Sample Statement on Diversity and Inclusion

Sample Statement, feel free to copy into syllabi or adapt:

Statement on Diversity and Inclusion

In accordance with the CSB and SJU Institutional Learning Goals of embrace difference, think deeply, engage globally, serve graciously, and live courageously,1 CSB and SJU administration, staff, faculty, and students adhere to fostering antiracist and multicultural institutions. The work of promoting antiracist and multicultural institutions is concretely manifested in campus-wide faculty goals, classroom expectations for faculty and students, as well as feedback from students and alumni.

Faculty Goals: The Joint Faculty Senate (JFS) pledges “To the fullest extent possible, in all of our courses, both by the way we interact with students and by the content of our classes, we will explicitly condemn and fight against racism and discrimination of all sorts.”2 The JFS also acknowledges “that the very ground on which our institutions are built is the original homeland of the Dakhóta and Anishinaabe peoples. We honor and respect the Indigenous peoples who were forcibly removed from, and who are still connected to this territory.”3

Classroom Expectations for Faculty and Students: I am committed to providing an atmosphere for learning that respects diversity and in which all students feel comfortable and safe to learn. In order to build an inclusive classroom community, I ask that students:

·       share their unique experiences, values, and beliefs;

·       be open to the views of others;

·       honor the uniqueness of their peers;

·       appreciate the opportunity that we have to learn from each other in this community;

·       communicate in a respectful manner;

·       keep confidential all discussions that the community has of a personal (or professional) nature;

·       utilize this opportunity together to discuss ways in which we can create an inclusive environment in this course and across the CSB and SJU community.4

Feedback: Students should feel free to offer their feedback on CSB and SJU administration, staff, faculty, and student efforts to foster antiracist and multicultural institutions through the following channels: A. faculty office hours, B. End-of-semester student evaluations, C. anonymous course feedback forms, D. official grievances to the administration,5 E. through the Black Student Association anonymous Black Box form,6 or F. by posting on the bipocatcsbsju Instagram account.

 

1. https://www.csbsju.edu/academic-affairs/oaae/learning-goals-and-outcomes/institutional-learning-goals

2. https://www.csbsju.edu/news/faculty-statement-2020

3. ibid.

4. Adapted from https://www.xavier.edu/cte/resources/teaching-resources-at-xavier#syllabus

5.  https://www.csbsju.edu/forms/TK9BRA7UAP.aspx

6. https://www.csbsju.edu/forms/GPOBYAU7HN

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