Texas Tech Public Media Diversity Statement

MISSION: 

The Division of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DDEI) works across Texas Tech University to foster, affirm, celebrate, engage and strengthen inclusive communities through diversity, equity and inclusion. Using this framework as our foundation, we facilitate and support transformative opportunities that support the University Strategic Plan: to educate and empower a diverse student body, to enable innovative research and creative activities, while transforming lives and communities through strategic outreach and engaged scholarship.

As we in DDEI work across the university, we are inspired by the opportunities to explore our differences as we celebrate our shared commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. The process of creating a culture that allows every individual to feel as though they matter, and they belong is not accidental, but intentionally created by those who are members of the community and how they welcome and retain new members. We establish our culture through shared practices and traditions, through our artwork and our food, through our words and our actions, through our practices/policies/procedures, through the photos we publish and the stories we tell, and through the ways in which we affirm and validate the experiences of others. Knowing this we are humbled by our role in reflecting to the world that Texas Tech University is a place we are proud to call our own and encourage others to do the same.

WE MEET OUR MISSION THROUGH:

RECRUITING:
Recruitment of well-qualified and diverse staff is one path by which we follow our mission. We do this by posting through the official Texas Tech employment website for a minimum of ten business days. All position vacancies will automatically be listed on the Texas Tech Careers website, Work in Texas (the State of Texas listserv for the Texas Workforce Commission), Veteranjob.com, and at least one additional diversity platform chosen by Human Resources. This ensures positions are widely publicized in an effort to attract a pool of qualified applicants who are representative of the available workforce for the particular position.

As job postings open, departments posting positions work with Human Resources to create a recruitment strategy to attract underutilized minorities, women, veterans, and individuals with disabilities. This strategy may include:

• Placing the vacancy on departmental web pages, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, or
  comparable social media sites.
  
• Advertising in diverse media. Placing announcements in newspapers, journals, and
  publications specifically designed to appeal to traditionally underrepresented groups,
  such as women, minorities, veterans, and individuals with disabilities.
  
• Emailing the position announcement to relevant professional listservs and networks.
  
• Contacting peers (i.e., supervisors within the University, colleagues at other institutions,
  local or national employers) whose departments have similar positions to seek
  nominations.
  
• Using inclusive wording in position descriptions and announcements.

Before an offer is made, Texas Tech University’s Talent Acquisition team must first approve not only the applicant pool, but recruitment efforts as well.

TRAINING:
Texas Tech’s New Employee Orientation is designed to assist in the transition of new employees into the Texas Tech workforce and provide resources that support employee success.

Employees will attend New Employee Orientation and receive the following (and are required to refresh every other year after that):

• EEO Non-discrimination and Prevention of Sexual Harassment Training
• Title IX Mandated Reporter Training
• Clery Training 
• Ethics Training
• Workplace Violence Prevention
• Question Persuade Refer (QPR)
• Customer Service 

However, Texas Tech Public Media assigns the first four bullet points to all staff every year.

CONTENT: 
Texas Tech Public Media works hard to share the stories of marginalized communities, and to platform diverse voices from across the communities and regions we serve. Here are past projects that reflect our dedication to this work.

• Beyond the Report is a multiplatform project that strives to tell the stories of the marginalized and forgotten taking a holistic approach to historical relevance and progress.

  Season 2: A Plan for Progress
  Season 1: The Status of Women in Lubbock
  

• Rural Healthcare: The Other Texas Drought
  A collaborative project with FRONTLINE to tell the story of economically disadvantaged communities and the disappearance of access to healthcare in rural communities.
  

GOALS FOR 2023:

• Publish results of CAB and staff demographic survey
  
• Select senior staff participate in the Public Media Diversity Leaders Initiative at Furman University
  
• Analyze hiring practices to ensure they remain at the cutting edge of DEI best practices