All staff and faculty are encouraged to learn and practice skills needed on their journey towards equity and inclusion at WashU. To meet and support each employee exactly where they are in their equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) journey, we offer opportunities for connection through Engage EDI.
Engage EDI is a three-part guided, sequential, skill-building set of experiences anchored in stated institutional commitments and priorities and designed to support staff and faculty in building and maintaining a more equitable and inclusive WashU.
Engage EDI is a:
- Sequential,
- Group-based,
- Self-reflective,
- Skill-building approach to equity and inclusion work at WashU.
How Can I Engage EDI?
1.) Start to Engage EDI :
Register for the first class in the Commit Series here
2.) Move to ongoing practice and learning
Enroll in the Action Series. Program launching Spring 2024.
3.) Transform your area of the university
Develop capstone-like project. Program launching Spring 2024.
The Commit Series teaches individuals to engage in equity and inclusion in a lasting way.
Wondering what to expect from the Commit Series? Each of the seven classes focus on individual skills that build the ability to engage in equity and inclusion work in a lasting way. The series begins with Class 1, which is offered multiple times a month, every month. Participants can expect to invest two hours per class and can complete the full series in 6- 12 months. Want to learn more about the series? Read descriptions of each class below.
What commitments has WashU made as an institution in pursuit of equity and inclusion? How does that promise impact staff and faculty in the workplace and what responsibility do each of us hold? Explore the language of EDI and the meaning we assign it to create a shared understanding
How may our perspectives impact the people around us? How much could the thoughts, beliefs, and actions we express (and leave unsaid) be shaping our everyday interactions? Explore how interrelated our interactions and conversations are with equity and inclusion work.
*Note: Prerequisite for this class is Community Commitments.
When does conversation turn from dialogue to debate? How does pursuing one over another beneficial for navigating relationships? Explore and practice starting in May 2023.
*Note: Prerequisite for this class is Commitment to Dialogue.
Building on and utilizing the learnings from classes 1-3, Commit to Inclusion focuses on the common thread of self-reflection, self-understanding, and building relationships. Using the frame of the workplace environment, the class provides the opportunity for participants to explore the elements that make up how we see ourselves, how we experience the world, and what that means for supporting the collective efforts toward an inclusive and equitable WashU.
*Note: Prerequisite for this class is Commitment to Dialogue.
My Commitment builds on the learning, reflection, discussion, and exploration from classes 1-4 to begin illuminating what role individuals can play in realizing a more inclusive and equitable WashU. Through examples and discussion, the class will explore specific conditions that create an inclusive and equitable workplace.
*Note: Prerequisite for this class is Commit to Inclusion.
Centering current university commitments, in Commitment in Action participants will have the opportunity to get specific about day-to-day actions they can take in support of a more inclusive and equitable WashU.
*Note: Prerequisite for this class is My Commitment.
In Commit to Equity, participants will explore a working understanding of the anchor term in the University’s Strategic Plan guiding principle of equity, diversity, and inclusion and apply class material from this and previous classes to their day-to-day work.
*Note: Prerequisite for this class is Commitment in Action.
How to Access Learning Sessions:
Learn@Work acts as the universitywide registration platform. In it we house our virtual and in-person classes. Best practices for navigating Learn@Work include:
- Log in using WUSTL key.
- Use Chrome browser for easier browsing.
- Search “Education and Engagement” within “All Categories” feature and view all Education and Engagement’s coursework.
- Read full course descriptions housed within Learn@Work for further context.
- Email Briana Lawson at: BrianaL@wustl.edu for support if registration becomes a barrier.