The University Athletic Association was named the NCAA Division III Diversity Spotlight Initiative winner for March. The initiative recognizes and promotes outstanding diversity related projects, programming and initiatives that are occurring on Division III campuses and in conference offices.
The UAA created the UAA Staff Mosaic Committee – a committee of head and assistant coaches, administrators and athletic trainers. They meet once a month on Zoom calls to talk about specific issues and have a general discussion about topics of their choice. A subgroup was recently formed to identify ways the larger group can work with athletic administrators and the leadership of the UAA to ensure diversity and inclusion best practices are fully incorporated in their athletic departments and on their teams.
The committee recently participated in a presentation on the importance of mental health for coaches and staff facilitated by Carnegie Mellon University Coordinator of Student-Athlete Wellness and Athletic Trainer Rosie Cheng. Carnegie Mellon Psychotherapist and Outreach Coordinator Viviana Ferrer-Medina spoke to the group about their mental health, particularly during the pandemic.
"I applaud the conference’s creation of the UAA Staff Mosaic Committee to provide a place and format for coaches to talk to others who have many shared, and some unique, challenges as people of color in Division III and in the UAA. The presentation on the importance of mental health for coaches and staff will positively impact your coaches, staff, administrators and campus communities," remarked NCAA Division III Interim Vice President Louise McCleary.
"The committee brings together people of color who may have never connected due to the geographic distance between our schools and coaching/supporting different sports. It gives coaches, administrators, and athletic trainers a chance to speak regularly with others who face many of the same challenges and experiences," stated the committee's founder and UAA Sports Information Director Timothy Farrell.
“The Mosaic Committee was a natural outgrowth of a series of informal contacts and conversations that Tim had been having with a wide range of coaches and staff members at our member institutions,” commented UAA Executive Vice President Dick Rasmussen. “One of the challenges for many of our coaches and staff who are people of color is that the number of colleagues on their own campuses who are also people of color is small, but when you multiply those numbers by eight you reach a critical mass that can become an effective network for sharing experiences, challenges, and successes. Our monthly Zoom calls have been a great start, and we look forward more success as we identify more ways to raise the voices and support this group of energetic and talented individuals who contribute so much to our campuses and our student-athletes.”