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Racial Equity Action Plan

The Racial Equity Action Plan is a living document which establishes a framework of how we as exempt staff ensure our actions do not perpetuate a system of advantages based on race.

Updated by the Council on March 13, 2025: PDF-version here.

If you would like to provide feedback or join us and be involved in this effort please contact us at [email protected].

How can we as exempt staff and members of the Exempt Staff Council help ensure that our actions (the actions of individual staff/ departments/ groups) do not perpetuate a system of advantages based on race?

The purpose and mission of the Exempt Staff Council (ESC) is, in part, to:

  • Build bridges between the exempt staff and other constituencies on campus including nonexempt staff, faculty, and upper administration.
  • Enhance communications between exempt staff and other constituencies of Trinity College, including senior administration, NESC membership, faculty, students and their families, and alumni.
  • Offer, when deemed appropriate and necessary, advice to senior administration.
  • Ensure that staff members serve on committees that help determine college policies, particularly but not exclusively those policies which directly affect the exempt staff.
  • Provide a forum for discussing/resolving issues and concerns of the exempt staff, and advocate on behalf of the rights and needs of the exempt staff.

These directives are especially important as we consider our role in developing ongoing, short (ST)-, medium (MT)-, and long-term (LT) action plans to dismantle systemic racism and promote racial equity at Trinity. What is presented below is a living document that will change and grow as the council does and as the work demands it.

1.      We commit to developing a diverse ESC whose membership includes better representation from across the spectrum of staff community at Trinity. To do this we must bring greater awareness of the council and its work to the larger community so that more staff are encouraged to participate, leading to greater representation on the council:
  • Share current elected council member contact information, biography, current projects (ongoing)
  • Consistently encourage attendance at ESC meetings and events. Work with department heads to encourage and allow staff the time to attend during the workday. (ongoing)
  • Actively seek feedback and input from exempt staff on how we can be supportive. (ongoing)
  • Develop a communications plan to regularly share updates on the work ESC is doing and to remind staff that we are here as a resource. (ST)
2. We (re)commit to serving as a resource and unified voice for staff at Trinity. For instance, we intend to make issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion core to our mission, by:
  • Lobbying for the development of (1) hiring practices that lead to an employee population that is a racially, ethnically, and culturally diverse population and (2) the on-boarding practices that help develop a strong sense of community and improve employee retention. (ongoing)
  • Training each member of ESC to become a leader/facilitator in social justice conflict mediation. (MT)
3. We commit to allocating resources:
  • Allocating greater professional development funding for training related to issues of DEI. (ST)
  • Sponsoring on and off-campus events and discussions. (ongoing)
4. We commit to developing and collaborating on programming:
  • Develop, with the Center for Hartford Engagement and Research, more opportunities for staff to regularly engage with the greater Hartford community. (ongoing)
  • Develop, with The Office of Human Resources, a staff mentoring program that pairs newer staff with longer serving staff. (ongoing)
  • Develop and facilitate focus groups to engage members of staff in conversations surrounding DEI. (ST)
  • Encourage the adoption of educational and training opportunities:
    • Mandatory training for staff on implicit bias. (MT)
    • Mandatory training for managers and supervisors on how to lead diverse teams, mediate conflict, and address complaints. (MT)
  • Create/share a glossary of terms and concepts so that we are starting conversations with a common vocabulary. (Complete)