Diversity and Inclusion Service-Learning Projects Are a Win-Win

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To help advance its vision for a more diverse and inclusive campus, region and state, the Office for Diversity and Inclusion at the University of Arkansas is tapping into an abundant resource on campus: students. 

The office has worked with professors in the Department of Communication, the School of Journalism and Strategic Media, and the School of Art for students to helm projects relating to diversity and inclusion, creating win-win partnerships that provide applied learning opportunities for students that also produce innovative and relevant approaches to promoting diversity and inclusion on campus. 

In Marty Maxwell Lane's Design for Good class in spring 2019, senior graphic design students each developed campaigns that would raise awareness of the office's efforts and its importance to the University of Arkansas. 

"I have been very interested in the work that Yvette and her team have been doing to build an inclusive culture on our campus and in the community and wanted to see how our graphic design program could support their work," Maxwell Lane said.  

Karen Hessing, a student in the class, developed a grassroots campaign to raise awareness of the Diversity and Inclusion Student Council by designing a "Change Agent" swag bag including a tote bag, T-shirt, stickers and buttons. 

"I've always been passionate about what is called 'Design for Good' or 'Design for Social Change,'" she said. "The projects I've worked on have helped me see that these principles of empathy and using design to solve complex problems are applicable to all facets of design. Approaching design from this standpoint helps me continually become a better communicator and designer, as well as hopefully just a better person."

Another student's project proposed a campaign with the tagline "Inclusion Includes You," which the Office for Diversity and Inclusion began using as a slogan for the academic year. Other projects are being considered for implementation in the spring semester. 

In the Department of Communication, two graduate students — Dusan Stojanovic and Ariel Romero Velasquez — each worked on capstone projects related to diversity and inclusion. To help attract more first-generation students and students from rural counties, Velasquez designed a diversity map to showcase stories from current students fitting those profiles. And Stojanovic designed and taught three training modules for U of A student leaders on intercultural conflicts, microaggressions and implicit biases to help create mindfulness and awareness of the most common issues pertaining to diversity and inclusion. 

Not only did the project give him an opportunity to apply what he learned in the classroom to a hands-on project, it opened his eyes to nuances of language he hadn't previously considered. 

"This project helped me understand that our words carry weight beyond anything that I could ever imagine," Stojanovic said. "I took my verbal exchanges with other people for granted before I undertook this project. This project served as an eye-opening self-reflection for me, and I wanted to encourage that same self-reflection among other students, faculty and staff."

Additionally, students and faculty at the School of Journalism and Strategic Media have helped build the foundation for the office's digital presence. Teaching assistant students in Professor Niketa Reed's Digital Content Strategy class conducted content analysis, user testing and market research to inform the design and development of the office's website.

"Partnering with our students in this manner is beneficial to everyone involved," said Yvette Murphy-Erby, vice chancellor for diversity and inclusion. "The students gain real-world experience and work with their professors to contribute in meaningful ways to our campus priorities.  Our campus and community benefit from the creativity and research-informed work the students produce."