Carnegie Mellon University
Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences  ›  Department of English  ›  DEI  ›  Community Standards

cs.pngOur Community Standards

With the goal of cultivating a safe, respectful, and supportive climate, the Department of English has committed to the following practices, which apply to all faculty, staff, and students associated with the department.

  • Educating ourselves about how racism, colorism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, classism, ageism, and other forms of discrimination and oppression manifest in our institution and the broader world. Other forms of discrimination or oppression include those based on a person's beliefs or marital or family status or cultural background, among others.
  • Listening attentively and empathetically to any report of discrimination, oppression, harassment, bullying, or any other form of abuse. Those in positions of privilege are expected to use their power and authority to address and remedy such behavior, ensuring that all members of our community feel heard and supported.
  • Examining and resisting power imbalances, including entrenched hierarchies, in academic and social spaces. Those in positions of power bear the responsibility to be aware of their privilege and to treat less privileged members of our community with the utmost respect, consideration, and kindness to foster a more equitable and inclusive community.
  • Prioritizing diversity of every form in hiring and retaining faculty and admitting students, cultivating an environment in which new and varied perspectives, areas of scholarship, and educational backgrounds all contribute to the strength and creativity of the department.
  • Centering and uplifting voices of community members of color and other underrepresented voices, recognizing their lived experiences and that they uniquely contribute to conversations about racism, discrimination, and oppression.
  • Mentoring junior colleagues and students with warmth and equity by respecting boundaries, encouraging growth, and acknowledging power dynamics. Faculty will also protect non-tenured faculty of all tracks and students from excessive work demands while valuing their autonomy.
  • Communicating in a manner that encourages diverse perspectives and public disagreement while also maintaining respect and openness to ensure a tone of professionalism and courtesy governs all communications.
  • Striving for empathy and understanding in our professional interactions, recognizing that we are all imperfect individuals who will sometimes make errors. We should all approach mistakes as opportunities for awareness and growth, while also offering positive reinforcement to acknowledge and encourage responsible community behavior.
  • Ensuring members of marginalized groups are not burdened by the expectation that they will do more of the labor involved in resisting discrimination and oppression or by the expectation that they will represent entire groups.
  • Working with a spirit of genuine inclusiveness, making efforts to include all members of the department, including faculty, staff, and students, in intellectual and social gatherings whenever possible, making space for full participation by all.

 

Examining & resisting entrenched hierarchies
  • Do not treat office staff as if they should always be available to serve. Everyone has lots of important work to do. 
  • Do not pile up work on junior colleagues or assume they owe you more respect than you owe them.
  • Be respectful and grateful to those who are keeping the halls and offices clean.
  • Examine potential barriers to admission or hiring (1)
  • Be willing to work harder/expend more time and effort to support and mentor historically underrepresented groups
  • Be aware of (and resist) the tendency to be more generous to those who remind us of younger versions of ourselves than those who initially appear different (2)

Centering and uplifting voices of community members of color & other underrepresented voices
  • Be careful about establishing criteria before evaluating individuals (3)
  • Educate ourselves and follow best practices for equity and hiring (4)
  • Recognize that persons of color and other underrepresented voices have lived experience that they uniquely contribute to conversations about discrimination and oppression
  • Be aware of factors that inhibit certain groups from speaking
  • Be aware of issues of vision, hearing, and mobility

Mentoring junior colleagues and students
  • Senior faculty should offer to read junior colleagues’ work
  • Junior faculty should have the option to choose a mentor
  • Senior faculty should be conscious of possible power dynamics and remember that they are there to encourage and respect the ongoing work of junior colleagues.  Mentorship is a service and not a position of authority.
  • Always speak in a respectful tone to and about junior colleagues, including students and staff.
  • Actively encourage junior faculty to speak up in meetings without fear of repercussions
  • Protect junior colleagues from doing too much work while also giving them agency to make their own decisions.  
  • When asking someone to take on extra work, preface the request with an invitation to decline (“please feel free to say no”). 

Communicating to promote diversity and respect
  • Allow others to speak and intervene when you see someone else being silenced
  • Meet agreed-upon deadlines or communicate promptly about amending them, ensuring others can plan their work accordingly
  • Be punctual for meetings and keep communications (e.g., emails, messages) clear and concise to avoid unnecessary back-and-forth
  • Disclose all relevant information and conflicts of interest in communications to ensure transparency, trust, and efficiency
  • Do not attribute bad motives or unethical conduct to others without good cause

Striving for empathy & understanding in our professional interactions
  • Offer criticism constructively, as an offer to help rather than embarrassing someone
  • Resist unconfirmed informal or casual conversation about others (i.e., gossip), particularly when negative or critical
  • Take apologies seriously
  • See people as human beings who inevitably have flaws and make mistakes, but still have much to offer

Ensuring members of marginalized groups are not unduly burdened
  • Do not call on colleagues of color every time there is an issue about race (tokenizing)
  • Avoid disproportionately assigning service or mentorship duties to faculty from marginalized backgrounds, particularly when it comes to diversity initiatives, student support, or departmental representation
  • Ensure workload distribution is equitable by not assuming that women faculty will take on more emotional labor, such as mediating conflicts, mentoring struggling students, or organizing departmental social events

Working with a spirit of genuine inclusiveness
  • When possible, take the initiative to invite colleagues to socialize informally while remaining mindful not to unintentionally reinforce cliques or exclusionary dynamics
  • Include the entire department in a social event when hiring new faculty
  • Seek out new opportunities for genuine collaboration and coworking

 

  1. See England, Jason. The mess that is elite college admissions, explained by a former dean and Admissions confidential

2.  See Farnell, Richard. Mentor people who aren’t like you.

3. See Correll, Shelley & Caroline Simard. Vague Feedback is holding women back and Roberts, Laura Morgan & Anthony Mayo.  Toward a racially just workplace

4. See Devine, Patricia G., et al. A gender bias habit-breaking intervention led to increased hiring of female faculty in STEMM departments. 

DEI in the English Department