Why the Council on Racial, Ethnic, and Cultural Diversity Developed This Toolkit
The Council on Racial, Ethnic, and Cultural Diversity (CRECD) toolkit is designed to address best practices in recruiting students and faculty from oppressed and historically underrepresented groups. The social work profession has always experienced challenges in the recruitment and retention of faculty and doctoral students from oppressed and historically underrepresented groups.
In this regard, the toolkit is intended to serve as a resource as well as a reminder of the ongoing task to secure and maintain a diverse student body and faculty. The CRECD offers this toolkit not only as a useful resource for the entire social work community, but specifically as a point of reference for administrators, search committees and individual students and faculty interested in supporting the creation and maintenance of a diverse and viable faculty and doctoral student body.
Download the CRECD Toolkit (PDF)
CRECD Toolkit Components
The CRECD toolkit is divided into four sections:
- recruitment and retention resources for oppressed and historically underrepresented faculty;
- recruitment and retention resources for oppressed and historically underrepresented doctoral students;
- a section on common themes from CRECD Special Sessions on Recruitment and Retention of doctoral students and faculty from oppressed and historically underrepresented groups (and a corresponding bibliography); and
- a bibliography including all mentioned sources. The first two sections each begins with a focus on diversity in general, followed by specific resources on the identified oppressed and historically underrepresented groups.
We recognize that information changes constantly; therefore, we view the toolkit as an ongoing project. Additionally, this search did not produce any specific resources for addressing the recruitment and retention need of Asian students and faculty. We will continue to explore this area for available resources. Additionally, we contend that the generic nature of the toolkit is very adaptable to the needs of diverse groups.
We welcome and encourage your comments and suggestions on the toolkit. We also would like to learn how you have used the toolkit and how it may have contributed to you having a successful recruitment and retention process within your programs. Our hope is that the toolkit will serve as a valued resource, continually improved over time.
Please email us your comments and suggestions on the CRECD toolkit at [email protected].