Chancellorʼs Advisory Committee on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Cultural Safety
Reports
Committee Charge
The UAS Chancellorʼs Advisory Committee on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Cultural Safety (DEICS) works to advance the university’s commitment to providing a vibrant culture of belonging and equitable empowerment for all members of the UAS community. In practice, the committee serves to engage the university by learning about and strategically addressing institutional issues, concerns, policies, and procedures related to DEICS matters. The committee is primarily charged with identifying points of necessary change and then developing action-oriented recommendations in order to advise and assist university leadership in its efforts to act on these recommendations. These committee efforts aim to strengthen the professional, intellectual, personal, and cultural experiences of all members of the UAS community.
The DEICS committee reports directly to the university chancellor via regular communication, and its members serve as ambassadors representing staff, faculty, students, and administration. The committee meets formally nine times throughout the academic year, generally on the last Friday of each month, from 10am - 12pm.
In its work, the DEICS committee strives to enhance the university’s commitment to the following values related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and cultural safety:
- Intentionally foster and sustain a welcoming campus environment that is based on the principles of equity and inclusion and that is respectful of differences and promotes the safety and security of all people.
- Recruit and retain a diverse workforce to ensure that UAS’s employee profile reflects the diversity of Southeast Alaska demographics.
- Prepare UAS students to lead and manage in a changing society by incorporating diversity and inclusion in teaching, learning, and research.
- Promote institutional awareness of instances of inequity, exclusion, and discrimination in our campus communities so that they may be adequately addressed.
- Build upon existing partnerships and create new partnerships that enhance the university’s commitment to DEICS principles.
Committee Priorities
Through AY24, the DEICS committee plans to develop advisory material to advance the following actions across our institution, in the following order:
- Revise the committee charge and develop the committee’s AY24 priorities
- Build institutional DEICS statements and redesign the UAS website with a focus on DEICS matters
- Revise the registration form to enhance inclusivity
- Update signage across the three campuses to strengthen the outward-facing culture of diversity, equity, inclusion, and cultural safety
- Require DEI statements for new applicants (starting with faculty, benefited staff, and administrative positions)
- Increase accessible and relevant DEICS professional development training opportunities
- Revise classroom policies to allow flexibility and accommodations for subsistence-related activities
- Revise the Faculty Handbook toward DEICS matters
Semester Meeting Schedule
- Friday 9/8/23, 10am-12pm
- Friday 9/29/23, 10am-12pm
- Friday 10/27/23, 10am-12pm
- Friday 11/17/23, 10am-12pm
- Friday 12/15/23, 10am-12pm
- Friday 1/26/24, 10am-12pm
- Friday 2/23/24, 10am-12pm
- Friday 3/22/24, 9am-5pm (all-day retreat in Juneau)
- Friday 4/26/24, 10am-12pm
Committee Membership
(16 total)
- Faculty Co-chair (1)
- Staff Co-chair (1)
- UAS Vice Chancellor of Enrollment Management (1)
- Faculty Senate appointees (4): two from Juneau, one from Sitka, one from Ketchikan
- Staff Council appointees (3): one each Juneau, Ketchikan, Sitka
- Student Government appointee (1)
- UAS Dean of Students (1)
- UAS Dean of Arts & Sciences (1)
- UAS Student Affairs (1)
- UAS Chancellor's Advisory Committee on Alaska Native Education (1)
- UAS Human Resources Director or designee (ex officio) (1)
Current Committee Members
Kimberly Matsuura (she/her)
Instructional Designer / CIS Adjunct Faculty
View profile and contact infoMath Trafton, B.A., B.S., M.A., Ph.D. (he/him)
Professor of English
In the classroom, Dr. Trafton is committed to empowering students through rigorous interdisciplinary exercises that challenge students according to their interests and their abilities. He strives to support students in developing the experience, confidence, and skills to discover their voice and to use it effectively.
Colleen Ianuzzi (she/her)
Professor of Mathematics
Colleen has been teaching mathematics and statistics courses for the UAS Ketchikan Campus since 2006. She enjoys helping students succeed and gain confidence in math, and teaches a variety of courses up through first semester Calculus and elementary statistics.
Outside of academics, Colleen enjoys hiking, beachcombing, reading and trying new recipes.
Grace Roller RN, ADN, BA (she/her)
Assistant Professor of Health Sciences
View profile and contact infoX̱’unei Lance Twitchell, M.F.A., Ph.D. (hú/du, he/him)
Professor of Alaska Native Languages
All systems and spaces have space for Indigenous languages, knowledges, arts, and peoples. You can study with us and stand up for Indigenous languages, ways of knowing, and decolonization in revolutionary self-love. Kakḵwa.áaḵw aag̱áa yakḵwadláaḵ: I will try, and I will succeed!
Carin D. Silkaitis, M.F.A. (they/them, she/her)
Interim Provost, Dean of Graduate Studies, and Dean of Research & Sponsored Programs
View profile and contact infoJoMarie C. Alba, B.S., M.Sc. (she/her, they/them)
Alaska Native Student Retention Specialist
View profile and contact info
