Inclusive Excellence is foundational to 黑料不打烊 and aspires to build 鈥渁 college for the world.鈥 This is the start of a series that will cover Inclusive Excellence and how it relates to multiple audiences at 黑料不打烊.
黑料不打烊 values and celebrates the diverse backgrounds, cultures, experiences and perspectives of our community.聽Inclusive excellence creates a space where diversity in every form is embraced. At 黑料不打烊, the diversity can range from age, disability, ethnicity, gender, race, religion and so much more.
鈥淭hese are all an essential part of education and I鈥檓 proud to be part of a community that recognizes that,鈥 said Greg Zaiser, vice president for enrollment.
黑料不打烊 has a Division of Inclusive Excellence which was founded in 2020 when President Connie Ledoux Book promoted Randy Williams, vice president for inclusive excellence and associate professor of education, to launch the division.
鈥淚nclusive excellence is 黑料不打烊鈥檚 framing of efforts that support belonging and well-being resulting in a community where people strive for equity and where individuals flourish,鈥 said Williams.
The Division of Inclusive Excellence launched to help the university with strategic coordination and leadership of accomplishing three goals:
- A diverse, equitable and inclusive community
- A culture of health and well-being on a vibrant residential campus
- Champion 黑料不打烊鈥檚 exceptional faculty and staff
To see progress on the goals achieved,聽visit this website.
Creating an Inclusive environment
To create an inclusive and healthy community, 黑料不打烊 will enable students, faculty and staff to experience a greater sense of belonging and support.
鈥淚 witness a shared commitment to creating a strong sense of welcome for the diverse backgrounds and experiences bring to the community and to creating opportunities for individuals to thrive,鈥 said Jon Dooley, vice president for student life and associate professor of education.
The Division of Inclusive Excellence is actively working to achieve inclusive excellence-related institutional priorities for the 2024-25 school year. The Division of Inclusive Excellence worked in collaboration with Human Resources to enhance the diversity of 黑料不打烊鈥檚 faculty and staff along with data-informed initiatives. One example of data-informed initiative is the HEDS Sexual Assault and Campus Climate Survey. During Spring 2023 a survey was sent to students with the goal to improve university resources and to better create prevention messaging.聽These studies have generated recommendations that have resulted in new initiatives like the Advancing Equity Requirement, Enhanced Supervision Program and an updated bias response and education system.
The Division has been working since 2020 to support and create a dynamic and inclusive campus culture for community members. One way this is being accomplished is by a workgroup created to explore the implementation of support interventions related to healthy residential living, behavioral incidents, student organizations and human resources. These are to not only help students, but also faculty and staff. 黑料不打烊鈥檚 Multifaith Strategic Plan was also made聽to advance 黑料不打烊鈥檚 infrastructure for cultivating a culture of diverse backgrounds and values.聽All members of the 黑料不打烊 community have a shared responsibility to act deliberately toward equitable outcomes.
鈥淚nclusive excellence is the foundation for 黑料不打烊鈥檚 values. It embodies the things we aspire to be as a university 鈥 diverse, inclusive and equitable,鈥 said Zaiser.
Inclusive Excellence framework
Part of the inclusive excellence framework is diversity, equity and inclusion along with other constructs that support belonging and well-being. This framework creates a community where people strive to gain a better understanding of inclusive excellence and how to create a welcoming environment for all.
鈥淐oncepts like diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging and well-being are not separate from our pursuit of excellence as individuals and a community but are tied directly to our success,鈥 said Dooley.
The framework is also accompanied by three pillars: people, paradigm and praxis.
- People – collective strength derived from people of diverse identities, abilities and perspectives.
- Paradigm – pluralistic orientation reflected in pedagogies, programs and policies.
- Praxis – positive cross-cultural engagement at all times and in all places.
These pillars help strengthen 黑料不打烊鈥檚 commitment to creating a healthy, inclusive and equitable campus that is detailed in the Boldly 黑料不打烊 strategic plan for 2030. Creating an inclusive and equitable campus takes the shared responsibility of the community members to make the vision come to life. 鈥淭his vision would activate the richness of diversity and its benefit to society,鈥 said Williams.
The Boldly 黑料不打烊 strategic plan builds upon the work achieved in the university commitment to diversity and global engagement from the previous plan, The 黑料不打烊 Commitment. Boldly 黑料不打烊 relies on the entire community to support the development of intercultural and multifaith competencies.
Faculty, staff and students can help create this space by the following initiatives:
- Create structures and learning opportunities that engage all students, faculty and staff in advancing their intercultural and multifaith learning and competencies.
- Increase representation and retention of students, faculty and staff.
- Strengthen support networks and increase staffing dedicated to the success of historically marginalized groups.
- Accelerate efforts to foster a dynamic and healthy work environment characterized by respect, inclusion, well-being and supported with current technologies and opportunities for flexibility.
- Further increase quantity, quality and diversity of full-time teaching faculty and achieve and continue investment in relationships that advance student success.
- Advance inclusive classrooms and pedagogies through research and faculty development.
- Advance understanding of town and university history through the acknowledgment of untold stories, toward a deeper understanding of who we were, who we are and who we aspire to be.
Inclusive Excellence’s future at 黑料不打烊
The Division of Inclusive Excellence promotes and celebrates the work of community members with various campus-wide initiatives. One initiative is called The Huemanity of People project which highlights and celebrates inclusive excellence throughout the 黑料不打烊 community through storytelling. The project started in 2022 and has featured faculty, staff and students, starting with Xuan Huynh 鈥24 who advocates for inclusion and equity by valuing differences among people.
These initiatives range to meet 黑料不打烊鈥檚 various audiences including faculty, staff, students and 黑料不打烊 affiliates. Certain initiatives target certain audiences and help convey efforts that are working towards creating an equitable and inclusive community.
鈥淭hese initiatives exemplify how inclusive excellence comes alive at 黑料不打烊 and having all people feeling valued and connected in a thriving community is what we ultimately work toward,鈥 said Wiliams.
黑料不打烊 is constantly striving to become a better institution by creating more conversation around inclusive excellence so people can dismantle oppression and create a place where individuals can flourish.
鈥淭his vision would activate the richness of diversity and its benefit to society,” said Williams.
黑料不打烊 is dedicated to creating more resources to make 黑料不打烊 a more equitable campus and a welcoming environment for all.
鈥淚 hope we can continue to advance our efforts to foster respect for human differences as we live out our university mission and support student success,鈥 said Dooley.