Tag: Month

  • Black History Month: African Americans and Labor

    Black History Month: African Americans and Labor

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    This February 2025, we’re honoring Black History Month. The 2025 theme is “African Americans and Labor,” emphasizing the impact Black Americans have made through various working roles.

    We’d like to recognize the significant contributions of three Black educators who helped shape the future of higher education, breaking down barriers and inspiring generations of learners and educational leaders.

    Mary McLeod Bethune

    Mary McLeod Bethune is regarded as one of the most significant Black educators and civil rights activists of the 20th century. The daughter of formerly enslaved parents, Bethune believed education was key to opening the doors of opportunity for Black Americans. She founded the Daytona Normal and Industrial Institute for Negro Girls in Daytona, Florida, in 1904, serving as president of the school. The school was eventually combined with the Cookman Institute for Men in 1923 (other sources cite 1929), merging to form the Bethune-Cookman College, Bethune becoming the first Black woman to serve as a college president. The college was one of the few institutions where Black students could seek a college degree. And as of fall 2023, Bethune-Cookman University enrolled 2,415 undergraduate students.

    Mary McLeod Bethune, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs and Prints Division, The New York Public Library. (1940 – 1949).

    Kelly Miller

    Kelly Miller was a groundbreaking educator, mathematician and writer, becoming the first Black man to attend Johns Hopkins University for post-graduate study. He would go on to eventually join Howard University’s faculty as a mathematics professor, helping found the American Negro Academy in 1897, the first organization for Black scholars and artists.

    Miller introduced sociology to Howard’s curriculum in 1895, becoming the first person to teach the subject at the university. Eventually becoming dean of Howard’s College of Arts and Sciences in 1907, he worked to add new natural and social science courses, transforming the curriculum. Due to his tireless recruitment efforts across the south, student enrollment tripled during his first four years in that position.

    Kelly Miller.
    Kelly Miller, LL.D. Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Jean Blackwell Hutson Research and Reference Division, The New York Public Library. (1904).

    Mary Jane Patterson

    Becoming the first Black woman to receive a bachelor’s degree when she graduated from Oberlin College in 1862, Mary Jane Patterson quickly established herself as trailblazer. She devoted her career to education, teaching at the Institute of Colored Youth, now known as Cheyney University, eventually becoming the school principal at the Preparatory High School for Colored Youth, the first U.S. public high school for Black Americans. The Mary Jane Patterson Scholarship was established in 2019, which aims to support post-baccalaureate students who are interested in teaching in urban classrooms.

    Mary Jane Patterson
    Mary Jane Patterson, first Black woman to be granted a bachelor’s degree in the U.S. (Oberlin College, 1862). Photo retrieved from Oberlin College Archives.

     

    During this Black History Month 2025, we celebrate the contributions of these three Black educators whose accomplishments continue to ring out throughout higher education today.

    If you’re interested in history content for your course, we encourage you to browse our history catalog.

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  • Black History Month (Mutabaruka)

    Black History Month (Mutabaruka)

     

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  • Celebrating Pride Month: Spotlight on Transgender and Nonbinary Employees – CUPA-HR

    Celebrating Pride Month: Spotlight on Transgender and Nonbinary Employees – CUPA-HR

    by Julie Burrell | June 4, 2024

    June is Pride Month, dedicated to celebrating the richness and history of the LGBTQIA+ community. In addition to ensuring regulatory compliance, higher ed HR has an important role to play in creating a truly inclusive campus. A fundamental part of celebrating Pride is actively learning from and listening to this community, especially as the population of LGBTQIA+ employees continues to grow.

    This Pride, CUPA-HR is spotlighting the voices of transgender and nonbinary employees by offering resources to empower HR in improving culture, policies and procedures for this group. Even if significant institutional change is not something you’re in a position to initiate, individual actions can add up. In addition to learning from the below resources, you can network with your colleagues at other institutions to provide support, personally recognize national days of awareness or remembrance, and encourage allyship.

    Inclusion of Transgender and Nonbinary Employees in the Workplace: A Critical Conversation (Watch Now)

    In this webinar, recorded in May, Jon Humiston of Central Michigan University and Aaric Guerriero of the Froedtert Health System explore ways to celebrate and embrace transgender and nonbinary employees.

    They address frequently asked questions about transgender and nonbinary issues, including what terms are commonly used within the LGBTQIA+ community and what happens if you accidentally misgender someone. They also recommend best practices for inclusion, including:

    • Using gender-neutral language. For example, instead of “ladies and gentleman,” Jon suggests “amazing humans,” “everyone,” or “y’all.”
    • Changing paperwork and job descriptions if they mention just two gender pronouns — for example, he or she — to inclusive language like “they.”
    • Sharing your pronouns in your email signature and Zoom profile, so others feel comfortable doing the same.

    Gender-Inclusive HR Strategies: Are You on the Right Track? (Read Now)

    This blog post proposes a framework for higher ed HR practitioners to address their gender inclusion strategies. A checklist of questions will help you audit your efforts on campus, covering: policies and procedures (for example, do you have a name-in-use policy or chosen-name policy that is easy to access and navigate?); programmatic support (e.g., do you have LGBTQIA+ safe-zone training available for all employees?); and visibility (e.g., does your institution have a presence at local LGBTQIA+ pride events?). Reviewing these questions will help you identify gaps in your inclusion efforts.

    Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation in the Workplace (Explore the Toolkit)

    This Knowledge Center toolkit, while not specifically about trans and nonbinary employees, covers legal obligations under Title VII and Title IX and supplies applicable guidelines from the Equal Opportunity and Employment Commission and Office for Civil Rights. Best practices and example policies are also included — for example, on name changes in official forms.



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  • Workplace Eye Wellness Month: How HR Can Help Employees With Low Vision or Vision Loss – CUPA-HR

    Workplace Eye Wellness Month: How HR Can Help Employees With Low Vision or Vision Loss – CUPA-HR

    by Jill Thompson | March 22, 2022

    Whether it was logging overtime behind laptops before work-from-home boundaries were put in place or turning to mobile phones and tablets for entertainment during lockdowns, many of us recognized the uptick in screen time during the height of the pandemic. Our eyes likely noticed the uptick too by feeling increasingly strained.

    March is Workplace Eye Wellness month, so we’re highlighting some tips from Prevent Blindness to help keep screen time in check and lessen eye strain at work and at home.

    • Screen time: Try to decrease the amount of time spent in front of screens and/or take frequent breaks to give your eyes a rest.
    • Use the 20-20-20 rule: Every 20 minutes, take a 20-second break and look at something 20 feet away.
    • Filters: Screen filters are available for smart phones, tablets and computer screens. They decrease the amount of blue light given off from these devices that could reach the retina in the eyes.
    • Anti-reflective lenses: Anti-reflective lenses reduce glare and increase contrast and also block blue light from the sun and digital devices.
    • Intraocular lens (IOL): After cataract surgery, the cloudy lens will be replaced with an intraocular lens (IOL). The lens naturally protects the eye from almost all ultraviolet light and some blue light. There are types of IOLs that can protect the eye and retina from blue light.

    Visit Prevent Blindness for more information and resources on eye and vision health.

    HR Perspective

    From the human resources perspective, HR practitioners can help employees who are experiencing vision loss or low vision. Employees experiencing a decrease in vision may have difficulty completing paperwork, reading standard-size print, discerning regular or colored font on computer screens, or locating the cursor, all of which impact productivity at work.

    In the Disability in the Workplace toolkit in CUPA-HR’s Knowledge Center, Mississippi State University’s HR guide offers plenty of creative low-tech and high-tech accommodations for employees with low vision:

    Low-tech accommodations:

    • Place tactile dots on controls on equipment, such as the telephone, a copier, the microwave in the breakroom, etc. so that an individual who is blind or visually impaired can determine which buttons perform different functions.
    • Place a braille sticker on an employee’s mail slot to identify it.
    • Increase or decrease lighting in an office or cubicle to increase visibility or reduce glare.
    • Cover a window to reduce glare.
    • Provide extra floor space in a cubicle to accommodate a guide dog.

    High-tech accommodations:

    • Implement screen reading or screen magnification software to allow an employee who is blind or has low vision to complete computer tasks.
    • Provide a larger monitor or dual monitors to allow an individual with low vision greater access to visual information.
    • Implement a braille display paired with the computer or an iPad or used independently to allow vision-impaired employees to take notes and recall information.
    • Provide a video magnifier to increase the size of print and enhance the contrast of printed materials.
    • Provide optical character recognition hardware or software to capture print information and translate it to audio output.

    To read the full guide and explore other disability inclusion examples from higher ed, visit the Disability in the Workplace toolkit (CUPA-HR members only resource).



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  • National Women’s History Month: Past and Present Higher Ed HR Trailblazers – CUPA-HR

    National Women’s History Month: Past and Present Higher Ed HR Trailblazers – CUPA-HR

    by CUPA-HR | March 2, 2022

    National Women’s History Month celebrates the contributions and achievements women have made throughout U.S. history. CUPA-HR is fortunate to have had many smart and dedicated women serve on its national, regional and chapter boards and on various committees. In addition to providing leadership at work, they have volunteered their time and shared their know-how — lighting the way for other women in the field.

    To celebrate the month, we’re spotlighting some of the many leaders who have transformed higher ed HR and CUPA-HR. Sure to inspire, these articles and podcast episodes offer unique perspectives of higher ed HR, career journeys, struggles, successes and everything in between.

    Looking Back to Move Forward

    Blazing a Trail: Women Who Paved the Way in Higher Ed HR, from a 2014 issue of Higher Ed HR Magazine, features five CUPA-HR leaders who began their higher ed HR careers in a very different era — when HR was still “personnel,” men dominated the profession and the nature of the work was strictly focused on policies and procedures. These women rose to leadership positions, not only in their departments, but across their institutions. Read about their challenges, their regrets, their successes and a few war stories to boot.

    More Stories That Inspire

    CUPA-HR Conversations: Higher Ed HR Turns 75 Podcast features higher ed HR leaders and past CUPA-HR national board chairs who have left their mark on both the association and the profession.

    • In Episode 2: Growing Through Change, Allison Vaillancourt reflects on some professional advice she received from a CUPA-HR peer that changed her entire approach to HR and helped advance her career and secure several leadership positions.
    • Lynn Bynum shares how CUPA-HR helped her make the transition from the corporate world to higher ed HR, and Lauren Turner offers insights into how HR can become a recognized leader within the institution and help others become better leaders in Episode 4: Model Behavior.
    • Jane Federowicz reflects on her unexpected path to HR, starting out as her institution’s accountant and ending up being asked to create an HR department, in Episode 6: When Opportunity Knocks.
    • In Episode 7: Lifelong Learning, Barbara Carroll dives into some experiences she never thought she would have as an HR leader, including serving on CUPA-HR’s Public Policy Committee and providing a higher ed perspective to a room full of senators and congressional representatives, and Linda Lulli discusses the importance of being a lifelong learner in the HR profession and how to be adaptable and resilient.

    Time-Out With Tammi & Tyler is a podcast that explores how higher ed HR careers evolve by interviewing professionals at the top of their HR game, sharing advice they would give professionals climbing the higher ed HR ladder.

    • In Episode 1, Donna Popovich offers advice for early-career professionals.
    • Sheraine Gilliam walks through her story of persistence, networking and how to turn negative situations into opportunities for growth in Episode 3.
    • In Episode 5, Clarity White describes how her Wildfire program experience helped advance her HR career.

    Related resources:

    21-Day Challenge: Focus on Women (First two weeks of the challenge)



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  • 4 Ways HR Pros Can Support DEI During Black History Month and Beyond – CUPA-HR

    4 Ways HR Pros Can Support DEI During Black History Month and Beyond – CUPA-HR

    by CUPA-HR | February 2, 2022

    “Black History Month is an opportunity to understand the stories of Black Americans as something more than a history of racism and strife. It’s a time to recognize their undeniable impact on our country and culture.” – BestColleges.com

    Since 1976, U.S. presidents have officially designated February as Black History Month. This month-long celebration of the historic contributions of the Black community is the legacy of historian and scholar Carter G. Woodson, who worked tirelessly to reform the way Black history is taught in schools.

    Today, higher ed institutions recognize and honor Black History Month in myriad ways, but the work required to create and sustain equality, an inclusive workplace culture and a sense of belonging on our campuses is ongoing.

    The CUPA-HR resources listed below provide insights and tools to help individuals and institutions build on their understanding of the issues and take action to bring about change. The current 21-Day Equity Habit Building Challenge, in particular, offers a one-of-a-kind opportunity to learn from institutions that are making meaningful strides in this work.

    • Participate in a 21-Day Challenge. The concept of the 21-day challenge was introduced several years ago by diversity expert Eddie Moore, Jr. to create greater understanding of the intersections of race, power, privilege, supremacy, oppression and equity. There are several challenges to choose from:
    • Watch the on-demand webinar, Measurements That Matter: Using HR Data to Advance DEI Goals. In this webinar, presenters from the USC Race and Equity Center shared their insights and strategies for increasing diversity in campus workforces. You’ll learn what types of data to collect, how to use that data to get a better sense of your institution’s workforce diversity gaps and how to provide equitable responses to any issues uncovered.
    • Add DEI resources to your toolbelt. Explore the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Toolkit (CUPA-HR members-only resource). Here you’ll find resources, trainings, policies, forms and templates, and much more to help support your institution’s DEI efforts.
    • Watch the recording of the virtual town hall, Partners in Justice, We Will Not Be Silent! This discussion features voices from our higher ed HR community and explores what it means to move beyond existing DEI initiatives to create real systemic and cultural change at our colleges and universities.

    Throughout the month, take time to dive into one or more of these resources (individually or with a group) and explore new ways to take action now and throughout the year.



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