Inclusion & Diversity Initiatives

Faculty and Staff Initiatives

The Olivet College Teaching and Learning Grants, awarded in 2015 and supported by the generosity of alumni, included $21,500 for diversity and inclusion programming, including the two following initiatives:

Faculty Workshop: “Doing Our Own Work: An Anti-Racism Seminar for White People”
In 2017, 10 faculty and staff members attended an eight-day on-campus workshop, titled “Doing Our Own Work: An Anti-Racism Seminar for White People.” Led by Allies for Change and Olivet College Leadership Award recipient Melanie Morrison, the workshop’s goal was to enlighten and empower white people to confront white privilege and challenge racism.

Faculty, Staff and Student Mini Workshop: “How to Confront Microagressions”
In 2017, Melanie Morrison and Dionardo Pizana delivered a half-day mini workshop to all Olivet College faculty and staff as well as a symposium to students. Microaggressions are verbal, nonverbal, and environmental insults or indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, which communicate derogatory or negative messages to people based solely upon their marginalized group membership. Utilizing input from the workshop leaders, current research about microaggressions, film clips, and structured learning activities, the workshop explored how individuals can use their personal agency to interrupt microaggressive behaviors and help nurture an equitable and inclusive learning environment.

Student Initiatives

The Hiram Archer Student Success Academy (H.A.S.S.A.) is a mentorship and support group for students of color. The group’s namesake, Hiram Archer, was an Olivet College student from 1889-1905. In 1844, Olivet College became the first college in Michigan to admit women and persons of color on a co-equal basis with white men. This was 19 years prior to the enactment of the Emancipation Proclamation. The State of Michigan refused to sanction the College, and no other college in Michigan admitted women for 36 years after Olivet’s founding. Archer was one of the first African-American intercollegiate athletes in the nation when he played varsity baseball for Olivet College.

Queers and Allies (Q & A) is a group that increases awareness of sexual orientation issues in and around Olivet College. The group provides a supportive and egalitarian atmosphere for members of our community regardless of sexual orientation.

F1RST Comets, a support group for first-generation students, offers mentorship and guidance to help students navigate the academic and social collegiate expectations to ensure a successful college career and beyond.

Green Dot, a bystander intervention program, is a peer education initiative that aims to prevent violence with the help of bystanders. It is built on the premise that violence can be measurably and systematically reduced within a community. The Green Dot mission is to reduce power-based personal violence by being proactive and reactive bystanders.