Faculty of Kindness
In 2024, AHSS designed and adopted a faculty EDI strategy - the Faculty of Kindness plan. A Faculty of Kindness as one that embraces a culture of care and compassion, and one that embodies an attitude of welcome, facilitating strong human connections and feelings of belonging and wellbeing among our students and staff.
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A Faculty of Kindness
- creates caring classrooms and work spaces that foster belonging and combat social isolation;
- creates a culture of affirmation;
- creates safe spaces for open communication and dialogue between all members of the Faculty community;
- takes different perspectives into account;
- engages with the whole person, not just with the learner or colleague, but also with their social identities and emotional sides;
- is trauma-informed: recognises that trauma is both real and pervasive, we can’t know or assume which colleagues or students have been impacted by trauma and need to ensure that we are empathetic;
- celebrates diversity, is curious about the stories of others;
- eradicates stigma and cultivates inclusive thinking;
- encourages being kind to ourselves and acting with empathy.
Different practices, initiatives and projects were designed to help on this journey. The Faculty of Kindness plan integrates existing working groups and initiatives in the area of EDI as well as Athena Swan-related actions, and is organised into 4 pillars and work packages.
- Establish Status Quo
- Implement new action plan
- Evaluate progress
- Focus on students
- Community of practice for Empathy
- Staff training
- Minding ourselves and colleagues
- Flexible Workload Training
- Career development
- Career Breaks
- Link with the city
- Outreach to schools
- Age-Friendly University
- Community engagement
