Five Pillars of FJE

1. Education
   The FJE provides ongoing culturally centered educational opportunities for current and future students, staff, and faculty. These educational opportunities aim to increase cultural competence and proficiency, as well as offer assessment and support of culturally responsive curriculum studies. While supporting the needs of existing initiatives, the FJE provides exploration and investigations into effective ways of increasing cultural competence and just practices within the learning environment.
   
   Activities include:
   • Speakers’ series
   • Community building workshops
   • Curriculum studies
   • Critical Conversations/Discourse
     
2. Community Engagement and Support
   The FJE engages with community partners by providing a digital curriculum repository designed to provide resources that will enable them to create culturally centered and anti-racist educational content. Community learning opportunities include topics such as: Anti-racist and inclusive teaching, learning diversity, equity in education, and social justice in education.Activities Include:
   • Resources-Content Library
   • Learning/Curriculum Repository
   • Profiles in Fairness, Justice and Equity/Honorees
   • Conferences
     
3. Advocacy
   The FJE will provides resources and physical space for all COE students in addition to providing additional support to students who are aligned with affinity groups and minoritized communities. The FJE advocates for students pertaining to issues of fairness, justice, and equity, serving as a leader in promoting inclusionary teaching, enhancing awareness of the support needs of diverse COE students, and being a voice of change and promotion for inclusion and equity in education.Activities Include:
   • Promoting, protecting, and advancing diversity, equity and inclusion
   • Advancement of social, civil, and educational rights
   • Trans affirming programming
   • Social Justices programs/activities
   • Restorative Justice practices and circles
   • Legislative and policy engagement
     
4. Research
   
   The FJE provides curriculum assessments and recommendations to better support equity work. The FJE builds structures and practices that support and highlight COE research and scholarship that uncover and promote the alleviation of inequity, with explicit attention to the needs of diverse communities. Speakers’ series and conferences will add to the cultural competency of faculty, students, and community partners.Activities Include:
   • Research collective
   • Climate studies
   • Student research and mentoring program
   • Micro Grant funding
   • Research awards/recognition
     
5. Recruitment and Retention
   The FJE provides recommendations, practices, and guidance regarding culturally responsive recruitment and retention of future faculty members in the COE. The FJE is also engaged in best practices surrounding the recruitment and retention of diverse future education and advanced degree students by tapping into viable resources and pipelines to cultivate existing and new inclusive and supporting environments. Retention efforts include seeking external and internal funding to help support students’ financial and academic needs.