Tennessee Athletics I.D.E.A. Council Aims for Inclusive Excellence

In an effort to enhance and ensure excellence in inclusiveness, Tennessee Athletics activated an internal I.D.E.A. Council, comprised of more than 50 senior administrators, coaches, support staff and current and former student-athletes.

Formed in the summer of 2020, the council's purpose is "to aid in creating and implementing an action-based roadmap to inclusive excellence by fostering a culture of ownership, accountability and evaluation as it relates to Inclusion, Diversity and Equity in Athletics."

"This group has been doing incredibly important work since early in July, and it's making us better as a department," Tennessee Director of Athletics Phillip Fulmer said. "I wanted to ensure we had real, measurable action taking place before rolling out our strategic approach publicly. This is about taking tangible steps toward a more welcoming and equitable environment throughout our entire athletics family."

The I.D.E.A. Council is led by Assistant Provost & Assistant Athletics Director Marshall Steward.

"I've said it before and I'll say it again, meaningful progress is on the other side of fear and comfort," Steward said. "The I.D.E.A. Council is about creating space for student-athletes, coaches, staff and administrators to lean into, listen to, and learn from other's experiences to ensure we—as individuals and as an Athletic Department—wake up every day focused on creating and maintaining a welcoming, supportive and inclusive environment.

"To operationalize this work and to embed it into the fiber of our program, we've created five very focused working groups within the I.D.E.A. Council, and we're finalizing a department-wide Diversity Action Plan to order our steps over the next several years."

The I.D.E.A. Council's five working groups include:

Climate & Culture: Evaluate and assess the degree to which we facilitate and champion a welcoming, supportive and inclusive climate within and around our department.

Education & Development: Cultivate a more inclusive learning and work environment by demonstrating ways to enhance the understanding and appreciation of the lived experiences of underrepresented and minority populations.

Outreach & Engagement: Develop and strengthen relationships with campus and community partners and key stakeholder groups through advocacy and collaboration.

Recruitment & Retention: Examine mechanisms through which we will attract and retain greater numbers of students, coaches, staff and administrators from underrepresented populations.

Policies & Procedures: Review and recommend changes to existing policies, procedures and practices to eliminate barriers within the department and university system.

Each working group identified a "top priority" initiative targeted for implementation during the fall semester. Two such examples include voter education and registration and an examination of hiring and vendor protocols.

A third priority initiative for fall 2020 is the introduction of an all-staff I.D.E.A. Curriculum throughout the athletic department. In the wake of continued and sustained racial injustice across the country, the curriculum will educate the uneducated and embolden anti-racist ideas, actions and systemic changes. Bi-weekly educational resources will be shared with all staff and student-athletes. These resources will cover topics ranging from racial and gender inequities, prejudices and biases, systemic racism, and other concerns and challenges facing our communities and country.

Resources will be provided in the form of videos, articles, case studies, student and staff testimonies, workshops, speakers and activities. As part of a long-term commitment to education and personal enhancement, each department and team are expected to discuss the distributed resources during their respective weekly or bi-weekly meetings.

"Titles and roles within the department aside, all of us wake up looking how we look and feeling how we feel, and we owe it to ourselves and to each other to embrace that fully," Steward added. "By leveraging the expertise and lived experiences of our Tennessee Family, we're putting words into actions that you can see and feel when you set foot on campus, move throughout our facilities and interact with all of us."

University of Tennessee Athletics

Tennessee Athletics I.D.E.A. Council Aims for Inclusive Excellence

Related News

Related Videos