Affinity Resource Groups (ARGs) support faculty and staff in actively and intentionally cultivating an inclusive community and culture at Wake Forest University. The collective goals of ARGs are to:
- Serve as catalyst for change who provide diverse representation and experiential knowledge, facilitate dialogue, and represent the experiences of underrepresented communities to support the mission of the institution
- Provide professional development, mentoring, and networking opportunities
- Offer social and community engagement via programming and volunteerism
- Collaborate across ARGs and campus stakeholders to act as thought partners, harness knowledge, and share resources to foster intersectional awareness
- Contribute inclusive faculty and staff recruitment and retention efforts
- Partner with and support opportunities (e.g., academic departments or Campus Life offices) that enhance students’ lives
Affinity Resource Groups
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Asian Pacific Islander Desi American Affinity Resource Group
Vision/Mission:
The mission of the APIDA Affinity Resource Group is to foster a welcoming and inclusive environment at Wake Forest University for individuals interested in issues facing the APIDA community. The group will serve as a resource to Wake Forest University to positively influence the environment and to assist the University in achieving its diversity, inclusion, and equity vision by creating awareness of our ARG, events, networking opportunities, and innovative ideas.
There are four primary objectives of the APIDA Affinity Resource Group. These objectives include:
1. Foster a sense of belonging, peer relationships, social events, and connections, and build an internal support system for WFU APIDA faculty and staff.
2. Connect with, and educate the group members and the broader university audience on APIDA culture, history, and current social issues.
3. Serve as institutional change advocates who can mobilize to provide diverse representation and authentic voices representing the APIDA population.
4. Assist in driving initiatives that maximize the personal and professional development of APIDA employees.Want to learn more?
Click here or contact Cherie Fu at fuy@wfu.edu or Yasuko Takata Railings at takatay@wfu.edu
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Black Men Affinity Resource Group
Vision/Mission:
We strive to foster an environment for Black men to establish and sustain relationships, connections, and impact within and beyond the WFU community. We aspire to do this by creating space to build authentic connections, developing profession and student mentorship opportunities, and engaging in meaningful ways within the WFU and Winston-Salem community.
Want to learn more? Contact:
Marcus Sanderlin at sanderma@wfu.edu or Dwight Lewis at lewisd@wfu.edu
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Disability Affinity Resource Group
Vision/Mission:
The mission of the Disability Affinity Resource Group is to provide support and advocacy for disabled and chronically ill employees at Wake Forest University and to ensure that disability and related identities are fully included in Wake Forest University’s community. This is to ensure a welcoming and inclusive environment at Wake Forest University for individuals navigating issues of disability and chronic illness, in all aspects of their thriving in the WFU community. The group will serve as a resource to Wake Forest University to positively influence the environment and assist the University in achieving its diversity, inclusion, and equity vision by creating awareness of current and potential employee needs. The ARG will engage in events and networking opportunities and act as a bridge between WFU’s disabled and chronically ill employees and Wake’s functional areas and leadership to advocate for improvements to Wake in ways that can bolster disabled and chronically ill employee inclusion, success, and retention.
Want to learn more?
Click here or contact Elena Clark at clarkep@wfu.edu or Eudora Struble at strublej@wfu.edu
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International Affinity Resource Group
Vision/Mission:
Our mission is to
1) Build community and visibility for all international identified employees, including faculty and staff members.
2) Provide logistical and professional support for faculty and staff whose unique and often temporary/vulnerable legal status requires a very specific set of procedures/attention
3) Amplify cultural, linguistic, and social practices that are different than those of the United States, as faculty and staff incorporate those in their professional and academic spaces (from recruiting meetings to the classroom… and beyond)Our goals are closely aligned with our mission as we support international identified employees as a community that 1) seeks and creates belonging among themselves and others, 2) has the logistical and professional advice from experts, 3) promotes cultural, linguistic, and social diversity across Wake and the local community
Similarly to the other affinity groups, we also value and continue to foster the relationship between faculty and staff members as we work together toward a less hierarchical and vertical structure, as we gather and learn from each other and our unique experiences across campus, and across the globe.
This group includes, mostly, employees who are not from the United States and have come to Wake Forest University and North Carolina for a job. For some members of this group, this employment opportunity at Wake Forest University is their first in the United States. Others have gone to school in the United States (for college or postgraduate studies), or moved to the United States for other reasons, before advancing their studies. Members of this group may also be US citizens who have lived and studied abroad and relate to the challenges of being in a culture and nation other than those where one is born.
All interested WFU employees are welcome.Want to learn more? Contact:
Kelia Hubbard at hubbarkn@wfu.edu or Alessandra Von Burg at beaslea@wfu.edu
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Jewish Affinity Resource Group
Vision/Mission:
The WFU JARG exists to foster a welcoming and inclusive environment at Wake Forest University for individuals identifying as Jewish, and their allies.
*Educate, raise awareness, and share information about issues that face the Jewish community, as well as affect other historically marginalized communities at WFU;
*Provide professional development, networking, and cultural appreciation opportunities;
*Improve diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging; and
*Offer a forum in which staff/faculty/ community concerns can be made known to the University.
(subject to change)Want to learn more?
Click here or contact Gail Bretan at bretangh@wfu.edu or Danielle Koupf at koupfdr@wfu.edu
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Latinx Affinity Resource Group
Vision/Mission:
Our mission is to provide a safe and welcoming space to all faculty and staff who identify as Latinx community members at Wake Forest University and to offer campus members an inclusive space to learn more about the Latinx community. Our goals include hosting 1-2 events each semester to amplify the Latinx community experience in Winston-Salem and at Wake Forest University, offer a book club experience all for faculty and staff interested in Latinx literature and to ensure we coordinate initiatives that meet the needs as we look to build a stronger and more vibrant Latinx community.
Want to learn more?
Click here or contact Karen Vargas at vargask@wfu.edu or Marisa Hancock-Hernandez at hernmi19@wfu.edu
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Middle Eastern & South Asian Affinity Resource Group
Vision/Mission: To provide an avenue for Middle Eastern and South Asian (MESA) faculty and staff to build community with one another and provide support for Middle Eastern and South Asian students. Faculty & staff will plan to gather together at least twice per semester.
Want to learn more? Contact:
Naijla Faizi at faiznr0@wfu.edu
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Parent and Caregiver Affinity Resource Group
Vision/Mission:
The Parent and Caregiver Affinity Group supports parents and caregivers at Wake Forest by building community for faculty and staff members who identify as caregivers. The affinity group supports members through a monthly coffee hour/debrief space, quarterly gatherings, and a google group that shares institutional and local resources for parenting and caregiving.
Want to learn more?
Click here or contact Kathleen Stimely at mckeekl@wfu.edu or Marian Trattner at trattnm@wfu.edu
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Wake Forest Queer Affinity Resource Group
Vision/Mission:
The mission of the WFQ Affinity Resource Group is to foster a welcoming and inclusive environment at Wake Forest University for individuals interested in issues facing the LGBTQ community. The group will serve as a resource to Wake Forest University to positively influence the environment and to assist the University in achieving its diversity, inclusion, and equity vision by creating awareness of our ARG, events, networking opportunities, and innovative ideas.
WFQ’s primary objectives include:
-Fostering an environment of inclusion and belonging for LGBTQ+ faculty and staff, especially by creating spaces that center LGBTQ+ faculty and staff and allow them to connect with one another
-Creating avenues for members to communicate with each other about university policies, structures, events, and our experiences at Wake Forest
-Using our collective voice to advocate for institutional changes that will support LGBTQ+ individuals
-Looking for opportunities to create or assist with programming and projects that support LGBTQ+ people, especially through collaboration with other ARGs and university entitiesWant to learn more?
Click here or contact Branden Nicholson at nicholsb@wfu.edu or Mary Katherine Newsome at newsommk@wfu.edu
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Women Affinity Resource Group
Vision/Mission: *More information coming soon!
Want to learn more? Contact:
Erica Still at stillel@wfu.edu
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Women of Color Affinity Resource Group
Vision/Mission:
Vision: Creating a community and safe space for women of color on the campus
Mission: As an ARG on the campus of Wake Forest University, the Woman of Color ARG sets to accomplish the goal of creating a community within the campus for women who identify as Black, Hispanic, and Pacific Islander to have a safe space to create friendships and network with women from various disciplines on campus. We thrive to provide opportunities for the group to gather virtually and in-person monthly.Want to learn more?
Click here or contact Ashlynn King at kinga@wfu.edu or Raven Scott at scottr@wfu.edu