Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism

The strategic planning process for careful and intentional advancement of institutional goals on equity, diversity, inclusion and anti-racism at Memorial University, announced in November 2021, is ongoing. 

Please watch this page and follow our Facebook and Twitter accounts for updates and announcements. 

News

Community Table Talk with Dr. Delores V. Mullings

Dr. Mullings, vice-provost, equity, diversity, inclusion and anti-racism (EDI-AR), invites the Memorial community to join her for a discussion and update on EDI-AR priorities and progress at Memorial on Thursday, Sept. 28 on the Grenfell campus. During the event Dr. Mullings, who has completed her second year in this inaugural leadership position at Memorial, will share key updates for the portfolio and take questions from participants. 

Please note that this is a hybrid event, with the option to participate in person on the Grenfell campus or online via Webex. If you are located outside the Grenfell campus, we encourage you to participate virtually. We look forward to sharing our updates and hearing from the Memorial community.

Date: Thursday, Sept. 28
Time: 12:00 – 1:30 p.m.
Venue: Grenfell Campus (room number TBA)
WebEx link

Event Schedule

12:00 – 12:15 p.m.: In-person meet and greet
12:15 – 1:00 p.m.: Presentation and Q & A
1:00 – 1:30 p.m.: Informal reception (light refreshments will be served)

Tely 10 Mile Road Race

Three women -- from left to right, Roxanne Millan, Dr. Delores Mullings and Cherry Ralhan-Khanna -- wearing exercise clothing, race bibs and sunglasses are standing outside in a row next to each other and smiling.

Congratulations to two members of our EDI-AR portfolio on completing the walking portion of the Tely 10 Mile Road Race last weekend!

Dr. Delores Mullings, Vice-Provost, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism (centre) and Cherry Ralhan-Khanna, Project Manager, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism (right) are pictured here with Roxanne Millan, Director of Resource Allocation and Planning in the Office of the Provost and Vice-President (Academic).

Multicultural Calendar

An image with a white background covered in pink, black, purple, and yellow rounded shapes. Inside a black rectangle in the middle of the image, text reads '2023 multicultural calendar.'

Our customized Memorial University 2023 multicultural calendar is now available to view online or import into Outlook. This calendar includes days, weeks and months of note for different religious and cultural communities, nationalities and equity-seeking communities. 

In the monthly view for the online calendar, a red checkmark icon indicates days to note for scheduling consideration. These are national holidays or religious days when individuals may want to take time off to observe. A green square icon indicates festivals of cultural groups and national days, or independance days of countries. A blue triangle indicates religious days of the world's major faiths.

To view more information about the holidays, celebrations and days of note or commemoration listed in the online calendar, hover your mouse over an individual listing -- a brief description will appear in a pop-up window. In addition, you can view indexes of all dates of note for 2023 in the Religions, Countries and Heritage Months tabs along the top right of the main calendar page. 

Also, an Outlook version of the multicultural calendar is available for download. Instructions to import the calendar into Outlook are available on the download page and below:

  1. Download the .ics calendar.
  2. In Outlook, select File from the top menu bar, then Open & Export, then Import/Export.
  3. The Import and Export Wizard will launch. On the first screen, select Import an iCalendar (.ics) or vCalendar (.vcs) file and click Next.
  4. The Browse window will open. Select the .ics file you just downloaded and click OK.
  5. A pop-up window will open. If you wish to keep the multicultural calendar separate from your daily events, with the ability to toggle it on and off, select Open as New. If you wish to import the multicultural calendar so it is viewable along with your daily events (in the top bar, where all-day events are shown), select Import.

End of Consultation Period

A smaller version of the image for the number of consultations held.

On June 9, 2023, the Office of the Vice-Provost, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism concluded the consultation period of its strategic planning process. During the consultation period, office staff and members of the EDI-AR Strategic Planning Team held in-person, remote and hybrid consultation sessions with the Memorial University community. The consultation period also include an online survey of Memorial students, and written and audio consultation comments sent in by email.

During our consultation process supporting the creation of an Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism Strategic Plan for Memorial University of Newfoundland, we held 80 in-person, virtual and hybrid consultation sessions with members of the Memorial community across its campuses.

A smaller size of the Number Consulted image.

We heard from 824 members of the Memorial University of Newfoundland community during our in-person, virtual and hybrid consultation sessions, as part of our strategic planning process.

Invitees and participants for our consultation sessions include students, faculty, staff and alumni of Memorial University, across all its campuses. 

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In addition to our consultation sessions, we provided Memorial students, staff and faculty with the option to respond to our consultation questions via online surveys.

We received 935 total responses to our student, staff and faculty consultation surveys during the consultation phase of our strategic planning process.

All members of the Memorial community were also invited to submit comments during the consultation period by email, in either written or audio format. This option was open to community members who could not attend a consultation session, were not eligible to fill out the online survey, and/or wanted to submit comments privately.

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We have now completed the consultation phase of the strategic planning process! We appreciate the contributions of everyone who took time to submit a survey response or email, or join a consultation session.

Our next step is the completion of a What We Heard document, where we'll share the findings from the consultation phase and highlight the overall themes in the responses we received from the Memorial community. We plan to release this report to the Memorial community in Fall 2023.

Watch for updates here on our website, and on our Facebook and Twitter accounts, as we continue our work to create an Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism Strategic Plan for Memorial University of Newfoundland.

News Archive
Last Call for Consultation Period

An image with a grey background, with purple circles. On the left, there is an illustration of a woman holding an oversized bullhorn. Large text on the right reads 'Last call!' and smaller text reads 'We're almost done our consultation process for an EDI-AR strategic plan! Want to have your say? Email your written or audio submission to cralhankhanna@mun.ca.'

 

Last call for contributions!

We're near the end of the consultation period for the Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism  for Memorial University. But first, we want to make sure everyone who wishes to contribute gets the chance to have their say before we close consultations at the end of the day on Friday, June 9.

If you weren't able to attend one of our in-person or online consultation sessions, or if you have comments you would like to submit outside of a session, please send in your  or written submission by email to Cherry Ralhan-Khanna before the end of the date on Friday, June 9.

Participants are asked to respond to the following four questions: 

  1. With regards to EDI-AR, what is Memorial University currently doing well?
  2. At the current time, with respect to EDI-AR, what are some areas for improvement?
  3. Looking forward 5-10 years from now, what should/could EDI-AR at Memorial “look like”?
  4. Thinking about the kinds of things you would like to see in 5-10 years, what activities/actions do you suggest we undertake to get there?

Submissions will be kept confidential by the Vice Provost EDI-AR’s Office, and only authorized individuals associated with the EDI-AR advisory team will have access to the session summary notes. Information collected during the consultation process is not associated with the names of those submitting it, and only general identifiers like student, staff or faculty are used.

Thank you in advance for your contributions.

Open Consultation Session

An image with a white background, with pink, purple, and yellow blobs. In the centre of the image is an illustration of a laptop with a Zoom-like meeting on the screen. Black text at the top reads 'Open Session' and 'Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism.' Smaller text at the bottom indicates the meeting is open to all of Memorial and will be held Wed. June 7 from 12:15-1:15 p.m.

We're close to the finish line! The Office of the Vice-Provost, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism (EDI-AR) invites everyone from all Memorial campuses to participate in final virtual consultation session on Wednesday, June 7.

This virtual session will be held via Webex on Wednesday, June 7 from 12:15-1:15 p.m. We will be discussing four questions during the consultation:

  • With regards to EDI-AR, what is Memorial University currently doing well?
  • At the current time, with respect to EDI-AR, what are some areas for improvement?
  • Looking forward 5-10 years from now, what should/could EDI-AR at Memorial “look like”?
  • Thinking about the kinds of things you would like to see in 5-10 years, what activities/actions do you suggest we undertake to get there?

Registration is not required for the session. Please note the session will be confidential – names are not recorded and participants will only be referred to by generic identifiers (staff, faculty, student, alumni, etc.) in follow-up documents.

Questions? Please contact Cherry Ralhan-Khanna. We're excited to hear from you!

Consultation Update and Submission Options

An image with a purple-and-yellow gradient background, and large text at the top that reads 'Have your say!' Smaller black text reads 'Do you have comments, observations and/or suggestions to share during our strategic planning process? If so, we want to hear from you!' Text inside white rounded rectangle underneath indicates that people can send written or audio responses to cralhankhanna@mun.ca.

We're nearing the end of the consultation period for the Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism Strategic Plan for Memorial University. Before we move to the next stage of the strategic planning process, we want to ensure everyone who wishes to contribute their observations, suggestions, and experiences has the opportunity to do so.

During the consultation process, we have asked our participants four questions:

  1. With regards to EDI-AR, what is Memorial University currently doing well?
  2. At the current time, with respect to EDI-AR, what are some areas for improvement?
  3. Looking forward 5-10 years from now, what should/could EDI-AR at Memorial “look like”?
  4. Thinking about the kinds of things you would like to see in 5-10 years, what activities/actions do you suggest we undertake to get there?

If you were unable to attend one of our in-person or online consultation sessions, or if you have comments you would like to submit outside of a session, please reach out in one of the following ways.

Written submissions

Members of the Memorial community who wish to contribute to the consultation session in writing can submit their responses to the above four questions in writing. Please email program manager Cherry Ralhan-Khanna with your submission either in the body of your email or in an attached document. 

Audio submissions

Members of the Memorial community who wish to contribute to the consultation sessions via audio can submit their responses to the above four questions in an audio file. Please record your responses and email the file to Cherry Ralhan-Khanna via WeTransfer or Dropbox. 

Alternately, you can record your responses via voice-to-text software and submit the document to Cherry Ralhan-Khanna via email. Options for voice-to-text recording include:

Submissions will be kept confidential by the Vice Provost EDI-AR’s Office, and only authorized individuals associated with the EDI-AR advisory team will have access to the session summary notes. Information collected during the consultation process is not associated with the names of those submitting it, and only general identifiers like student, staff or faculty are used.

EDI-AR Consultations for Department/Unit Heads, Students, Senior Administrative Officers and all Memorial community members

A graphic with a white background. Black text reads 'Consultation sessions' and indicates there are sessions for department/unit heads from 9-10 am, students from 10:00-11:00am, senior administrative officers from 11:30am-12:30pm, and the Memorial community from 1:00-2:00pm on Tuesday, May 23. The logo for the Memorial University EDI-AR office is included.

The Office of Vice-Provost, EDI-AR invites students, Senior Administrative Officers (SAOs) and Department/Unit Heads to participate in upcoming hybrid consultation sessions from all campuses of Memorial on Tuesday, May 23. In addition, an open session will be held on the same day for all members of the Memorial community who have missed previous consultation sessions. Participants can attend these sessions either online or in person at IIC-2001 (Bruneau Centre Lecture Theatre) on the St. John’s campus. If you are located outside St. John’s, we encourage you to participate virtually.

Registration is not required for these sessions. Please note that all sessions are confidential – names are not recorded, and participants will only be referred to by generic identifiers (staff, faculty, student, alumni, etc.) in follow-up documents.

Times and WebEx links

We will ask four questions during the consultation:

  • Question 1: With regards to EDI-AR, what is Memorial University currently doing well?
  • Question 2: At the current time, with respect to EDI-AR, what are some areas for improvement?
  • Question 3: Looking forward 5-10 years from now, what should/could EDI-AR at Memorial “look like”?
  • Question 4: Thinking about the kinds of things you would like to see in 5-10 years, what activities/actions do you suggest we undertake to get there?

For more information, please visit our website. Questions? Contact Cherry Ralhan-Khanna at cralhankhanna@mun.ca.

EDI-AR Consultations for Executive Assistants, Directors and Executive Directors, Assistant and Associate Directors and Managers

The Office of Vice-Provost, EDI-AR invites Executive Assistants, Directors and Executive Directors, Assistant and Associate Directors and Managers from all Memorial campuses to participate in upcoming consultation sessions on Tuesday, May 16 at DH-2002 (formerly the Junior Common Room in R. Gushue Hall) as part of our ongoing strategic planning process.

Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism (EDI-AR) Strategic Planning Team was put in place to develop an EDI-AR Strategic Plan to ensure Memorial takes necessary actions to fulfil the aspiration of Transforming Our Horizons, which speaks about creating and maintaining an environment “Where we strive to be a place where all peoples are accepted”. A crucial initial step is developing the EDI-AR Strategic Plan is to build a solid understanding of the EDI-AR climate across Memorial campuses. EDI-AR consultations are one of the mechanisms the Office of Vice-Provost, EDI-AR team will use to assess the current EDI-AR climate.

A graphic with a black-and-purple background. White text reads 'Consultation sessions' and indicates there are sessions for executive assistants from 9-10 am, directors and executive directors from 10:30-11:30am, assistant and associate directors from 1-2pm, and managers from 2:30-3:30pm on Tuesday, May 16. The logo for the Memorial University EDI-AR office is included.

Please note that this is a hybrid event, with the option to participate in-person on the St. John’s campus (DH-2002, formerly the Junior Common Room in R. Gushue Hall)  or online. If you are located outside St. John’s, we encourage you to participate virtually.

Times and Webex links

We will be discussing following four questions during the consultation:

  • Question 1: With regards to EDI-AR, what is Memorial University currently doing well?
  • Question 2: At the current time, with respect to EDI-AR, what are some areas for improvement?
  • Question 3: Looking forward 5-10 years from now, what should/could EDI-AR at Memorial “look like”?
  • Question 4: Thinking about the kinds of things you would like to see in 5-10 years, what activities/actions do you suggest we undertake to get there?

Registration for these sessions is not required. Please note that all sessions are confidential – the names of the participants are not recorded, and will only be referred to by generic identifiers (staff, faculty, student, alumni, etc.) in follow-up documents.

If you have any questions, please email Cherry Ralhan-Khanna at cralhankhanna@mun.ca. Thank-you in advance for your participation.

Public Consultations

One of Dr. Delores V. Mullings’ goals is to help make Memorial University become an EDI-AR “giant.” As an important step toward making the vision a reality, Dr. Mullings and the EDI-AR Strategic Planning Team are asking all members of the Memorial’s various communities, including students, staff, faculty and alumni, to share their thoughts and experiences about EDI-AR.

Learn more about the EDI-AR office's work, including the student consultation survey and the upcoming alumni consultation sessions, at the Gazette. 

Alumni Consultations

An image has a gradient background of purple, pink and yellow. Large white text reads 'EDI-AR Consultation.' Underneath, smaller black text reads 'For Memorial University Alumni, Thursday, May 4, 2023.' The Memorial EDI-AR logo is in the bottom-right corner.

Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador’s Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism (EDI-AR) team invites all Memorial alumni to participate in one of two upcoming consultation sessions as part of our ongoing strategic planning process.

All alumni are invited to join one of the two upcoming consultation sessions:

  • Thursday, May 4 at 10 a.m. NT on Webex and in person on the St. John's campus at University Centre 3015 (accessible space, complimentary parking available in the garage across from UC)
  • Thursday, May 4 at 7 p.m. NT on Webex

This is a hybrid event, with the option to participate in person on the St. John’s campus or online. If you are located outside St. John’s, we encourage you to participate virtually.

Registration for these sessions is not required. Please note that all sessions are confidential – the names of participants are not recorded, and will only be referred to by generic identifiers (alumni, student, staff, faculty, etc.) in follow-up documents.

Questions? Please contact Cherry Ralhan-Khanna, Program Manager, EDI-AR.

Student Consultation Survey

An image has a white background, with speech bubbles and emojis in purple, green, and yellow on the left-hand side. Text inside the speech bubbles read 'We want your feedback!' and the emojis each have sad, neutral, and happy faces. On the right-hand side, text reads 'What is the current state of EDI-AR at Memorial University?'

Our student survey is your chance to tell Memorial University’s Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism (EDI-AR) Strategic Planning Team what to include in its EDI-AR Strategic Plan. A solid understanding of the EDI-AR climate across all Memorial campuses is key to developing the EDI-AR Strategic Plan – and we need your help.

The survey results will help the Office of the Vice-Provost’s EDI-AR team develop an EDI-AR Strategic Plan. This plan will reflect Transforming Our Horizons’ goal for Memorial to be an environment “where we strive to be a place where all peoples are accepted.”

Please take the time to complete the survey by Friday, April 28. At the end of the survey, you can enter to win one of six $25 gift cards to the Memorial University Bookstore. Entry to the prize draw is optional and not connected to your survey responses. The survey is available online as of Monday, April 3.