Poole College Diversity Director is Part of Campus BIRT Team
Tayah Butler, director of diversity and inclusion at the NC State Poole College of Management, is among those contributing to NC State’s recently launched campus-wide Bias Incident Response Team (BIRT).
NC State began developing the team and bias incident reporting process in fall 2016, joining the ranks of universities across the country with similar programs. That was shortly after Butler joined the Poole College of Management.
“I have personally seen the benefits and impact of having a bias incident response system at my previous institution and welcomed the opportunity to help a BIRT launch here at NC State University,” Butler said.
The NC State program is coordinated by Reggie Barnes, NC State’s senior director of campus community centers, and reports through the Office for Institutional Equity and Diversity (OIED). Their goal: to provide the campus community a system through which a person can report incidents of bias on and around campus.
“A formal bias incident reporting process helps communities, like the Poole College of Management and the university as a whole, become aware of the educational areas we need to focus on in our cultural competence offerings for faculty, staff and students,” Butler said. “It also ushers in restorative practices that focus on helping people understand each other rather than focusing on differences which divide us.”
This new system does not replace existing processes for reporting and addressing acts of discrimination, harassment, concern or violence; nor does it conduct investigations, which may be referred to the appropriate university offices when necessary.
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