During the 2022-2023 academic year, several events were held in appreciation to Hispanic Heritage, Transgender awareness, Women’s History Month and more.
Institute for Clinical Social Work
Diversity, Equity, & Inclusions
The Institute for Clinical Social Work’s (ICSW) Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Taskforce has been charged with building a shared diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment at ICSW
Our Mission
Taskforce Purpose
In alignment with ICSW's mission, the DEI Taskforce is committed to expanding the diversity of marginalized perspectives and voices within the psychodynamic community — with special attention to the intersectionality of race, class, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, religion, age and ability.
ICSW invites all members of our community to participate in cultivating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment where every voice is heard and valued.
ICSW invites all members of our community to participate in cultivating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment where every voice is heard and valued.
"Creating Brave
Learning Environments"
What We Stand For
Our Values & Commitments
ICSW strives to build an academic environment that reflects, values, respects, fosters, and serves diverse populations throughout Chicago, regionally, nationally and internationally.
Empowering Participation
ICSWinvites all members of our community to participate in cultivating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment.
Cultivating Change
ICSW is actively creating an infrastructure for ongoing change across the institution — systems, policies, and practices designed to sustain equity long-term.
Intersectional Lens
Our work centers the intersectionality of race, class, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, religion, age and ability — recognizing that identities do not exist in isolation.
Take Action
Get Involved
Becoming an ICSW change agent is simple — be active. Join one of the taskforce subcommittees and contribute your voice to our shared work.
Our subcommittees meet regularly and welcome students, faculty, and staff who are committed to building a more equitable campus community.
Areas of Focus
Subcommittees
Our four active subcommittees each focus on a distinct area of institutional change. Explore their goals and recent accomplishments.
Goal
The goal of this area is to identify opportunities for campus engagement that help to cultivate and sustain ongoing discussion, analysis, and continual learning that supports a diverse campus climate.
Areas of Focus
Goal
The goal of this area is to identify the types of academic/mentoring support that should be provided to students from traditionally marginalized groups to ensure that they feel safe to explore their identities without feeling excluded
Areas of Focus
During the 2022-2023 academic year, the student support subcommittee worked on identifying key areas students need for support, with a focus on issues of diversity, equity and inclusion. This subcommittee developed the following guide: “Create Brave and Courageous Learning Environment”.
Goal
The goal of this area is to identify the types of academic/mentoring support that should be provided to students from traditionally marginalized groups to ensure that they feel safe to explore their identities without feeling excluded.
Areas of Focus
During the 2022-2023 academic year, the curricular subcommittee added DEI closed-ended questions to course evaluations as well as a DEI-specific open-ended question to invite students to share their varied experiences. Posted on Teaching Learning Commons page DEI reading list and encourage instructors to integrate diverse content and authorship in their work. Developed a questionnaire for instructors to obtain baseline data on how much DEI content currently exists in course syllabi/class content with the goal of developing a proposal for continuous improvement along with a plan to support instructors in meaningful integration of diverse authorship and content.
Goal
The goal of this area is to increase faculty and staff members’ understanding of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) to create a more welcoming campus climate for all students.
Areas of Focus
During the 2022-2023 academic year, facilitated learning spaces were held for attendees to learn how to identify explicit and implicit microaggressions that occur in the classroom and explore ways to handle them and the 2023 –2024 DEI faculty retreat.
Leadership
DEI Committee
Chair
Denise Duval Tsioles
Provost & Dean of Academic Affairs
Denise Duval Tsioles, PhD, has been a faculty member at ICSW since 2007, teaching doctoral research and consulting with students on clinical cases and dissertations. She has held leadership roles at ICSW, including Associate Director of Doctoral Studies and Director of the Master’s Program. Her experience also includes teaching, research, and clinical training in early childhood development, mental health, and parenting.
Members
Dr. Milka Ramírez
Ph.D., LCSW, PEL
Dr. Paula Ammerman
Alumna and Full Faculty Member
Michael Bauman
Vice President of Finance and Operations
Dr. Karen Bloomberg
Dean of Students
Dr. Karen Daiter
Full-Faculty Member
Dr. Michelle Piotrowski
Alumna & Full Faculty
Dr. Jacquelyn Vincson
Chair of Research Full Faculty
Steve Vogelstein
Full-Faculty Member
Ashley Ellis
Staff
Student Members Support Sub-group
Amy Shane
Student Member, Support Sub-group
Remi Mitchell
Student Member, Support Sub-group
Christine White
Student Member, Support Sub-group
Nadeja Wesley
Student Member, Support Sub-group
DEI Programming
Events
Stay connected with our DEI programming and upcoming events.
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SHARE YOUR PERSPECTIVE
Reflections on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
We welcome submissions of personal reflections, critical readings, clinical perspectives, and suggestions from the wider ICSW community. Share your experiences and thoughts with us to help shape our collective journey.
Submit your thoughts to dei@icsw.edu
“We renew our dedication to the core mission of our institute and to the continuous, challenging fight for true diversity, equality, and radical inclusion across clinical spaces and classrooms alike.”
ICSW DEI Taskforce Statement
Important Resource
Bias Reporting Form
This diversity task force form is for reporting acts of sexual misconduct, including sexual discrimination, harassment, non-consensual sexual intercourse and/or contact, exploitation, and interpersonal violence such as stalking, dating violence and/or domestic violence. You may self-identify or report anonymously on this form.
ICSW may have an obligation to act on a report even if you do not wish to proceed with a complaint or have action taken. If you identify yourself on this form, appropriate ICSW staff will contact you regarding your report.
Stay Connected
Keep In Touch
You are invited to attend our next virtual meeting. Meetings are open to current ICSW students, faculty, and staff.
To gain access to the meeting you may request to attend by emailing us at: DEI@icsw.edu
Have Questions?
Please reach out to Dr. Denise Duval Tsioles or the DEI Committee directly.