School of Journalism and Mass Communication
Home   >  School of Journalism and Mass Communication   >  About   >  Diversity

SJMC Diversity and Inclusion Plan

The School of Journalism and Mass Communication strives to create a community of scholars that represents the complexity of the human experience regarding race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, economic status, gender identification, religion, age, and physical abilities.

SJMC Diversity and Inclusion Plan

At the SJMC, we are committed to creating a welcoming and supportive environment for all our faculty, staff, students, and visitors, and celebrating our differences through the lens of the First Amendment value of freedom of expression.

The goals of the SJMC Diversity Plan are monitored and assessed in conjunction with the overarching goals of the School’s strategic plan and the specific targets of the unit’s Continuous Improvement Plan.

How are we supporting these goals?

To support the diversity, equity, and inclusion goals of Drake University, the School of Journalism and Mass Communication will:

  • We will ensure that the percentage of SJMC students of color reflects the demographic area from which we recruit, as defined by Drake’s Office of Institutional Research and the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.
  • We will increase our collaboration with the University’s Crew Scholars program and University Admissions to recruit students from local and national communities.
  • We will use our attendance at the Journalism Education Association and other conferences to identify high schools with a concentration of students of color.
  • We will participate as presenters and sponsors at high school camps, especially those aimed toward students of color and other underrepresented groups.
  • We will work with our alumni of color to identify fruitful recruitment areas.
  • We will work with Drake's Global Engagement and admission staff to create an action plan for recruiting more international students.
  • We will use our online BAJMC degree-completion program to expand our hands-on, personalized educational experience to a wider and more diverse pool of prospective students.

 

  • We will ensure that our retention rate for self-identified minority and first-generation students is equal to or better than our rate for other SJMC students.
  • We will work with the Office of Academic Excellence and Student Success to provide support for first-generation and at-risk students.

  • We will make diversifying our faculty a priority when hiring full- and part-time faculty, including inviting diverse or global scholars for semester- or year-long teaching appointments.
  • We will increase the number of diverse guest speakers participating in our classes, both in-person and remotely, hosting at least one diverse speaker in each class every semester.
  • We will host at least one visiting professional a year who represents a diverse perspective.

  • We will conduct an audit of course content every two years to ensure that exercises and assignments that address diversity are incorporated throughout the curriculum in both core and major classes.
  • We will especially encourage faculty to create assignments that involve student engagement in the Drake neighborhood and diverse Des Moines communities, and work with the Office of Community Engaged Learning track to facilitate this.

  • The School will sponsor at least one event annually that focuses on multicultural perspectives.
  • The School will hold faculty training at least annually on diversity, equity and inclusion in the classroom.
  • The School will collaborate with SJMC students of color on this work by adding more students to the SJMC Diversity Committee.
  • The School will work with students of color to develop online resources related to diversity and inclusion.
  • The School will work with the university Career Services team to identify the special needs of underrepresented students in the area of employment.

  • Assignments that require students to reflect on their personal growth related to diversity will be incorporated into JMC 30 Mass Media in a Global Society (lower-level course) and JMC 104 Communications Law and Ethics (upper-level course). The assignments in those classes will be assessed regularly to identify areas of growth or gaps.

  • We will encourage SJMC students to study language and culture and monitor the number of SJMC students who do so.
  • We will work with international programs to create a trio of Spanish-speaking opportunities for our students at partner universities in Spain (Nebrija University), Mexico (Monterrey Tech), and Chile (Universidad de los Andes).
  • SJMC will strive to offer opportunities within our curriculum for study abroad through J-Term or Summer term.
  • We will raise funds to help support student study-abroad experiences.

  • The School will monitor the climate assessment and other University and SJMC data annually to ensure we are effective in our efforts to encourage multicultural competency and create an environment that welcomes diverse perspectives.