The Equity and Diversity Certificate is a program developed by the University of Minnesota System’s Office of Equity and Diversity. This ally model series of workshops help participants develop tools necessary for advancing equity and diversity in all aspects of their personal and professional lives. It’s free of charge and open to all faculty and staff on all University of Minnesota campuses.
The Office for Equity and Diversity and the University Wellbeing Program are collaborating for the 2023-2024 academic year to provide system-wide virtual ECHO programming. Learn more about the complexities of the medical industrial complex and how that interacts with this program here.
For details and workshop descriptions - click here.
Spring 2025 Offerings at the UM, Duluth campus
This fall, we will offer five UM Equity Certificate Hosted Online (ECHO) program courses. The UMD Office of Diversity & Inclusion partners with the UM Office for Equity and Diversity (OED) Education Program to offer these courses to UMD faculty, staff, and students.
Each course consists of three learning activities: reading materials, watching or listening to media clips, and group discussion participation. Depending on the spots available, learners can choose to take the courses at UMD ECHO and/or UM ECHO courses.
Registration Information
The Equity Certificate Hosted Online (ECHO) program is free for all current staff and faculty on all five system campuses.
UMD - OED X108 (Race, Racism, and White Supremacy)
February 13 - 1-2:30 pm
U.S. society, culture, and institutions were founded on racism and white supremacy. Today very little has changed as we continue to see the massive amount of systemic inequities, mass incarceration, health disparities, and the individual lives of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) lost on a daily basis. Addressing these facts and the complex layers of racial oppression can be difficult for white people to understand due to the race privilege, lack of education and understanding, and on-going advantages built into our systems and culture. This session will explore contemporary dynamics that perpetuate racism and white supremacy, including dominant group patterns and multiple modalities of racial harm. Participants will learn how to actively address and interrupt racism and white supremacy at individual, institutional, and community levels.
UMD - OED X106 (Challenging Classism)
February 25 - 10:00-11:30 am
The impact of classism in our society leads to bias and barriers for low-income, poor, and working class people and communities. Exploring classism is an essential part of understanding how wealth, status, and income are intertwined with social, cultural, and historical issues in the United States. This course explores how class and classism intersect with our identities and experiences, and how we can challenge assumptions and biases about class
UMD - OED X107 (Gender, Gender Identity, and Sexuality)
March 3 - 2:00-3:30 pm
We commonly think of gender and sexuality as restricted to binary-based and heteronormative definitions and representations. This dialogue centers around expanding our awareness about the constellation of gender and sexuality identities and expressions, and exploring ways to challenge erasure and harm targeted towards the 2SLGBTQIA+ (Two-Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual+) and gender expansive communities. Finally, we will identify strategies for creating affirming communities and environments where everyone’s identity, orientation, and expression is respected.
UMD - OED X103 (Navigating Challenging Conversations)
March 20 - 2-3:30 pm
This course addresses one of the most significant aspects of equity and diversity work: navigating challenging conversations. In each of our ongoing developmental paths around equity, diversity, and social justice, we will find ourselves in more situations that call for self-reflection, careful listening, nuanced language, calling in/calling out, and asking thoughtful questions. This course introduces skills in the following areas: noticing and naming our own feelings and activations, developing nuance in our understanding of our intentions, providing challenge and support to peers and colleagues, and developing empathy and active listening skills when we impact others.
UMD - OED X110 (Understanding and Addressing Gender-Based Oppression)
March 24 - 2:30-4:00 pm
The struggle to attain global gender equity has been a centuries-long battle. Although there have been significant advancements in the ongoing struggle for gender justice, many continue to disproportionately suffer from discrimination and violence. This course fosters awareness and dialogue around harmful gender norms, gender-based violence, and barriers to gender justice. We will also explore key strategies for interrupting and addressing harm, bias, and discrimination rooted in gender-based stereotypes and oppression.
UMD - OED X102 (Addressing Implicit Bias and Microaggressions)
April 3 - 2:00-3:30 pm
The University of Minnesota is committed to increasing equity and diversity among its staff, faculty, and students. This includes supporting people of color, people who identify as women, people with disabilities, 2SLGBTQIA+ communities, and other identities across campus. It is essential to recognize and address the presence of implicit bias and microaggressions in our everyday lives. This course explores the concept of implicit bias and how it produces microaggressions that can impact the classroom, work, and social environments. Participants will also be prompted to interactively apply skills in acknowledging and actively addressing bias and microaggressions to use in their everyday lives.
UMD - OED X105 (Ableism & Disability Justice)
April 10- 2:00-3:30 pm
Ableism and discrimination towards people with disabilities and the disability community plays out on the individual, cultural, and institutional levels in the U.S. and worldwide. In this course, participants learn about the foundational frames and the nuance involved in fighting ableism and working for disability justice, a movement-building framework that centers the lives, needs, and organizing strategies of disabled queer and trans and/or Black and brown people rooted in the ten principles of disability justice.
The Equity and Diversity Certificate helps participants develop tools necessary for advancing equity and diversity in all aspects of their personal and professional lives. It’s free of charge and open to all faculty, staff, and students on all University of Minnesota campuses.
For more information about the certificate program, registration, or to request disability accommodations, contact Susana Pelayo-Woodward at [email protected] or 218-726-8444