, inclusion, and recruitment.

AWARENESS: Enhance faculty, staff, and student understanding of diversity and inclusion issues. This goal will be met by:

• Attending diversity and inclusion events offered on campus (Office of Diversity and Inclusion, OASIS)
• Inviting expert speakers to address faculty and staff in professional development sessions
• Inviting expert speakers to address students in our classrooms
• Developing relevant curriculum for our classes 
• Rewarding faculty and staff who participate in these events through their performance evaluations

INCLUSION: Actively create a productive work and classroom environment that is safe, tolerant, and free from all forms of harassment and discrimination. This goal will be met by:

• Implementing a series of team building activities for all that result in improved teamwork, communication, and inclusion. 
• Assessing whether current staff, faculty and student policies, practices, and procedures are inclusive and sensitive to the various cultures in our programs
• Providing and discussing clear reporting lines and consequences for violations of these policies

RECRUITMENT: Develop effective strategies to recruit and attract a more diverse applicant pool for position vacancies. This goal will be met by:

• Increasing outreach to underrepresented groups by targeting special interest groups within TESOL and the teaching field in general.

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