Creating Opportunity, Fostering Belonging & Maximizing Impact

Mission

  • Actively pursue creating opportunity, fostering belonging & maximizing impact
  • Foster inclusive excellence in teaching, research, and extension
  • Empower and support the growth of every individual

Core Goals

  • Value, respect and have dignity for individuals – who they are, their ideas and contributions
  • Cultivate and promote a healthy productive environment for all A&H members
  • Operate with transparency, fairness, integrity, and honesty in all the things we do – with each other and our stakeholders

Why does Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) matter to A&H?

DEIB will:

  • attract a diverse and wide talent of students, faculty, and staff.
  • help generate unique solutions to wicked problems locally and globally.
  • cultivate an environment that propels students, staff, and faculty to grow their contribution to long-term success in scholarship in all three mission areas.
  • promote excellence in mentoring and student development.
  • facilitate creation of effective teams internally and externally and break down networking barriers.
  • teach students, faculty, and staff to model DEIB values to stakeholders.

Roles and Responsibilities

  • Provide opportunities for A&H personnel to actively engage through:
    • Organized workshops, dialog, conversations, and reflections (personal, team, committee)
    • Sharing of information with department through regular communication
    • Connecting with IANR and University level DEIB efforts
  • Evaluate the department’s climate
    • Assess department’s climate on diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging
    • Recommend to the department about gaps and opportunities
  • Provide recommendations on how diversity and inclusion can be incorporated into:
    • Teaching, learning, and mentoring
    • Faculty and staff recruitment and searches
    • Student recruitment
  • Recommend plans to ensure that underrepresented groups—faculty, staff, and students— have support in the department to foster retention.
  • Collaborate with graduate, curriculum, seminar, staff advisory, faculty advisory, scholarship committees and A&H alumni to integrate efforts of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging.

Membership

The AH DEIB committee will consist of 7 members – 3 faculty, 3 staff, and a graduate student rep. Members are appointed by the department administration in consultation with the A&H Faculty Advisory Committee. Considerations in appointment will include gender, experience level, and background. Members will serve a 2-year term, however, initial committee membership for some maybe 3-years to ensure that all members are not rotating off at the same time. 

Ways to engage in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging

A&H Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Members

People

  1. Avatar for George L. Graef
    Professor, Nebraska Soybean Producers Presidential Chair of Soybean Breeding
  2. Avatar for S. Carolina Córdova
    Assistant Professor, Statewide Soil Health Specialist
  3. Avatar for Rachana Jhala
    Research Technologist II
  4. Avatar for Sam Wortman
    Associate Professor and Environmental Horticulturist