Purpose Statement
The purpose of the Administrators and Staff for Racial Justice (ASRJ) group is to better prepare and empower USD staff to dismantle systems of racism and oppression. ASRJ acknowledges the standing, historical legacy of racialized trauma in America and, therefore, seeks to establish an approach centered around Healing Centered Engagement (HCE), prioritizing healing at both the individual and collective level. With the guiding vision of racial justice, staff will commit to further educate themselves about the roles of power, privilege, internalized dominance, and oppression in our lives. With a focus on race and racism, we will reflect on these impacts both at work here at the University of San Diego and outside in other communities.
As a result, staff will be better prepared to join in collective liberation and to take up needed change and action in individual roles and spaces, work with students on matters of race, and identify ways to engage others on campus in conversations on racial justice.
Learning Outcomes
- Through small group work, ASRJ Participants will acquire greater knowledge of the historical legacy and lasting impact of racialized trauma. Through the usage of decolonized models and frameworks, race-alike spaces will be used to engage the mind and body through different ways of knowing and being.
- Utilizing various teaching tools rooted in antiracist and anti-oppressive frameworks, participants will explore and discover racial inequity both at the institutional and policy level.
- Participants will learn ways to integrate anti-racist/anti-oppression practicies and policies into current job descriptions.
- ASRJ participants will participate in race-alike dialogue to honor and acknowledge the reclamation of racialized spaces, safety and healing.
- In addition to race-alike work, intergroup dialogue will be utilized to strengthen allyship and coalition building at all levels of the institution.
- ASRJ participants will work in race-alike groups as a way to incorporate healing and transformational justice alongside community. This method and process acknowledges the uniqueness of how racialized groups experience racial trauma, and therefore collective healing and transformation differently.
In the wake of 2020 and the ensuing movements to address racial injustice in America, ASRJ acknowledges the disproportionate effect that systems of oppression and racism have on Black persons directly. As such, the directive of this program will center, first and foremost, around addressing the harm and impact of anti-black racism. Furthermore, ASRJ acknowledges that not all voices are equitably represented in the hiring practices of the University, and therefore, racialized groups to include the Tribal Nation are unable to participate in the pilot of this program as a subsequent result. The inability to participate is a call to action for the University of San Diego to implement more direct and equitable measures toward the hiring of indiegenous persons immediately.
Benefits of joining an ASRJ Cohort
Learn about Racial Justice from any starting point
Build community with other professional staff members during COVID
Engage in dialogue with race-alike people to explore challenges and personal growth opportunities
Explore ways to enhancing the USD, identity-based student experience
Gain the satisfaction of participating in an intellectual, emotional and empowering professional development experience
ASRJ Cohort Eligibility
- Full time employees (Administrators or Staff): any contract length is acceptable, however participants should not plan to miss more than two scheduled, synchronous sessions.
- We highly recommend that interested administrators and staff discuss with their direct supervisor about joining an ASRJ Cohort, as this experience requires a significant time commitment during each academic semester.
For additional information regarding Administrators & Staff for Racial Justice, please contact Dr. Sean Horrigan, Director of University Centers and Staff Development, at horrigan@sandiego.edu.