February 2024

The

Monthly DICE

Digest

volume 1 - Issue 1

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A Message from our Vice President

Pictured is Vice President of DICE, Rochelle D. Smith. A Black woman with shoulder length, straight hair and a wide, bright smile wearing a black suit jacket with white collared shirt.
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VP Rochelle D. SMith

The Division of Diversity and Innovative Community Engagement (DICE) exists to lead the charge for diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging for SLU. Through our Jesuit mission of cura personalis, we have the opportunity to care for the whole person and the rich identities we each hold.


February is Black History Month and this year’s national theme, “African Americans and the Arts,” is an opportunity to reflect on the art of resistance from across the diaspora of African, Caribbean, and Black American experiences. Check out the Smithsonian’s Black History Month Digital Toolkit here.


In the first issue of our monthly DICE Digest, we are thrilled to highlight several efforts and initiatives from across the SLU community that are leading change our ancestors dreamt would one day be reality. Welcome to our first issue. We are so glad you are here!

In This Issue

Through our monthly DICE Digest, we hope to reflect the beautiful and rich diversity of our community and opportunities to connect with one another as we seek to build belonging across SLU. We invite you to scroll through the newsletter or jump to a page using the hyperlinks.

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Dice Announcements

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DICE houses four units that each lead a variety of initiatives and provide a range of supports across SLU communities.

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Center for Social Action

CSA was proud to partner with University-wide leaders towards earning the Carnegie Foundation’s 2024 Community Engagement Classification. Read more here.


  • Policy Pod Applications Are Open! The Education, Global Poverty, and Hunger & Housing Policy Pods have spaces still open! It will be a busy legislative session and the student who lead these advocacy efforts can use all of the support they can get. To register, please email jessica.trout@slu.edu with your preferred topic and she will connect you with the pod leader.
  • 2024 Legislative Meetings & Advocacy Days: Interested in joining us for civic advocacy and impact? Sign Up Here.
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Cross Cultural Center for Global Citizenship

This Fall, DICE led efforts to cultivate a stronger sense of belonging and connection at the CGC. Updates have included new furniture, foliage, spaces to gather, and a greater representation of our community through flags representative of our largest student populations.


  • Atlas Week 2024: This year’s theme is "Flames Unleashed: Renaissance for Peace” with a focus on the ways that humanity strives for peace in a world of conflict. Propose your event here to be included in this year’s celebration by Feb 5th.
  • 2nd Annual Black History Month Gala & Awards Ceremony: Presented by DICE and the Office of Alumni Engagement, the purpose of this event is to recognize and celebrate the achievements and success of the SLU Black Community! RSVP by Friday, February 10th .
    • Nominate a Peer: Submit a nomination form by Friday, February 2, 2024.
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Faculty Equity & Leadership Development

This fall, Katie Heiden Rootes, Ph.D. and DICE faculty fellow Jintong Tang, Ph.D. launched the Early Career Faculty Mentoring Program. Read more about this DICE-led initiative.


  • Upcoming Retreat (Feb. 16): The faculty retreat is for members of the DICE Early Career Faculty Mentoring Program. It will provide a morning writing retreat and then an afternoon with senior faculty, deans, and Provost Lewis to discuss topics related to the promotion process.
  • Faculty Success Gala: As the final event of DICE's Early Career Faculty Mentoring Program, the Gala will feature our special guest, Dr. Bettina Love from Columbia University. Dr. Love will deliver a key note on “Living a Hip Hop & Abolitionist Life: Resistance, Creativity, Hip Hop Civics Ed, Intersectionality, & Black Joy,” followed by a fire side chat with Dr. Karen Hall, Assistant Professor in the School of Education (SOE). The event, co-sponsored by DICE and SLU's SOE, is open to the SLU community and the public. RSVP Here.
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Strategic Initiatives

As DICE’s newest unit, the Strategic Initiatives team brings an innovative spirit to the work of structural transformation. We employ strategies and an entrepreneurial mindset to introduce new ideas, methods and practices that maximize impact and help the university advance inclusive excellence and institutional belonging. Strategic initiatives include both emergent and ongoing efforts to actively reduce institutional inequities through education, incubation and innovation.


  • DICE Digest: The monthly DICE Digest (which you are reading right now!) is a new initiative to increase communication, connection, and lead to transforming our culture.
  • Billiken Home Plate: SLU faculty and staff can volunteer to serve as Billiken Home Plate hosts, offering them the opportunity to enjoy time with our talented SLU students while offering students a chance to enjoy a family meal, get to know a St. Louis family, and take a break from classes and campus life. Hosts invite groups of 2-4 students to a family-style meal 3-4 times during the academic year to ensure continued community connection.

Seen around SLU

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“The U.S.-based Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) has granted SLU’s Madrid Campus membership for its commitment to the academic success of Hispanic students. HACU is the only educational organization representing Hispanic-serving institutions in the US. SLU-Madrid now represents one of nearly 600 member institutions located across the U.S., Latin America and Spain.”

SLU Madrid

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Mission Moment

“The Shared Mission program offers an in-depth, community-based opportunity for faculty, staff, administrators and trustees of SLU. This foundational program opens the door for deeper participation in the wide variety of mission programs offered by SLU's Division for Mission and Identity. All are welcome as we seek to form an Ignatian “band of companions” centered on mission and building a community of belonging.”

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Prison Education Program

“The Jesuit Prison Education Program (JPEN) was created to foster collaboration among nine higher learning institutions in the U.S. Central and Southern Province to address the root causes of incarceration, like recidivism, and inspire other Jesuit institutions to start and sustain similar programs. Courtney Everett, Program Coordinator of SLU’s Prison Education Program, serves as a commissioner in the JPEN network, advocating for the transformative power of prison education programs.”

Committee updates

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Belonging at SLU

This fall, DICE launched the Belonging at SLU Committee after conducting a Discovery of Belonging at SLU in the spring of 2023. At SLU we recognize that belonging is an outcome of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility initiatives and efforts. A sense of belonging is about our experiences; it is a feeling and a sensation; it includes who and how we connect with one another; and it is about our perceptions of value and mattering. Belonging doesn’t happen by accident; it happens by design. SLU strives to foster belonging across student and employee communities through institutional transformation, social connectedness, training and inclusive excellence.


As our student, staff, and faculty led committee makes progress towards our strategic goals we will share them here. We are excited to deepen our work, increase our partnerships, and make an impact for those who are here now and those that are yet to come.

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Diversity Champions

Diversity Champions, a cornerstone initiative within DICE, stands as a beacon of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) at SLU. Comprising dedicated DEIB practitioners from across the institution, this dynamic committee is committed to advancing the institution's DEI efforts collaboratively. Our mission is to cultivate a deep understanding of DEIAB best practices, emerging trends, and avenues for growth. By nurturing a sense of belonging, Diversity Champions serves as a vital hub for cross-community engagement, pooling insights and initiatives from diverse perspectives across SLU.


Our meetings, designed to foster connection and collaboration, occur virtually once a month, with opportunities for in-person connections as well. To ask questions, share thoughts, or learn more, please reach out to Dr. Richard Marks at richard.marks@slu.edu. Your input is invaluable to our shared mission.

Student Spotlight

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Builders of Belonging

Ryan Tisdale

At our annual MLK Tribute, a collaborative event hosted by SLU’s Division for Diversity and Innovative Engagement in partnership with the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, Ryan was recognized with the Dr. Jonathan C. Smith Emergent Student Leader Award.


Ryan, a Public Health major from the suburbs of Chicago, epitomizes dedication and passion in his quest to address health disparities in marginalized communities. His academic journey is distinguished by an unwavering commitment to social justice and leadership. As the President of SLU’s Student Government Association (SGA), Ryan has demonstrated exceptional leadership, fostering an environment of collaboration and advocating vigorously for student representation. His recognition as a Martin Luther King Jr. Scholar underscores his deep-rooted values of service, justice, and equality, which he actively promotes through his involvement in inclusivity and social change initiatives on campus.


Ryan serves as a student leader on DICE’s Belonging at SLU Committee and just announced the formation of the SGA Student Experience and Belonging Task Force. Read more here!

Staff Spotlight

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Builders of Belonging

Knieba Jones-Johnson

Knieba Jones-Johnson, MA, LMFT is a Licensed Marital and Family Therapist and Clinical Supervisor who has over twenty-five years in the counseling field, specifically working with marginalized communities and individuals impacted by complex trauma. Prior to becoming the Director of the University Counseling Center, Knieba’s was the Director of Therapeutic Support for Shut It Down, a SLU program that aimed to dismantle the school-to-prison nexus by helping educators, school administrators and district officials understand the intersections between race, equity, trauma and mental health.


Since beginning her role as the Director of the UCC, Knieba has applied an innovative spirit to her leadership role, resulting in a transformative impact. During her tenure, the UCC team has grown and expanded beyond the walls of its office to have a larger impact on the community. Knieba is currently partnering with SIUE Professor of Arts and Design, Shelly Goebl-Parker, towards providing students and SLU community members increased opportunities to engage in artistic outlets of expression.


Utilizing an approach informed by universal design and creative expression, Knieba has transformed physical spaces into WellSPACEs (Supporting and Promoting Artistic and Creative Expression) for students who are looking for an opportunity to decompress and socialize in a calming and relaxing environment. Located just outside of the UCC offices, the WellSPACE offers a variety of art materials, a hammock swing, weighted blankets, yoga mats, an oversized bean bag, a sand garden and plenty of other sensory inclusive items to spark creativity and reduce stress. There are additional WellSPACES in the Pius XII Library, on the South campus, and in the Busch Student Auditorium; with future plans for additional spaces in the future.

Faculty Spotlight

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Builders of Belonging

Katrina Moore, Ph.D.

Recognized at the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Tribute, Katrina Thompson Moore, Ph.D. was recognized for her achievements and impact with the Donald Brennan Humanitarian Award.


Dr. Moore is an Associate Dean in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Engagement for the College of Arts and Sciences, as well as an Associate Professor in the Department of History of African American Studies here at SLU. Dr. Moore specializes in nineteenth and twentieth-century issues of race, gender, stereotypes, popular culture, and American entertainment culture. She takes very seriously the importance of educating the broader community through public lectures and in her writings.


Dr. Moore’s book published in 2014 titled Ring Shout, Wheel About: The Racial Politics of Music and Dance in North American Slavery focused on the complexity of Black music and dance in the foundation of the United States and has been recognized as one of the 13 most important books in Black History by the Washington Post. She has also published several articles and book chapters on the experience of Black people in America. Beyond academic publications, Dr. Moore published a children’s book in 2021 to support representation across the spectrum and hopes to venture further into children’s publishing.

Resources

The LARA Method

For Managing Tense Conversations

Infographic with the LARA acronym, which stands for Listen, Affirm, Respond, and Ask.

LARA (short for Listen, Affirm, Respond, Ask) is a communication guideline developed by Bonnie Tinker, a Quaker leader who noticed a need to teach others to engage in difficult and emotional conversations around sexual orientation. Bonnie created the LARA system in the early 1990's and it has since become a staple ingredient in many diversity dialogues. Thank you to our SLU School of Social Work for this timely and tangible resource. The Oxford Academic recently published “A framework for educating and empowering students by teaching about history and consequences of bias in STEM (Moreau et al, 2022),” which utilized the LARA Method.

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Toolkit for Best Practices

Faculty Recruitment & Retention

Faculty are the heart of any higher education enterprise. It is important to build, maintain, and support a vibrant faculty to teach the next generation of scholars. Our Catholic, Jesuit mission implores us to welcome students, faculty, and staff from all racial, ethnic, cultural, and religious backgrounds, and diverse identities as we aim to create a sense of community to support their development.


This toolkit serves as a guide to provide deans, departments, and others with best practices, resources, and support to recruit and retain all faculty, especially those from historically underrepresented groups in higher education. The language of belonging, accessibility, and flourishing permeates the toolkit. The goal is to reframe the work of faculty recruitment and retention as generative actions that create an ethos of wellbeing and welcome in your department home, college, and across campus. This is good for all faculty to experience.

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Addressing the Times

Navigating as a Community

As a University, how can we navigate complex global events and painful divisions with courage and compassion? Dr. Amany Jamal, (Dean of the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs,) and Dr. Keren Yarhi-Milo, (Dean of Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs,) co-wrote an OpEd for The New York Times on the role of universities in the context of global conflicts. They were later joined by Princeton University President Christopher Eisgruber, who led a conversation to further build on their published piece.

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SLU Resources

Reporting Incidents of Bias, Harassment, and Discrimination

During times of crisis, it may be challenging to identify the right campus resource and make the connection. It is crucial that we increase our community’s awareness of how to report instances of hate speech, bias, harassment, discrimination, and safety concerns. We have an abundance of supports in place that we are able to call into action, when we learn about the experiences of our community. Your voice matters. If you are experiencing or witnessing instances of hate speech, bias, harassment, or discrimination, please use the links below to share what you can about the experience.

Recent Events

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MLK Memorial Tribute

“After the assassination of her husband, Malcolm X, Betty Shabazz had six daughters to raise. Ilyasah Shabazz said her mother set out to make sure her daughters knew about the significant contributions of women in history, the accomplishments of Africans, and the importance of Islam. One lesson, however, stood out — the idea of self-love.”


This year’s honorees included:


  • Ryan Tisdale, Saint Louis University student in the College for Public Health and Social Justice, Dr. Jonathan C. Smith Emergent Student Leader Award
  • Katrina Moore, Ph.D., Saint Louis University Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Engagement for the College of Arts and Sciences and Associate Professor of History and African American Studies, Donald Brennan Humanitarian Award
  • Charlotte A. Hammond, Challenge Unlimited, Civic Leadership Award
  • Dr. Kendra Holmes, Affinia Healthcare, Civic Leadership Award
  • William Johnson, J.D., Saint Louis University School of Law Dean, Donald Brennan Humanitarian Award
  • Allan D. Ivie IV, Simmons Bank, Civic Leadership Award
  • Dennis G. Serrette, National Urban League, Civic Leadership Award
  • David Steward II, Lion Forge Animation, Civic Leadership Award
  • Ilyasah Shabazz, Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Educational Center, Drum Major for Justice
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DICE Launches Billiken Home Plate

Billiken Home Plate, one of DICE’s newest initiatives, seeks to nourish a sense of belonging among our students, helping them to feel at home at SLU and connected to St. Louis. This program connects students to faculty and staff to share a meal and fellowship a few times per semester. In partnership with Dr. Fran Pestello on behalf of the President’s Office and with the support of our Global Grad Program, around 200 program participants attended our kickoff dinner last semester.


Whether our students are from one of our neighboring communities, across the country, or around the world, we believe that intentionally connecting them with our faculty and staff will help us build a community where all feel accepted and know that they belong. Through food and fellowship, we hope to encourage social connectedness and have already learned of some of the dynamic experiences our community is having through participating in Billiken Home Plate.


Interested in learning more or signing up to participate in next year’s cohort? Please fill out the form below, you’ll hear from us when we begin recruitment for the 24-25 school year!

upcoming events

We hope this calendar helps connect communities and amplify efforts that contibute to increased diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging. See something missing? Submit an event or observance!

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cross cultural observances

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Dice Events & Programs

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Happening around slu

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connect with stl community

Connect with DICE

What would make this newsletter better? You!


We would love to learn what you would like to see in our newsletter and we are happy to amplify SLU community efforts that increase diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging across identities, communities, and scholarship.


Use the links below to connect or email Allison Brewer, AVP of DICE at allison.brewer@slu.edu.

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