Our Commitment

Materials Management (Recycling and Surplus) are partnering with the Sustainability Office to advance justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) throughout the work we do.

Read on to learn about our current efforts.

2021-22 Strategic Priorities 

  • Build a sense of belonging for all who are employed by or volunteer with our organizations, to support the retention and success of people of diverse and underrepresented identities.
  • Expand employee expertise of JEDI topics as well as comfort and skills in discussing and contemplating necessary changes within our organizations.

2021-22 Action Plan

  • Develop a 30-minute, required “Working on Diverse Teams” training module.
  • Build-in JEDI-focused professional development time for all staff. Create a library of JEDI resources that students and staff can utilize for their PD time.
  • Collect input via a survey of employees on their sense of belonging and community in the workplace.
  • Foster camaraderie and community between colleagues and focus on retention through celebrating individual and collective employee success.

How did we get here?

To set the above priorities and actions, our team followed these steps:

  1. Identified the core functions and processes of our departments, to identify potential areas in which to pursue JEDI priorities.
  2. Compiled and summarized JEDI-related goals that exist at the university and division levels, to align our priorities with those of the larger organizations.
  3. Facilitated an internal discussion to gather staff thoughts on current efforts and envision our work with JEDI embedded throughout.
  4. Gathered input from university stakeholders from JEDI-focused committees, academic programs, departments, and student organizations, along with student government and student sustainability-focused clubs.
  5. Synthesized information gathered during steps 1-4 to create strategic priorities to guide our work for the next few years.
  6. Formed inter-department work groups for each strategic priority to develop two specific actions that could be taken in 2021-2022 to advance their assigned priority. Department leadership then selected the final actions to pursue in this academic year.

How are sustainability and social justice connected?

Learn more via definitions and suggested resources on OSU's Environmental Justice page. 

 

Do you have questions or feedback on our JEDI efforts?

For more information, please contact John Deuel via email or at 541-737-2856.