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Our Mission

Hogs UNITED is a collaborative effort between the student-athletes, coaches, and staff at the University of Arkansas Athletic Department. This effort is aimed at promoting education, advocacy, and action in the areas of diversity and inclusive excellence.

In addition to our four committees, the following groups will have regularly scheduled meetings to facilitate open discussion around a variety of past, current, and future events. These groups are a starting point and other groups will be formed as interest arises. Hogs UNITED is a group focused on concerns and topics within the areas of diversity and inclusive excellence. The mission of this group aligns with the university’s Guiding Principles – specifically, Enriching Campus Diversity & Inclusion, and Building a Collaborative & Innovative Campus. Hogs UNITED will communicate those messages throughout the Department of Athletics and beyond. Additional areas of focus include hiring and retention of individuals from marginalized or underserved groups, messaging from Athletics around topics of diversity and inclusion, working in conjunction with the Human Resources Manager and the Title IX Officer, and keeping up with and supporting relevant research on the topics of diversity and inclusion within Athletics.

Student-Athlete Groups
Student-Athletes of Color (SAOC)
Student-Athlete Allies (SAA)
African American Student-Athlete Leadership Council

 

Coach | Staff Groups
Coaches & Staff of Color (CSOC)
Active Coach & Staff Allies (ACSA)

 

By providing structure to the various initiatives mentioned above and to come, Razorback Athletics will have a united and unified front when it comes to addressing issues of equity and equality in our department, on our campus, and within our community.


 

Pillars

Education:
The focus of our educational pillar is towards ongoing conversations and training opportunities for the staff, coaches, and student-athletes.

 

Educational initiatives include, but are not limited to:

  • Quarterly Training Opportunities – Safe Zone Training, Microaggression Awareness Sessions, Implicit/Unconscious Bias Awareness Sessions, Confronting and Combating -Isms, etc.
  • Quarterly Book Club Opportunities – the books will be on a wide range of topics within the diversity and inclusive excellence space.
  • “Speak Up” – a quarterly series of publications and videos around topics of diversity and inclusive excellence (this will include newsletters, video collaborations with our departmental partners).

 

Advocacy:
The focus of our advocacy pillar is on alerting coaches, student-athletes, and staff about ways to get involved in the department, on campus, and around the community when it comes to diversity and inclusive excellence initiatives.

 

Advocacy initiatives include, but are not limited to:

  • Monthly Heritage Celebrations and Focus to celebrate the customs, values, and traditions of different cultures within our department, campus, and community (for example, Black History Month, PRIDE month, Hispanic Heritage Month, etc.).
  • Collaboration with the Multicultural Center on campus around calendars of events.
  • Engaging our departmental teammates program to further advocate for our new teammates as they are welcomed to the department.

 

Action:
The focus of our action pillar is putting into action those educational and advocacy efforts for student-athletes, staff, and coaches.

 

Action initiatives include, but are not limited to:

  • Hogs VERI-fied (Voter Education & Registration Initiative) – focused on educating our student-athletes, staff, and coaches about the process through which they can register to vote.
  • Commitment Signing – this involves the creation of the Hogs UNITED pledge to engage in inclusive practices and actively work towards anti-isms in our department, on our campus, and in our community.
  • Community Partners Designation – working with our outward facing partners to engage our stakeholders to collaborate with Hogs UNITED in terms of inclusive practice and anti-isms.

 

Committees

Programming:
The focus of this committee is to provide the Hogs UNITED group with opportunities for speakers, webinars, video series, etc. focused on diversity and inclusive excellence. This group works closely with other areas of the department whose missions are similar in terms of providing the opportunities. For more information or interest in this committee, please contact Erica Nelson (en006@uark.edu).

 

Messaging:
The focus of this committee is examining the messages within and external to the department while paying attention to diversity and inclusive excellence variables. This group works closely with our website group, RSN, and PR. For more information or interest in this committee, please contact Elvis Moya (ejmoya@uark.edu).

 

Facilities:
The focus of this committee is the examination and evaluation of the departmental spaces to ensure diversity and inclusive excellence are upheld in all buildings and surrounding areas. This group works closely with the messaging group as well as our departmental facilities group. For more information or interest in this committee, please contact Will Roth (Will.Roth@ArkansasSportsProperties.com).

 

Data:
The focus of this committee is the gathering and distribution of information from internal and external sources around demographics and other measures of diversity and inclusive excellence. This group works closely with all our other committees to provide them with the information they need. This group also works closely with the sources of the information needed. For more information or interest in this committee, please contact Savannah Hall (mcatee@uark.edu).

 

Hiring and Retention:
The two-fold focus of this committee is 1.) examining the recruitment strategies the department uses around diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) variables, and 2.) retaining employees along those same DEI variables. This group works closely with the departmental HR office. For more information or interest in this committee, please contact KC Cross (kec005@uark.edu).


 

Definitions

Diversity – The understanding that everyone is unique and recognizing the individual differences that exist. These differences can be along the dimensions of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age, physical abilities, religious beliefs, political beliefs, or other ideologies.

 

Inclusion – Inclusion is involvement and empowerment, where the inherent worth and dignity of all people is recognized, and everyone is made to feel valued as being essential to the success of the team, group, and/or organization.

 

Equity & Equality – Equity is giving everyone what they need to be successful. Equality is treating everyone the same. Equality aims to promote fairness, but it can only work if everyone starts from the same place and needs the same help.

 

Inclusive Excellence – This is intended to be understood as an extension of inclusion – to be excellent at the implementation of inclusive practices. This requires active engagement of student-athletes, coaches, staff, alumni, and community partners.

 

Privilege – The ease with which one moves through a situation or life in general. More definitionally: a special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group.

 

Anti-Racism – an active and conscious effort to work against the multidimensional aspects of racism that involves – at its heart – personal accountability and action.


 

Resources

Click categories for more information.

Books
Podcasts
Articles
Films
Videos
Social Media Accounts

Contact Us


Feel free to contact our group through our Chair, Chris Bader (cbader@uark.edu).

Follow us on Twitter @HogsUnited