We listened and learned from different corners of the university community about their hopes and desires for an inclusive and equitable WashU.
We are the office charged with supporting staff and faculty in building and maintaining a more inclusive and equitable WashU. Our team is part of the Office of Institutional Equity.
Sparked by a semester of campus activism and dialogue and the recommendations of a steering committee, the Commission on Diversity and Inclusion worked from August 2015 through October 2017 ultimately producing 19 reports containing recommendations for improving diversity and inclusion at Washington University.
One of the Commission’s recommendations was to: “Create an Academy for Diversity and Inclusion for staff and faculty members, to become the university’s ‘primary forum for changing climate and culture’ by housing diversity and inclusion resources, including training resources, support for campus affinity groups, and annual events and recognition ceremonies.”
As part of the Office of Institutional Equity, Education and Engagement works with existing diversity, equity, inclusion, climate, and culture offices, initiatives, and entities across the university serving as a catalyst for this work across the institution.
To read more about the origins of our team and how it is situated with other university resources, view our Orientation Document.
Academy Origins
In February of 2015, following a semester of campus activism and dialogue, Chancellor Emeritus Mark S. Wrighton and former Provost Holden Thorp established a Steering Committee for Diversity and Inclusion, charged with the creation of a university-wide plan for increased diversity.
In providing context for an Academy, the Commission wrote:
“Washington University in St. Louis has recently made significant improvement in diversifying the numbers of our students, faculty, and senior administrators and still has much work to do. Recent climate surveys of students, faculty members, and staff, alongside anecdotal reports, reveal another challenge — changing the University’s climate and culture to become less tolerant of bias and more equitable, welcoming, and inclusive. The University has created the Center for Diversity and Inclusion to drive climate and culture change for students. The University needs to develop an infrastructure to support its growing, increasingly diverse community of staff and faculty. We propose the Academy for Diversity and Inclusion as the parallel infrastructure and set of resources for staff and faculty members.”
Academy Mission
At its founding, Henry S. Webber, Executive Vice Chancellor and Chief Administrative Officer, described the charge of the Academy this way:
“The Academy will function as the university’s primary forum for improving climate and culture, with the goal of making Washington University more equitable, welcoming and inclusive. We’ve made much progress in this area, but we have more work to do. While a number of diversity and inclusion resources exist on each campus, present efforts toward supporting an inclusive staff and faculty could benefit from a centralized collaborator and strategic partner.”
The Current State of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Washington University
Essential to the work of the Academy is understanding clearly, for all members of the University community, the experience of being a part of this community, at this moment in time. Also crucial is understanding the landscape of assets and resources already devoted to diversity, equity, and inclusion across the University.
To that end, the team is currently working to index and categorize:
- Roles across the university with responsibility for diversity, equity, and/or inclusion (which may or may not include these in their title).
- Committees, task forces, and working groups focused on diversity, equity, and/or inclusion.
- Programs and initiatives designed to support greater diversity, equity, and/or inclusion.
- Training efforts designed to foster greater diversity, equity, and/or inclusion.
- Status and progress on recommendations from the Commission on Diversity and Inclusion.
To read more about the context, challenges, and opportunities related to diversity, equity, and inclusion at Washington University today, view our Orientation Document here.
Our community will reflect the world in its makeup, while setting and achieving a new standard for respect of, opportunity for, and inclusion of every member of that community.
Building a Foundation for Change
In its initial years, the Academy will prioritize three key objectives to establish a foundation for institutional climate and culture change:
Support
We will support existing diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.
Align
We will work to align diversity, equity, and inclusion resources and communications.
Institutionalize
We will establish the Academy institutionally, as well as in the broader St. Louis community.
To read more about how we will operationalize our three key objectives, as well as our approach to change, view our Orientation Document here.