EDI Curriculum and Pedagogy Fund Project Profiles

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Curriculum and Pedagogy Fund Project Profiles

In 2022-23, the OVPIUE announced a one time fund to support equitable and inclusive teaching. These funds were distributed to divisions to support special projects that address a range of approaches to advancing equity and inclusion in courses or programs, including:

  • Pedagogical Enhancement / Development
  • Curriculum Review / Enhancement
  • Professional Development Resources for Faculty
  • External Partner / Community Partner Engagement

Find out more about each division’s projects below, including project overviews, team leads, project outcomes and resources. For 2024-25, projects focused on equitable and inclusive teaching are encouraged to explore our LEAF grants program, which prioritizes equitable and inclusive projects as well as projects focused on student success, experiential learning, and technology in the classroom.

Project Title: Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Office (EDIO) Curricula Enhancement Initiative 

Project Lead(s): Ryan Hinds, Director, EDI Office; Gifty Mackay, Advisor, EDI Office 

Project Overview: Dalla Lana School of Public Health (DLSPH) aims to nurture academic excellence by understanding and responding to the root causes of inequity and exclusion. The Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Office’s Curricula Enhancement Initiative aims to support DLSPH faculty in implementing EDI-related changes to curricula as informed by students, staff, faculty and external experts. The project team will build upon existing curricula, pedagogies and perspectives to ensure DLSPH graduates are prepared to work with diverse communities and apply EDI competencies within their work environments. Part of this work will involve participation in the Decolonizing Curriculum Faculty Fellows Program in collaboration with the Faculty of Information. This program aims to effect meaningful change by offering a catalyzing workshop series, supporting instructors in developing achievable goals for decolonizing their curricula, providing graduate student assistance, cultivating the next generation of faculty with an EDI lens, positioning participating instructors as leaders and sustaining efforts through the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Office within Dalla Lana School of Public Health.  

Project Title: New Respect Cultural Safety Program Revisions 

Project Lead(s): Dr. Angela Mashford-Pringle, Associate Director, Waakebiness Institute for Indigenous Health and Program Director the Master of Public Health in Indigenous Health

Project Overview: The New Respect Indigenous Cultural Safety (CS) Program aims to deliver effective online, Indigenous-led cultural safety training to health service professionals including nurses, physicians and social service providers, as well as Kindergarten to post-secondary educators. The goal of the training is to address systemic anti-Indigenous racism by improving participants’ culturally sensitive communication, collaboration and community engagement skills when working with Indigenous peoples. This project aims to provide widely accessible foundational and profession-specific online CS training and and to evaluate whether the training has an effect on participants’ social, emotional, physical and spiritual behaviour. These funds were provided following the conclusion of the pilot of the New Respect Indigenous Cultural Safety Program and will be leveraged to analyze data from the initial pilot, address any identified issues and relaunch with a view to expanding the number of faculty, staff and students who engage with the Program.

Project Title: Master of Public Health – Black Health Program Development 

Project Lead(s): Dr. Roberta Timothy, Program Director, Master of Public Health in Black Health; Rochelle Parcells, Program Coordinator, Master of Public Health in Black Health 

Project Overview: Evidence suggests that experiences of anti-Black racism in the healthcare system led to higher rates of chronic health outcomes, including increased morbidity and mortality among Black community members. Dalla Lana School of Public Health (DLSPH) launched North America’s first Master of Public Health (MPH) in Black Health program for the Fall 2023 term, which aims to prepare students to practice public health with Black communities and to change their healthcare experience for the better. The program will explore the impact of anti-Black racism on health; intersectionality and transgenerational health (including Black Elders and children); the effects of inter-generational relationships on community health; wellness and healing; resilience and resistance; infectious and chronic illness prevalence; and treatment within the health-care system. The program will also give students transferrable skills in the practices of decolonizing pedagogy and anti-racist, anti-oppression frameworks.

The curriculum currently includes typical MPH program requirements with an additional six courses related to Black health, covering topics like, a sociohistorical overview of Black health, chronic diseases and reproductive health in a lifespan, decolonizing theory and methods in Black health research, transnational Black health policy and practice and Black resistance in health. These funds are supporting content development for the 6 new Black Health focused courses to be delivered to incoming cohort and to be published on Quercus, conducting library searches and assisting with creation of materials for Black Health Pedagogy & Research Guide for incoming students, as well as coordinating knowledge translation related to education practices and anti-racist pedagogy in Black Health.

Project Outcomes / Resources Developed:  6 new courses developed, Black Health Pedagogy and Research Guide developed (ONLINE RESOURCE)

Project Title: Centering EDI in the master’s social work (MSW) program: Scaffolding an EDI explicit curricula across orientation, foundation and advanced years  

Project Leads: Charmaine Williams, Dean; Eunjung Lee, Associate Dean Academic; Michael Shier, MSW Program Director; Mai King, Assistant Dean, Registrar and Student Services  

Project Overview:  Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work (FIFSW) aims to ensure the MSW curriculum represents the lived experiences and learning goals of our diverse student group while preparing students with the EDI competencies necessary to practice social work. Over the course of the project, the project team plans to: update the required pre-admission EDI training program and develop a manual to guide future training; strengthen the integration of EDI into the MSW student orientation and develop a manual to guide future EDI-centered orientations; develop a “Lunch & Learn” EDI-focused speaker series; review all MSW courses to identify what areas can be improved to strengthen FIFSW’s EDI-centered curriculum. We will also create resources that better reflect the current Canadian sociocultural context and illustrate EDI-focused practice principles. 

Project Outcomes / Resources Developed:  New EDI Training program for incoming first and advanced standing year students, creation of orientation protocols supporting student onboarding centered around accessibility, supports for student mental health and protocols for reporting EDI related incidents and review and reporting to Faculty on a full course outline review about the focus of EDI principles and practice within the one year and two year curriculum, with strategies to further develop curriculum. 

Project Title: Asynchronous EDIA training module enhancement  

Project Lead(s): Marisa Sterling, Assistant Dean, Diversity, Inclusion and Professionalism 

Project Overview: The Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering (FASE) aims to improve upon and provide additional opportunities for students, instructional staff and faculty to participate in EDIA learning.   

FASE currently uses three EDIA training and learning modules: 1) Foundational EDI Language, 2) Power, Privilege & Positionality and 3) Interrupted Bias. These modules were previously developed for teaching assistants and student leader. FASE plans to update the learning objectives and add resources to the existing modules so they can also be used to onboard sessional instructional staff and new faculty. Additionally, FASE aims to develop new modules on topics such as, “what is decolonization?’ and “introduction to inclusive pedagogy” and revitalize their Quercus page.  

Project Title: EDIA curricular assessment 

Project Lead(s): Marisa Sterling, Assistant Dean, Diversity, Inclusion and Professionalism 

Project Overview: Engineering’s Faculty Council recently approved a new undergraduate certificate program in “Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in Engineering” (JEDI). The JEDI certificate is optional, so FASE aims to facilitate EDIA-based learning outcomes in the curriculum more broadly. FASE will conduct a needs assessment and develop recommendations for better integrating EDIA learning into the U of T engineering curriculum within Engineering Science. Through this work, FASE also hopes to create a framework for integrating EDIA that can be used across Engineering departments. 

Project Title: A Beginning: Charting a Path Toward an Anti-racist and Decolonial Program at the Centre for Drama, Theatre & Performance Studies 

Project Lead(s): Bharat Saini, Director, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion, Faculty of Arts & Science; Kathleen Gallagher, Director, Centre for Drama, Theatre & Performance Studies, Faculty of Arts & Science

Project Overview: This project lays a foundation for anti-racist, decolonial curricular and pedagogical change in the Centre for Drama, Theatre & Performance Studies (CDTPS) by creating multiple forums for collective inquiry, creative exploration and robust dialogue about what forms such change would take. The CDTPS will conduct a comprehensive literature review, researching leading practices in integrating decolonized and anti-racist pedagogy in drama, theatre and performance studies and in professional contexts. CDTPS will also engage with anti-racism and decolonization disciplinary experts through a series of curriculum enhancement engagement sessions. This work will culminate in a year-end retreat to share learnings with instructors at CDTPS and to consider how to advance the work across our undergraduate and graduate programs.

Project Title: Decolonizing Curriculum Faculty Fellows Program  

Project Lead(s): Awo Abokor, Program Coordinator, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Office 

Project Overview:  In response to the evolving landscape of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) discussions, the Faculty of Information (FoI) has established dedicated offices for EDI and teaching and learning over the past two years. The Decolonizing Curriculum Faculty Fellows Program aims to effect meaningful change by offering a catalyzing workshop series, supporting instructors in developing achievable goals for decolonizing their curricula, providing graduate student assistance, cultivating the next generation of faculty with an EDI lens, positioning participating instructors as leaders, and sustaining efforts through the FoI EDI Office and Learning Hub. The program aligns with the Faculty’s priority areas of education and systemic change initiatives, emphasizing a commitment to transformative and sustainable pedagogical practices. 

Project Title: EDI Speakers Series

Project Lead(s): Ada Maxwell-Alleyne, Assistant Dean, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion; Christopher Essert, Associate Dean, JD Program; Sara Faherty, Assistant Dean, Academic  

 Project Overview:  Amidst the evolving discourse on EDI within the Faculty of Law, the EDI Speakers Series addresses the critical need for targeted training sessions, engaging legal experts to provide tailored content and foster EDI literacy among first-year law students. These sessions, delivered by legal experts, will cover topics such as anti-Black racism, antisemitism and anti-Asian hate, providing historical, social and legal context tailored for law students. The resources developed as a result of this speaker series will be housed on the EDI Law Resource Centre.   

 Project Outcomes / Resources Developed:  Sessions held every Friday for 2 hours in September 2023, October 2023 and January 2024. Excellent range of experts with valuable insights and the funding provided covered speakers fees. Plans to continue this successful series in the fall with additional opportunities for upper year student engagement.   

Project Title: EDI Law Resource Center 

Project Lead(s): Ada Maxwell-Alleyne, Assistant Dean, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion; Christopher Essert, Associate Dean, JD Program; Sara Faherty, Assistant Dean, Academic  

Project Overview: In response to the demand for centralized resources on anti-racism, allyship and inclusive teaching practices, the EDI Law Resource Center project within the Faculty of Law seeks to establish a comprehensive hub to meet the needs of law students, staff and faculty, enhancing equity and supporting faculty development by providing centralized resources on anti-racism, allyship and inclusive teaching practices. To support this, the Faculty of Law will develop an online resource hub with articles, tools and licensed educational products; provide information on best practices in anti-racism and allyship for law students, enhancing equity within the law school and the practice of law; and offer tools for faculty self-audits, building inclusive syllabi and promoting inclusive teaching practices.  

 Project Outcomes / Resources Developed:  A comprehensive resource catalogue has been developed and it will be converted in a research guide and maintained by the Bora Laskin Library.  This will ensure the catalogue is regularly updated.   

Project Title: Foundations of Equity in Music Studies: A Multimodal Pedagogical Resource   

Project Lead(s): Professor Ellie Hisama, Dean of Music; Professor Eliot Britton, Special Advisor, Climate, Culture and Equity; Professor Ryan McClelland, Associate Dean, Academic & Student Affairs; Professor Nasim Niknafs, Associate Dean, Research; Dr Ely Lyonblum, Strategic Research Development Officer  

Project Overview: This Faculty of Music project responds to the need for a comprehensive and accessible resource on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in music, building on existing text-based Quercus modules. This project seeks to develop a Multimodal Pedagogical Resource, including recorded audio and video interviews, infographics and a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) to foster understanding and action on EDI within music communities. To support this, the Faculty of Music consulted with ARAO Committee and Faculty Senior Leadership on content and hires personnel to record and edit the audiovisual materials for the project. This fund supported graduate student course designers, community-partner honoraria and professional/technical services. These modules are currently being leveraged in 10 courses at the Faculty of Music with additional opportunities. 

Project Outcomes / Resources Developed:  Foundations of Equity in Music Studies Quercus Page 

Project Title: Collecting empirical data on the breadth and scope of resources and practices identified in course syllabi that reflect a broad spectrum of voices, experiences and impacts  

Project Lead(s): Jeannie Kim, Associate Dean, Academic; Jewel Amoah, Assistant Dean, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion  

Project Overview:  The Daniels Faculty already has resources in place to advance anti-colonial, Indigenous-centred and anti-racist pedagogical practices through their more traditional course delivery methods. However, design studios, laboratories and fieldwork still largely reflect the traditional pedagogical models and scientific cultures within their disciplines. Therefore, FALD aims to make their teaching and learning environments more anti-colonial, anti-oppressive, anti-racist, accessible and gender inclusive in a way that centers community-engaged learning and sustainable impact.  

The project team will collect data by engaging with faculty to understand what strategies, resources and techniques are already being used across the Daniels programs and disciplines. They will also explore the resources and supports that are available to international and underrepresented students at U of T and at other art, architecture, forestry, landscape architecture and urban design faculties in Canada and beyond.   

Project Title: Enhance faculty capacity to continuously seek and include multiple divergent voices in curricular content and pedagogical practices  

Project Lead(s): Jeannie Kim, Associate Dean, Academic; Jewel Amoah, Assistant Dean, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion  

Project Overview:  The Daniels Faculty already has resources in place to advance anti-colonial, Indigenous-centred and anti-racist pedagogical practices through their more traditional course delivery methods. However, design studios, laboratories and fieldwork still largely reflect the traditional pedagogical models and scientific cultures within their disciplines. Therefore, we aim to make our teaching and learning environments more anti-colonial, anti-oppressive, anti-racist, accessible and gender inclusive in a way that centers community-engaged learning and sustainable impact.  

The project team aims to build faculty capacity to shift teaching and learning strategies towards inclusivity by engaging all voices– students, faculty, staff, community partners and external colleagues– in conversations and workshops. This project will result in resources like a handbook, video archive of teaching strategies, or a faculty publication documenting the project. 

Project Title: Collaborative Specialization in Indigenous Education (CS IE)  

Project Lead(s): Eve Tuck, Professor, Social Justice Education, OISE; Jennifer Brant, Assistant Professor in the Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning, OISE; Jeffrey Ansloos, Associate Professor, Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development, OISE 

Project Overview:   OISE is undertaking the development of a new collaborative specialization in Indigenous education within Social Justice Education. This program will address issues of equity, diversity and inclusion as they relate to Indigenous communities, especially with regard to addressing racism, sexism, homophobia and bias against poor people. The program is being designed to be welcoming to Indigenous students and to students who are not Indigenous.  

Project Title: Weaving EDIIA into Basic Medical Science Research and Program Curricula  

Project Lead(s):  Divisional Lead: Dr. Ahlia Khan-Trottier, Ph.D Associate Dean, Undergraduate Education ; Unit Leads: Dr. Michelle Arnot, Ph.D, Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology; Dr. Jastaran Singh, Ph.D, Department of Immunology; Dr. Paul Hamel, Ph.D, Department of Laboratory Medicine & Pathobiology; Ike Okafor, M.Ed, Senior Officer, Service Learning and Diversity Outreach, Office of Access & Outreach  

Project Overview: This multi-pronged project aims to integrate Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Indigeneity and Accessibility (EDIIA) principles across undergraduate health science education programs within the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, enhancing diversity, equity and cultural competence. By incorporating EDIIA-focused content, opportunities and experiences, this project will foster inclusivity and better prepare students to support diverse communities in their future health science careers. This funding will support the development of divisional guidelines for incorporating EDIIA into Basic Medical Science (health science) program curricula, emphasizing benefits, learning objectives and best practices; the targeted incorporation of EDIIA into specific programs and courses, serving as guiding examples for other departments; an environmental scan of undergraduate research programs, evaluating current EDIIA practices and identifying opportunities for improvement; the development of an EDIIA-focused research skills lab; and the enhancement of lab research mentorship through the Mentor 2 Mentor (M2M) program. 

Project Outcomes / Resources Developed:  

  • Course Resources:
    • Curriculum themes and maps, course-specific resources for PCL and IMM course instructors 
    • Fostering EDIIA Guide for Faculty
    • Pre-course access survey
    • Making Accessible PowerPoints Guide for Faculty
    • EDIIA Quercus module to house materials
  • Mentor 2 Mentor (M2M) Program: M2M community of practice:
    • M2M community of practice
    • M2M symposium (September 2024) for broader discussion and dissemination of developed strategies

Project Title: Promoting Engagement with Anti-Racist University Pedagogy   

Project Lead(s): Ruth Childs, Director, Institute for the Study of University Pedagogy; Tracey Bowen, Vice Dean Teaching and Learning  

Project Overview:  The Institute for the Study of University Pedagogy (ISUP) at UTM, with its skilled staff and faculty expertise, is leading an initiative to create programming and resources supporting anti-racist curricular development. This project seeks to enhance the capacity of ISUP to introduce faculty to, and provide pathways for them to undertake, anti-racist pedagogical work and to develop transferrable resources and strategies for broader deployment within UTM and potentially other divisions. This funding allowed for the formation of a faculty and staff working group in the Institute for the Study of University Pedagogy (ISUP) as well as a survey of ISUP faculty and an environmental scan to identify existing support and resources, focusing on Anti-Black Racism (ABR) Pedagogy. Following this investigation, ISUP created new workshops, reading groups and resources to support anti-racist curricular development. The implementation of this pilot program within ISUP has allowed for the gathering of feedback and refining strategies, programming and resources. 

Project Outcomes / Resources Developed:

  • Reading lists and annotated bibliography organized according to subject areas related to anti-racist pedagogy are available for faculty and staff. Subjects included in the reading lists and annotated bibliography: identity intersectionality and anti-Racist teaching practices; decolonizing methodologies and collaborative research with faculty, students and marginalized communities; bilingual pedagogical approaches and alternative/decolonial pedagogical practices in academia. 
  • Environmental scan (report): resource developed to inform the implementation of anti-racist frameworks at the departmental level. Outputs of the scan also include a comprehensive spreadsheet documenting the implementation of antiBlack racism frameworks in peer institutions. 
  • Annotated bibliography documenting the role of writing mentorship for Black students in Canadian writing centers was produced. This is a resource for writing center administrators, staff and writing faculty who are interested in this topic. 

Project Title: Indigenous Learning Development Initiative (ILDI)  

Academic Division: University of Toronto, Mississauga   

Project Lead(s): Tracey Bowen, Vice Dean Teaching and Learning; Tee Duke, Director, Office of Indigenous Initiatives (UTM)  

Project Overview:  Patterned after the successful Writing Development Initiative (WDI) at UTM, the Indigenous Learning Development Initiative (ILDI) aims to support, fund and evaluate projects that integrate Indigenous content, perspectives, or pedagogies into university courses with a goal to provide scaffolded support, associated funding and collaborative assistance to instructor teams across UTM who seek to incorporate Indigenous ways of knowing into their disciplines. Following some initial consultation, the project team noted the need for the development of a new process for working with Indigenous faculty members and partners in developing and implementing Indigenous pedagogy and curricular innovations. The project team, therefore, determined the need to pause in order to reflect, consult and reimagine what this process could look like. 

Project Title: The Campus Curriculum Resource Hub  

Project Lead(s): Katherine Larson, Vice-Dean Teaching, Learning & Undergraduate Programs; Karen McCrindle, Director, Centre for Teaching and Learning; Project Development: Marc Proudfoot, Program Coordinator, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Office   

Project Overview:  The University of Toronto Scarborough’s “The Campus Curriculum Resource Hub” is an inclusive hub developed in response to curriculum review recommendations and in partnership with the UTSC Campus Curriculum Review Working Circle, department chairs, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Office, Centre for Teaching and Learning, Community Partnerships and Engagement Office and Indigenous Initiatives. The Hub is an easily navigable online space offering equity-based, inclusive, anti-racist and anti-colonial pedagogical resources to support faculty, librarians, staff and teaching assistants at UTSC. This funding allowed for coordination with stakeholders to develop a beta version of the hub; revisions to the beta version of the Hub; the gathering of community feedback, planning long-term oversight and engagement with tri-campus partners.  

Contact Us

For further questions related to teaching grants please contact vp.iue@utoronto.ca.