Buffalo Seminary (SEM) is an independent day and boarding high school for college-bound girls. Founded in 1851, SEM is located in the historic Elmwood Village neighborhood of Buffalo, New York, and is registered on the National Register of Historic Places. Our five student and faculty residences are renovated historic homes beside our school building.

At SEM, girls from diverse backgrounds – united in their ambition for a superb and challenging education – can find a comprehensive program that prepares them well for both college and lifelong endeavors.

Buffalo Seminary seeks a full-time Director of Equity and Inclusion with a start date of summer 2021.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

The Director of Equity & Inclusion reports directly to the head of school and will lead diversity, equity, and inclusion work. This will include educating students, faculty, staff, and parents about topics related to DEI, as well as facilitating the resolution of DEI-related issues that arise throughout the year. The Director of Equity & Inclusion will also be responsible for gathering and analyzing data related to the experiences of various subgroups of students and recommending shifts in policy and practice related to that data. Housing may be provided.

• Provide strategic leadership in the area of equity at SEM, based upon the school's mission and long-range plan
• Work with the Admissions Office to recruit, welcome, and retain students from diverse backgrounds
• Partner with other administrators to recruit, welcome, and retain faculty and staff from diverse backgrounds
• Serve as a resource for faculty with respect to curriculum design and student support. Specifically, the director will promote, advise upon, and support curriculum development aimed at teaching and learning to think critically about cultural diversity
• In collaboration with the Academic Dean, work with both individual faculty members and departments to develop courses and curricula that include the study of race, gender, ethnicity, nation and nationhood, class, and religion, and their intersections.
• Develop on-campus workshops focused on teaching adults how to work with all students most effectively
• Facilitate and ensure faculty professional growth in understanding the role of social and cultural factors in both teaching and learning
• Work with the department chairs and Academic Dean to ensure that the school’s curriculum reflects the diversity of our local and global communities
• Coordinate programs for educating our community (faculty, staff, students, parents) about issues related to diversity
• Work with EdCo (a partnership of local private schools) to fulfill Buffalo Seminary’s (SEM) commitment to the EdCo DEI program.
• Sit on the Board of Trustees’ AntiRacism Taskforce
• Act as a liaison between the school and public service organizations in the greater community to improve efforts to serve our local community and support outreach, admissions, marketing, and recruitment
• Network with diversity coordinators at other EdCo schools as well as off-campus cultural resource organizations
• Implement, monitor the progress of, and recommend adjustments to DEI-related aspects of the Strategic Plan as well as SEM’s ongoing DEI work
• Attend meetings of the Community Honor Board and consult with members of that body regarding student outcomes
• Actively research new pedagogies, curricula, and best practices that address common programs
• Lead the work of the faculty DEI team
• Address classroom challenges in teaching about cultural competence, awareness of microaggressions, identity, social difference, and inequality, and train SEM teachers to incorporate these into their classrooms
• Attend meetings of the Health and Wellness Team and support the elements of their work connected to DEI
• Teach at least one course