Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Planning Group

Mandate

This group is charged with developing a strategic plan for improving our campus climate with respect to diversity, equity and inclusion. 

The plan should include concrete steps to:

• Promote and foster an inclusive campus climate;
• Address specific concerns related to race and ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin and religious identity; and
• Recruit and retain diverse faculty, staff and students.

The plan should include recommendations and goals in each of the following areas:

• Education and Training for faculty, staff and students;
• Resources and programming to address the unique issues, needs and circumstances of community members who have been historically marginalized; and
• Policies and procedures to support the development of a more diverse and inclusive campus community at all levels.

The College will provide resources to allow the group to consult with different constituencies on campus, and with those at other institutions in order to investigate and identify best practices.  The committee will also be given the results of the ENGAGE summit survey and the campus climate survey to inform some of their work.  In addition the College will provide the resources of an administrative assistant to help with planning and logistics. 

The group is free to structure its efforts in whatever ways seem most effective.  In particular the group may need to form subcommittees to address different aspects of the charge.  We will provide the names of all community members who had offered to serve on the group as a resource.  In addition, two members of the executive team, Michele Murray and Margaret Freije, will serve as ex officio members of the group.  They will ensure that the full executive team is informed about the work of the group and can give feedback about goals and priorities. 

We recognize that the changes we hope to make in campus culture will require sustained efforts in a variety of areas, over a period of time.  Thus it would be helpful if the planning group could indicate which of their recommendations have the highest priority for them.

We are asking that your report and recommendations are sent to the Executive Team by April 15, 2019.  This is a short timeline but it is necessary in order to allow us to gather feedback from the community and plan for implementation.