The Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion has partnered with the Center for Dispute Settlement on a 3-year Restorative Practices Initiative. The goals of this initiative are as follows:
- to build a sense of community.
- to proactively respond to incidents of harm that may take place at Brockport, and
- to incorporate restorative practices into various processes (i.e., Bias Incident Reporting, Student Conduct, and Huan Resources).
The three-year Restorative Practices Initiative is broken into 3 phases:
- Phase 1: Identify and train Restorative Champions, raise awareness across the university, and develop an implementation plan.
- Phase 2: Continue to develop the implementation plan and raising awareness and provide community building circles across the university.
- Phase 3: Continue to provide community building circles, develop a restorative practices response system and sustainability plan
Restorative Champions
A Restorative Champion is someone who is trained in proactive and responsive interventions to strengthen relationships between individuals as well as social connections within communities. They play an integral role in the success of Restorative Practices/Restorative Justice implementation on campus.
Responsibilities of a Restorative Champion
- Complete training in proactive (18 hours) and responsive (12 hours) interventions
- Commit to ongoing professional development in mindset and skills
- Model restorative culture for students, faculty, staff, and the wider community
- Be seen as a leader by serving on influential teams, leading professional development, and communicating about restorative practices and restorative justice
- Build capacity and celebrate others who can lead and own the restorative work
- Engage in relationship-building with all stakeholders
- Be present on campus in formal and informal settings
- Facilitate proactive circles to build community, strengthen relationships, and talk about issues that are important to the campus community
- Facilitative responsive circles and conferences after incidents of harm
- Track the use of restorative practices/restorative justice as an intervention on campus
Qualities of a Restorative Champion
- Prioritize strong relationships and a sense of community
- Work collaboratively (do things “with”, not “to” or “for” people)
- Listen emphatically
- Speak honestly and from the heart
- Demonstrate a positive and optimistic outlook
- Have the ability to serve as a leader and influencer of campus culture