Promoting Equity, Diversity and Social Justice Through Faculty-Led Transformative Projects

Abstract

We present a transformative professional development project with a focus on equity, diversity and social justice (EDSJ) to raise cultural awareness among faculty, increase agency, and promote positive change through transformative projects. Twenty-three faculty members from nine different colleges located at a Research I university were provided with critical cultural awareness workshops and then supported to develop transformative projects related to EDSJ. Based on focus group interviews and pre-post surveys, we identified four themes and five categories: two outcome-related (Building Community and Transformative Actions) and two operational themes (Barriers and Facilitators). We conclude that faculty-centered and transformative professional development projects could significantly benefit all those interested in establishing a culturally inclusive, positive and responsive climate. Our study also contributes to the emerging research on scholar activism and provides a practical model for implementation.