Six projects – and a total of 26 faculty members – have been awarded two years of funding through UBC’s new Equity & Inclusion Scholars Program.
Awarded projects seek to transform teaching and learning practices with an aim to enhance student experiences in the classroom.
In its inaugural year, the Equity & Inclusion Scholars Program engaged faculty members across disciplines and ranks, providing up to $15,000 – for a total of $101,000 – to projects that seek to test innovative approaches to teaching and learning. While in the program, the scholars also take part in a Faculty Learning Community. This year’s projects range from curricula development and instructional practices, to capacity-building and assessment.
Reflecting the criteria of the program, successful projects all share a commitment to enhancing the experiences of students who are historically or currently marginalized or excluded from higher education, have the potential to be applied to formal teaching practice to related disciplines, and are collaborative, building on existing resources and expertise on campus.
“We have an opportunity to further enhance experiences of all our learners and this program plays a critical role in that effort,” says Sara-Jane Finlay, Associate Vice-President, Equity & Inclusion.
“Seeing the level of interest and the quality of applications, it is clear that our faculty members are engaged and committed to fostering more inclusive classrooms and that they care deeply about our students.”
This program is one of several initiatives of the Equity & Inclusion Office that seeks to advance inclusion – one of UBC’s priority areas in UBC’s strategic plan, Shaping UBC’s Next Century.
As to the hopes for the future, Sara-Jane points out that “this year we’re just getting started and we hope to see the program grow.”
UBC’s Equity & Inclusion Scholars Program is run by the Equity & Inclusion Office in partnership with the Centre for Teaching and Learning Technology (CTLT). Funding for the program is sourced from the Commitment to Diversity Fund, a fund advocated for by student government and committed to by UBC’s Board of Governors in 2015.