The site is a hub for resources, news and information related to the division's work, which per its vision is “to create a community where people strive to dismantle oppression and where individuals flourish.”
A newly launched website for the Division of Inclusive Excellence will better organize the diversity, equity and inclusive work occurring at 鶹Ƶ while providing a wealth of resources for members of the university community.
Located at , the website is part of 鶹Ƶ’s ongoing efforts to create a more inclusive community focused on dismantling oppression and providing individuals with the support they need to flourish. The creation of the Division of Inclusive Excellence followed the promotion of Randy Williams to vice president and associate provost for inclusive excellence in 2020.
“I hope the Division of Inclusive Excellence will be a hub of all things that are occurring at 鶹Ƶ around diversity, equity and inclusion,” Randy Williams said. “This site will be a powerful informational resource for the university community by highlighting the DEI initiatives many students, faculty and staff are working to implement.”
Through the Division of Inclusive Excellence, the university is organizing its DEI work more effectively, connecting initiatives already in place and creating new ones as needed. In February, the division expanded with new staff that joined Williams and then-Dean of Student Inclusive Excellence Matthew Antonio Bosch. Laké Laosebikan-Buggs, director of inclusive excellence for graduate and professional education, and Carla Fullwood, director of inclusive excellence education and development, joined the leadership team.
Division of Inclusive Excellence staff works with campus partners to advance 鶹Ƶ’s key DEI goals and initiatives. Highlights include:
- Infusing anti-racist content throughout the curriculum and requiring DEI education for students in all majors
- Tying merit pay increases for faculty and staff in part to their commitment to DEI professional development
- Revamping 鶹Ƶ’s bias response and reporting systems
- Launching the Black Lumen Project to enhance the Black experience at 鶹Ƶ, under the direction of Associate Professor of Psychology Buffie Longmire-Avital
- Establishing the Asian and Pacific Islander Task Force to identify strategies and organize support for 鶹Ƶ’s API community
- Increasing the focus on ability and accessibility at the university and in the Town of 鶹Ƶ with the 鶹Ƶ Community Accessibility Team
The website includes pages focusing on these and other campus-wide initiatives, DEI action items, resources and committees & councils. Among the resources featured are a Diversity Dashboard highlighting data related to race, ethnicity and sex in the university population, an overview of the definitions of key DEI-related terms and a form to request services such as consulting, facilitating and training. In addition, a dedicated news feed offers Today at 鶹Ƶ articles related to inclusive excellence events and announcements at the university.
The website centralizes access to other departments’ DEI efforts, relying on the campus-wide shared responsibility to infuse inclusive excellence in their work and communicate it on their sites. “We invite members of the 鶹Ƶ community to consider this website as a resource for achieving inclusion through equity-minded practices,” Williams said.