The University of Wisconsin–Madison Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders is committed to eliminating bias, discrimination, and systemic racism. We commit to this work in our department, on campus, and in our field to effect sustained change. We affirm our dedication to learn about racial inequities and to ensure that immediate and long-term change is embedded in every aspect of our profession—in our hiring practices, student and faculty recruitment and retention, teaching practices, and clinical training. We pledge to do our part to eliminate hatred, racism, bigotry and discrimination collectively and in community with our colleagues, nation- and world-wide. We pledge to ensure that all students, faculty, staff, visitors and clients feel welcome and valued and supported.
We believe that systemic racism must end. We acknowledge that systemic racism can and has already resulted in the unfair treatment of individuals, with outcomes that include trauma and suffering of racialized and minoritized people, including Black people, Indigenous people, and other people of color.
The mission of our department is to provide exemplary educational programs that prepare the next generation of scholars, clinicians, educators, and leaders in the fields of communication sciences and disorders; to conduct state-of-the-art basic, translational, and clinical research in the areas of speech, language, hearing, swallowing, and balance; to offer accessible, culturally competent, evidence-based clinical care for all people with disorders in communication, balance, and swallowing; to engage in outreach activities that directly benefit professional colleagues, students, and individuals and their families in the community; and to promote a welcoming and open environment where all can learn and engage.
We commit to educating and mentoring our students to become audiologists, speech-language pathologists, and researchers who serve and treat all people equally. We define diversity as the range of identities that impact and influence how people are perceived and treated and how they behave. These include but are not limited to ethnicity, race, age, gender, religion, color, physical and mental abilities, gender identity, sexual orientation, education, and values. A clear challenge in our field is the lack of diversity of our profession, where >90% of people are white and female. We further recognize that the mere presence of diversity does not mean that differences are being leveraged or seen as assets. We believe that an inclusive and engaged environment must be created to allow us to fully benefit from the strengths and talents of all staff, students and faculty. We commit to creating a climate where individuals feel a sense of belonging and being valued for who they are. We commit to an inclusive environment in which barriers to contribution and negative biases are eliminated, and people are respected and able to give their personal best. We commit to ensuring that our students, staff and faculty gain cultural competence, that is, knowledge and attitudes that result in behaviors that help individuals to interact and work effectively in cross-cultural settings and to reduce healthcare disparities.
Learn more about diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at UW-Madison.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Resources
CSD Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Fund
The CSD Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Fund focuses on supporting the Department’s mission of engaged citizenship. The Fund will provide resources to nurture, honor, and celebrate the contributions of a rich diversity of students, faculty, and staff who, through research, teaching, and service improve our collective humanity. Funds may be used to support efforts by the Department to enhance diversity and promote equity among faculty, staff, and students.
Department Actions
Our student-faculty DEI Committee works to shape departmental diversity initiatives and to increase transparency and accountability by documenting our efforts and plans. View the committee’s meeting minutes and updates.
Communications (Website/Newsletter)
Goal: Keep track of our committee’s initiatives and communicate them publicly via the website and newsletter
Description: The website and newsletter communicate our ongoing DEI initiatives to the rest of the department and the outside world and serve as a transparent record of our progress and plans to increase accountability and convey our commitment to the ideals of DEI in a public way.
Peer Mentoring
Goal: Set up/support peer mentoring system
Description: The Peer Mentoring Task Force develops and implements large-group, small-group, and one-on-one peer mentoring opportunities surrounding issues related to diversity, equity, and inclusion for students interested in or pursuing a degree/career in Communication Sciences and Disorders. The task force surveys students to understand their needs related to peer mentoring and utilizes evaluations to measure the effectiveness of peer mentoring activities.
Academic Standards and Coursework
Goal: Work to understand where the curriculum is regarding DEI strengths and areas of growth (especially from the students’ perspectives) and suggest curriculum goals and possible strategies for achieving those goals.
Description: Discuss coordination of coursework/clinical education activities and avoid overlap; discuss content, continuity, and coordination. Provide regular two-way reportouts to HAG, CAG, SLAG, and/or curriculum committees about the others’ discussions/goals to facilitate synergy across the various committees/task forces that deal with curriculum issues. Suggest goals for the department using the DEI annual report as a guide for dynamic assessment of the DEI curriculum.
Resource Database
Goal: Coordinate resources for open discussions/readings/materials
Description: Maintain a database organized by category/topic, type of media, etc., for a variety of topics related to DEI; create/maintain a database of DEI resources as they relate to various Big 9 topics (i.e., fluency, voice, swallowing, cognitive-communication, etc.).
Admissions and Recruitment
Goal: Reexamine our admissions, recruitment, hiring, and retention practices, focusing on underrepresented students, faculty, and staff.
Description: Evaluate the department’s graduate applications process each year and explore avenues for recruitment and hiring to diversify the faculty. Brainstorm creative solutions to diversify the hiring and admissions applicant pools.
Student Discussion Groups
Goal: Organize discussion groups, one for students and one for faculty/staff
Description: Organize, schedule, and facilitate discussion groups around DEI issues. Points of contact coordinate meeting scheduling and task force members rotate in helping to choose readings/videos, write discussion prompts, prepare materials for the group meetings, moderate the discussions, and share resources for attendees to continue education following discussions.
Faculty Discussion Groups
Goal: Organize 2 discussion groups for faculty/staff each fall and spring term
Description: Organize, schedule, and facilitate discussion groups for faculty and staff around DEI issues. Faculty task force members gather schedule availability from faculty and staff at the beginning of each term to coordinate meeting dates and times. Faculty task force members follow the lead and work with the student discussion group leaders to align discussion topics and materials between the two groups. Selection of materials (e.g., literature, articles, readings, videos) and writing of discussion prompts can adhere closely to the student group’s content or more distantly related to the discussion topic. Preparation of materials for the group meetings, moderation of the discussions, and sharing of resources after the discussion group is also the responsibility of the faculty task force members.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion News and Events
NSSLHA Partners with Boys & Girls Club of Dane County and Centro Hispano of Dane to Give Presentation about CSD
The UW-Madison Chapter of National Student Speech Language Hearing Association’s (NSSLHA) DEI sub-committee (Wisconsin Idea Task Force) partnered with Boys & Girls Club of Dane County and Centro Hispano of Dane to engage middle- and …
December 1, 2023Speech-Language Pathology Students from University of Texas El Paso Visit CSD for an Intensive Research Experience
Five Masters Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) students from University of Texas El Paso (UTEP) visited the UW-Madison Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) Department for two weeks in July. This visit was part of a new research …
August 3, 2023CSD Students Engage in First Nations Cultural Landscape Tour
Our speech-language master’s students visited campus landmarks illuminating the university’s ongoing relationships with the contemporary First Nations of Wisconsin, including the Ho-Chunk Nation, on whose ancestral lands the university now sits. The First Nations Cultural …
April 14, 2023- More DEI posts
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Apr01
DEIAB Committee Monthly Meeting @ 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm In Person & Virtual Options
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Apr09
DEIAB Student Discussion Group Meeting @ 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm In Person & Virtual Options
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Apr30
DEIAB Student Discussion Group Meeting @ 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm In Person & Virtual Options
Resources Related to CSD
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NSSLHA’s Stop the Silence Resources
Activity ideas, blog posts, and resources from from the National Student Speech Language Hearing Association (NSSLHA): https://www.nsslha.org/about/stop-the-silence/resources/
ASHA Multicultural Affairs and Resources
Volunteer opportunities and cultural competence resources from the Office of Multicultural Affairs at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association: https://www.asha.org/practice/multicultural/
LGBTQ+ CSD Resources
Groups that offer community, resources, and support for LGBTQA+ students and professionals.
- LGBTQ+ Communication Sciences & Disorders Student Association (LGBTQ+ CSDSA): https://lgbtqcsdsa.org/
- L’GASP (LGBTQ Caucus of the American Speech-Language Hearing Associatio): https://www.noglstp.net/LGASP/
Campus Resources
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Diversity Inventory
Diversity Inventory, a centralized online database of diversity initiatives: https://diversityinventory.wisc.edu/
Bias Reporting
Campus Multicultural Student Center
Campus Multicultural Student Center
The primary mission of the multicultural student center is to collaboratively strengthen and sustain an inclusive campus where all students, particularly students of color and other historically underserved students, are engaged and can realize an authentic Wisconsin experience.
Native American Center for Health Professions
Native American Center for Health Professions
Among its missions, NACHP is focused on enhancing the recruitment of Native students to UW-Madison health professional schools and programs and improving the Native health professional student experience.
STEM Diversity Network
While several programs on campus offer support to students, faculty and staff from diverse backgrounds, the STEM Diversity Network is a place designed to help all interested in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) careers specifically. This network exists to aid the academic and social advancement of students (undergrad, grad, postdocs) in STEM by providing students with connections to other students, faculty, and resources available to help them succeed.
Multicultural Graduate Network
Multicultural Graduate Network
Sign up for the MGN email list by emailing join-mgnlistserv@lists.wisc.edu.
Housed within the Graduate School, the MGN is a social and networking group devoted to learning and professional development. This organization was originally created to serve the needs of graduate students of color and has recently grown to be an inclusive network for all graduate students on the UW-Madison campus.
SACNAS Student Chapter
SACNAS is a national society dedicated to advancing Hispanics/Chicanos and Native Americans in science and to promoting cultural diversity in the U.S. academic environment. All UW-Madison undergraduate and graduate students who are interested in STEM fields may join SACNAS.
Contact: Ahna Skop, faculty advisor, skop@wisc.edu
Women in Science and Engineering Leadership Institute
Women in Science and Engineering Leadership Institute
WISELI is an on-campus institute dedicated to promoting women scientists. The WISELI website hosts a useful collection of general and sexual-harassment-related information.
Graduate Women in Science
GWIS is a national organization that advances the participation and recognition of women in science and devoted to fostering research through grants, awards, and fellowships. The UW-Madison chapter provides a network for connecting female scientists across campus.
Learn about the GWIS graduate student representatives at http://www.gwisbeta.org/about-gwis/officers/.
LGBT Campus Center
This center offers several programs to support LGBT students on campus and provides training to help make classrooms and departments more inclusive. The LGBTCC staff members also organize a number of special interest groups, including one for graduate students.