Worldview Programs
In alignment with the State of Tennessee’s Campus Free Speech Protection Act, the UT Board of Trustees Policy Affirming Principles of Free Speech for Students and Faculty, and UT Health Science Center’s Strategic Plan, campus partners continuously work together to ensure a climate welcoming the worldviews of all faculty, staff, trainees, and students.
Below are campus worldview diversity programs offered to students, faculty, staff, and trainees throughout the year.
Tennessee Divisive Concepts Act
The Tennessee Higher Education Freedom of Expression and Transparency Act ("the Act") prohibits Tennessee public institutions of higher education from taking certain actions regarding divisive concepts and the ideologies or political viewpoints of students and employees. It also addresses mandatory training that includes divisive concepts as defined in the Act. For more information, visit our Tennessee Divisive Concepts Act page.
CDO Sessions
Welcome to the Candor, Dialogue, and Observation Sessions (CDO Sessions) that started in June 2022. UTHSC's Associate Vice Chancellor, Dr. Michael Alston, will host monthly small group conversations over Zoom (7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. CDT) on the first and fourth Fridays of each month. Participants will be capped at sixteen (16) in each session, and you may register to participate as many times as you would like.
Participants in these unstructured conversations will be able to discuss and ask questions regarding civility, respect, thoughts, viewpoints, inclusion, or other topics/subjects that they may be uncomfortable asking in different spaces. This platform is in place to encourage unspoken thoughts or comments and viewpoints to be shared based on one's worldview. One's worldview encompasses cultural events, political beliefs, knowledge of history, and outlook on life. A person's worldview is framed by an array of factors, such as encounters, associations, acquisition of knowledge, and even personal reflections, which change one's viewpoints with time.
We are sharing the dates of the upcoming Zoom conversations (the first Friday of the month at 7:30 a.m. CDT and the fourth Friday at 7:30 a.m. CDT). Unless otherwise specified, these conversations are for the entire campus community (i.e., students, residents/fellows, staff, faculty, and administrators). If you wish to attend, please sign up for the date you want to attend below.
First Friday and Fourth Friday Morning Zoom Meetings (7:30 am – 8:30 am CDT):
Inclusive Engagement Program (IEP)
The IEP was designed with you in mind! Designed to have members of the UTHSC community engage in intersectional and experiential learning regarding culture, worldviews, inclusion, and civility. Offered in the spring and fall of every academic year and open to faculty, staff, students, and trainees. For more information, visit our Inclusive Engagement Program page.
Book Club At The Center
Engage in discussions through the power of books that demonstrate a collective mixture of worldviews that honor beliefs, values, expectations, experiences, and inclusion! Participation is fluid to account for varying schedules and subject matter interests. Book drawings for free copies are held before each discussion. For more information, visit our Book Club At The Center page.
Inclusion Defined
Inclusion describes the active, intentional, and ongoing engagement with diversity - in people, in the curriculum, in the co-curriculum, and in communities (e.g., academic, social, professional, clinical, research, service, and geographic) where individuals might connect. UTHSC commits to pursuing deliberate efforts to ensure that our campus is a place where differences are welcomed, different perspectives are respectfully heard, and every individual feels a sense of belonging. Shared power will be ensured by the presence of traditionally excluded individuals and/or groups into processes, activities, and decisions/policies. Building a critical mass of diverse groups and individuals on campus with a vibrant climate of inclusiveness, we will effectively leverage the resource.
Diversity Defined
Diversity is the wide variety of shared and different personal and group characteristics among individuals. UTHSC commits to affirming diversity, which is expressed in myriad forms, including race and ethnicity, gender and gender identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, language, culture, national origin, religious commitments, age, invisible and visible (dis)abilities, and political perspective. It means understanding that each individual is unique and recognizing our individual differences and similarities.