Call for Working Group Members: Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in Language Sciences at UBC

In 2021, Language Sciences submitted to Senate and the Board of Governors a proposal to become a Global Research Excellence (GREx) Institute. Promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion within and beyond UBC was one of six priorities highlighted in that proposal.

As such, LangSci is now seeking LangSci members to serve on a working group from September 18^th, 2023, to revisit and contribute to the implementation of equity, diversity, and inclusion goals, actions, and metrics outlined by our leadership and staff.

Expectations

The committee is expected to convene a series of working group meetings to review the metrics and progress made in promoting EDI in Language Sciences. Committee members are required to actively participate in three scheduled working group meetings, which are anticipated to take place in fall 2023 and spring 2024 terms.

Meeting Outcomes:

1. Meeting to review scope of influence and capabilities at UBC and beyond
2. Meeting to establish actions, outcomes, and metrics
3. Meeting to summarize outcomes and establish an assessment and accountability strategy

Responsibilities

The working group aims to make strategic decisions, engage community members, and monitor progress towards goals by fulfilling the following responsibilities:

• Commit to 6-12 months of Working Group membership
• Provide direction and guidance on LangSci EDI goals, actions, policies, and programs
• Establish LangSci’s scope of influence and capabilities at UBC in municipal and provincial community
• Establish a list of actions, outcomes, and metrics, to be made publicly available, to which we can be held accountable
• Determine appropriate metrics to measure progress
• Identify areas and actions that require attention within LangSci and UBC as a whole
• Identify additional resources (i.e., materials, volunteers) needed to implement strategies
• Address and implement proactive strategies to mitigate concerns regarding human rights (i.e., religion, age, disability) and discrimination (i.e., racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, and ableism)

Composition

The search committee will be composed of 4-7 members, including:

• Representatives from various units/departments across our governing faculties of arts, education, medicine, and science, as well as applied science.
• Representatives from different LangSci research themes (i.e., COMBO, LST, ELIE)
• Representatives from various career stages, including graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, ranging up to full professors.

Volunteering

Those interested in joining the working group may submit the following:

• Name
• Role (Professor, Sessional Lecturer, Postdoctoral Fellow, etc.)
• Unit/Department (Psychology or Political Science, Sociology, etc.)
• 1-2 paragraph explanation of why you are interested in joining the LangSci EDI working group
• A brief description of your interest in/commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion
• Description of any relevant experiences that may support your participation

Materials can be sent to Language Sciences (language.sciences@ubc.ca) with a cc: to Ella Fund-Reznicek (ella.fr@ubc) by 11:59pm PDT on Monday, Sept. 18, 2023.