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Presidential initiative - WMU professional development institute

Building Cultural Competencies

The office of Institutional Equity, in partnership with the Offices of Academic Affairs and Diversity and Inclusion, will hold the sixth "WMU Professional Development Institute: Building Cultural Competencies", Tuesday, April 29 to Friday, May 2, 2025.  A presidential initiative and the first of its kind in southwestern Michigan, this Professional Development Institute (PDI) features a 30-hour curriculum (3 ½ days) that utilizes intercultural communication concepts and theories to promote the development of cultural competencies central to cultivating an inclusive, diverse workplace. The focus is on providing a comprehensive professional development opportunity for WMU employees interested in gaining the necessary knowledge, skills, and motivation to facilitate culturally-relevant learning activities in and outside of the university classroom. The PDI was recognized by the University with a 2022 Excellence in Diversity Award.

Dr. Mark P. Orbe, Professor, School of Communication and Institutional Equity Faculty Fellow will be the facilitator for the PDI. Designed as a “train-the-trainers” workshop, the Institute works to empower and develop participants to effectively manage cross-cultural communication, implement diversity and inclusion programming, and facilitate different professional development �鶹��ý in various university contexts. The curriculum includes low, moderate and high level experiential learning exercises followed by theoretically-informed facilitation processing which can be replicated and/or adapted to diverse audiences. Specific learning outcomes include:

• Engage participants in multimodal learning activities to create a heightened awareness of how historical, social and structural dimensions affect contemporary inter-group relations;
• Equip participants with the necessary knowledge, resources, support and internal networks to provide equity, diversity, and inclusion programming across WMU;
• Empower participants in the co-creation of individual professional development goals related to equity, diversity, inclusion, and access; and
• Enhance existing individual and organizational resources in the building of cultural competency capacity toward the development of a campus model for future sustainability.

The application for the 6th Professional Development Institute will open in January of 2025. 
 

Employee recruitment and selection

 Implicit Bias Workshop for Search Committees 

Biases, commonly known as intentional or unintentional prejudices and preferences, create unfair advantages or disadvantages and may result in discrimination against another individual or group. The workshops are designed to increase awareness of various forms of individual, group and institutional implicit or unconscious biases that are barriers to diversity, equity and inclusivity in hiring decisions and outcomes. Participants or members of search committees will receive information and engage in exercises and discussion focused on different forms of implicit bias and best practice strategies to mitigate bias in employee search and selection process.

The Bias-Free Hiring Quick Reference Guide is a supplemental resource for search committee members who participate in one of the Implicit Bias Workshops for Search Committees or an executive level search committee training session. The guide is not a replacement for participation in the workshop. TURNER CONSULTING GROUP INC. has granted our organization permission to share this information in support of our educational and professional development efforts for search committee members.

Bias Free Hiring Guide

We are currently working on new training. The provost office has been providing Implicit Bias training for staff and administrative search committees, more information can be found here.

Awareness and harassment prevention training courses

Faculty, Staff and Student Employees

All faculty, staff and �鶹��ý employees have access to online training modules on diversity and preventing and reporting all forms of discrimination, harassment and violence.

Vector Solutions Courses

The following courses are currently available to all faculty, staff, administrators and �鶹��ý employees:

• Preventing Harassment and Discrimination- With separate modules for supervisors and non-supervisors, these courses engage faculty and staff member on how to identify and report sexual and interpersonal misconduct, and cover awareness and prevention topics required by the Clery Act and Title IX. Duration is approximately 90 minutes for non-supervisors and 120 minutes for supervisors.
• Diversity: Inclusion in the Modern Workplace- Duration is approximately 60 minutes.

Courses will save your progress if you need to stop and return later. Human Resources automatically provides access to new employees.

To start learning now:

1. Log into goWMU
2. In the App Section "For Faculty and Staff", select the "Awareness and Prevention" App
3. Once logged into Vector Solutions, select "Extra Training" from the main menu on the left toolbar, then "Campus Prevention Network"
4. Select the course title

For assistance, contact Human Resources at hr-training@wmich.edu.

Students
 

All �鶹��ýs have access to online training modules on diversity and preventing and reporting all forms of discrimination, harassment and violence.

Vector Solutions Courses

• Sexual Assault Prevention: Undergraduates, Title IX and Clery Act training that engages undergraduate �鶹��ýs in fostering healthy relationships and preparing them to recognize and respond to sexual assault and harassment when it occurs. Duration is approximately 45 minutes.
• Sexual Assault Prevention: Graduate Students, Title IX and Clery Act training to support graduate �鶹��ýs' interactions with advisors, faculty members, peers, and undergraduate �鶹��ýs (including responding to disclosures). Duration is approximately 45 minutes.
• Sexual Assault Prevention Ongoing: Healthy Relationships, This training emphasizes healthy relationship skills and survivor empathy. Duration is approximately 25 minutes.
• AlcoholEdu for College, Alcohol awareness, prevention and training for �鶹��ýs with new content on vaping and cannabis. Duration is approximately 90 minutes.
• Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging for Students, Equips �鶹��ýs with information and skills to foster a culture of inclusive excellence. Duration is approximately 60 minutes.

Courses will save your progress if you need to stop and return later. 

To start learning now:

1. Log into
2. In the App section "For Students", select the "Awareness and Prevention Training" App
3. Once logged into Vector Solutions, select "Extra Training" from the main menu on the left toolbar, then "Campus Prevention Network"
4. Select the course title