Training and Education

Training and Education

All Campus Training:

1. Safe Zone Certification Training (LGBTQIA): This training is intended to help participants learn about the LGBTQIA+ community in order to become more inclusive of various identities by using appropriate terminology and language, avoiding micro-aggressions and unintentional exclusionary behaviors, hence actively contributing to fostering an atmosphere of civility and mutual respect on our campus community. This is a 3-hour training, broken down into two, 1.5-hour segments.

2. Fundamentals of the Americans with Disabilities Act: The purpose of this learning opportunity is to focus on correct and lawful employment practices that will minimize workplace discrimination for persons with disabilities. The responsibility for implementing the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) employment provision, Title I, falls largely on unit managers and/or department supervisors.

3. Unconscious Bias: This learning opportunity introduces the basics of unconscious or implicit bias and reviews of different types of unconscious bias and reviews the different types. Participants will engage in group activities and small group discussion while they learn how implicit bias influences their decisions in their university life. Participants will also be introduced to sound strategies to combat bias in their own lives.

3. Healthy relationships: According to current statistics, 1 in 4 women and 1 in 3 men is in an abusive relationship. This workshop is designed to help community members distinguish between healthy and unhealthy relationships, recognize the signs of abusive relationships, and familiarize themselves with workable solutions and resources when it comes to addressing and reporting intimate partner violence.

Student Specific Training:

1. Healthy relationships: According to current statistics, 1 in 4 women and 1 in 3 men is in an abusive relationship. This workshop is designed to help community members distinguish between healthy and unhealthy relationships, recognize the signs of abusive relationships, and familiarize themselves with workable solutions and resources when it comes to addressing and reporting intimate partner violence.

2. Understanding Consent, Preventing and Addressing Sexual Misconduct: In recent years, the topic of consent has been at the forefront of many current discussions, debates, and controversies on college campuses nationwide. This learning opportunity aims to familiarize students with the definitions of consent and what constitutes sexual misconduct under UMES and USM policies, how to make a report and access resources, as well as the role one can play in preventing sexual misconduct and educating other peers.

3. Free Speech on College Campuses:  What is the current landscape on college campuses when it comes to free speech? How can we balance the constitutionally protected free expression and our commitment to inclusivity in a harassment-free and non-discriminatory environment? This facilitated discussion is designed to unpack dilemmas surrounding this topic as well as identify ways in which we can reconcile civility while safeguarding free speech rights in different settings and on various platforms.

4. Hispanic Heritage Month Program: Heritage Month is celebrated in recognition of the invaluable historical and cultural contributions of Hispanic and Latinx to diversity, vitality, and progress of the United States. Join us for this program to gain a more nuanced understanding of the unique identity of these communities, engage in meaningful conversations to help dispel myths and social stigmas associated with them, recognize and honor their invaluable richness.

Staff/Faculty Specific Training:

1. Preventing Bullying in the Workplace: Bullying in the workplace can occur as a sporadic occurrence or a systemic issue the workplace; it oftentimes looks and feels like harassment. This learning opportunity will help participants distinguish between illegal forms of harassment based on a protected category and bullying in the workplace.  We will identify what can be done at the individual as well as the institutional level in order to stop, address, and prevent these concerning phenomena.

2. Free Speech – Constitutional v. Contractual Rights: We are entitled to constitutionally protected freedom of expression in different forms: verbal, written, symbolic, etc. However, are all forms of speech protected and what does protection look like? Is freedom of speech in the workplace an absolute right? This presentation is designed to answer such questions and discuss ways in which we can reconcile constitutional and contractual rights in a general atmosphere of workplace civility.

3. Managing and Addressing Disruptive/Threatening Behavior in the Classroom: The landscape has changed post-Virginia Tech with managing and addressing disruptive and threatening behavior. The learning session will provide detailed steps about how, when, and why response is critical. We will unpack the difference between disruption and threats, review a step by step process for managing issues, and discuss tips for classroom management.

4. Fundamentals of Equal Opportunity: This learning opportunity is intended to provide participants with a fundamental understanding of equal opportunity and affirmative action laws and policies. The session will outline relevant laws such as Title VII, Title IX, and the ADA, including the groups protected by each, and it will touch on corresponding institutional policies. Participants will learn how to identify discrimination, harassment, and retaliation in a professional or academic environment.

5. Being a Responsible Employee: This learning experience will introduce requirements and expectations under Title IX for ALL employees. Participants will learn about what to say, what not to say, and navigate tips for conversations, documentation, and reporting.