Course Syllabus

Instructor: Brian Richardson Jr., Associate Vice Chancellor and Adjunct Professor

Office Hours: By appointment

Professor Email: br36@iu.edu

Please use this address rather than sending messages through Canvas. I will do my best to respond to you in 24-48 hours. Also, please do not use the Canvas website to send mass email requests and announcements to students enrolled in this class.

Course Description:

This course examines workforce diversity from a management perspective, drawing on theoretical and empirical research to explore topics such as representation, affirmative action, intersectionality, and organizational culture. Emphasis is placed on understanding workplace policies, state and federal laws, and the systemic issues that shape employee experiences. Students will analyze the role of language, its intended and unintended consequences, and its impact on equity in the workplace. Through individual and collaborative assignments, the course fosters critical reflection on how diversity-related theories and practices influence management and organizational outcomes.

Learning Outcomes:

At the end of this course, students should be able to do the following:

Describe theories and concepts associated with research on diversity in organizations.
Understanding terminology and the relevance of cultural humility and cultural intelligence in the workplace.
Analyze diversity in the workplace and provide recommendations for how organizations can better understand and strategically develop a sense of belonging for all employees in the workplace.
Identify definitions, social labels, and stereotypes associated with working with diverse populations.
Critically assess organizational messaging and communication, and its implications positively or negatively on the brand and the workplace culture.

How much time should you be spending on this class:

Since this is a standard 3-credit semester length class, you are expected to spend an average of 6 or more hours outside of class per week on reading, studying, assignments, etc.

O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs

Student Honor Code

The O’Neill School takes matters of honesty and integrity seriously. We expect O’Neill students will, at all times, maintain academic integrity and civil and professional standards of conduct.

O’Neill’s Student Honor Code applies to all courses and programs offered by O’Neill, and to all students who participate in O’Neill classes and programs, regardless of whether students are admitted to O’Neill. Students studying at O’Neill are expected to continue their commitment to ethical behavior in all their endeavors, including, but not limited to, coursework inside and outside of O’Neill, internships, community service, and overseas study.

O’Neill’s Student Honor Code incorporates IU’s Code of Student Right, Responsibilities, & Conduct and extends to matters of civility and professional conduct, including, expectations about class attendance, punctuality, participation in class, and decorum in class and at other school functions.

Academic Conduct Requirements

All students enrolled in O’Neill courses are subject to the academic misconduct provisions found in the IU Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, & Conduct.

Academic misconduct is defined as any activity that tends to undermine the academic integrity of the institution.

The IU Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, & Conduct lists and defines many types of academic misconduct, including cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, interference, violation of course rules, and facilitating academic dishonesty.

Academic misconduct includes the use of any technology or assistance, including AI, that is not permitted by the instructor.

Civility and Professional Conduct Requirements

O’Neill requires that all students treat others with mutual respect and behave professionally in the classroom and during all academic and non-academic activities.

These civility and professional conduct requirements foster an appropriate atmosphere inside and outside the classroom:

Students must act in accordance with the O’Neill School mission and values.
Students must regularly attend and be fully prepared for class, including completing readings.
Students must not behave in a way that interrupts or distracts from teaching or learning. For example, students must be punctual in their arrival to class and be present and attentive for the duration of the class. They must not sleep, do work for another class, or wander in and out of the classroom, pack up, or leave class early (unless an emergency exists).
Students must abide by the course policy regarding use of electronic devices in the classroom, including a requirement that no electronics are allowed or that students are not permitted to use devices for non-class related purposes.
Students must responsibly participate in class activities and during team meetings for course assignments.
Students must attend scheduled meetings with faculty or staff, events for which they have RSVPed, interviews with prospective employers, and student organization meetings.
Students must address faculty members, other students, and others appropriately and with respect, whether in person, in writing, or in electronic communications.
Students must show tolerance and respect for others.
Students must practice respect and responsible stewardship of the physical resources of the school, refraining from destroying or defacing school property, integrating practices of sustainability, and contributing to a clean and orderly physical environment in all buildings, classrooms, offices, and meeting spaces.
Students must comply with the personal misconduct responsibilities within the IU Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, & Conduct.

Reporting

Students must abide by the O’Neill Student Honor Code themselves and hold their peers to the same standards. Students should report suspected instances of academic, civility, or professional misconduct to the instructor of the course. Students should report suspected instances of personal misconduct to the IU Office of Student Conduct.

ASSIGNMENTS

INDIVIDUAL and GROUP DISCUSSION POSTS (Total of 12)

For every class, unless stated otherwise, you will be expected to post a response to the related materials for the week and respond to at least two posts by your classmates. I will post guidelines and a discussion thread each week.

The discussion threads are intended to be interactive conversations. So, you will also have to post and respond to others on time. To receive full credit, your posts should be submitted by 11:59 pm EST on Thursdays, and responses should be posted no later than Sundays by 11:59 pm EST. The earlier you post, the more chance you will receive feedback from other participants. I will stay out of the discussion threads most of the time and provide feedback periodically throughout the semester.

There will also be three group posts in Classes 3, 6, and 11. I will set up the groups after the first week. You should take turns being the facilitator within your groups – at least once each during the semester. Your task as a facilitator is to encourage discussion and ensure everyone gets a chance to speak, summarize your group meeting, and post the group comments. You can opt out of the groups and post individually if you prefer. (This MUST be discussed prior to any group assignments being due).

QUIZZES (Total of 3)

You will get two attempts on all quizzes. If you fail your first attempt, you are welcome to ask me or others in the discussion threads for further explanation before you try again. The purpose of these questions is not to measure you or sort you into ranks - it is to help consolidate and clarify the information we cover! During the semester, there will also be three Summarizing Quizzes. Dates and quiz content are all provided below.

NEWS REFLECTION

Each student will submit a news reflection that references (and links) a recent news article that discusses a public or non-profit organization and issues of managing equity, representation, inclusion, and diversity. Reflections should be no more than 800-1000 words. Students should focus on providing professional assessments and recommendations and maintain an ideologically neutral tone. The reflection will be primarily graded on the appropriateness of the news source and article, formatting, connection to course concepts, and recommendations for the organization moving forward. The due date for this assignment is listed below.

EXAMS

There will not be a midterm, but there will be a final exam administered at the end of the semester. The final exam will be cumulative and cover all the material from the course and will be composed of essay questions to display application of course materials and content. The final exam date is listed below.

Professor Expectations of Students

Please treat other students and instructors respectfully, even with differing opinions or views.
You will be expected to complete all readings assigned for each week before the start of the following week and be fully engaged in the Canvas discussions. Using our collective voices, we will be able to spark conversation, provoke thought and take a deeper dive into course content.
Your writing skills should be polished. You should be able to synthesize key readings and possess the ability to organize your thinking and your writing.

Absences and Make-Up Work

Assume that there are no provisions for the typical idea of make-up work; simply, those points are lost for that particular assignment. The only situations for which you may make up work include documented death of a family member, medically documented emergency (as assessed by Mr. Richardson Jr.), religious holidays (see official Indiana University policy), or documented athletic event in which the student is under contract.

Absence from class is missed work and cannot be made up. It is the student’s sole responsibility to try and regain lost information from class. Additionally, assume that computer services are not easily accessible, and that all assignments should be completed as soon as possible, so that they will be turned in on time, without excuse.

Assignments are due at the time and date indicated for each assignment, unless instructed otherwise.

Grading

No curves in grading or extra credit points are anticipated. Below is the grading scale:

A+ 100—97% A 96%—93% A- 92%—90%

B+ 89%—87% B 86%—83% B- 82%—80%

C+ 79%—77% C 76%—73% C- 72%—70%

D+ 69%—67% D 66%—63% D- 62%—60%

F 59%—0%

All assignments are due no later than 11:59 pm EST on the date identified below. Late work will be downgraded one full letter grade for each day it is late and will not be accepted more than 48 hours after the due date. I will consider making individual exceptions to this policy, but only if an exception is requested in advance, is legitimate, and can be documented. Please keep copies of all your work until final course grades are issued in case there is any dispute or error in the recording of your grade.

Use of generative AI (such as ChatGPT or others) in this class. Using AI to assist in completing assignments in this class is prohibited. If you do use AI, you will be committing plagiarism* and will be subject to penalties in this class and sanctions by Indiana University. You are permitted to use the free version of Grammarly and Microsoft Word’s spelling and grammar tool.

WARNING: Submitting any questions, assignments, notes, slides, or other instructor-produced course materials into Generative AI without permission is a violation of the faculty member’s exclusive rights and will be reported to the Dean of Students as academic misconduct.

*Plagiarism: Plagiarism is defined as presenting someone else’s work, including the work of other students, as one’s own. Any ideas or materials taken from another source for either written or oral use must be fully acknowledged, unless the information is common knowledge. https://studentcode.iu.edu/responsibilities/academic-misconduct.html. (emphasis added)

Course Materials—Instructor’s Exclusive Rights.

The faculty member teaching this course holds the exclusive right to distribute, modify, post, and reproduce course materials, including all written materials, study guides, lectures, assignments, exercises, and exams. While you are permitted to take notes on the online materials and lectures posted for this course for your personal use, you are not permitted to re-post in another forum, upload to AI, distribute, reproduce content from this course, or sell the instructor’s course materials (including notes and study guides) without the express written permission of the faculty member.

Violations of this policy will be reported to the Dean of Students as academic misconduct (violation of course rules). Sanctions for academic misconduct may include a failing grade on the assignment for which the notes/study guides are being sold, a reduction in your final course grade, or a failing grade in the course, among other possibilities.

Additionally, you should know that selling a faculty member’s course using IU email, or via Canvas may also constitute a violation of IU information technology and IU intellectual property policies; additional consequences may result.

Withdrawing

After the auto-W deadline, withdrawal will be significantly limited, and you will need permission to withdraw and must meet requirements established by O’Neill.

Counseling and Psychological Services

For information about services offered to students by CAPS: http://healthcenter.indiana.edu/counseling/index.shtml

TimelyCare

Indiana students have free, 24/7 access to virtual mental health care services with TimelyCare. Students do not need insurance to access TimelyCare services. https://www.iu.edu/mental-health/find-resources/timely-care.html#0

Religious Accommodation Requests

The "Request for Accommodation for Religious Observances" form must be submitted by the student to the professor no later than two weeks prior to the anticipated absence. A separate form must be submitted for each absence and for each course. Faculty do not have to consider accommodations for the purpose of allowing students to travel away from Bloomington for religious observance. Information about the policy is found here: https://vpfaa.indiana.edu/resources/religious-observances-information.html.

Accessible Educational Services (formerly Disability Services for Students)

Securing accommodations for a student with disabilities is a responsibility shared by the student, the instructor, and the AES Office. For information about support services or accommodations available to students with disabilities, and for the procedures to be followed by students and instructors: https://studentlife.indiana.edu/care-advocacy/iub-aes/index.html

Sexual Harassment

As your instructor, one of my responsibilities is to help create a safe learning environment on our campus. Title IX and our own Sexual Misconduct policy prohibit sexual misconduct. If you have experienced sexual misconduct, or know someone who has, the University can help.

If you are seeking help and would like to talk to someone confidentially, you can make an appointment with:

The Sexual Assault Crisis Service (SACS) at 812-855-8900
Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) at 812-855-5711
Confidential Victim Advocates (CVA) at 812-856-2469
IU Health Center at 812-855-4011

For more information about available resources: http://stopsexualviolence.iu.edu/help/index.html. It is also important to know that federal regulations and University policy require me to promptly convey any information about potential sexual misconduct known to me to our campus’ Deputy Title IX Coordinator or IU’s Title IX Coordinator. In that event, they will work with a small number of others on campus to ensure that appropriate measures are taken and resources are made available to the student who may have been harmed. Protecting a student’s privacy is of utmost concern, and all involved will only share information with those that need to know to ensure the University can respond and assist. I encourage you to visit http://stopsexualviolence.iu.edu/help/index.html to learn more.

IU Culture Centers: https://studentlife.indiana.edu/communities/culture-centers/index.html

SPEA-M 652 MANAGING DIVERSITY

IN PUBLIC ORGANIZATIONS

Fall 2026 Tentative TOPICS AND SCHEDULE

(Readings are subject to change with at least one week’s warning)

Besides the Wellness days built into the semester, you also get one class in the semester for a "Mental Health Break", where you do not need to post for the week. These should be weeks when individual comments are due (i.e., you can't skip the group posts, quizzes, or assignments).

Section I Foundation and historical context

Class 1: August 24^th-30^th

Introduction: Understanding terminology and the relevance of cultural humility and cultural intelligence in the workplace

· Individual discussion post and response Due August 30^th no later than at 11:59pm EST

Class 2: August 31^st- September 6^th

Theories Associated with Diversity

· Individual discussion post and response Due September 6^th at 11:59pm EST

Class 3: September 7^th-13^th

Legislation and Policies

· Group discussion post Due September 13^th at 11:59pm EST

Class 4: September 14^th-20^th

Assimilation and Pluralism

· Summarizing Quiz 1, on the classes1-4, due September 20^th at 11:59pm EST

Section II Examination of specific groups and classification

Class 5: September 21^st -27^th

Black, African American

· News Reflection assignment Due September 27^th at 11:59pm EST

· Individual discussion post and response Due September 27^th at 11:59pm EST

Class 6. September 28^th-October 4^th

Latinx, Latino, Latina, Hispanic American

· Group Discussion post and response Due October 4^th at 11:59pm EST

Class 7. October 5^th-11^th

Asian, Asian American

· Individual Discussion post Due October 11^th at 11:59pm EST

Class 8: October 12^th-18^th

White, European Americans

· Individual Discussion post and response Due October 18^th at 11:59pm EST

Class 9: October 19^th-25^th

Native American, American Indian, Indigenous

· Individual Discussion post and response Due October 25^th at 11:59pm EST

Class 10: October 26^th-November 1^st

· Summarizing Quiz 2, on Classes 6, 7, 8, and 9 Due November 1^st at 11:59pm EST

Class 11: November 2^nd-8^th

Sex and Gender

· Group Discussion post Due November 8^th at 11:59pm EST

Class 12: November 9^th-15^th

Sexual Orientation, Identity, and Expression

· Individual post and response Due November 15^th at 11:59pm EST

Class 13: November 16^th-22^nd

Age

· Individual post and response Due November 22^nd at 11:59pm EST

Class 14: November 23^rd-29^th

THANKSGIVING BREAK

Section III Challenges for future and present and moving forward

Class 15: November 30^th – December 6^th

Global Perspective

· Summarizing Quiz 3, on the classes 10-14 due December 6^th at 11:59pm EST

Class 16: December 7^th-13^th

Physical and Mental Ability

· Individual post and response Due December 13^th at 11:59pm EST

Class 17: December 14^th-20^th

Finals week

· Take home final exam Due December 20^th at 11:59pm EST