Professor David Trend seeks to cultivate DEI and accessibility in teaching and learning

(Left to right) David Trend, Megan Linos, Meredith Ehrenberg, Theresa Duong (bottom right)
 

Professor of Art David Trend recently received a Confronting Extremism Award through the UCI Office of Inclusive Excellence. 

Rodrigo LazoInterim Vice Chancellor for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, announced the Confronting Extremism through Community, Thriving and Wellness award winners, which will grant ten projects funds to pilot or build synergy using evidence-based strategies that rebuild, reframe, and transform our community members and institutions for inclusive excellence.       

"We are thrilled to receive this generous award. Its funding will encourage faculty campus-wide to integrate inclusion into their course plans and delivery methods," said Trend.

Trend will lead the newly established "Inclusive Course Design Institute (ICDI)" project, a faculty-led professional development program to help cultivate diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility in teaching and learning. Providing structured training, online resources, and public programs, the ICDI addresses the role of instructional design in supporting student engagement and belonging. Its programs provide pedagogical resources for faculty in areas of inclusive excellence, transparency in course design, accessibility, humanized teaching, and pedagogical wellness.

The project team includes Trend; Megan Linos, Director of Learning Experience Design and Online Education, Office of the Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning; Meredith Ehrenberg, Information Architect, IT Communications & Training Department; and Theresa Duong, DTEI's newly appointed Pedagogical Wellness Specialist. The DTEI instructional designers will collaborate with the project team to develop the program to be launched in Spring 2023.

The Office of Inclusive Excellence funded nearly $250,000 as part of a recent call for proposals to support the selected projects, representing eight UCI units across campus. The projects include a range of research approaches and creative program interventions designed to enhance best practices for community engagement, educate for thriving in the face of extremism and in the aftermath of impacts from COVID-19, and foster improvements in health and well-being for members impacted by COVID-19 circumstances.

Congratulations to Trend and his project team!