The Office of the Provost held its second Race@Work Retreat for newly hired black faculty on May 22 – 25, 2023. Launched in 2022, Race@Work is designed to assist early career appointment and tenure stream faculty from historically underrepresented racial/ethnic backgrounds with building strong networks of peers, mentors, and practical tools to enable them to thrive personally and professional at Pitt.
Dr. Aliya Durham led opening activities using human-centered design and appreciate inquiry to create an atmosphere that welcomed authenticity, joy, and fostered a sense of belonging for this year’s participants. The interactive session concluded with a Call to Action that challenged new faculty to harness the power of affirmation and perseverance grounded in a reflective story the Honorable Ketanji Brown Jackson, Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, shared after her confirmation. Durham also collaborated with Dr. Sera Mathew, Equity and Inclusive Teaching Director in the University Center on Teaching and Learning, to co-create and facilitate a Strategies and Teaching Tools for Black Faculty session. The session explored the confluence of invisible labor and taxation, isolation and invalidation, and the disproportionate challenges inside the classroom that black faculty encounter in predominantly white institutional spaces based on the literature and lived experiences. The session raised awareness about existing resources and harvested innovative strategies these new faculty bring to Pitt.
Dr. Victor Figuereo served on the Race@Work alumni panel indicating that, “[it] was an enriching experience. It was a great reminder about the importance and impact of BIPOC affinity communities and how necessary they are to support BIPOC early career faculty. Engaging with fellow alumni and retreat participants sharing our perspectives and experiences allowed for a collective exploration of strategies to successfully navigate the challenges of academia for junior BIPOC faculty. It was an uplifting and empowering space of collective healing and accountability."