Cleveland, Ohio -- The Mid-American Conference (MAC) has initiated new programming for MAC coaches and administrators that will consist of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion educational sessions. These sessions will provide another opportunity within the Conference to better support the student-athletes in areas such as race relations, social justice and equality. This is an opportunity for the Conference to provide member institutions and coaching staffs with education and conversation on these essential topics, supplementing existing institutional programs.
“Our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programming will provide the opportunity for our coaches and administrators to participate in a program that will benefit student-athletes, respective campuses, Conference, and the communities in which we live,” said MAC Commissioner Dr. Jon Steinbrecher. “I am thankful for the collaboration and contributions of our faculty, who are dedicating their time to lead and facilitate these important discussions.”
This program will be specific to administrators and coaches, with separate sessions from student-athletes. The sessions will be hosted bi-weekly for coaches and administrators (6 in total).
"I applaud the foresight and vision of the MAC to host the DEI Coach/Administrator's series,” said Dr. Luchara Wallace, Director, Lewis Walker Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnic Relations at Western Michigan University. “Our student athletes need our leadership during these times to not only guide and teach, but to also show how much we care by further educating ourselves."
The following topics will be hosted by an expert in the field, volunteering their time from one of the Conference’s member institutions, leading the session described:
Implicit Bias recognition and management
• Education based on self-reflection to develop an understanding of personal initial, implicit biases. This session will direct attendees to acknowledge, accept and manage implicit biases. Utilizing the Harvard Implicit Bias test, participants will examine implicit biases and begin to create awareness of actions associated with biases. This session will allow for individuals to recognize their biases and give way to strategies to mitigate biases leading to discrimination.
Privilege recognition and management
• This session will help attendees understand individual privileges, as well as privileges of others – allows for honest, comprehensive conversation through understanding and acceptance. This session will equip participants with skills to look beyond personal privilege and understand differing perspectives.
Allyship
• The Allyship session will focus on how to understand a leader’s role in different individuals’ lives, how individuals act (in silence or in action), and one’s readiness to be an ally. This will be an opportunity for attendees to understand their role from the perspective of student-athletes and, perhaps, strengthen their ability to act as an ally for student-athletes and colleagues through different opportunities. This session will also provide an opportunity to discuss potential student-athlete activism and ways that coaches and administrators might partner in these actions or encourage teams to have conversations about topics.
Dismantling Microaggressions
• The Dismantling Microaggressions session will focus on recognizing stereotypes and negatively framed actions and language associated with negative stereotypes. Moreover, the session will define the term microaggression, how it may impact marginalized groups, and tactics to prevent microaggressions. This session will train attendees to manage each of these aspects to support diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.
Moving Beyond the Talk
• The Moving Beyond the Talk session will be based on the COMMIT Model developed by La’Wana Harris in her book Diversity Beyond Lip Service. Through La’Wana Harris’ website attendees will conduct the COMMIT self-assessment prior to the session. This session will revisit previous sessions and discuss ways to move beyond lip service and create actionable change in creating diverse and inclusive environments.
Racial Healing Experiences
• The Racial Healing Experiences session will be framed using initiatives developed by the Kellogg Foundation, and it will review ways to address issues of racial injustice in communities and how to begin healing to move forward. This session will incorporate vulnerability and past influences that influence current world views.
