HR Business Partnership: What’s inclusion and diversity got to do with it?
As we kick off our second annual HR conference on this year’s theme of partnership, we begin with a panel of experts in human resources and/or diversity work, who will reflect on and discuss the relationship of inclusion and diversity to our ability to function in true partnership with the people whom we serve. Panelists will cover topics including:
- Why it is critical to understand ourselves and our identities
- The impacts of seeing ourselves through the lens of individual identity but others at a level of group identity
- How social identity theory influences our understanding of identity—and how HR can cultivate safe places for having these discussions
- Lessons learned in personal journeys, leading to best practices for optimizing diversity and inclusion within our organizations
- An examination of white privilege in the context of our predominantly white institution—and strategies that we can take to be more inclusive
This keynote is intended to be an engaged discussion amongst our community, including opportunities for experiential learning and for sharing your insights and questions.
Panelists
Brian Gittens
Dr. Brian Gittens is the Associate Dean for Human Resources, Equity and Inclusion for SMPH. He is a human resource professional, researcher, educator, and consultant with more than 27 years of operational and administrative experience. Brian specializes in organizational and leadership development, strategic diversity and inclusion, organizational assessment and analysis, change management, and talent management in support of optimizing organizational performance and quality initiatives. Brian is a graduate of the George Washington University (EdD, Higher Education Administration-research focused on leadership development and organizational culture) and Virginia Tech (B.A. Communications and Masters in Public Administration).
He is a Certified Senior Professional of Human Resources and graduate of the AAMC Healthcare Executive Diversity and Inclusion Certificate program. Brian has also been an adjunct professor of Change Management and Organizational Behavior in Virginia Tech’s Executive MBA program and has published in academic journals and authored book chapters focused on leadership and organizational culture.
Ruthanne Chun
Dr. Ruthanne Chun is a 1991 graduate of the UW-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine, and is currently section head of Clinical Oncology and a Clinical Professor of Oncology at the UW-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine. She is also the Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs and Hospital Director of the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital and is the President-elect for the subspecialty of Oncology within the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine.
Ruthanne is committed to issues of social justice in her work and dedicates time to helping her students understand themselves and to recognize and practice empathy for others. In addition to teaching communication and empathy skills within the veterinary medical curriculum, she is part of an interprofessional program that works with people experiencing housing instability to provide veterinary medical care and pet supplies, animal boarding and fostering, and concrete and referral social services.
Jenny Faust
Jenny Faust is the Associate Vice Provost for Strategic Initiatives and the Director of the Office of Quality Improvement and Administrative Process Design, assisting units across campus with process improvement, project management, and strategic planning. Previously, she was a faculty member and an academic administrator at California State University Los Angeles, CSU Fullerton, and The University of Louisiana at Lafayette. She’s overseen faculty and graduate student labor relations, led an Academic Personnel HR office, and served as lead P.I. on an NSF ADVANCE-IT grant designed to increase the participation and advancement of women in STEM.
Jenny has spent the majority of her 25 years in higher education in institutions with underrepresented populations. While her thinking on diversity is still evolving, her current view is that HR professionals are to diversity as professors of education are to teaching; that is, there are some experts in the house, but in order to get the work done we must act as diversity officers across the campus.
Sheronda Glass
Sheronda Glass is the Director of Human Resources at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, responsible for classification, recruitment and employment, compensation, benefits, employee relations, and training and development. Her HR experience spans 20+ years in a variety of industries, including healthcare, consumer products/manufacturing, and most recently K-12 education, in the areas of performance management, labor relations, and diversity management.
Sheronda is PHR-certified through SHRM and HRCI, and is a certified trainer/facilitator in the areas of conflict resolution, emotional intelligence, performance management, and cultural competency. She also teaches Essential Skills for Project Management and Introduction to Human Resources Management through the University Colleges and Extension. Sheronda has a master’s degree in Human Resources from Cardinal Stritch University and is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Organizational Management and Human Resources from Capella University. Her dissertation topic is “The Relationship between Emotional Intelligence and Attitude towards Diversity: An Explanatory Study.”