Recently, the Diversity Education and Training Lab has been engaged in a Lean Higher Ed. Project with the goal of Coordinating Diversity Education and Training efforts across the division. The DEI Lean Team is driving this initiative. Members of the DEI Lean Team include Natasha Curtis (Team Lead), Gaylen Moore, Shana Lee and Sonya Williams. Key to the success of this initiative is a collaborative mindset and the contribution of all DEI Facilitators from every one of our centers. This project will enable the division to improve processes surrounding education and training, standardizing some and streamlining others. Overall, this project will allow the division to collect data to measure key performance indicators, and in turn, this data will inform the future of the Lab.
Since the beginning of 2019, through the combined efforts with the LGBTQ Student Center, SRVSS, the Student Multicultural Center, and the Women’s Center, the Lab has reached an audience of almost 2,000 Kent State students, faculty and staff, and almost 200 external members.
Additionally, the Diversity Education and Training Lab coordinates the IDI® (Intercultural Development Inventory), a research-grounded tool that measures intercultural competence within a continuum and which has been used with all new hires for a few months. To date, almost 360 employees have benefited from this tool.
For information about the IDI® contact the Lab at DEITraining@kent.edu, or to schedule any diversity-related education and training, please fill out this online request form. You may also call Natasha Curtis, Associate Director of the Diversity Education and Training Lab, at 330-672-8563.