The School of Education’s Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Justice promotes and facilitates our efforts to create a school climate that fosters inclusion and diversity of faculty and staff, establishes equitable opportunities and experiences for faculty and students of all backgrounds, and provides guidance and consultation on issues related to increased cultural and social awareness in all educational endeavors.
School of Education Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Justice/Climate Committee
Created in 2019, the School of Education Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Justice/Climate Committee is chaired by Dr. Tammy Ellis-Robinson, School of Education's director of equity and inclusion. This group meets monthly and includes Education faculty, staff and students as well as administrative leaders from throughout the university. Their charge is to develop and carry out activities that support our equity and inclusion efforts.
Defining our terms
Diverse: Involving the representation or composition of various social identity groups in a work group, organization, or community. The focus is on social identities that correspond to societal differences in power and privilege, and thus to the marginalization of some groups based on specific attributes—for example, race, ethnicity, culture, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, religion, spirituality, disability, age, national origin, immigration status, and language. There is a recognition that people have multiple identities and that social identities are intersectional and have different salience and impact in different contexts (APA, 2021b).
Equity: Providing resources according to the need to help diverse populations achieve their highest state of health and other functioning. Equity is an ongoing process of assessing needs, correcting historical inequities, and creating conditions for optimal outcomes by members of all society identity groups (APA, 2021b).
Inclusion: An environment that offers affirmation, celebration, and appreciation of different approaches, styles, perspectives, and experiences, thus allowing all individuals to bring in their whole selves (and all their identities) and to demonstrate their strengths and capacity (APA, 2021b).
Social Justice: Commitment to creating fairness and equity in resources, rights, and treatment of marginalized individuals and groups of people who do not share equal power in society (APA, 2021b).