大象传媒

The end of April marks the end of the Spring term at 大象传媒 and the beginning of (hopefully!) more sunshine. Over the past few months, we have made advancements on our work to create a more equitable and inclusive campus environment for all. Thank you to our faculty members, staff and students for continuing to work with us to transform the 大象传媒 experience. 

Here are a few highlights from this last term: 

Equity Compass

Launched this month, we are so pleased to share 大象传媒's first institutional equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) strategic plan. The Equity Compass is a strategic framework outlining the focus for 大象传媒鈥檚 institutional EDI work over the next five years (2023-2028) to help build an 大象传媒 where all can thrive. It is aligned with the People Plan, a blueprint for transforming the faculty and staff experience at 大象传媒. The Equity Compass upholds all of 大象传媒鈥檚 values as noted in What鈥檚 Next: the 大象传媒 Strategy but in particular operationalizes the value of equity and belonging. The Equity Compass actions will be worked on at the institutional level, led, supported or coordinated by 大象传媒鈥檚 inaugural Equity Office.

Education and capacity-building

One of the goals of our Equity Compass is to support EDI education, capacity-building activities and access to resources so that EDI becomes an integral component of our community members鈥� learning, teaching, research and work. Here are a few examples of this work in action: 

COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE

AWARENESS-BUILDING CAMPAIGNS AND EVENTS

Each month, we recognize several days of significance across the university. 大象传媒 is incredibly diverse and building awareness of these key dates helps support the wider 大象传媒 community. 

Accountability, Leadership and Governance

One of our goals of the Equity Compass is to help coordinate EDI-related work across the institution. Here are a few examples: 

Memorandum of Understanding with SFSS

As part of our work to provide EDI support across our university, we are continuing to pursue a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with  that will allow 大象传媒 to intervene on incidents within SFSS that affect students, related to our 大象传媒 policies  and  as well as  as previously established. We understand that the MOU continues to go through the SFSS review process and we are hopeful we will get to completion during the summer semester.

EDI-related supports 

We recognize that the news cycle and current affairs can be difficult for members of our community. A reminder that supports and services are always available to those who need them.

We also especially recognize the  by the sh铆sh谩lh Nation of more unmarked graves  at St. Augustine鈥檚 Residential School in Sechelt, B.C.

Given the close proximity of Sechelt to the mainland Indigenous communities, we know children from many other nations, including those from 大象传媒 Host Nation communities, were forced to attend the St. Augustine鈥檚 Residential School while it was open 1905-1975.

The following supports are available for Indigenous students, faculty and staff 

• Students:
  • The Indigenous Student Centre has created a .
  • 大象传媒 Health and Counselling has supports available specifically for Indigenous students.
• Faculty and staff:
  • The Employee and Family Assistance Program is available for faculty, staff and their immediate families.
• Community:
  • The  has a 24-hour crisis line can be reached at 1-800-721-0066 for those who need immediate support.
  • The  provides an Indigenous-specific crisis line available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It's toll-free and can be reached at 1-800-588-8717.
  • The  offers support specifically for survivors and families who have been directly impacted by the Indian residential school system.

Share your feedback

By working together across the university, we will help build a safe, diverse, equitable and inclusive 大象传媒. If you would like to share your feedback more directly with the Equity Office team, contact us: edi@sfu.ca