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Dialogue Across Diversity and Inclusion

Overview  |  Guides  |  Training Modules  |  Campus Examples  |  Documents to Download

Context

Practices that intentionally support diversity and inclusion in the Bonner Program are critical to the impact and success of students, their effectiveness in community and campus leadership roles, and in building and sustaining the campus-wide culture. This is demonstrated through several  factors. First, data collected from institutions in the Bonner Network suggests that Bonner Programs generally, if not always, have a student population with greater proportions of low-income, students of color, and historically underrepresented students than the student body as a whole. Furthermore, the Bonner Student Impact Survey and Alumni Survey found that the degree of diversity of the Bonner Program and broader campus climate is one of the strongest positive contributing factors in the impact of the four-year program on students' learning and post-graduate outcomes, followed by the importance of mentoring relationships.

Given that diversity plays a significant role in Bonner Programs and is also established as a Bonner Common Commitment, there have been previous Bonner initiatives with a focus on diversity and inclusion. One such initiative, entitled "dialogue across difference,” aimed to provide students with safe spaces and an opportunity to explore, clarify, and refine their own values and beliefs. Additionally, the Bonner Network has come together during national meetings to collaborate and build resources on the issues of diversity and inclusion. Through these efforts, the frequency and depth of dialogue, intentional reflection, and structured meetings were found to be key factors in the impact of the program on student learning. Finally, students and staff have reported (in Annual Reports and student Annual Reports) an interest in more training and resources to support diversity and inclusion training and reflection, both for their Bonners and for the campus-wide environment. In light of this, the Bonner Foundation has invested in updating and augmenting training curriculum on these topics in ways that fits within the four year developmental calendar. The result of this initiative is the Dialogue Across Diversity and Inclusion 4x4 Developmental Model.

Trainings

Below is a representation of the new curriculum, developed by Bonner Student Interns in conjunction with staff. This comprehensive set of resources is part of the larger set of trainings available for Bonner Programs. It is recommended that campus programs implement at least four trainings addressing diversity each year. The DDI model is made up of a total of 21 trainings, with three slated “topic” trainings, where you have the option to choose out of a set of trainings related to the diversity topic. All of the trainings are shown below in table format, where each training may be downloaded by clicking on its title.

We want to extend special thanks to five student leaders who helped research and further develop training resources: Al-Akashi (Allegheny College), Samantha Ha (Ursinus College alum and Bonner Foundation), Hunter Malone (Berea College), Jasmine Rangel (Berry College), and Asia Robinson (Allegheny College). Guided in training design, they researched and created content, programmatic activities, and full guides and handouts for these sessions. There are additional trainings related to all of the Common Commitments including Community Building, Diversity, International Perspective, Social Justice, and Spiritual Exploration, including sessions designed for All Bonner Meetings and Class Meetings, in the longer list of trainings and on these pages:

• Common Commitments
• Reflection Prompts
• Alphabetical Listing of Training Modules 
• Training by Skill Category
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Documents to Download 
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Campus Examples  

Implementation

Though the DDI model may seem difficult to implement in practice, it becomes easy to manage when the responsibilities are delegated amongst Bonner staff and student leaders. Below, you will find one possible option in delegating responsibilities to implement the DDI model:

Bonner Staff

• Look at existing training calendar and evaluate level of emphasis on diversity and inclusion
• Introduce student leaders to the 4x4 model and identify facilitators to help plan and implement
• Create a structure that engages students in this content and provides support for growth
• Be prepared to navigate difficult conversations, incorporating them into advising and meetings
• Help to facilitate diversity trainings or coach others to do so

Senior Interns

• Read through all of the overviews for diversity and inclusion trainings for context
• Integrate these new resources and diversity trainings into the training calendar
• Identify other facilitators to lead specific trainings (such as peers, faculty, and staff)
• Help to facilitate diversity trainings or coach others to do so
• Provide peer mentorship and facilitation support through dialogue and feedback

Bonner Leadership Team

• Browse through the wiki for context
• Read extensively through the trainer guides
• Do additional research (local and campus specific) on issue areas addressed by trainings
• Support peers to work through diversity education and dialogue

Another way to think about implementation is by delegating based on cohort or class year, a common Bonner Program management strategy. Many Bonner Programs assign responsibilities, such as class meetings, one-on-ones, or mentorship, based on class or cohorts. By splitting the DDI model into cohort-based responsibilities, each staff member or team would only be responsible for four trainings each. See the potential implementation strategy below:

Additional Resources

The following handout was created to provide information about the context, purpose, trainings, and implementation of the Dialogue Across Diversity and Inclusion 4x4 Model. It contains most of the information shown on this page, in PDF format. Feel free to download and share.

DDI Handout

The presentation below was created to provide background and context to the development of the Dialogue Across Dialogue and Inclusion 4x4 Model. It also includes key information as to how to integrate these trainings into your training calendar and Bonner program.