Commitment to Anti-Racism and Anti-Discrimination

In the wake of the racial justice reckoning felt throughout the US during the summer of 2020, national conversations have increasingly centered on addressing the impacts of systemic racism and discrimination against marginalized identities in nearly all aspects of society and culture, including educational and allied health professions. The Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders (CDIS) at BGSU is committed to engaging this effort by identifying, confronting, and dismantling inequity in the Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) professions.

The department has an open feedback form where students, alumni, and community members may anonymously share their feedback and suggestions and make calls for action to our department. Responses will be collected and reviewed on an ongoing basis and can be submitted by following this link to the CDIS Anti-Discrimination and Social Justice Feedback Form.

To report concerns or actions impacting you or the BGSU community that are enacted because of bias based on actual or perceived race, color, national origin, religion, creed, age, marital status, mental or physical disability, or veteran status, including sex, sexual orientation and gender identity/expression, when the behavior is not sexual assault or sexual harassment, please use the Harassment/Discrimination Incident Report.

Our Statement on Racism | October 2020

We, the faculty, clinical instructors, and staff of the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Bowling Green State University, join the President, Provost, and the Dean of the College of Health and Human Services of BGSU, and the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association in a commitment to end racism. We condemn white supremacy, white privilege, and police brutality. We acknowledge that centuries of oppression and systemic racism continue to cause Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) pain. We stand in solidarity with BIPOC and Black Lives Matter. We acknowledge that racism causes disparities in access to high quality, appropriate healthcare and educational services (including those provided by speech-language pathologists and audiologists). We acknowledge that speech-language pathologists and audiologists have helped to perpetuate systemic racism. We acknowledge that our department, courses, and clinics have not always been welcoming of BIPOC students, colleagues, and clients and their caregivers.

We commit to:

ensuring that we do not support or condone systemic racism in our program and clinic;
ensuring that our department, courses, and clinic are welcoming of BIPOC students, colleagues, and clients and their caregivers;
ongoing education and personal growth that promotes reflection on our own experiences and perspectives, to better understand how to improve our departmental policies and clinical and teaching practices;
helping to create a more socially just approach in our department;
seeking advice and learning from BIPOC individuals and experts on social justice, so that we may better serve our students, clients and their caregivers, community, and field.
This will involve our entire faculty, clinical instructors, and staff, especially those of us who identify as white and have benefitted from systemic racism.

CDIS has established the Anti-Discrimination and Social Justice Committee to help enact these commitments that strive to create an inclusive, anti-racist culture of belonging in the department and CSD professions. The Anti-Discrimination and Social Justice Committee is comprised of undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students, faculty, and staff. The committee has developed strategic working goals that are aligned with the goals of the BGSU Office of Diversity and Belonging. These include:

Our goals include:

Education and Development Goals focused on engaging in trainings and dialogues on issues related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice to increase awareness;

Department-wide anti-racism dialog, starting with a Spring 2021 Common Read discussion series.
Dr. Derek Daniels to give a talk on “Disadvantage, Resilience, and Inclusion: Perspectives and Reflections on being an Underrepresented Student and Professional” in CSD on April 6th, 2021.
The CDIS and OMA will hold a virtual workshop on Anti-racism and Microaggressions on April 23rd, 2021
CDIS will host a Social Justice Podcast Discussion Series during the 2021 summer session.

Advocacy Goals focused on reviewing and monitoring department policies, training practices, and admission and recruitment practices to ensure commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion for student, faculty, staff, clients, and caregivers from diverse backgrounds;

The department has an open feedback form where students, alumni, and community members to anonymously share their feedback and suggestions and make calls for action to our department. Responses will be collected and reviewed on an ongoing basis and can be submitted by following this link to the CDIS Anti-Discrimination and Social Justice Feedback Form.
The department is currently reviewing the policies and practices of graduate program and graduate admissions.

Community Engagement Goals focused on surveying current and establishing internal and external collaborations and partnerships and distributing information and content on and promoting events related to anti-discrimination, inclusion, and diversity on the departmental online platforms.

The department has updated our website and established a social media presence to promote the anti-racism and social justice issues.
Follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

On-Campus and Community Social Justice Resources

Our campus and community includes several organizations and resources that students can explore to find other connections within our BGSU community. The CDIS Department values individual expression of identity and culture and understand the importance of identity-affirming spaces for our students.

Web Resources:
BGSU Office of Multicultural Affairs
BGSU Diversity Education
Office of Multicultural Affairs Events
Multicultural Student Organizations

Includes: